We chose this cruise for its itinerary. We've never been to Europe and thought this was a great way to see major cities and sites. We were not disappointed in any way!
First off, Explorations Central rocks! There's actual people who know their business that you can talk to about exploring on your own as well as asking about the excursions. If you find yourself on board with Tom and Dorene, ...
12-day cruise from Venice to Barcelona. Although the ship was supposedly upgraded, we noticed immediately that almost all of the interior elevators had torn, peeling, scratched, damaged wallpaper. Service in Main DR and by cabin stewards excellent as always. Lido deck stewards a little slow, and the Taco bar was frequently out of items. We had reserved a second seating, table for 8, but were ...
We decided to sail on Holland America for a second time after a cruise from Montreal to Boston a couple of years ago. In between we sailed Oceania through the Baltic, Russia and Scandinavia, which we also enjoyed. The same cruise from Venice to Barcelona was significantly more expensive on Oceana; so we opted for HA. I had read a review of our ship, the Oosterdam, which led me to have doubts ...
Holland America’s greatest flaw is not providing enough accurate information. This is not a new problem. We have observed this on all our HAL cruises. Celebrity does a much better job. There are so many ways that the information services could be improved.
For example:
•Put the port talks on the TV like you used to. We can’t always attend in person.
•If you list port information on the ...
My husband and I planned this cruise 11 months out and chose it for its ports and time of year. We splurged and booked a Neptune suite. The ship was in great shape, the crew were friendly and eager to please, the food was for the most part delicious and the ports were good. Embarkation was a breeze, in terminal and on ship in about 20 minutes. Our cabin was an aft wrap balcony and was wonderful. ...
We choose this cruise for the itinerary of several Greek islands and the Med, and also the 24 day duration, and Venice as the start/finish point. We liked the port-intensive trip. Holland America service feels quite welcoming and helpful. The food was good, but menus were a bit too complicated in the dining room for my taste. If you were a picky or ‘simple’ eater it would be hard to find ...
We loved the itinerary and decided to book for this reason. We thought the ship was tired looking in any area that was not renovated by the time in Dry Dock. The new areas were beautiful but did not do justice to the fact that the ship was not ready. The pool was closed for the first 2 days out of port with painting and drilling going on. Shops were also closed. We had painting continuing for the ...
My husband and I had never been to Europe, so we chose this cruise to get a good "sample" of countries.
The 8 days at sea sailing across the Atlantic were relaxing and a great way to start our trip. The Oosterdam is a beautiful, elegant ship. Our cabin was wonderful (see below).
We loved all the ports except Huelva, Spain. If you dock there, you might want to take an excursion to ...
This was our first cruise with Holland America and our first Transatlantic cruise. The itinerary was like none we had seen and we were excited to be going to 16Ports! We were impressed with how quickly and smoothly the embarkation and disembarkation went. The Oosterdam was in dry dock prior to our departure from Fort Lauderdale. The two week refit in the Bahamas included:
New bottom ...
My partner and myself had wanted to do the North Atlantic to Northern Europe but when this deal came along, we couldn't resist. Unfortunately my partner lost his passport on day of sailing and missed the departure. Big Hint here: First thing to do is to call Holland America and advise them. They will then try to help you get to next port and will do everything necessary to help you avoid large ...