Strongest recommendation to future cruisers: book the Rotterdam IMMEDIATELY if you’re looking for: —LOUSY FOOD (except for the specialty dining rooms, which HAL surely is up-selling by downgrading everything and everywhere else). Dining room flavorless food is suited to senior living; much-touted “Dive-In” burgers are dry and flavorless. —CREAKY SHIP which, in our case, included: 1) stinky sewage seeping into our suite from an adjoining pipe closet 2) leaking pipes above our verandah 3) a fire that resulted in an all-ship alarm awakening us in the middle of the night (reportedly TWO fires in the two weeks immediately preceding our trip.) LOW-BROW SERVICE from a Neptune Suite concierge, a benefit for which we paid handsomely after enjoying excellent service on a prior HAL voyage. For $16K, she: refused to reverse bar charges for a rum-and-coke that was delivered as a gin-and-coke or an honor bar soda that wasn’t drunk; “apologized” for raw sewage in our suite with a cheap bottle of wine and a short, typed apology; and, assured us we would LOVE the next port of call literally moments before we learned that the port would be skipped due to bad weather. All that, for $16K. Speaking of bad weather, I am not blaming HAL for skipping five ports and replacing them with two alternative stops and three addl nights at sea or in port. Safety, as the captain told us, is #1. On the other hand, going the extra mile to meet his passenger’s needs is, for the Rotterdam’s captain, priority #23. Addressing passenger‘s concerns about skipped ports of call and potential financial losses for missing independent tour arrangements, his advice? “You can buy one of our ship WiFi plans.” As if offering complimentary WiFi for a few hours would ruin his bottom line. Speaking of bottom lines, here’s mine: The Rotterdam is doddering. Its service philosophy (excluding the loyal stewards and dining staff who are doing their best) is subpar. (But the America’s Test Kitchen live shows are phenomenal. Those ought to be offered every day.) Something is rotten on the Rotterdam. And until someone does something about it, it’s Bon Voyage, Holland America! Read Less

Due to poor weather we missed four ports. I have to believe that HAL knew the weather would be difficult for tender ports before we left Amsterdam yet kept us guessing. Being that we had more overnights in a port because we could not go to the next port, they did not plan things to do on the ship assuming all would get off the ship. That did not happen and you had many bored people. The only time they did plan was the last sea day which was supposed to be a tender port. Along with that many many people were sick and there was so much coughing and sneezing on the ship and on the bus tours. I also was sick and by the end of the cruise after talking to many passengers found that about 1/4 of the ship was sick. After traveling with HAL for many cruises this was my first experience with this kind of sickness, I have experienced the stomach problems but not this. The whole experience was sad as after you plan for a great experience you come home so disappointed and still sick. Since home have gone to the doctor and on antibiotics. I stgill wonder is many of the crew were sick and they still make them work or something is wrong on the ship. My worst experience on any of the 25 cruises I have been on. Have to say service was great Read Less

The service was so good that we provided extra gratuities for select staff including our stateroom attendants and some of the servers in the buffet type dinning area. The entertainment was good overall with a few that were excellent. Ship was very clean, open and comfortable. The pool deck on the stern was a little over crowded at times and the bar staff was not sufficient to handle it, but that was a small annoyance. The food was very good most meals and really never bad in any way. The breakfast buffet was very good every day. We sailed from Amsterdam to Rome with a lot of stops in southern Spain plus Lisbon and Gibraltar. There were many Australian and Canadian passengers which made for interesting conversations while dinning in the formal dinning room each night. The ship was less than a year old when we took the cruise which was evident in the decor, cleanliness, etc. Holland American cruise ships are smaller that many of the other US lines with fewer passengers and cater to the retired crowd it seems. Maybe why I like their line. Read Less

Truly enjoyed seeing the Fjords of Norway and starting/ending at Amsterdam. I needed time connecting with nature and this cruise provided many opportunities to do that. 95% of staff was awesome, and I think that is all one can reasonably ask because there is no such thing as perfection. Beautuful ship; love the art theme. Musical and dance entertainment was outstanding. I am in awe of the Lincoln Center stage performers and the amazing creativity of the dance performances. Many fun nights dancing ourselves at BB King venue and what talent in the dual piano bar, being able to play such a huge repertoire upon request, no time to practice ahead. We fell in love with the Dutch Cafe and their amazing hard working staff and yummy food offerings. Nearly all the food we had was wonderful. Most service in the dining room was great, but when one chooses open seating over a set time, as we did for this cruise, its never going to be as good as when you have the same waiters every night and develop a relationship with them, so I attribute the couple nights it wasn't great to that. My only complaint about food is the gigantic trays used for room service. They will barely fit through the door and are heavy and take up massive space in an already cramped cabin. They need to have two sizes. The big ones for multiple meals and half size for small orders. I felt sorry for the room service staff, and us, when we had to manever them. We did not use the Holland America shore excursions due to their price so my average rating on that is just because there is no "not applicable" button. Was disappointed that nearly all the guided excercise activities cost extra. Never have experienced that before on the cruises I have done with Celebrity, Carnival & Royal Carribean. I will do pilates because its good for me, but I'm not paying $20 to put myself through that misery. :) No worries; I got my excercise hiking in the Norwegian countryside and dancing to the BB King All Stars. So all in all a great cruise and Holland America did a nice job. If I'm ever traveling with two or three friends again, I will choose a different cruise line if at all possible due to their cabin design. However if I had been sharing a room with just one other person I would have given this cruise five stars! Read Less

