Let me first start off with the good: The crew was very nice on the ship (except the guest services). They pamper you like you are a Saint, even if you do not want it. The ship was clean and neat. They communicated very well with the guests on all activities and upcoming shows. There were plenty of elevators and the ship was not overly crowded. The rooms were good size and the internet was decent. ...
We chose this cruise and the cruiseline because of tbe itinerary. Before start of the cruise we already received change of itinerary whereby 1 port of call was cancelled. During the cruise 2 other ports of call (out of 6 remaining!) were cancelled (due to wrather conditions and mechanical problems to the ship) and 1 was changed due to political troubles. As a compensation we received 200 USD non ...
We chose Holland America line as we were told it was the best value in our price range. Overall the cruise was good. Staff was friendly and helpful. Premium restaurants were great and were very accommodating. Main dining and buffet is as you would expect. Entertainment was good but didn’t offer any real variety and with a ship full of folks everything was crowded. The excursions were the best part ...
I chose Holland America for its good reputation. My cruise experience was very unpleasant and difficult. My cabin-mate got noro-virus, as did one-third to half the people in our tour group, and many other people on the ship. It was not being spread between cabin mates, so it must have been spread through dining services. I was told by medical that I was responsible for caring for my cabin mate, ...
I am incredibly disappointed with HAL. I have traveled multiple times with this line and was always delighted.
That is not the case with my recent sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Cleanliness was not a priority. In my cabin room, debris, old contacts, and gooey stuff were left in the trashcan, the bathroom floor wasn't clean, and neither was the area around the sink. The countertops in the ...
We went on this cruise as part of a charter
The staff was delightful, and our cabin certainly fine, except for the last night when we were flooded by water from overhead
The aspect of this cruise we did not care for was that there were so many extra charges. All alcohol was an extra charge drinking water was an extra charge. The food was lovely in the dining room, but the dining room was ...
I traveled on this cruise as a chartered cruise. While most of the crew was friendly, my previous 3 cruises on HAL were much better. Our stateroom was not clean and we rarely saw our stateroom attendant. We are both vegetarians and the choices in the Main Dining Room and specialty restaurants do not often many vegetarian options. In todays world I would think the chefs could be a bit more ...
We had cruised 19 times before this cruise and chose HAL because we like their service and food on the other HAL ships. This being our first cruise since COVID started, we also wanted a smaller ship.
Both embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth and we received our luggage within 2 hours.
The ship was nicely decorated for the holidays and is still in fairly good condition, although ...
Embark & Disembark
We are not extensive cruisers, but this was the most haphazard embarkation we’ve experienced. Security were surly and borderline rude. Passport kiosk didn’t work at all for my partner and myself, so we were directed to the desk. PA announcements were almost impossible to hear, with the echo. The terminal should place electronic screens with instructions.
Disembark was very ...
November 27 to December 4th
This was my 5th time on this ship. 3 times on the LRBC chartered cruise, once with my elderly MIL and this time with a friend.
Normally HAL is never my go to cruise line. The last two times are because my MIL is a long time HAL cruiser (she is 91 now) and my friend is 4* HAL.
Embarkation was a breeze. The ship apparently only had 1500 on this sailing. It was ...