Nieuw Amsterdam: Sanitation Record & Health Report

Let's be honest: a perfect 100 on a CDC inspection is the kind of score that makes other cruise ships want to go home and rethink their lives. The Nieuw Amsterdam pulled it off on her December 2024 inspection, and she did it with a "Spotless Galley" food safety grade to match — a 100.0, no less. That's not beating the fleet average of around 95. That's lapping it. For a Holland America ship that regularly hosts a crowd who takes their mid-afternoon herring seriously, cleanliness isn't just a courtesy, it's a lifestyle, and the Nieuw Amsterdam has apparently taken the memo and taped it to every surface in the galley.

There's something almost suspicious about a ship this clean. You start to wonder if the inspectors arrived, looked around, checked their clipboard twice, and quietly questioned whether they were even in the right place. No violations. No footnotes. No "we found a spoon near a surface it shouldn't have been near." Just a clean ship doing clean things, sending the rest of the fleet to the disciplinary buffet line. Holland America's Vista-class ships have a reputation for attracting a more discerning traveler — the kind who notices when the towel fold is slightly off — and the Nieuw Amsterdam is holding up her end of that social contract with admirable commitment.

Who it's for: Anyone who wants to eat every meal without even a passing thought about what's happening in the kitchen. Germophobes, food safety obsessives, and people who have been burned before and are quietly doing due diligence — this is your ship. Who should skip it: Thrill-seekers looking for an excuse to eat Dramamine for dinner instead of the pasta course. The Nieuw Amsterdam has nothing dramatic to report, and if you were hoping for a little chaos in your cruise story, you'll have to manufacture it yourself at the karaoke bar.