This cruise was chosen based on the itinerary and not the ship. If you are looking at this ship for entertainment purposes, there are other ships to consider, this one only provides a few entertainment opportunities.
If you are going for the destinations rather than the ship, then this ship will serve your purpose if you go in with the mindset that this is an older ship and the ports are the ...
Our cruise through South America to Antarctica exceeded our expectations. Where do we start?
The service on the ship was outstanding as was the food in the main dining room and the Lido deck. We got off to a rough start when we discovered our room was directly below the Rolling Stones Lounge, but the staff kindly moved us to a room with a balcony from which we could admire the icebergs in ...
Firstly, I am a fan of the medium size ships, so am biased toward the quieter, no outdoor movie screen scene. Entertainment I found satisfying to impressive (more below) although I would have liked an historian and naturalist. For some reason, I could not get the commentary in my stateroom on glacier row, but I didn't ask for assistance with it either.
Cruise director was less omnipresent than ...
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 this cruise because a Transatlantic cruise has been on our bucket list, we liked the itinerary, and we had two previous enjoyable cruises on HAL (one on Oosterdam and one on Zaandam). We have been fortunate that all three HAL cruises have been in a Neptune Suite, which is a special experience.
This cruise didn't go as planned, because a large storm caused an itinerary change. We had ...
We chose this cruise with our friends because the ports of call were pretty close to where we wanted to visit in the Mediterranean. Also the pricing seemed to be pretty competitive.
As with everything when we go on holidays, there are good and bad, pros and cons, highs and lows and this cruise was no exception.
Firstly, the highs ...
- the ports of call were a definite attraction
- ...
Barcelona ~ Trieste (Venice) in September was the perfect time to go.
We arrived in Barcelona stayed a few days before our cruise to check out the sights and gastronomy Barcelona had to offer. It doesn’t disappoint! We stayed up on a hill in a renovated hospital turned 5* La Floridia. It overlooked the sea, had gentle breezes and amazing pool with outdoor patio seating.
But this is not ...
The Nieuw Amsterdam seems a little dated compared to the Koningsdam and other Pinnacle class ships. We were very pleased with our Verandah cabin and the MDR and Lido food was better than on a recent cruise on the Koningsdam. We have tried the specialty restaurants on past cruises but don't think it's worth the cost. The option to add extra $$ menu items in the MDR is not a bad idea! The BB King ...