Let me first start off with the good: The crew was very nice on the ship (except the guest services). They pamper you like you are a Saint, even if you do not want it. The ship was clean and neat. They communicated very well with the guests on all activities and upcoming shows. There were plenty of elevators and the ship was not overly crowded. The rooms were good size and the internet was decent. ...
This was our fourth HAL cruise, and we were very disappointed. Holland America has been wonderful in past years, and we have extolled it's virtues, but this Eurodam cruise seemed understaffed, and the service was lackadaisical at best. We booked a Signature Suite but found that it was just a larger verandah stateroom with absolutely no "suite" amenities.
Upon initial boarding, there was no ...
The Eurodam and the Jewel of the seas are almost identical in size. The Jewel has a more customer friendly central area that can be used to host music and dance events, too. It has a larger outdoor pool with far more sunbeds than the Eurodam. The Eurodam has a more enclosed, covered pool area as if it was designed for overcast, chilly North Sea sailings. The Jewel also has a solarium type warm ...
I swear that cruise lines encourage (or at least allow) employees to slack off, or more likely, weaponize incompetence on the first and last days of the cruise. After a smooth embarkation we were aghast that not only was the maître d’ not available to fix the incorrect dining assignment we had been given, but we were told to stand in two long lines that were both the wrong line. It turns out ...
The Eurodam is a stately, well-kept ship. We very much enjoyed its classic ambiance and lovely public spaces. Embarkation was quick and flawless. Our rear verandah stateroom was immaculately appointed and our room stewards were top notch. The main dining room and Tamarind restaurant offered impressive fare.
But our experience included three major disappointments, and as such this was the ...
This was my first cruise since COVID, and all cruise ships may now be the same, but I really missed all the small niceties on this ship. We sailed with a group of 10 and were not able to secure any kind of set dining time, despite having a 2 year old in our group. This made each dinner time unnecessarily stressful, standing in line for "open dining" and hoping for a table within the next couple ...
I am incredibly disappointed with HAL. I have traveled multiple times with this line and was always delighted.
That is not the case with my recent sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Cleanliness was not a priority. In my cabin room, debris, old contacts, and gooey stuff were left in the trashcan, the bathroom floor wasn't clean, and neither was the area around the sink. The countertops in the ...
Stateroom 61** on April 2 sailing.
Chose this cruise for its itinerary.
The good:
-Room steward for our Stateroom 61** (Yurid?) was outstanding.
-Tamarind restaurant - Bonita and Ing Ing were five star servers
-Butler who was assigned to us for Half Moon Cay - Alvin - was outstanding
-Deck 11/explorer lounge is a beautifully kept place.
-Timely room service every morning ...
We went on this cruise as part of a charter
The staff was delightful, and our cabin certainly fine, except for the last night when we were flooded by water from overhead
The aspect of this cruise we did not care for was that there were so many extra charges. All alcohol was an extra charge drinking water was an extra charge. The food was lovely in the dining room, but the dining room was ...
My friend and I were on Rotterdam last February and loved it. We want the "mature" passengers of Holland so this itinerary looked perfect for this year's birthday cruise.
We originally booked a verandah on deck 4. We were offered an upgrade about 3 weeks out which we did not take, again the next week, and finally we were offered a third upgrade and we took it ($559 per person to upgrade to a ...