We chose this cruise for the Norwegian Fjord itinerary. We chose the cruise line and ship due to the fact that the ship was essentially brand new (launched December '18) and we were interested in the culinary arts offering through the advertised America's Test Kitchen. Several weeks prior to embarkation we received an email listing some of the possible demonstrations that we would see in the culinary theater. However, we found out on board that the culinary program was not being offered and no one had an explanation regarding why this was. We spent a few days in Amsterdam prior to the cruise. During this time we received a gift from a friend in the Netherlands that included a bottle of alcohol. Knowing that we were not permitted to bring this on board we checked it in with security at the terminal during embarkation and were told it would be delivered to our stateroom on the final night. When it did not arrive and when our steward couldn't locate it we contacted guest services. They assumed it was at the terminal and told us if they located it when the ship docked they would bring it on board and we could claim it at guest services. If it was not found we were told we would receive compensation (we don't know how we could be compensated for a gift). On the morning of disembarkation we went to guest services and were met by a very cranky individual who assured us that the item was found and would be waiting for us at a desk at the end of the gangway after we left the ship; she couldn't explain why it wasn't brought on board as promised. The item was not at the desk, the individual manning the desk knew nothing about this and her attempts to reach her supervisor on board via radio were unsuccessful. We nearly missed our transfer to the airport while waiting for her to reach someone. During the entire process we felt as if we were getting the runaround and that no one wanted to assume responsibility for dealing with this. We easily could have accepted the fact that this item was lost if we were told as such. More troubling is that we contacted guest relations via email and also mentioned this in the on-line survey (which arrived in our email one hour after disembarkation) and after a week we have not received any response. This experience alone is enough to convince us to spend our travel dollars with a different cruise line in the future. Another issue that surprised us was the wine package. We purchased a 6 bottle package shortly after boarding. Each night, except for the last, we were met with confusion when we tried to order a bottle. Compared to other cruises that we have taken there seemed to be a paucity of things to do on board during the at sea days; we had expected to participate in the Test Kitchen events which never happened. The ship itself is beautiful, the art on board was impressive and for the most part the meals in the dining room were good. The food at the Lido Market, however, was always cold unless we had something made fresh which was always available. The Grill was excellent but had a 39$ upcharge, the food at Tamarind was mediocre. The musicians at the various venues were all excellent and much more entertaining than the performances in the theater; we only wished their sets were longer than 45 minutes at a time. The ports were all great to visit and as with any other cruise we would have liked to spend more time there. The terrible service review only applies to the customer service. The wait staff, the bar staff, the deck staff and our cabin steward were all excellent. Read Less

Holland America needs to do some serious updating to this ship. During the first half....the Baltic portion, there were 2 fires on the ship while we were at sea. The first one was a fire in the 4th deck galley and the 2nd one was an electrical fire in one of the common area bathrooms. Quite scary and disconcerting. We only did 1 ship excursion on this portion, which turned out to be a disaster. The bus we were on to go to Berlin broke down about 30 minutes after our 7 am departure. We didn't get back to the ship until 11 pm. Long day. To make a long story short....there were a series of other things that happened while waiting for transportation to Berlin. Holland America thought a good compensation was to not just drive by some of the major points of interest, but to stop and let us get out. They also thought that a less than par boxed lunch at 2:30 was compensation for the failed trip. NOT! As it was, the excursion we originally signed up for supposedly didn't get enough people so for $50 more pp we could go on this "ill fated" one. During the second half of the trip...the British and Irish Isles...we spent the entire time running from weather and trying to find a "safe port" to go to. Days for ports were changed, 5 ports (tender) were missed and replaced with 2 ports Torquay, England and Cobh, Ireland....nothing special. We missed Holyhead and Fishguard, Wales. Plymouth, Ilfracome, and St. Peter Port, England. It was kind of a catch 22 as our captain was cautious, but in some ways seemed extremely/overly cautious, but overall glad we finally made it back to Amsterdam safely. Since we didn't know most of the time which ports we were going to, where we weren't going and ports changed almost daily, everyone started calling it the "mystery" cruise. And before anyone says anything....yes, I had read other reviews about travel during this time to these areas, but honestly didn't think it would be as bad as it was. We also had 2 more electrical fires during this portion. One on the opposite side of our deck (glassware steamer/cleaner) and the other during the middle of the night (laundry room). Thankfully (?) they were both while we were in port and not in the middle of the ocean. Overall the food and entertainment were great. Our room steward was good also. I would NOT recommend going on this ship until it gets some much needed updating (1997 the age) and would NOT recommend doing a cruise to the Baltic's/British, Irish Isles during September and October. We pretty much had rain and cold weather (pea sized hail) in Copenhagen the entire trip....so much so that when the sun would peak out or we had a rare day of sunshine while we were in port....we were all so pleasantly surprised! Overall there seemed to be quite a bit of confusion and uncertainty about ports, how long we would be in a port, show changes and time changes for the shows during the second half. The above is just a "brief" summary of this 28 day cruise...trust me....there's more! Read Less

