Cruising is a game of expectations as with most things in life. Having previously sailed on freestyle ships, that are often looked down on, we expected a little more from our first Holland America experience. So this review is more related to how we were disillusioned with “traditional old school” cruising.
Embarkation in Hong Kong. Not a drop of water or morsel of a snack for guests waiting ...
did this trip four years ago same ship different ports all tender ports missed ,food quality no where what it was, cost cutting all across the board...the room stewards have to attend to even more rooms and dining room staff are less...trivia in the overcrowded small bar down stairs deck two opposite the casino not in crows nest any more...waited for shore days for a beer as two to three for the ...
We always bring our fun so.......
Anyway, here are some thoughts on this adventure. Ship is 20 years old and showing her age. Didn't stop the fun. Beds were comfortable, water was hot and toilets flushed. Food in main dining room was excellent - I've always found the upcharge restaurants on HAL to miss the mark - the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto's just aren't what they should - buffet was ...
Amazing time!
Great food in all places
Great service all around
Ports, we love the Aqua Trax at Halfmoon Cay. We appreciated the clean up and move of clam shells down the beach.
Grand Turks- Margaritaville stay- their is a beach at Port. John Glenn exhibit to the right is cool then a smaller beach behind it.
Amber Cove - did a bus City tour. Tour guy Homberto was great. Stopped ...
Here’s what I wish I knew before I went. Excellent location for access to the front of the ship, spa, wet steam, dry sauna, hydro pool, gym, kid-free sundeck on deck 12. The food was excellent everyday except the first day in the Lido. On that day I got the lasagna from the buffet that was not very good. However I was told the lasagna in the dining room was much much better. In fact the lasagna ...
We took this cruise as a "back-to-back" cruise with a 15 Day Panama Canal cruise on the same ship. We changed cabins from aft port hole to aft interior. This was to try out these types of cabins, and see what the experience is like without a balcony of our own - and honestly, to see if these far less expensive cabins would serve us as well as the balcony / suite cabins. We found that the two ...
The ship was clean and beautiful, everything seemed to be working, and the service was absolutely fabulous. The Eurodam is a little older now, but still very nice. On service, standouts were our cabin steward who helped our disabled mother very much in her suite, the management in the Tamarind, who went above and beyond, and the disembarkation help we received because we were traveling with a ...
We were very excited to once again travel on HAL. It had been a few years so were really looking forward to stopping off a several ports in NZ as well as Hobart and Melbourne. Boarding in Auckland was a breeze, everything was well planned and executed by port staff. It was all downhill from there. The weather was on most days terrible but that is what can happen in summer in NZ so we were ...
To be fair the choice of this cruise was mine, to celebrate a significant birthday and then explore a part of the world I have always wanted to see. The itinerary was very attractive, as was the price when we booked. I was also drawn to the size of Westerdam, being a small ship. First things first, the lead up to the cruise was a daily argument with Holland America over needing visa's for some of ...
Visa Services: told to get a Chinese visa by Holland at a cost of $1000; ship offered them for free while underway. Guest Services barely apologized and offered no compensation. Excursions: over half the guides didn't speak English well enough to answer questions or give commentary, visited sites were repetitive and boring. It was clear Holland had done no quality control on their excursions or ...