We were very excited to once again travel on HAL. It had been a few years so were really looking forward to stopping off a several ports in NZ as well as Hobart and Melbourne. Boarding in Auckland was a breeze, everything was well planned and executed by port staff. It was all downhill from there. The weather was on most days terrible but that is what can happen in summer in NZ so we were ...
I'm not normally someone to complain and I generally try to approach things with empathy but I was so disappointed by this cruise.
First of all, we booked my parents (aged 65-70) an accessibility room which was not at all accessible. The cruise line refused any type of compensation even though one of the staff suggested they fight for it. At 6'5 My father couldn't even fit on the bed and my ...
I always tell people to take reviews with a grain of salt - some people are just complainers ... and some see everything with rose-colored glasses. But when the same complaints come up again and again, do not ignore the warnings. The negative comments regarding this ship - are accurate.
1. Noordam is OLD, tired, and worn out. It deserves a major overhaul. Not only is the furniture, art, ...
Couple 60s, 26 cruises with various cruiselines worldwide.
This 10/12/23 cruise was our 3rd HAL cruise and our first since mid 2019. Previously we cruised on the old Statendam and in 2019, Maasdam. Both were excellent, entertaining, enriching, educational overall fabulous cruises.
We had such high hopes for returning to HAL on the Noordam December 10 2023 round trip Sydney-NZ-Sydney cruise. ...
Selected this cruise to celebrate my wife's retirement. She wanted to sail to/through French Polynesia. First HA cruise. Despite the warnings about HA appealing to an older demographic (average age is 70), that has not been a problem at all. But after many cruises on Princess & Celebrity, the level of service particularly in the restaurant has been disappointing. The menu descriptions bear no ...
We are New Zealanders and chose this cruise as it left from Auckland and we had cruise credits to utilise. We have travelled on several cruise lines and this was our first Holland America cruise and our last.
Embarkation was at 2.40 pm and with the Verifly app was very quick we were on the ship in 15 minutes. A Negative Pre boarding COVID test was a requirement.
Our first impressions of ...
It took over an hour embarking and we were there when only a few people were waiting. The way of doing things in general appeared much slower than other cruise ships we have been on. The first feed days of the cruise during the day there was always a long line for guest services counter. The guest were mainly older Americans. The entertainment on the ship was very poor, some acts did repeats on ...
We (my wife and I, (a retired couple) chose this cruise as there was good deal on offer including 2 nights in Singapore and return flights (we live in Sydney). We were also keen to try Holland America.
The ship was a bit smaller than we are used to with limited entertainment options. The food in the main dining room and Lido was average at best. We ate in the Pinnacle twice and it was excellent ...
I am in the middle of a 67 day HAL cruise from the states all around Australia. This is a bucket list cruise, until HAL put holes in my bucket. No on-board passengers while sailing from the states were allowed to book any excursions in future ports of AU until we reached Sydney. Meanwhile close to 1500 passengers boarding in Sydney had been booking excursions from home, resulting in all good ...
I am a 5 star Mariner and have more than 20 cruises on Holland America This cruise was the pits and our last on Hal.There were Minimal activities or lectures on board .The standard of the food was dismal compare to the cruise I did on the Noordam three years ago which I rated 10 -this Cruise I would rate a 1.The standard of the entertainment was dismal except for the on-board Singers and ...