This was our 23rd cruise with HAL and as usual other than a few minor issues, we had a great cruise. In reading the reviews of others for this particular cruise, I find them to be a bit on the whining side. Yes the ship is old but it has class that the modern overcrowded cattle cars of RCL don't have. We're in our early 60's so Rock Climbing, Wave Riders, Tube Slides,etc have no appeal. We cruise to go to places we haven't been and that's the case with this Cruise. We were not on the second 14 day leg that went to the British Isles so can't comment on that. The Baltic leg was great....yes it rained everyday for a bit but that didn't effect a lot of the excursions as many of them indoors anyway. Frankly, I'm surprised the weather was as good as it was given it's September in the Baltic. Really enjoyed all the stops, especially St Petersberg. Helsinki was are least favorite but that might of been because we had heavy rain most of the time. One side note, I mentioned we did have a few minor issues. I decided to e-mail HAL with my concerns/observations as an FYI. I received a personal response back thanking me for my thoughts and a $600 future cruise credit. Wow, I didn't ask for or expect that. Bottom line folks, your on vacation.....relax, life is too short to complain about minor stuff. Read Less

It was a family reunion. Nine of us sailed with N.S. on my strong recommendation. I had good experience with Massdam years back. This time nine of us were so disappointed. And I was the only one to be blamed to take this ship. I was not happy for the entire cruise holiday and now. My brother-in-law said he would not come back to this ship even it is free. 1) Lido Buffet - there was ALWAYS long line-up for food as most of the time there was only ONE server. Those servers only put a little food on the plate and thus made guests to line up again for food. We ate the same type of food for 15 days - just BORING. I remember vividly that one time I sailed with another cruise line on Asia route, the day I was in Thailand I had Thai food, while I was in Vietnam I had Vietnamese food. 2) Entertainment - very weak casts and artist/s usually repeated in two nights in such a tiny stage of the WORLD THEATRE. 3) Cruise Director - I have been cruising for 13 times. Justin had an easy job. He showed up at the WORLD THEATRE only on the 3rd night of the cruise. Through the 14-night cruise Justin only showed up for about 7 times. At one time he was watching the show with his friends and enjoying drinks. When the show was over Justin just left without going to the stage to greet the audience/guests informing what activities for the night, and for next day. I seldom saw him nor heard his announcements about activities on board. Guess he was paid very little, so he did just that little. 4) Sea Days - it was particular boring on sea days. I did not notice any activities on the pool side but only those seniors taking sun bathing. It was dead quiet. There were NO talks about history of the next ports. Read Less

Very bad! The food terrible. In the Lido, old salade cheese! All restaurants fish have no any taste (Have been Frosen) The Pinnacle only the Sirloin is very good the rest...forget it! The Music, a little better than amateurs. You must pay for everything on this boat! The Crew is also not the best..and lazy.. The Tamarind is ok, but!! The special Rice Table is absolute not go for the money! Tee Fish restaurant no taste at al..(becourse frozen fish came on board) The Manager for the restaurants..and entertainment change this men now! The band was hearing very loud in my cabin! I give my wife this trip to st. Petersburg. The Excusrsion's hurry hurry hurry! with a smal phone in the ear...follow me please?? We cry, after this experience. Better go with a plane and enjoy everything. In the Hermitage no time to see and enjoy a good piece! A poor Experience. Never with HAL again Read Less

Pick this cruise based on its Baltic itinerary, which was all that was expected.. Plus * Music offerings both in variety and quality was great * Food was good both in dinning and buffet( had very good variety) * Staff was very friendly * Excursion personnel were helpful * Had a wide variety of things to do on the ship from Microsoft training to art and alcohol informational sessions * Was compensated for the negative cabin experiences, but could have been better, i.e. they provided free dinner at premium restaurants, but made use pay for our individual (1 each) pop/drinks Minus * Cabin was underneath pool area and it was miserable, ship crew rearranging chairs and washing area, late night and early mornings * Movie's volume in pool area was so loud, could hear it in my cabin one floor down * To get answers from service desk staff had to ask 2 or 3 different persons to get an accurate answer * Pop/soda cards was for bar pop only, can of pop cost more and charged to room * Had frustrating experience playing Texas Holdem in Casino..in short was winning!, then dealer got full house, I got four of a kind, winner again..dealer called pit-boss over, they both looked at each other for a several seconds .. pit-boss said count the cards..then he said replace the deck... All of this was to affect the flow of the game and re-establish the casino's odds of winning..bad gaming sportsmanship... Again protecting the ship's profits.. I walked away.. General Observations * Ship is new and understated, wonder what it will look like/hold up in the future * Ship was overall the nosiest ship I have been on * It felt like the ship and personnel where there/measured to make a profit Read Less

This cruise does the Baltics which was what we wanted to see. Busy cruise with few sea days but the ports were amazing. This ship is just beautiful. We were on Nieuw Amsterdam when it first came out and it was OK but this is decorated just lovely. The art work, the Central area, the Dining room, the Word Stage was awesome!! The rooms were really well thought out with all of extra spaces for storage. The bathrooms finally have a real shower will glass and that sure beats the shower curtains of days gone by. I would give this ship a review of 5 but for: the entertainment on the World Stage could have been a lot better. In ports of Berlin and St Petersburg they did not even have any entertainment or bring on anything local. They do have 3 other music venues, one Blues, one dueling Pianos and one Rock that are on nightly. The Lido buffet had very good food that they serve you. The dining room had lobster one evening in 2 weeks. Read Less

