My family of 7 took our first Alaskan cruise last week. My husband and I are in our mid-40’s, kids are 19, 17, 15, 6, and 3. I know we are not the typical HAL demographic, but we all had a great time.
We chose HAL and this specific cruise because 1. The dates worked with our tight schedule 2. the itinerary visited Glacier Bay 3. There is typically a Catholic priest onboard so we didn’t have to ...
We sailed on this cruise with a good sized group of friends to celebrate some birthdays. We had a great time overall but were left with a few disappointments at times. Some things that were great - the itinerary, the Cabin and attendants, overall ship cleanliness and conditions.
Some things that were challenging - Their was a push about the ship and lines entertainment. There was only ...
We chose Holland America because of their long experience in Alaska and were not disappointed. The scenery was as spectacular as we had hoped for and the ship docked in the most favourable berths at the three ports. The cruise director was both efficient and knowledgeable. The wildlife expert, Kurt, was highly approachable and available outside on the expansive open stern deck 9 whenever there ...
This is a great cruise out of Seattle. If you fly into Seattle the same day that the cruise departs Seattle, Holland American will transfer your luggage to the ship. If you stay at a hotel the night before the ship leaves Seattle, the same service is provided. Boarding and off boarding the ship was very easy and pleasant.
PROS:
-The staff on the Eurodam on a scale of 1 to 10, and ten ...
We live in the Seattle area, so this was an easy cruise to take. This was our first post-pandemic cruise. It was the 3rd time we'd cruised to Alaska. And we had a good time.
The pros - it is awesome to go on vacation someplace nice, and Alaska is beautiful. The ship was friendly and well run. Things seemed a bit lacking compared to pre-pandemic, but nowhere near what I had feared.
The cons - ...
This was a 35 days cruise and sure enough I got Covid after about day 25. It was well handled, but what surprised me was that there were no announcements each day at noon as to how many people were in quarantine. It was a big secret. Without transparency on this, it makes you reluctant to travel again.
I also got a fungal infection on my toe, which makes me wonder about the hygiene standards ...
I just got off a 7-day Inside Passage Alaska cruise on Koningsdam. Overall, it was a great experience, though with one disappointment many may find surprising given Holland America's reputation. It was my first cruise on Holland America and my first cruise period in 13 years. This may be useful context when putting my review in perspective.
First, the itinerary. Alaska has been on my bucket ...
The thing that made Holland stand out from other Cruise lines and was a tradition is now gone.
On every Holland ship you could count on there would be a Priest. But now you are like any other cruise line a real disappointment.
Embarkation was a slow painful process it seems that Vancouver is becoming harder and harder to board. The ship was fine and the personnel were pleasant and ...
I'll break this into pros and cons.
PROS. The ship is a perfect size with a good layout. It is generally clean. Very little vibration and mostly at the back. Seemed to be in good repair. I found the beds a little hard but my wife liked them.
THE FOOD. Generally good and better than many other lines. Buffet selections varied from day to day with some common themes like Asian, Carving ...
This was our 6th HAL cruise. Our interest in this crossing was sparked by the interesting ports (Cork, Waterford, Torquay, and Dover) in Ireland and the UK. Our cabin stewards (Rio and Ewan) were phenomenal and kept the cabin in perfect shape. They are assigned approximately 35 cabins to take care of by HAL which is an unreasonable workload. We had great dinner and lunch in the Pinnacle Grill with ...