We booked this cruise in March, right after cancelling a European cruise on Osterdam that was to leave June 1st. We were anxious about rising covid numbers and different protocols for the countries on the itinerary, not to mention flying Toronto to Barcelona and spending 2 days there before the cruise plus 2 days in Venice post cruise. There were just too many "what ifs". We had been to Alaska ...
We sailed on the Westerdam June 12-19 as part of a 13 person family trip. Here is a summary and highlights / lowlights:
We are a couple in late 50’s with 2 of our kids (30, 27) and one of their spouses with us.
Embarkation was at pier 91 in Seattle and was terrible. Despite doing verifly app, Canada app, doing pre-Covid test appropriately and completing Navigator app, Holland really ...
Holland America cruise
Embarkation.
If arriving at Montreal airport or dropping off rental vehicle at the Montreal airport and you wish to get an Uber ride to the cruise terminal, you must wait for your Uber car at the departure level outside door 7. There are clearly marked overhead signs & road markings indicating you are in the correct area. (See picture) It’s about a 30 min drive to ...
I’m not typically one to write a bad review, or even write a review, but I was surprised by the lack of service on this ship. First, it took over 48 hours for them to fix our air conditioning. We respectfully asked 5-6 times the first two days and no one came. We were so hot. Then, after going to the front desk, on the THIRD day, someone came. Second, our ship departure was changed to trieste ...
We chose this cruise due to Holland America's reputation in Alaska ( The park service prefers Holland America), the price ( super low) and because we had sailed on the Z dam 18 years ago...
The crew was amazing. Knew our names after only a few days, dealt with difficulties ( excursions cancelled due to illness of guides) solved our minor problems and treated us like honored guests. Plenty ...
The Zaandam has returned to service after a year+ absence short staffed and provisioned. About 20 short in the kitchen, 2 in photography and stretched thin on cabin stewards, future cruise staff, and etc. As others have mentioned, gone are dinner theme nights, surf and turf, ice sculptures, live music at diner, the after dinner mint station (aka the traditional HAL level of dining). Service was ...
Boarding in Fort Lauderdale,where we live, was easy. Used the Verifly app which was a little difficult to figure out. We were underway on time to Boston, we have been on this ship several times before and like the smaller size. Immediately noticed maintenance items such as broken wooden trim around one of the hot tubs which was also closed, sound and picture quality of TV in cabin (80's looking ...
We have enjoyed previous holidays with HAL and were anxious to get back cruising after two years stuck at home. As we prefer not to fly, a trip out of Vancouver was very convenient. The price was reasonable for a balcony cabin and we opted for the Have It All package. The pre-cruise requirements were a bit of a hassle (Covid testing, ArriveCan and VeriFly documentation) and a lot of people seemed ...
From start to finish everything was perfect. We are a couple in our 60s who cruise semi regularly and this is our second cruise to Alaska. Our first being on a Princess cruise.
Embarkation was a breeze as we had completed all of our required apps. from entering the cruise terminal to being on the ship was 10 mins and that is because that is how long it takes to walk through the various ...
As 3 star Mariners with HAL [had sailed 137 cruise nights on HAL since 2007], decided to celebrate our anniversary and birthday on the Nieuw Amsterdam - Alaska Cruise. Made the reservation through our HAL personal cruise consultant directly and mentioned about our special occasions cruise celebration when place our reservation several months ahead. Also, mentioned to our PCC that we had a very ...