This was a trip to a bucket list area of the world, and the Nieuw Statendam did not disappoint. The staff were courteous, friendly and obliging (thank you Iman and Izee and others in the main dining room, and stewards Petrus and Joko who made everything work so smoothly for us and for whom nothing was ever too much trouble). I'll not repeat here the many positive comments made by other reviewers, save to say that I am in agreement with most of them. The food was excellent with sufficient variety, and the public areas were amazing. The only thing I would add some constructive criticism about is the level of on board entertainment provided. The musicians were talented, and from what I observed there was a "BB King" group, a classical music group, a rock and roll music group and a couple of pianists who played and sang together. There was also a small support orchestra for the theatre acts. I don't go to theatre performances at home, and avoid them on TV, so I am not in a position to offer any critique. The dancers could have included Michael Flatley and I still wouldn't have bothered attending. Chacun a son gout, but at least they were not the same entertainers every night. The other venues were a different story. Same players, same venue, same music style, same time, Every night, The day time daily activity program needn't have been published. It was invariably a rehash of the day before, and a copy could just as conveniently have been permanently affixed in each cabin. And some (most) of the "activities" being advertised? Friends of Bill W meet. Evening Mass (each evening). Mahjong players meet. Ping Pong players meet. Basketball players meet. Shuffleboard players meet. Bridge players meet. Pickleball players meet (yes, really). Shops are open with amazing deals (yeah right, I cruise to shop). There must have been a lot of deeply religious, card and board game playing sports fanatics on this cruise, although funnily enough I never came across any actual tournaments being conducted. Trivia was also there, And, apart from the bars, (and perhaps the casino for those so inclined) you would be hard pressed to find any other activity with general appeal. Seriously,I appreciate the age demographic of the HAL pool, and the fact that there were few sea days on this particular cruise, but I did expect a little more creativity. The ports of call were wonderful. If the ship excursions on offer matched those I privately arranged (and I believe they did) they would have been very much enjoyed. Read Less

We chose this cruise to see the Baltic Region (St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Stockholm, etc.) and the Norwegian fjords - as well as to celebrate a birthday and our wedding anniversary. This was our third Holland America cruise since December 2018 and the second on the Nieuw Statendam. Overall we've had 16 extended length cruises in the past 8 years (5 Carnival, 2 Princess, 6 Celebrity and 3 Holland America). Celebrity and Holland are our current favorites. A few comments on our recent 21 day Norway and Baltic cruise on the Nieuw Statendam: The pre-cruise Movenpick Hotel suggested by Holland was a good choice - simple like most European hotels (3 Star at most), but very convenient. HA may want to offer something a little more upscale for those wishing something nicer. The ship continues to look great since our cruise last December and the crew do a very good job - Room Stewards, Main Dining Room, Lido and Crow's Nest. They all seem happy and eager to help in any way. The Captain is very personable and engaging. The passengers are another story. We met a few nice couples but most are rude, "pushy" and seem "entitled". I had hoped for a bit more refinement relative to a 24 day Mediterranean cruise we had on the Celebrity Eclipse last September (it was full of folks from New York City - but who were nowhere near as impolite). Not sure if it's the age group that HA attracts, the northern European culture or what. Simply "old and mean". The Signature Suite (SR 7100) was great. I think the design on other ships (without a Murphy bed) will be very nice (it's only two of us). The Pinnacle Grill is a disappointment. Poor service and poor food preparation (the Main Dining Room is much better on both). It seemed to be less than half full for dinner on each of the 21 days. Our "included" dinner was only available on the day of embarkation. We had hoped to save it for either our wedding anniversary or my birthday. We ultimately dined in Tamarind for the birthday - it was nice. The Pinnacle needs a rework. We enjoyed dinner in the Main Dining Room. Good food and very attentive and quick service. The Lido continues to be very hot when full of people (inadequate air conditioning) and the wash stations have exchanged the paper towels for something similar to Klennex. There are always gobs of it lying on the floor. Passengers become frustrated attempting to pull 2 or 3 sheets from the dispensers, which are routinely hanging out of the cabinets. One of the officers standing next to me agreed that it was poor. The silverware in the Lido is consistently dirty (large particles of food); the MDR has very clean place settings. The Hotel Director (large fellow who is very personable / friendly) always seems to be in the gym "pumping iron" or shaking hands. Maybe a little more quality control? The entertainment was disappointingly poor relative to the December 2018 sailing on the NS and the April 2019 sailing on the Koningsdam: Billboard 100 and BB King's were amateurish at best; Rolling Stone Rock Room was lame - a bunch of old fellows that can't play or sing. Lincoln Center was good. The World Stage is very uneven. Not sure why HA spent so much money on it - it is consistently under utilized. HA's "Speakeasy" performance had poor reviews from the fellow passengers. We finally attended half way through the cruise since we like performances, but left after 10 minutes. During the last 4 days of the 21 day cruise, dancers were brought on board to perform "Humanity" and "Stages". Nowhere near as good as on the other two sailings - watchable but uninspired - seemed like a last minute adjustment. We think these type of shows, and level of skill, are very good but need more). If you like performances on moderately sized bigger ships, probably better to stick with Celebrity The dis-embarkations for HA cruise tours were poorly managed. For St. Pete., we were assembled in the World Stage at 6:30 AM and 7:00 AM on the two days. We waited for 45 minutes both days before getting off the ship and then waited another 45 minutes outside the terminal for immigration. HA tried to blame it on the Russian officials. The same on the last day for disembarkation; many passengers were called to proceed to Deck (2 or 3) for offloading. We waited in a line that wrapped from the mid-ship to the rear elevators twice over and stood there for a very long time - with no movement. Because of the early assemblies and the age group, at least half the ship became quite sick. The coughing and sneezing was persistent everywhere. At one point it was so loud in the World Theater that the Excursion Guide halted his presentation for a bit. At no time did HA provide any guidance as to health measures or ask what seemed to be some very ill individuals to either remain in their cabin or seek medical attention. While we are quite athletic and healthy, we eventually became ill during the last few days from others coughing on us. Between cruises, we could not return to the same port in Amsterdam but instead docked in an industrial setting (Elbaweg 10). Bus service into the city was provided. However, upon returning we had to walk through a large dirty warehouse (chairs were set up for those joining the ship for the 14 day Baltic cruise). Very unsafe with fork lifts speeding past and behind passengers. I was nearly run over by a "smart aleck" driver even though I was in the outlined walking zone. He just laughed about it! Read Less

