OK, right. This is my first ever in depth review of a cruise ship experience.
Bit of back-story starting with a bit of a confession. We’re a married couple from London, and admittedly not particularly well-seasoned cruisers. This, on Holland America Line (HAL) is only our third such adventure and the one with most stops / fewest sea days. We love sea days.
Our first cruise was a ...
Our experience on the Nieuw Statendam was generally good, but the cost-cutting by Carnival Corporate has proved to diminish the HAL brand. HAL caters to an older and likely more affluent clientele who, like us, are repeat customers with expectations that HAL will provide that added something that makes us, as adults, want to return again.
We are 4-star Mariners as of this cruise; our 12th on ...
We have chosen this cruise because of the attractive destinations in Norway a country which we both my wife and myself had never visited before. We were fascinated about the landscapes in this country.
Specially kind and service oriented was the stateroom staff Sugeng and Albert as well as the service staff in the restaurants. Holland America Line can be more than proud of this staff.
The ...
First time on HAL but have cruised with Celebrity, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian in the past. We are both ~60 and were in the youngest 10% of the passengers in my estimation.
This cruise itinerary was great for introducing us to the Nordic countries. The length was appropriate and the choice of cities what we wanted. The only improvement in that area would be to drop Kiel and ...
Chose this Holland Cruise on their Rotterdam Ship because it fit well with our schedule and went to places we wanted to see. In total, it was a three week cruise.
Have been on Holland Cruises before for their Panama Canal cruise, so we knew what to expect since all Holland Cruises are similar. Food OK but a little boring after the first week. Entertainment OK but each week the same. But the ...
Out of maybe twenty cruises, this was probably our favorite. A new ship, a route we've wanted to do for three years, and good weather.
We booked through HAL this time. No big box rebate, but the PCC knew all about HAL and always answered the phone after a few rings. We booked the cheapest veranda and then signed up for Club Orange, which allowed us to move to a V category with a bigger ...
Choose the cruise for the Itinerary. That was great. Ship was overall good to great. The dining room and Lido service was super as was the Tamarind Bar and Restaurant. Some of the shore tours were good, most were so so or worse!!! But the absolute worst was the "Premium 24/7" internet!!!!!!!!! Out for days, if not hours. When it was working, slow to non-existent. But again, the real issue is the ...
When researching possible summer cruises, this 45 day itinerary (3 back to back segments) seemed very interesting. We had sailed the Nieuw Statendam on two previous cruises (21 and 14 days) in 2018 and 2019 and had enjoyed the ship.
Overall, we have sailed Holland's Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam for 115 days total and are considered "4 star" guests (Holland's rating system).
We had not ...
Tuesday, August 2 – fly to Boston
We left the house a little after 4:00 AM to meet our friends at their house a half-hour away (but on the way to the airport). We parked our car, transferred our luggage, and off to the airport we raced! We arrived at 5:20 and our friend dropped us off (with all the luggage) at the terminal and he went to park the car. A very helpful American employee helped get ...
This was a cruise without any positiv feelings for the costumers.
With a cruise director Thalling who found himself to! impotant...
Captain Timmers was oke.
Food was very good, ship new and clean, stewards very friendly as always.
This was the better part of this "nothing cruise"
Bad Covid prevention, and off course a hugh Covid outbreak again, like more cruises before!
No ...