We were really looking forward to this cruise. Great itinerary with Copenhagen, Norway, Iceland and Scotland. Despite a decent off ship experience we did not enjoy the ship -
Recent poor reviews are accurate. It is consistently inconsistent and not at the standard of competitors. Feels like they are trying to please everyone and ultimately pleasing no one.
- ship felt dreary and dowdy. Does ...
The port heavy itinerary is great. Onboard facilities are decent. Too few elevators for the number of guests can sometimes lead to long waits. Live musical entertainers are top notch, but the music gets repetitive and boring. The music selection tends to stop around the 1980s. Forget about hearing anything more recent. Certain areas felt undersized and crowded. Biggest complaint by far is ...
The Niew Statendam cruise ship was the perfect size of ship for us. Second time aboard for us
The WoW factor that we previously experienced aboard Holland America has disappeared!
Embarkation was tedious and apparently the Mariners lunch is held that day?? Why ? We did not board in time for lunch
Sure the food was good, but menu selections were much less than on previous cruises (4) in ...
This was the second half of a back to back, using the Zuiderdam to get to the Netherlands. This was our 3rd cruise on the NS and she did not disappoint! We had an interior cabin coming over on the Zuiderdam and a Balcony on the NS. Very clean ship, sailing at full capacity. Sometimes it felt a little crowded but not overwhelming. Food was above par and service excellent! From waiters to ...
Seeing Norway was always on our bucket list, but delayed because of the pandemic. Thankfully, we were able to take this cruise in May 2023 on the Nieuw Statendam. Holland America did not disappoint as the ship was gorgeous, the staff were excellent as always, the food was delicious, and the ports were beautiful. We decided to take quite a few excursions with the ship and also with Shore ...
This was our 5th HAL cruise and will probably be our last. Firstly, one of our main reasons for choosing HAL was the Lincoln Center Stage which has now been discontinued. As we are not fans of loud rock or blues music, that didn't leave us many music offerings on board that we could enjoy. We had always enjoyed Lincoln Center stage's performances and the high level of musicianship. But I ...
Our experience on the Nieuw Statendam was generally good, but the cost-cutting by Carnival Corporate has proved to diminish the HAL brand. HAL caters to an older and likely more affluent clientele who, like us, are repeat customers with expectations that HAL will provide that added something that makes us, as adults, want to return again.
We are 4-star Mariners as of this cruise; our 12th on ...
We have chosen this cruise because of the attractive destinations in Norway a country which we both my wife and myself had never visited before. We were fascinated about the landscapes in this country.
Specially kind and service oriented was the stateroom staff Sugeng and Albert as well as the service staff in the restaurants. Holland America Line can be more than proud of this staff.
The ...
OK, right. This is my first ever in depth review of a cruise ship experience.
Bit of back-story starting with a bit of a confession. We’re a married couple from London, and admittedly not particularly well-seasoned cruisers. This, on Holland America Line (HAL) is only our third such adventure and the one with most stops / fewest sea days. We love sea days.
Our first cruise was a ...
The food in the Lido and Dutch Cafe was lovely and the service was swift and friendly. However my 6pm pre-booking for Tamarind meant almost an hour's wait at the bar (I do not drink & was travelling alone) because they had obviously overbooked the first sitting!
Every day to disembark for tours was a lengthy mess. It was unbelievable.
I had paid for a Holland America transfer from ship to ...