My 19 yr old daughter and I were late additions to a large group of family and friends on a cruise from Amsterdam to the Norwegian fjords. This was our first cruise on HAL and our first in this part of the world. We very much enjoyed our spontaneous vacation. Embarkation was simple, our cabins were ready as soon as we boarded. There are no flashy waterslides or shopping atriums etc - two nice pool areas, one with a retractable roof (very useful in Norway) and a giant movie screen on the upper decks. Clientele was on the older side. Our group was half 40-50ish and half 17-23ish in age and we felt younger than many. Most of us were in balcony cabins or suites on deck 10, which were lovely spaces and provided us gathering room. My daughter and I were in a standard interior cabin on deck 4. It was extremely comfortable - beds were fluffy, TV was large, storage was plentiful, bathroom spacious and nicer than I imagined it would be. We mostly ate in the main dining room for dinner and the Lido cafe for breakfast and lunch. Food was great for all. We did one night at Rudy's Sel de Mer, which was special but probably not worth the upcharge. We enjoyed high tea in the main dining room on a few days :-) There are many evening entertainment venues on the 2nd deck, lots of music in a variety of styles. The biggest downside for us is that our last minute cabin was interior on deck 4 and we could hear it all from there. We played a "guess the song" game which could have developed into something fun with some planning (we would have had to station a few people on the stairs to verify our guesses.) In port, we booked one kayak trip on our own in Flam and bought an OsloPass in Oslo which allowed us many museums and transportation. The one HAL adventure we bought was to climb Pulpit Rock outside Stavenger - it was the number one thing we wanted to do in Norway but could not find an outside vendor who could do it on our timetable. HAL did a great job - it was definitely a disciplined march to make sure we accomplished the goal - but they had buses, guides, and got us back to the ship in time with no stress other than physical trauma from climbing up a mountain. Several of us also went on the "behind the scenes" excursion on our last sea day which was highly interesting. Our main complaint is about itinerary. We have been to Alaska where the "scenic cruising" part is when people are actually watching the scenery. This trip along the fjords involved scenic cruising after leaving port until sunset. We traveled the length of the Sognefjord - the "King of Fjords" and the longest/deepest fjord in Norway twice (once to get to Flam, situated at the end, and once to leave.) We cruised to the end in the middle of the night. We left while everyone was eating dinner and it was dark before we reached the ocean again. I abandoned food et al in order to see the fjord and capture photos. Granted that I will not starve on a cruise but the scenery is supposed to be a highlight. Similarly, the onboard entertainment is not in synch with the dinner seating times in the MDR. The MDR takes too long to make the World Stage shows, you have to leave early. I also think the stage shows were poorly promoted. We are huge fans of Postmodern Jukebox, who performed two nights. The theater wasn't even half full. There's no nightly standard show. Final complaint: Amid the many pieces of paper selling jewelry or future cruises that arrived at our door each day, I completely missed the one saying that we would not be arriving back in the center of Amsterdam where we left. Missed the deadline for the bus back to the departure point and had to pay 50E for a cab. This detail may have warranted a little extra attention. In summary: I would absolutely go again. Read Less

We chose this crew because of the itinerary and we wanted to try Holland America.. Embarkation (Amsterdam) was the best of any cruise we have been on (4 previous cruises). Disembarkation (also Amsterdam) was also the better than any of our previous cruises. Ship is big, new, and beautiful... Great layout and we never felt too crowded. Cabin was spacious with good amount of storage for suitcases and ample closet space. I would say dining was above average but we did not dine at any of the specialty restaurants. We "tried" to attend a few of the shows but never stayed for the duration they were just too boring. Service was outstanding throughout the ship for the duration. Ports were all good but we did not book any excursions through HAL as they were too expensive. We booked through a third party for much less and they were basically the same tours. Shops were somewhat limited but all the staff were friendly. Casino was sufficient (also a great staff) but I would have liked for them to have a Texas hold'em table. Overall a good cruise and we would probably give HAL another try possibly Antarctica. Read Less

