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 ...
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 ...
Chose cruise for its itinerary. Hadn't sailed on Holland-America in many years but had concentrated on Celebrity and Princess for several cruises on each and were pleased with both of them. Oosterman proved a very pleasant surprise. Entire ship was in excellent condition. Excellent cabin for handicapped. Service personnel were also excellent. Most of entertainment was very good, especially ...
We took the 31 day cruise option (Nov 15-Dec 16 2023) - Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aries with the express purpose of doing the Straits of Magellan. We have cruised HAL many times (we are 4 Star travelers) and have enjoyed every trip. This cruise was also a wonderful experience - except for the entertainment, will get to that in a moment.
We stayed in a Neptune Suite and it was as has always ...