Amsterdam Review

4.0 / 5.0
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First and Last Holland America cruise!

Review for Alaska Cruise on Amsterdam
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AvoidHollandAmerica
2-5 Cruises • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Jun 2016

Food was too salty and the Lido Buffet had virtually the same thing everyday. The ship is in need of remodeling, dirty doors, threadbare cushions in the Crow's Nest. The three switches for lights in the cabin are directly behind your pillow. If you're sitting up in bed and the pillow hits the switch, you can either accidentally turn on lights/turn off lights. There is a light above the head of the bed that cabin stewards left on after tidying up the room for the evening; this light gets very hot and touches curtains and pillows. This is a fire hazard. You cannot hear announcements in the cabin. This makes it difficult to hear what deck you will disembark on. While watching the ship approach Hubbard Glacier in the Crow's Nest, waiters did not come around for drink orders, you had to go and wait in line. Using a cane, it was not convenient to have to go to the bar for a drink. The activities on days at sea were a joke. Learn Windows 10 on vacation, multiple trivia contests and learn about Tanzanite, art, etc. - they were just trying to tell you something. Want to watch TV? Four channels of Holland America propaganda, and Alaska programs. If you're lucky you can catch a movie. Errors on bill were corrected overnight; though I had purchased a beverage card and presented it to staff, my key card account was charged. I traveled with a terminally ill friend and the difference in temperatures in various (indoor) parts of the ship was quite noticeable.If you did any excursions you had little free time to explore the city. Only in Sitka did we have time to explore a bit.Staff was friendly except for one guy manning the screening machine when you came on deck. Patty at the Seattle Terminal was outstanding. A walker was reserved for my friend and I was told to pick it up at the kiosk in the terminal. After seeing no kiosk on the first floor and going through security I saw a handicapped area on the second floor. Alas, no walker. The "kiosk" SNG had was actually a white tent outside of the terminal. Patty took me through the lines, escorting me to the tent and back. She also helped me look for my friend who has significant short term memory loss and was not sitting in the area she said she was going to be sitting. My friend decided to change two excursions and this was handled promptly by the excursion desk. The places to shop onboard are a joke - a jewelry store, a liquor store with Tylenol and seasickness patches and a general shop with t-shirts, fridge magnets, etc. A poolside sale was held one day from 9am to 2pm. After lunch my friend went to the spa and I was going to look at the sale. I was surprised to find that at 1:30pm they were packing stuff away. On non-formal nights the dress code was smart casual. Some people looked like they had just finished changing their oil. Sloppiness ruled for a large number of people. We shared a table but were never seated at the same table. Their idea of a tea is a buffet of desserts from the Lido and a few savory items. The Queen Mary and old Queen Elizabeth II knew how to throw a tea!

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