Chose this cruise because we wanted to go to Iceland. The itinerary was not disappointing and our veranda cabin was excellent, with more than adequate storage. The ship is new, beautiful, and well laid out (except for the Casino’s proximity to other public venues). My wife fell in Amsterdam (before the cruise) and broke her arm. The HAL crew were extremely accommodating, from embarkation through disembarkation. The entertainment was a mixed bag. The musical venues were outstanding, especially the Lincoln Center and the Rock ‘N Roll. The main stage entertainment was spotty and evidenced what can only be described as budgetary cuts. The food was certainly adequate; however, in the MDR the food was basic. One had to go to the optional venues (at additional expense) for top quality meals. The overall dining room service ranged from mediocre to good. Perhaps this was due to the newness of the ship, which may still have been in a training state. This was especially evident in the MDR. We are currently deciding whether to continue cruising with HAL, as opposed to one of its competitors. Read Less

Chose this cruise because we wanted to go to Iceland. The itinerary was not disappointing and our veranda cabin was excellent, with more than adequate storage. The ship is new, beautiful, and well laid out (except for the Casino’s proximity to other public venues). My wife fell in Amsterdam (before the cruise) and broke her arm. The HAL crew were extremely accommodating, from embarkation through disembarkation. The entertainment was a mixed bag. The musical venues were outstanding, especially the Lincoln Center and the Rock ‘N Roll. The main stage entertainment was spotty and evidenced what can only be described as budgetary cuts. The food was certainly adequate; however, in the MDR the food was basic. One had to go to the optional venues (at additional expense) for top quality meals. The overall dining room service ranged from mediocre to good. Perhaps this was due to the newness of the ship, which may still have been in a training state. This was especially evident in the MDR. We are currently deciding whether to continue cruising with HAL, as opposed to one of its competitors. Read Less

Retired active senior couple desires to leave sunny, humid Florida Summer for two weeks. Have sailed several times on Holland America. This ship and its sister ship Nieu Kolingdon (which we sailed on last December) are HAL newest. About 2,600 passengers...larger than the rest of their fleet. The food, the service and the ships themselves are 5 star. The main shows in the evenings in the main large theater are soso which can be expected on a ship this size. This cruise was about 60% Scandinavian, 30% US/English and 10% Asian with not many children. Vista Suite (4110) was on deck 4 midship and was small but had great storage and a first class cabin attendant. We ate in 2 specialty restaurants ($35pp) (Pinnacle-steak and Calenture-Italian) and came to the conclusion that the food in the main dining room was as good if not better. The made to order pizza and ceasar salads in the New York Deli for lunch are terrific. The highlight for us were the daily classical concerts in the Lincoln Center which consisted of a talented ensemble of piano, cello, base and 2 violins. They also had a blues band in the BBK Room and a R & R band in the Rolling Stone Room which were OK. A hint on the drinks. Different bars have different Happy Hour times which gives you a cocktail at regular price and a second for $2.00 more. Another nice thing about HAL is that you can buy a 5th of vodka or others for about $40 bucks for your cabin which lets you have a nip on the veranda before the evening festivities. Excursions: Bergen was the best. The other tours were soso. I guess after you see a few fiords and cute little colored cottages it becomes redundant. The truth be known,,,,our numerous national parks in the good old USA are the truly spectacular sights! Read Less

This was a 10-day cruise that they stretched into 20 days. They lure you in with pictures of polar bears and puffins and whales. Not one single person on the ship saw any of those animals. Fortunately, most of the excursions were already booked by the time I got on board so I missed out on paying $180 and $200 for excursions to NOT see polar bears and puffins and whales. There were many, many sea days with absolutely nothing to do.... except hit the casino. I mean, they had the usual trivia and bingo and towel folding demos, but no lectures to tell us about the different places we were to visit, except talks about the excursions. It was a long, long trip. There were four stops in Iceland. There are not four things to see in all of Iceland, but they managed to find four ports where people could get off and not see puffins or whales. The stop at Inverness, Scotland was wonderful. Grass and flowers and trees with leaves on them. And as a bonus there were deep-water oil platforms parked in the harbor right outside our cabin. Having been an engineer in a previous life I think those platforms are the most beautiful man-made thing on the face of the earth. They were there to be disassembled, but they were still fully intact and beautiful at night all light up. This was my 23rd cruise and my room (3366) is the best room I've ever had. It was a lanai room (not a balcony) and so convenient. I could walk right out the sliding glass doors on to the promenade deck and walk all around the ship. From now on any cruise I take I will look for these lanai rooms. I've always said I've never had a bad meal on a ship, but this time some of the entrees were a little dry. As if they had been sitting under a heat lamp for too long. Bonus: The performances in the Lincoln Center Stage room were worth the price of the cruise. Read Less

