Embarkation.
Best we have ever had. Used Verify for Vax and test status, so easy and quick.
Cabin.
SS category very spacious and clean. Ice delivered twice a day.
Cabin stewards and general staff.
Amazing, friendly and helpful.
Cafe.
Awful, awful, awful.
Dining room.
Good at start, but declined. Nowhere near as good quality as experienced on New Amsterdam 4 years ...
This was a greatly anticipated cruise.
I was delighted to be sailing again on a ship with HA, as I had many grest memories of this company.
However it was very disappointing. I purchased the Have it all package.
What a waste of money.
I only bought it for a couple of glasses of brut wine with meals.
But...
The wine I tried of x 4 varieties on the first night were shocking sweet ...
We're past HA Cruisers. We have 15+ cruises that we've enjoyed. Everything was really good about his cruise except 3 things.
1. The boarding process was a cattle car. 1500 or so people stuck in a terminal in Ft. Lauderdale with room for 800 to sit. And it took forever to get all the groups aboard.
2. The internet speed.
3. The internet being down far too often.
This is 2023, not 1999. ...
Just returned last Sunday (NOV. 20th) from Caribbean cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam on 14 days of the worst HAL cruise that we ever experienced. With more than 400 days on HAL ships and having sailed on this ship twice before, we never experienced anything remotely like this. In fact it was one of the worst cruises ever on any line including Carnival which can be inconsistent at best. Apparently in an ...
This was our 20th anniversary cruise, and we did back-to-back 7 day cruises (western/eastern Caribbean).
We are 3-star Mariners on HAL, and this was our 3rd trip since Covid hit. Compared to the last two post-covid trips, this was a good improvement. We started getting towel animals again (a simple add but delightful), they had some fresh flowers on board (prior two cruises they were mostly ...
A cruise is usually fun and this was no exception BUT, Holland has changed and not for the better. We had 160 days on HAL prior to the pandemic so we were pretty familiar with the line and this ship.
The room was the room and it was fine as usual, it could use a little maintenance as things are starting to look a little tired but still a minor concern, the steward did a good job and the room ...
I sailed on this ship with the same itinerary in November, 2021 and we loved it. So, we decided to do it again on the November 5, 2022 sailing. BIG MISTAKE! Embarkation on day 1 was one hour behind schedule. We had to wait in line in the very warm sun with no shade. We were supposed to depart San Diego at 4pm. We finally made it out of the harbor at 6:30pm. Again, I don't know why we were ...
So we are on a California Coast cruise. Neptune Suite. Have not been on a HAL for 3 years. A lot has changed. New rooms and refreshed ship. That’s nice. No crowded on deck initial safety muster drill. Replaced by scanning your room card at your muster stations. Easier. If you do the Neptune Suite expecting the usual priority boarding, disembarkation, usual exclusive perks, full food selection of a ...
After having itineraries to Istanbul changed two years in a row, we had ‘some’ cruise credit expiring. The pacific coast cruise seemed like a remedy & we’ve never been on the Koningsdam.
Perhaps the larger ship just isn’t for us. The crew seemed to be training while this ship sailed which resulted in inefficiency. Particularly popular food items frequently became unavailable.
Long lines & ...
We've sailed on many HAL ships over the years and have to say we'll never sail again on the Konigsdam. Although the food was excellent, they've cut service to the point that hour waits for dinner were normal. Waiters and staff were obviously stressed and had too many tables to serve. I actually had to go to the assistant maître d' to get a coffee cup refilled at breakfast. No chocolates on the ...