We have been on a total of 6 cruises, 3 of which were with Holland America. The most recent trip was a 21 day Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver April 24 to May 15. We felt the itinerary offered a good mix of sea days and shore time. The food in the dining room was excellent and only one night did we have a waiter that needed more training. The room steward we had worked hard to keep us happy. Room ...
We love to cruise! We chose this 14 day cruise with HAL because of the number of days at sea and the closer proximity to where we live. The ports of call were great--the Sea of Cortez, San Diego Santa Barbara, Victoria and Vancouver. I dislike writing negative reviews. We will always make the most of our cruises, and generally make our own fun. Here is what I wrote on the survey to HAL. ...
Thought it might be better for our age 65. It was so boring and everyone on the cruise was asleep between 7-9 pm. Activities were designed for people in a nursing home. Food was terrible and two meals had hair in them. Laundry service ruined my pants and under garments Entertainment was bad and had the same shows often. Excursions were canceled and we were not notified until the moment we ...
Waited 2 years for return of 25% of monies taken by HAL on the same cruise that was cancelled before covid.
Embarkation was hectic as 3 ships were in port at San Diego, however the ship was very clean and the crew were excellent our balcony cabin was nice and stewards were very friendly.
We had anytime dining later in the evenings an had nice tables at the rear window the food was very good ...
3 star Mariners, cruised HAL 137 nights, over a decade of loyalty towards HAL. Very disappointed with it’s treatments to loyal guests. Decreased in benefits, increased in “nickel and dime” up charges, gratuity, etc.
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Menu selections mediocre (same old, same old). Cruised 3 times in 2022, same menu rotation, same entertainment line ups. HAL decreases menu ...
Our cabin steward was great and our dining room waiters are great but the pool attendants and buffet attendants left a lot to be desired.
The main problem that we encounter with Holland American is that there are pool chair hogs with chairs being blocked out and no attendant is interested in sorting this out.. On one afternoon I counted 222 chairs across from us that never had anyone in them ...
e had boarding in San Diego. I did all the pre boarding requirements on the HAL website and on VeriFLY. Our boarding pass said that a REAL ID-compliant driver's license was ok BUT the dock personnel did not seem to know that, we got shuffled over to another area and were finally told it was ok and we were allowed onboard.
The Koningsdam is a nice ship and seemed to be very clean. We got to our ...
We had actually booked a HAL Caribbean cruise in Feb, which we had to cancel, and we switched to the Classic California coast, as we live fairly close to San Diego, and we could drive to the port. This was our first HAL cruise, we weren't certain what to expect, but we wanted to try the line. I was attracted by the Music Walk concept, since I play instruments and love music.
Our expectations ...
I relied on HAL's reputation for excellent food and service and it's reputation for activities for adults and entertainment on previous very long cruises. This cruise was 35 days long, with many, many sea days. I was soon disillusioned.
The food was almost always served lukewarm and , for example, never was the toast at breakfast in the dining room served even remotely warm. Frequently, ...
Background: Nov 2021 we went on our second HAL1 week Mexican Rivera cruise on the Koningsdam from San Diego. Fun, high energy good cruise. Would repeat.
In June 2015 we were on our first Holland America cruise on the Zuiderdam for 33 days: 29 ports, 13 countries from Barcelona to Rome. Inside cabin. We had a wonderful time with the ports, fellow cruisers, food, music etc. we would ...