Not everything about this cruise was abjectly awful. The food and service in Pinnacle Grill was good. Annette, who led the America's Test Kitchen demos, was very good. The itinerary was fairly rare. But a lot of stuff went wrong. Aside from Pinnacle Grill, the food was fit for a King. As in "Here King! Here boy! Good boy!" Food is subjective but food temperature and consistency are not. And they couldn't get the basics right on temperature and consistency. In eight dining room appearances, my wife never got what she ordered on the first try once. The Lanai room was clean, but the good points stopped there. The Lanai door did not work and was propped open or closed with wood. We could not control the stateroom temperature. This could not be fixed. The toilet clogged frequently. Passenger internet was knocked out for a week in/around Spitsbergen. Some internet worked of course, as the daily mini-newspapers kept appearing, just not for pax. A $50 credit was belatedly offered...a decent deal for those who bought the cheaper packages, but cold comfort to those who bought the more expensive/multi-device ones. The itinerary was clumsy, with too little time in too many ports. Putting Heimaey on the list of ports was ridiculous: at the best of times, the ship cannot approach the shallow harbour so it's a 35-minute tender ride to shore. These were not the best of times: It was not safe to put the tenders out so we skipped it, burning a day we could have been elsewhere. This was supposed to be an EXC cruise and after reading about the biologists and geologists brought on for the Southerly cruises we expected a treat. Instead our "expert" was a drowsy Aussie who had never been to this part of the world. His "expertise" was reading us Wikipedia. Easy enough to skip his talks, but his mumblings were blared on the outside decks, likely scaring away what little wildlife there was. They ran out of 2/3 of the wines in our package (Cellar #2). Servers eager/kind but hopelessly overworked The thermal package bought pre cruise was a grimy hot tub, grimy sauna, and six heated loungers. Layout unsuitable for this wheelchair user. Guest Services to their credit cheerfully gave Day 1 refund. We would only travel HAL again if, factoring in price, it was still a good deal after factoring in the $39pp it costs to eat in Pinnacle Grill nightly in a full balcony with working balcony door. The auto-itinerary says we were on a 34 day cruise but it was 20 days only, disembarking Aug 4. Mostly Spitsbergen and Iceland, with a stop in Norway Proper and Scotland bookending. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of its unique itinerary which went to Svalbard and then south to Iceland. We booked the original cruise which was to be on the Prinsendam, but this was changed to the Rotterdam. We were therefore on a cruise that was designed for a smaller ship and I think that detracted from the experience as we did not seem to get as close to the glaciers and polar ice cap as the smaller ship would. As a result we saw very little wildlife compared to the same cruise in previous years. The crew were good and the outside cabin was roomy, But I may as well have had an inside cabin because the windows were really dirty. In fact, for a cruise that 'featured' so much scenic cruising the windows were disgustingly dirty - particularly in the main dining room and lounge areas. At least some attention there would make it look like someone cared. The food in the MDR was good to very good and the wait staff were very attentive and helpful. We ate at one of the speciality restaurants and whilst this was very good, would not be value for money other than for the occasional treat. The entertainment was very hit and miss. Enjoyed the female singer and the modern dance troupe, but the rest of it was just strange. An Australian singer/guitarist playing old American country music in a fake American accent was weird. Post Modern Jukebox band and singers were great, but some modern music is really good and shouldn't be retro'd into big band music. The holographic dancer and video segways to the franchise owner made it just look cheap. The entertainment timing was also odd. The movies clashed with the stage shows and it was really difficult to get to dinner, movie and show in one night. The day time entertainment usually consisted of someone trying to sell you something. A matinee movie would have been great. And talking of movies - they were repeating them on a 20 day cruise! Again, very cheap. Would have thought they may have packed some more. The American Test Kitchen was great. Annette was an excellent presenter and I really enjoyed her sessions. We paid a lot of money for this cruise because we booked early to get a place on this unique itinerary on a small ship. It was therefore a bit galling to hear about how cheaply this cruise was discounted after the change of ship. I feel pretty ripped off that having paid this money we still couldn't look out a clean window. This was our first cruise on HAL. Can't imagine coming back to it unless things improve. The feature was the itinerary, but the ship just met (average) expectations. It was OK but certainly no wow factor, and not enough to make me recommend it to my friends. Read Less

I chose this cruise to go to Svalbard, pure and simple. Was not disappointed. Been to Iceland a couple of times before but still found things to see. Ship board life was fine by me. Did a few shore excursions organized by Holland, all OK but a tad expensive I thought. I deliberately sail on smaller ships where I can and Rotterdam is about as large as I want to go. Still had a feeling of smallness about it, and able to meet others passengers several times, creating a more intimate feel. My biggest upset, while not Hollands fault but something I will try and check on in any future sailings, was the arrival of a behemoth carrying 4500 passengers in the same small ports as us. 3 times. Imagine our 1400 passengers and 4500 off the other ship arriving in a port with a population of about 2000 people. Most unpleasant for me who lives in a small town with a total population less than the mob on the Preziosa. I like to feel a ship move and it took a storm with wild seas to make this happen. It appears a very stable ship. Cant have been too bad as we have just booked a cruise on a sister ship, this time to go to the bottom of the world. The review here by cancruise2 indicates to me he/she would be better of staying at home. One small complaint. I paid extra to have an ocean view. It is pointless to do this if you cant see through the dirty window. Read Less

