We purchased a Neptune suite in the rear corner, so we had good all-round views and a large veranda. The only thing that was good about this expensive cruise were the workers on board. Very good people.
Cabin - Large but many issues listed below.
Food - Good at start but got worse over the trip. The specialty restaurants were much better than the public ones.
Entertainment - Similar all ...
I have purposely allowed some time to pass before writing this review.
THE SHIP AND STAFF
The review really concerns an apparently struggling cruise line, an aged ship, and a wonderful itinerary. The captain jokingly said it best when after it was mentioned the ship was 23 years old, a passenger asked him what was the effective service age of such a ship. He replied 22 years.
The ship ...
Initially, we chose this 74-day cruise based solely on the “Grand Voyage” itinerary. The ports-of-call for the cruise, most of the excursions we took, and the passengers & locals we met were great fun & exciting. However, Holland America’s cruise ship (the Volendam) was awful - and based on that we would never want to cruise w/ Holland America again or recommend the cruise line to anyone. We ...
The loves lost on HAL.
Absolutely dissatisfied and disappointed with HALs commitment to running their operations aground.
Understaffed and overworked.
This ship was severely understaffed and as a result every aspect of operations was negatively affected. Im not sure if the excuses outnumbered the complaints but I did speak to a 4 star mariner who seriously considered disembarking mid ...
I originally selected a Baltic cruise 2 1/2 years ago. Covid prevented us from taking it in 2021. So, I did some research and selected the 10-night Panama Canal cruise with the Volendam. I am so glad I did!
First of all, the Volendam was beautiful! It has had a very nice refresh. The new carpets in different venues were beautiful. Everyone was so friendly. It also seemed to have more ...
My wife wanted to go to the Panama Canal so we booked what we thought would fit us best. Check In was great. Cabin was nice except we where on deck 8 aft under the Lido deck aft pool area. Everytime someone moved a deck chair or lounger you heard it. Our room stewards were great. The food at the Lido Market which was the buffet was disappointing. Probably the worst cruise buffets we've ever had. ...
This was a good itinerary, combining two cruises to sail through the Panama Canal, see the west coast of South America, round Cape Horn and visit the Falkland Islands before ending in Buenos Aires. I hadn’t sailed with Holland America before, but they came highly recommended by several friends so I was expecting it to be at least on a par, or better than, Celebrity. Sadly not so. Veteran HAL ...
We choose this cruise for the itinerary. We had previously been on the Oosterdam and like this size ship. One thing to know about South America, is that most of the ports are industrial ports and require a shuttle to the cruise port entrance for any independent tours and in Buenos Aires, all passengers including those on Holland America Tours. Just keep this in mind when choosing the starting ...
My wife and I wanted to go thru the Panama Panel, and see Macho Picchu, which this cruise covered nicely. Missed the political upheaval in Peru by about 2 wks, so lucky there. Traveling to 3rd world countries, Ecuador and Peru, is always a worry, so we had purchased a Medjet membership for the voyage, plus the optional extraction for political upheaval. Fortunately we didn't have to use, but ...
We had planned this trip for several months then, the night before we were to leave, COVID started shut everything down(1999). We had been waiting for this trip to reappear on Holland's schedule, we were very excited that it was finally happening! (Nov. 19, 2022). We had cruised with Holland 3 previous times and had been satisfied with our trips.
Let me begin by saying the crew/staff were for ...