Holland America Line New York (Manhattan) Cruise Reviews

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. We have been cruising for 30 years but never sailed on HAL. And, we won't again. Here's why: The boarding process in NY was chaotic and took about 2 hours. Not sure if it was the HAL staff or NY port problems because we've never left from NY before. Once onboard, we noticed that the entire ship was very "tired and outdated". ...

Older ship badly in need of an overhaul and updating. The loading area was the start of problems. Poorly organized when we were one of the last groups to board. Aggressive staff trying to militarize getting boarding passes.on board there is absolutely nothing they do not charge for. On previous cruises (Oceania)at least we had free water. Not here $3.25 per bottle. Dining fair service but diner ...

This cruise started badly with embarkation delays exceeding five hours for some passengers. HAL did not provide any satisfactory explanation for the delay, the did not provide any food and they did not apologize. Signs of cost-cutting are everywhere. What used to be included is now charged for or unavailable altogether. Food service is perfectly adequate but not special. Dining room waiters use ...

Embarkation at Manhattan was fairly swift, although the lines were long the staff were efficient and courteous. This was the first time on Hal and we were pleasantly surprised at the spacious cabins and the amount of hanging space ( never ones to travel light). Lunch at the Lido was standard and plentiful but there were far less staff than we were used to on other cruise lines. In Hal,s favour ...

It seems to be the consensus of most fellow cruisers I talked with that Holland America didn't measure up to expectations this time. EMBARKATION. Our embarkation was virtually painless as we parked our car at the terminal and started the registration process. We moved quickly and had just had my husband's picture taken when the power went out. (We joked that he had broken the camera.) The crisis ...

Let me start by saying this was my first cruise. My girlfriend came with me and she has cruised on every line out here and cruised about 15 times. My expectations are what she had described to me from the performance of Royal Caribbean and Carnival. AT THE PORT IN NEW YORK Everything went smoothly until we got to the check in desk. I had pre printed my boarding pass about 1 week ahead of time ...

If you are looking for a happening lively ship - Noordam is not it. don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous ship - just the clientele is on the older side - 70's+. You find yourself walking around the ship ... very slowly - great to destress in the beginning, but after walking at snail's pace for days on end your stress levels begin to rise substantially. Never seen so many scooters on a ship - they ...

Embarkation - We arrived quite late, but registration was very smooth, something we heartily appreciated as my wife and I were traveling with our 4 young children. Unfortunately, some of our suitcases were covered in mud when they arrived at the cabin. Public Rooms - Plenty on board, and generally tastefully decorated. The public swimming area has a retractable roof, which comes in handy the ...