We were on a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on Holland's Nieuw Statendam from Feb. 4- 11. We loved the ship and were to have stops in Half Moon Cay (loved it), Ocho Rios, Jamaica (got cancelled due to damage of a Carnival Ship in their pier), and re routed to Montego Bay, Jamaica (didn't care for it), Grand Cayman ( got cancelled due to a severe storm that hit it before we got there), and finally ...
The ship was clean and beautiful, everything seemed to be working, and the service was absolutely fabulous. The Eurodam is a little older now, but still very nice. On service, standouts were our cabin steward who helped our disabled mother very much in her suite, the management in the Tamarind, who went above and beyond, and the disembarkation help we received because we were traveling with a ...
We took this cruise as a "back-to-back" cruise with a 15 Day Panama Canal cruise on the same ship. We changed cabins from aft port hole to aft interior. This was to try out these types of cabins, and see what the experience is like without a balcony of our own - and honestly, to see if these far less expensive cabins would serve us as well as the balcony / suite cabins. We found that the two ...
I am an avid cruiser. I cruised Holland in 2007. After this sailing, I felt that it was for an older crowd and I wanted to go on cruises that were for families. Since then, I sailed with Norwegian, Princess Royal and Carnival.
The crew on the Rotterdam were very friendly and accommodating.
The food was very good.(we enjoyed the lido, dive in and the New York deli)
The music clubs were ...
My wife and I have sailed on about 25 cruises over the past 20 years, but never on Holland America Line, so this was a new cruise for us in many ways. Overall, the 7-day cruise from Port Everglades was very good, not outstanding, and I will provide our thoughts of the pros and cons. First, we elected an obstructed view balcony cabin on the 4th floor, and the view was indeed obstructed by the ...
Weakest link in our cruise has been the excursions, not as described, bus broke down in Costa Rica w a 2 hr delay. Tour Cartagena Columbia listed as 3.5 hrs lasted over 4.5 hours w no food or cafe stops available. Onboard bars running out of my favorite beer and 12oz waters is disappointing. Despite purchasing Have It All package my account has been charged incorrectly for drinks several times. ...
HAL does the Panama Canal very well. The day before the transit, there were presentations on the history and the building of canals in general, and the Panama Canal specifically. The day of transit, all ship schedules were adjusted for the transit. All deck areas were opened for people to view the locks, special foods (Panama Rolls, etc) were made and served on deck areas. The cruise ...
Embarkation:
We chose to leave our car at “Park and Go” and it was a great decision. Quick and easy transit to the ship and a very short line and short wait to get on board.
Ship’s Overall Appearance:
No complaints, but not quite as “elegant” as the HAL ships of 25 years ago. Not a lot of “glitz” which to us was a good thing. Adult oriented with no water slides or kids parks.
Our ...
This is my 12th cruise and was excited to cruise Holland America as we had heard and read positive things.
Ship: Average decor. The ship interior is very dark except in the crows nest.
Cabin was nice with plenty of storage. Cabin stewards were excellent.
I don't know much about stabilization, but this ship had a lot of movement. At night it felt like someone was jumping on the bed ...
My first cruise 23 years ago was with Holland America and I fell in love with cruising. The staff on Holland America back then was out of this world! Dining was elegant and all the waiters lined up in tuxes as you entered the dining room. Everyone dressed elegantly for dinner, and as you left the dining room they handed out thin slices of ginger to cleanes your palete. At the pool they had a ...