Wanted to passage the Panama Canal again - to see the new larger locks that were being built the last time we passed this way - Holland America was recommended to us - we were disappointed at the poor meals - not much choice and constantly had rice (which we are not keen on) - the expensive poor trips - some of which did not actually visit all the places listed.
As the cruise went on - things ...
My first ever cruise - wanted to visit as many South American countries as possible. 14 hour flight from London direct to Santiago (spent 3 days there beforehand which was amazing). Cabin on Dolphin deck very adequate, if slightly dated. Had 16 nights on board and visited some amazing places including ports in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Chilean fjords were spectacular and weather on the ...
I always wanted to see the Antarctic and Holland & America was the only cruiseliner that touches the top of this amazing continent, mind you they only operate 3 cruises a year so book it quick!!
We started off in Santiago and travelled down to Cape Horn and then took 2 days to reach the top of the Antarctic. Must admit I wasent particular impressed with the ports of call on the west coast of ...
Background and Hotel information
We chose this cruise for various reasons, primarily to see Antarctia, a location that both my wife and I have always yearned to see, secondly, to experience the Chilean Fiords (Fjords). We had previously toured in Peru and cruised up the coast of Chile, however, we had not travelled to the south of Chile to see the Fiords and southern regions of Chile, parts of ...
We chose this cruise because of the itinerary and it was our first time on HAL. We had sailed Celebrity and Norwegian before. The Guarantee room landed us in 2500 which was actually a handicap room with a spacious bathroom and smaller bedroom. It was pretty cramped but we were not there a lot. The embarkation in Valparaiso was quick and the transfer arranged with HAL from Valparaiso was great, ...
We wanted to explore South America and did. We explored ports we never even heard of in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Mexico. The ports were small but very interesting and exciting.
Holland America Line's strength is still their staff who were as always very friendly and professional, made up of, you guessed it, Phillipinos and Indonesian crew. The ship officers were not ...
We chose mainly due to ports of call. Usually we go Celebrity.
Comparing Celebrity: younger average age (I read that Hal was trying to get their average age lower), more entertainment (Celebrity has a great Martini bar that is very active before and after dinner and has entertainment on pool deck, in lobby). In nightclub, HAL was very quiet--it only came live when our younger average age ...
Just to be away from the cold time in Ontario to return home not until spring arrives. We had not been to Peru, and Equador yet which were very nice . We really liked the size of the ship which has a great crew .
The archeological sites in Peru and Equador were very nice and we loved the South American people . The nature of these countries were also very different from what we had expected ...
The service was very good and the food was great! Some of the ports were not very nice but it was interesting to see other parts of the world. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly. The staff was friendly and well trained.There were great lecturers and also a chaplain for religious services.
Shore excursions were well organized and there was a variety of them to choose from. ...
We prefer cruises that highlight nature. Even though the weather did not cooperate at times, the glaciers, mountains, penguins and natural beauty were outstanding. We chose to board the ship immediately upon arrival in Santiago Chile. Most on board had to travel long distances and boarding immediately was a mistake because you travel to the other side of the world. A do over would be to spend time ...