This was our second cruise to Alaska but first on Holland America, as well as first time in a suite. Embarkation was a breeze. We ate all of our dinners in the MDR and service was efficient and the waiters were pleasant. The wine steward was very friendly as well. We ate breakfast in the Lido and enjoyed the variety of items. Since we were staying in a suite we also were able to utilize the ...
I dealt with Holland America directly to book the cruise and prepaid 2 dinners for my family of 6, a $25.00 soda card, $250.00 Spa access and I also requested Wheelchair service for my mother. After 10 trips to the front desk in the first 2 days I found out that everything I preordered didn't get added to my profile because Holland America switched my cabin. This shouldn't have been a quick easy ...
Recently back from an Alaskan cruise on the Holland America Line ship Zuiderdam.
Can I start with the good points before hitting the bad points.
The ship was built in 2002 and is not one of the new super liners and that's exactly what I was looking for, it was an elegant well maintained ship with excellent decks for viewing the fantastic scenery and inside was very luxurious with fine art where ...
This was my 20th cruise. The first and last on Holland America Line. After a certain number of cruises (about 5) you are able to differentiate what is real value from the crap. This was the most expensive, valueless, cruise I have ever taken.
The muster drill was quite unusual. Everyone queued up first in groups by the assigned lifeboats and answered "here" as the cabins were called. It was an ...
We just got back from a 7 Day Alaska cruise out of Vancouver, BC. We loved every minute. The scenery is amazing. Cruising the Interior is not what I expected. The ship was close to land the whole time. Some of the passages were so narrow. It was fun to see it navigate through. So beautiful. We saw whales, bears, dolphins & eagles from the ship.
The day in Glacier Bay we got up and were in the ...
This is our first cruise so I will primarily focus on the things that a first time cruiser can contribute. Our party of 6 (1 senior, 2 adults and 3 kids) booked three verandah stateroom on deck 4 (Upper Promenade). They were far forward (4001, 4003 and 4004) and similar except in one respect. Cabin 4001 was quite a bit noisier than the other cabins as it was right next to a forward crew area. ...
The cruise started off on the wrong foot as we were told at check-in that there would be a delay in boarding of some hours due to the ship undergoing an incline test. It was in fact about 3 hours and we were offered a trip to Granville Island. As we had spent the previous day there we declined the offer and sat on the waterfront until we could board. I felt that Holland America could have at least ...
We traveled from Oregon to Vancouver, BC aboard an Amtrak train, and arrived at about 1am on the day of our cruise. We stayed overnight at the Georgian Court Hotel in downtown Vancouver, BC. It was a boutique-type hotel with probably the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in! Hotels in the downtown core (near the cruise docks) in Vancouver are all expensive, but the Georgian Court is ...
Background Information - "Wild horses would not get me on a cruise ship" was my mantra. This was after sailing with my parents on the old Russian CTC lines Ex Sydney in the 1970's. My memories of sea sickness and boiled cabbage still haunt me today. My husband persuaded me to reconsider, I'm glad he was persistent. From the moment we boarded the vessel to the last steps off we couldn't have been ...
We took a 7 day Alaskan cruise on the Zuiderdam during July, 2013. There is not one bad thing to say.
Our verandah room offered spectacular views every day. We often saw whales and porpoises. There were no issues of concern with our room. Every morning, we ordered breakfast brought to the room and it was very good and on time. Housekeeping was performed twice a day when we were not in the ...