We're 3-Star Mariners. Probably would've been 4-Star by now, but for Covid. This was our first cruise in 4 years, aboard one of our favourite ships, the NA. We had grown accustomed to the wonderful HAL service (great crew), fine cuisine, enjoyable entertainment, and superb efficiency.
The good: the staff - cabin stewards, dining room, buffet. un-endingly cheerful and accommodating. HAL nails ...
First of all this was a 7 day Caribbean cruise not a 14 day cruise. My wife and I weren't planning on a HAL cruise
but couldn't pass up the price or all the perks that were offered. The ship was not filled with elderly like many think
HAL cruises are. There was a lot of seniors on board but there was also lots of middle age couples and quite a few
younger couples.
Embarkation went ...
A cruise is usually fun and this was no exception BUT, Holland has changed and not for the better. We had 160 days on HAL prior to the pandemic so we were pretty familiar with the line and this ship.
The room was the room and it was fine as usual, it could use a little maintenance as things are starting to look a little tired but still a minor concern, the steward did a good job and the room ...
This was our first Holland America cruise and our first in almost three years. All of our other cruises have been with NCL and we wanted to try another line.
There were, certainly, differences but it is not clear, for some, which are from the different operator or are the legacy of the pandemic.
Here goes.
Check in was easy and quick. Once aboard the Lido Market was open and serving ...
We have sailed many times with HAL as well as other lines from Regent and Crystal to NCL and Carnival. HAL has always offered large suites at reasonable cost, but this cruise showed they are cutting corners everywhere. Some examples: Lunch menu in dining room never changes. Dinner there has a very limited menu with changes: additional charges for many items, e.g., shrimp cocktail now $8.50 ...
Our first cruise in 33 months was chosen for the ports (five of them new to us), the relative ease of round-tripping for 14 days from our home town and the avoidance of anything at all to do with flying. We were happy with the rules (masks recommended, vaccinations and negative Covid test required) and felt safe throughout the trip.
The cruise was interesting and met our primary need to escape ...
As 3 star Mariners with HAL [had sailed 137 cruise nights on HAL since 2007], decided to celebrate our anniversary and birthday on the Nieuw Amsterdam - Alaska Cruise. Made the reservation through our HAL personal cruise consultant directly and mentioned about our special occasions cruise celebration when place our reservation several months ahead. Also, mentioned to our PCC that we had a very ...
We originally booked this pre-covid and have deferred or been postponed ever since.
Finally left on December 11th. The original ports of call had been re-arranged so St Thomas was out and the Dominican Republic was in
The passenger count was in the high 800's (we heard several different numbers) on a ship that holds 1900.
We had the usual battle for a table for two Which always ...
A little background, this was our 42nd cruise, the 6th cruise on HAL. Been on Windstar, Oceania, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, et al. Choose this cruise for its itinerary. HAL changed Key West to Bimini and later changed Grand Turk for Freeport. Both of these new stops SUCKED. Bimini had a few nice beaches but nothing else and Freeport was a joke. We docked at the commercial port where there ...
Understanding this is during Covid, glad we were able to make the trip, but Holland failed on many levels.
On the plus side, ship was only half full. This meant little waiting, but also led to a low energy level. The crowd was much older than any cruise I had been on, including previous Holland cruise. There was one, exactly ONE, child on the ship.
The itinerary had been changed, ...