Westerdam is an old ship. It appears that the latest refresh was for the main areas as they were all very nice and clean. The cabin certainly could use a refresh. The bathtub is very shallow so there is no way an adult can take a bath in there.
The food was as expected although it appears that the meals in the main dining room have shrunk about 40%. There appears to be less waiters with ...
We had sailed the Westerdam a couple of times before and felt that it was one of the best ships of a very good line. The ship itself is still very good indeed, so why were we disappointed? Alas, just about every staffer we encountered seemed unfamiliar with their job. Standing in line for the front desk, a staffer came out and asked who needed service, but obviously everyone did if they were in ...
This was our 2nd cruise on Holland and 4th Alaska cruise. Last year we were on Royal Caribbean and were in and out of the glacier in an hour. This time we were there for several hours and got to within 1/3 of a mile of the glacier. Lost count of how many times the glacier calved in front of us. Weather for the cruised ranged from the roughest night I have ever had at sea the first night out to ...
My husband and I sailed on the Oosterdam Sept 14th, 2023 - October 8th, 2023. This was a 24 day trip starting in Barcelona and ending in Athens, Greece. When booking, everything that could have wrong did. I was given misinformation about having an assigned cabin and having premium economy flights. This was straightened out by a very helpful Resolution Specialist. We received an email from ...
This was our 10th cruise, first on HAL and first to Alaska. We are active 60+ "young adults". We traveled with my brother and his wife. Their first time on HAL and in Alaska. Trip started at Anchorage airport with bus to Westmark Hotel for a night. Would not stay there again. Think Motel 6. HAL should be ashamed to put customers up there. Next day took a bus to McKinley Resort Chalet at Denali. ...
The reason for this rather cryptic title will become apparent as you read the narrative.
We had two reasons for taking this trip from Montreal to Boston. First of all we have always wanted to visit L’Anse aux Meadows, and secondly because we had sailed on the Zaandam around Cape Horn in 2018, and really enjoyed the ambience of a smaller cruise ship, despite a serious problem. Generally speaking ...
We chose this cruise for the itinerary and the cruise line reputation, as this was our first cruise on Holland America.
The servers were friendly and accommodating, often going out of their way to please cruise passengers.
But we can’t help compare the Oosterdam to several previous cruises on Celebrity, which continues to be our favorite.
We enjoy the universally prepared Mai Tai ...
My wife and I wanted a cruise to the Canadian Maritimes, and wanted to cruise with a line that would not disappoint, and was not a “party” boat. I cruised with Holland America about 30 plus years ago and was not disappointed. Unfortunately this time I was. Let me highlight the positive elements first.
1. The Crew - The crew on this ship was wonderful. No one could have possibly asked for ...
The port is about 2 hours from Venice. The cruise port of Trieste is stressful in that the Luggage Check-in is a distance from where the guest goes up a winding flight of stairs to Embarkation check -in. To make matters worse the check-in time it took for luggage was 80 minutes in the broiling sun. The port is not equipped at this time to be very guest/passenger friendly.
I made the mistake of ...
There is no BB King blues or Lincoln theater. There’s a rolling stone lounge and a billboard area. The world stage is pretty with truly locally choreographed entertainment. If you enjoy educational seminars along with a few sprinkled activities. If you are looking for quiet and bored. This is your cruise. We loved the thermal spa. The specialty steak house was a disaster as it took 2.5 hours and I ...