Our cruise on the Volendam -- 22 November - 8 December 2014 -- from Sydney to Singapore was a serious disappointment on many levels.
First, there were many annoyances, such as the cruise director choosing to make some routine public address announcements during scheduled church services on Sunday morning. The itinerary skipped major ports, except for Darwin, and chose to stop at isolated ports ...
While I have read mixed reviews about the Oosterdam and this particular cruise in November in New Zealand and Australia, my wife and I can only say we enjoyed the trip.
We flew from Sydney (our home) to Auckland the day before and enjoyed the city ahead of embarking on the 14 nights cruise on the Oosterdam. HAL offered us a paid upgrade to a Neptune Suite which we took to experience the larger ...
This was the 11th cruise for my husband and I, the 9th with Holland America; we are 3-star Mariners.
We had a good time, but there were things missing from this cruise that have been normal on previous HAL cruises. Our last cruise was a year and a half before this one, maybe all HAL cruises have changed in that 18-month period. If so, that is unfortunate.
1. There was no Chocolate ...
I LOVED this cruise. The Chilean coast is like Alaska on steroids, and the ports of call are easy to enjoy on one’s own.
This is one of my favorites of the several dozen cruises I have taken in recent years. It is an itinerary that I had been postponing because I do not enjoy rough seas, but I finally tried it and am glad I did. The weather was kind and the scenery was great.
HAL (Holland ...
The title should tell it all - what an absolutely wonderful cruise on a beautiful ship! Stars of the 50's and 60's rubbed elbows with 2000 passengers reliving their teen years. Many out of town passengers stayed at the Hilton near Pt Everglades where a pre cruise party was held the night before embarkation to get everyone in the mood. Embarkation was easy enough, we drove to the port from Miami, ...
My husband and I honeymooned on the Zaandam over Thanksgiving. We knew that HAL is known as a cruise line for an older set but we were intrigued by the itinerary. We didn’t regret our choice for a moment.
We had a large ocean view cabin and honestly, it was perfect for us. It was large enough for us to unpack and the bed was extremely comfortable (we stayed in a very nice hotel in BA after the ...
This was our 3rd cruise on the Westerdam. Yes, she is not as new as our first but I think they have maintained her beautifully. The service was beyond wonderful. The things that keep us coming back to HAL ( two cruises on the Zuiderdam and one on the Eurodam) are the level of service, we love the promenade deck with the most comfortable lounge chairs out there, we love room service and they have ...
This was our 8th cruise with Holland America & among the best so far. It was a great mix of beaches (Half Moon Cay & Aruba), interesting cities - Willemstad in Curaçao and Cartagena in Columbia and fascinating destinations - Panama Canal & Costa Rica with 4 relaxing "At Sea" days thrown in. btw, we found there is a lot to do if you want on "At Sea" days but I was very happy spending time on the ...
Frequent cruisers here, mostly on HAL, but also on Celebrity, Cunard and Carnival (yuck!!).
Embarkation: This was the first cruise of the Caribbean season for the Nieuw Amsterdam as it had just made the repositioning cruise from Europe. The Coast Guard was required to inspect the vessel, which took a lot longer than expected. We arrived at the terminal at 10:30 am and are typically on board at ...
Are you looking for a show that is different and wonderful? I highly recommend the Cantaré show on the Nieuw Amsterdam that I have seen a total of five times on two cruises. (I got to see it so many times because my 14-day cruise is a sum of two seven-day cruises, Western and then Eastern Caribbean. I've been on this cruise twice.)
The show is simple. It is four male singers from the ship's ...