Holland America Line Panama Canal & Central America Cruise Reviews

About Us: We are 60 and recently retired. This was our 28th cruise but only our 2nd on Holland America. We sailed with them to Alaska in 2008 and had a marvelous time. Pros: The ship was immaculate. Embarkation and debarkation were effortless. Cabin was ready at 12:30. Balcony cabin was clean, well designed and the shower was fantastic. Loved the chairs on the balcony. Anytime dining ...

Ship is beautiful,the service was outstanding! The food was excellent in all areas of the ship!! Smoking in the casino was disgusting it reaked into the shops! Music was not appropriate for holland america crowd! Bb king and rolling stones lounge was so loud that it was impossible to have a conversation with anyone! When at sea there was terrible itinerary. Coloring for adults was the big deal ...

We had a great time on our Nine night cruise On board Rotterdam Embarkation was smooth We got to Port Everglades at 12:20 And we did request wheelchair assistance prior to embarkation, which was very great and We went through the check in process and boarding. The ship was a breeze. The ports were amazing. We did have two days and we did see Aruba Bonnie grand Turk and half Moon cay But the food ...

Itinerary, ports of call; Depart Fort Lauderdale Half Moon Cay, Private Island, Bahamas Williamstad, Curacao Cartagena, Columbia Panama Canal Colon, Panama Puerto Limon, Costa Rica Georgetown, Cayman Islands. Arrive Fort Lauderdale The ship We found the embarkation and disembarkation very slick and efficient. My favourite lounge was the Explorer’s Crow’s nest ...

We chose this cruise primarily for the Panama canal. Pre cruise We flew from London Heathrow into Miami the evening before. Holland America booked the transfers from Miami to our Fort Lauderdale hotel, the hotel itself and the transfers to the ship the following day, all of which worked very smoothly, with no significant waiting around for any service. Holland America representatives were on ...

Super easy to book and do your homework with their easy Holland America website! We booked based on a new ship and because of the ports and itinerary. They met/exceeded expectations! The docking disembarkation, whether walk-off or tender, was flawless! Its not set up to attract a family with young kids (no slides or bumper cars, etc.), and that's good if you need a break from that. I'd say ...

Easiest embarking ever. We were on board by 11:30 am sitting at the Lido having lunch. Disembark was super quick and easy thanks to the face scanning technology at the Ft Lauderdale cruise port. This was our 7th cruise on an HAL ship, out of 57 total cruises ( other lines mostly Celebrity, RCL, Oceania). Food varied from being poor to fair in the Lido, Deck 9, to very good in the Main ...

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 ...