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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
We flew from London Heathrow to Miami 2 days before the cruise via British Airways. Flight was on time and very pleasant with great food and service onboard. On reaching Miami we were transferred to Tony Hotel on South Beach where we stayed for 2 nights. Hotel was art deco style and in an excellent location next to many bars and restaurants. We had a very pleasant stay in Miami and did a hop on ...
We chose the 20 day repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Ft Lauderdale mainly for an opportunity to relax and be pampered..not as much for the ports of call en route. My husband has mobility issues and we didn’t expect to do many excursions ( I did 3 and he, 2). We welcomed days at sea.
We chose a Signature suite because more spacious. The bathroom was lovely and we did like extra room ...
Eurodam 21 day Panama Canal Seattle – Fort Lauderdale 10-7-23
This is a long, detailed, "Daily log" type of review. If you just want the summary, scroll down to the bottom! :-)
Pre-Cruise travel: Thursday, October 5, 2023
Andy from Air & Cruise car service picked us up at about 6:50 for our drive to Fort Lauderdale airport for our 10:45 flight on Southwest. It was good that he was a ...
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. ...
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 ...
We chose this cruise and the cruiseline because of tbe itinerary. Before start of the cruise we already received change of itinerary whereby 1 port of call was cancelled. During the cruise 2 other ports of call (out of 6 remaining!) were cancelled (due to wrather conditions and mechanical problems to the ship) and 1 was changed due to political troubles. As a compensation we received 200 USD non ...