In the end we got more than we paid for. They slashed the rates because they sold the Prinsendam and replaced her with the bigger Rotterdam at unbelievable rates for this great itinerary covering the north coast of Svlbard (and btw. about 10K km). So this was great. What was not great was that the Rotterdam continued her bad reputation für port changes / cancellations. Even before we sailed, they cancelled Edinburgh for Invergordon. "Port reasons" - no compensation not even the port charges. Then they cancelled Haemey - a discussable decision - but you do not want to discuss this with the captain after having read the reviews here and the threat of applying maritime law. Captain was on the tough side - he left 3 ladies in Reykjavik because they were 30mins late - not to announce two days later on short notice (in the morning) in Invergordon that we would leave 30 mins earlier…. But quod liced Jovi, non licet bovi.... Food average. Excellent cheese and cold cuts, very good salads with fresh broiled tuna in the Lido. Pool grill run out of the good HAL fries after a week. Hot dogs good, hamburgers not. Pizza ok. MDR not so good, excellent front desk, but arrogant sommeliers, other service good, food average - surf and turf for Gala night - badly overcooked. No fresh juices on board. Mocktails removed from menu, but still available. Great experience in the Explorations Cafe - thank you so much for coffee & brownies! Entertainment partly disgusting (Michelle Montouri and her bad, bad vulgar "jokes"), the piano player Patrick singing about mouth and hand jobs with a kid sitting around his piano (she was 12 years or younger, because she had to wear her security bracelet) - unbelievable.) The EXC guide was a bad joke - just reciting Wikipedia word by word and other websites word by word. Putting draaaaamaaaa iiiin everyyyything heee saaaaid iiin aaa deeeeep voice. Aaaaanddd nature alwayyyyss winns. Much better the nice Australian singer and the saxophone player from Holland and the PMJ. And all the nice Dutch onboard - we loved dutch trivia!! Very (!!!) nice crowd in general. Would definitively cruise with all of you again :-) Excursions overpriced, EXC-Team acting like local police in Ny-Alesund - but you did not want to mess with them - you know the captain…. Ship in general not well maintained. Cracked windows in the MDR. So no five star experience as promised - but we never expected that from a mainstream cruise line - for a very nice rate. So: the value for money - still excellent. And: dresscodes have been lifted finally. Formal night: slacks and collared shirt (no jacket, no tie required for men) matched the actual code (so we dressed accordingly) - but even T-shirts and jeans and - that was our favourite - : a tracksuit with polo shirt and sneakers (he) and a t-shirt and very tight and very short shorts (she, showing her lower back tattoo) was admitted - and sat next to a table in black tie… We loved this - as we are on holidays - Live and let live. Baseline: for this price we would come back. Read Less

This was our first cruise ever and we didn’t quite know what to expect. We chose it because we wanted to reach beyond the Arctic Circle and into the Midnight Sun, and had a limited time availability. We stayed into a Neptune Suite - Mozart deck, Aft corner. We absolutely loved the suite. Top of the line, modern and elegant dual sink bath with oversized shower, all in travertine. Ultra large screen TV, and lovely wrap around balcony. King bed was best ever. The personnel was without reproche. All were just trying to go beyond the call of duty. We went to the restaurants - Tamarind was our favorite, with the Mango Posset desert being a killer. Rudy’s is also very good. Great atmosphere. Sophisticated food. The Orange Club was a very convenient way to have a more intimate environment for dining, and Neptune Lounge handy and well stuffed. The World State venue is just extraordinary. Music program onboard video was diverse and we could find our preferred tunes with Hyperion Knight piano, Dual piano performance, blues and rock bands. Shore trips - did do the job. We enjoyed them and used them to the fullest. Read Less

As a frequent, but young cruiser, I've traveled on many different cruise lines, including NCL, Royal Caribbean, MSC, and Carnival. This was also my third cruise on Holland, the other two being on the Maasdam and the Statendam (the Nieuw Statendam's predecessor). Out of all the cruises I've been on, this ship by far had the most delicious food, both at the buffet and the main dining room. My previous experiences on Holland America were certainly not as great as this cruise was; and the level of service, food, and entertainment were definitely much better. Holland definitely amped up their game with the Nieuw Statendam! The buffet was my favorite part of the ship. I loved that the crew served the food to you at the buffet, rather than people touching food with their fingers and spreading germs all over the place. Not to mention that the food variety was terrific and literally almost everything tasted good. Oh my goodness - the deserts tempted me so much!!! I couldn't resist them; in fact, I would carry three of them to my table everyday. Additionally, you could get fresh salads prepared personally for you, made to order stir-fry at the Asian section, and burgers and hot dogs located near by (outside) the buffet. Also, located near the buffet, one flight up, was the pizza and deli place, where you could get made to order pizza and sandwiches. Service in the dining room as well as selection of food choices were excellent. The staff were also very accommodating, allowing my sister who has special dietary restrictions to order things not necessarily on the menu and preparing her food the way she needed it to be. Entertainment was great as well. There was a large variety of entertainment options nightly, including special rooms dedicated to different genres of music that rotated, as well as main theater shows that were different every night. From comedy shows, magicians, and production shows, every show was great! The show we especially enjoyed was a production show that utilized the large LED screens that surrounded the theater. It blowed our minds. I will say, I would not recommend this cruise line for young kids, but for teens and above, it is awesome! (I myself am in my late teens). There's no slides, arcades, or fun activities of that sort, although there is table tennis! I would suggest bringing a nice book to keep busy during sea days. And the ship is designed perfectly for relaxing by the pool: the Lido deck is full of comfy lounge chairs, with some actually being beds! Overall, I would highly recommend the Nieuw Statendam, and I hope to come back on it one day! Read Less