After a very rocky embarkment in Buenos Aires, our cruise around South America on the Oosterdam was excellent. The principal reason for this was the extraordinary service provided by the Oosterdam crew and service personnel. Our every need was attended to and in many ways above and beyond all expectations. One of us was traveling with a mobility scooter rented from Holland America's vendor, ...
We were on the ill-fated cruise which we boarded in Buenos Aires on March 7th, before the Coronavirus pandemic really began, but because we knew of its existence, extra care was taken to ensure our safety. Unfortunately, unknown to us all the coronavirus was aboard and spreading amongst us. When the cruise was terminated on March 15th, every effort was made to get us home safely. Our Captain: Ane ...
We chose this cruise because of the itinerary to the Antarctic. We flew down to Buenos Aires a day early so we could enjoy a little of the city before.
Embarkation was fairly smooth - we arrived early and our luggage was taken right away and we checked in. By about 11:30 we were on the ship and went straight to our room. It was ready. We then went to the MDR to enjoy a lovely lunch - we ...
Chose this cruise on a whim, as we saw an advertisement from a consolidator, contacted our agent to see what she could do, and then jumped. It gave me bragging rights, whatever that means, to say I was on all seven continents before I turned 70. (Okay, I didn't 'touch' Antarctica, but it touched me, so close enough.) We also had kids who had other plans for Christmas so we were free to travel. We ...
I wanted to write this review because I saw a number of poor ratings for Holland America and since we had a good experience, I thought it would be fair to write a good one. This was our first cruise with HAL and we were on the Zaandam. This is a beautiful ship with a musical theme. We liked the baroque organ. We ran into two storms on the Pacific Ocean with 6.5 meter waves and the Captain changed ...
We were keen to visit Antarctica but did not cherish the idea of being tossed around in the Drake passage aboard a small vessel. We therefore chose HAL Zaandam although it did mean no setting foot on Antarctica.
It was the best decision that we made and right from the word go, the cruise was just great. The sights, especially during the 4 days in Antarctica were unforgettable. Living on board ...
I have never written a review related to my vacations, Be it cruises, or stays at hotels, etc. I have read reviews though, and found that in most cases they never represent experiences as accurately as they most likely unfolded. Especially the cruise vacations. One must keep in mind that a review is based on the characteristics of the reviewer influenced by their values, formal and informal ...
This cruise was given to us from our Son as a Christmas gift. We loved every minute of the cruise and after many, many cruises had nothing but praise for the entire staff. We stayed in Buenos Aires at the Mine Boutique hotel before the trip for 3 days and were treated like Royalty there also. Once onboard, the easier ever entry to a ship ever, we were amazed at the luxury of our Vista Suite. ...
This was the last cruise of the season from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, and then continued on to San Diego for me and to Vancouver for many others.
If you go to the community pages for Holland America and search for my blog, you should be able to read a rather in depth review of the Zaandam.
The Zaandam, which is now 16, is a great sized ship for this itinarary. We had about 1300 guests ...
My wife and I began our cruise in Buenos Aires on January 10, 2016; we are four star Mariners, and this cruise is our 14th on this line. Embarkation went smoothly; our stateroom was ready for us right away, and the welcoming lunch was available immediately. We had been in Buenos Aires for several days before boarding, so we were rested and eager to enjoy this "bucket list" cruise! We were ...