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 ...
ITINERARY is the reason to pick Holland America Line. However, we both came home sneezing and coughing because of the airco in the cabin that is placed right over the bed and cannot be shut off.
This was also the case two years ago when we also sailed with Zuiderdam but we figured this major problem would have been solved after the ship had been refurbished. But NO. We were certainly not the ...
I joined this HAL-branded cruise for 2 reasons. Firstly, to sightsee and enjoy the Norwegian Fjords and its culture. I am happy to achieve what I wish for and rated it a 9 out of 10.
Secondly, the HAL experience onboard Nieuw Statendam (prior, I cruised with Zuiderdam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Koningsdam). This is the worst programming/events I encountered. The quality of the World Stage ...
If your primary interest in cruising is to make short visits to a variety of sites without having to unpack or worry about checking in/out, arrange transport between cities, etc. , then the Nieuw Statendam is the ship for you. If you also see cruising to foreign lands as an opportunity to learn through onboard lectures and enjoy yourself, then this is not the ship for you. We did a 14-day cruise ...
The destination and also wanted to see how good the silver line sailing was,
first day entering the cabin we were allocated the toilets were not properly cleaned.
We had to buy water which is a bare minimum when you see the cost.Even in remote places in India and Peru hotels provide bottled water for health reasons.No here it cost $27 for 6 litres of water.
The entertainment was so sad ...
We choose this cruise because it was a transatlantic combined with the Baltic ports, which we wanted to see, besides we were twice before in the Zuiderdam and had a fantastic time with great music and entertainment.
This time in 26 days we had music at the Ocean Bar twice, one great show with Ikos Lakis and his Saxsophon which was as always magnificent. The rest of the shows were comedians ...
Ship:
HAL's flagship suppose to be stunning, but I agree with previous reviews which mentioned "...more of the Carnival Ship's ambiance rather than a true HAL".
Dining:
Complimentary dining options were Lido Market Place, formal dining room, poolside New York Pizza, poolside Dive In fast food, or room service.
Dining room seatings were always instant availability despite not having ...
To start with we were very happy with the overall feel and amenities of the ship. Staff outstanding as usual and the layout and shows are great. The cooking shows were the best! The entertainment is better than any of the other cruise ships from HAL we have been on.
When we arrived we got comfortable in our cabin (4075.) When you book make sure you aren't anywhere near this cabin. After the ...
We chose this Baltic cruise because we liked the 10 day itinerary, with only 2 sea days and starting and ending in Copenhagen.
We thought our balcony room was in excellent condition, with fresh paint, nice bedding and carpeting and a sofa bed in good condition. In the public areas everything had been redone with blue and teal furnishings, and it all looked nice. The ship is older with not a ...
Overall an excellent ship, great service, entertainment (B.B. King!), and the food was pretty good. Loved that a cruise director wasn’t featured, the selling was minimum, and the public announcements were few. The itinerary was wonderful.
The smoking area on the Lido deck and the casino need to be looked at. It’s too much and I am a smoker. The Flan RR excursion was poorly organized. The ...