This was our 27th cruise but first time on HAL and we were highly impressed by the beautiful new Rotterdam. We had a wonderful time on our 4 night Bahamas cruise, so now we have actually booked another cruise on her sister ship, Nieuw Statendam.
This was our third cruise in the last 6 months. We took a Mediterranean cruise on Oceania Riviera and also a USVI / St Barth’s cruise on Crystal Symphony (just weeks before the ship was seized!) We had wonderful experiences on those ships and thus had some elevated standards. Overall, the HAL experience was GREAT, though not quite as luxurious (or expensive) as Oceania or Crystal. It is more comparable to Celebrity and Cunard. We thought it was a great value for the price paid. In terms of the passengers, we had always heard that HAL attracted an older crowd; but the passenger mix seemed typical of most of the other cruises we have been on, with the exception that there were few kids or teenagers.
The Ship: