My lifelong dream was to visit Venice. I selected this itinerary as it included an extra night in Trieste with excursions to Venice. Ships can no longer port in Venice and if you plan to visit, you will have a longer commute. It is what it is. I did not purchase travel insurance, but did use HAL "Flight-Ease" to book my flights as they will accommodate any disruptions in travel. I also ...
There was limited entertainment to other cruises I was on. Shortly before the departure I checked the ship's website to find out about the ship's entertainment and saw there were live music concerts at the "Lincoln" stage as well as BBC Nature Programs. Both these were actually false advertisement -the ship had neither.
The entertainment that was available was limited to shows on the main ...
We chose this cruise to celebrate my wife's birthday. 2 weeks before the cruise we were contacted by HAL and offered an upgrade to a Neptune Suite! We took them up on their offer and paid an additional $2138 bringing our total cost with air to $9695.56. The problems started weeks before the cruise as the airline tickets (booked through HAL) kept changing and we could not confirm our seats. After ...
We (my husband and I, our daughter and son-in-law) chose this Mediterranean cruise for the interesting port stops in Italy, Greece and Malta. We mainly used private tours or explored on our own; the only ship-sponsored excursion we did was to Delos, off the island of Mikonos. The Delos excursion was run efficiently and we enjoyed the knowledgeable guide who spoke excellent English. It was ...
Good food. We've cruised at least eight times prior on other cruise lines. This was our first experience with Holland America Line, and unfortunately, we booked for 24 days - 2 continuous cruises back to back in the Mediterranean. Before booking with HAL, we thoroughly researched the boat amenities and called to speak with HAL customer service to verify the details. Club HAL for kid's was a major ...
The food was great
The staff were great
The room was great
But the entertainment was extremely poor - and what little was there - was repetitive and not good.
We met many people on board that stated they would never travel with Holland America again - because of the lack of entertainment.
There wasn't even anyone that we could go to make a complaint.
I tried to get onto the ...
This was our first Holland America experience after sailing on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. We picked this cruise because it was one of the few lines that visit Istanbul. Athens, Mykonos, Istanbul, Crete, and Olympia we’re all great ports. Things that were a disappointment on the ship: entertainment was sparse, food/drink service was not available at all times and ended at 11:30pm, and ...
It's not the same old Holland America since COVID-19.
We do understand that Carnival Corporation was just burning through money during Covid 19 and you can see it in their drastic cuts.
As a 3 star Mariner I must admit that it may be time to switch cruise lines.
The lack of onboard entertainment is very noticeable. Now instead of production shows we watch a comedian play with a Rubik's ...
First the good:
I am an avid cruiser, but I had never cruised Holland America before. I had some trepidation because I had heard that it skewed older. Not that I am a spring chicken, but I’m also not 70. At any rate, the cabins were of familiar size and the crew was excellent, although there was some inconsistencies in the bar, especially with the featured drinks, which you would think all ...
Going to Europe worst experience we ever had cruising will never use this cruise line again. Bought the all inclusive package and that's all they care about. Their tours were a complete joke. You are being hearded into buses like cattle. With people who were obviously sick for hours at a time. We attempted to speak to an officer to voice our complaint and were denied. Everything as far as the ...