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 experience on the Nieuw Amsterdad was far from what was advertised. I did not find the dining to be top notch. Pinnicle was very overrated. I tried the porkchop and needed a chainsaw to cut it. My wife tried the Hallibut and it was so dry you could use it as an ink blotter. The main dining room was mediocre at best.
We were at sea 11 days of our 15 day cruise because 4 ports were ...
I am incredibly disappointed, frustrated and feel ripped off that I paid full price for a Holland America Cruise, that did not cater to my age group, and had so many port stops cancelled. On top of this, the Shore Excursions advertised by Holland America on the Navigator App, and website were not what was delivered by the Tour Guides and the Greenhouse Spa experience was also very substandard. ...
After booking and paying for this cruise, we got an update stating that our first port of call had been cancelled then a second port of call had also been cancelled, the replacement on the first port had been changed to Seattle, we live in Vancouver BC, the second cancellation no substitute provided. While on the ship other ports had also been cancelled one due to weather one because of civil ...
This was cruise #7 for us; however, our first with HAL. This was our least favorite of the cruise lines on which we have sailed. Specifically, reasons include, boring/lack luster entertainment, lack of on board activities and poor selection of food choices in dining room. We wanted to have a table for 2; did not want to share. We were made to feel that this was an imposition and unreasonable. ...
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 ...
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 ...
Room-We were in a lower room (1120). We usually stay in the low rooms due to the reduced prices, but I sure am sorry we did this time. When we walked into the room it was so cold, I put on a long sleeved shirt and sweater and waited for the room to warm up. It never did. We spent 11 days in the coldest room possible. We stopped at customer service 19 times, and twice guy with a temperature ...
20 day transit from Vancouver to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal.
This was our 30th HAL cruise, we are both 5 star mariners. Neptune Suite.
Our boarding time was 10:00 am (priority boarding for Neptune Suite guests). We got to the Vancouver terminal at 10 am. Waited about 30 minutes before baggage screening opened. Ushered to another waiting area where we waited another 30 ...