Holland America Line Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Reviews for Family to the Panama Canal & Central America from San Diego

My experience on the Nieuw Amsterdad was far from what was advertised. I did not find the dining to be top notch. Pinnicle was very overrated. I tried the porkchop and needed a chainsaw to cut it. My wife tried the Hallibut and it was so dry you could use it as an ink blotter. The main dining room was mediocre at best. We were at sea 11 days of our 15 day cruise because 4 ports were ...

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 ...

I am incredibly disappointed, frustrated and feel ripped off that I paid full price for a Holland America Cruise, that did not cater to my age group, and had so many port stops cancelled. On top of this, the Shore Excursions advertised by Holland America on the Navigator App, and website were not what was delivered by the Tour Guides and the Greenhouse Spa experience was also very substandard. ...

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 ...

We chose this 17 day cruise because we wanted to go through the Panama Canal. We took a Holland America sponsored Zip Line tour in Costa Rica(41) of us. A torrential rain was predicted, but we were not made aware nor was the tour canceled.Dangerous rain including lightening dumped on us during the Zip Line. Of course, we were attached to metal lines with metal equipment. There was a flood of the ...

We sailed on HA from San Diego through the Panama Canal departing on 10/06/21 on Nieuw Amsterdam which was the continuation of the ship's Alaska cruises that marked HA return to North American cruises after pandemic. While the cruise was certainly a decent value there were some issues that made it less so than the same trip on HA in 2018. Most notably are the surcharges on food in the dining room ...

Stateroom Attendant service was outstanding.. Quality of Lincoln Center Stage musicians and recitals were world class. Panama Canal presentations and speaker were excellent. The actual transit was normal : 8 hours from coast to coast...glad it was cloudy to keep the hot sun at bay... Visible changes to the ship from last dry dock are minimal....New cushions on the deck chairs and Lido pool ...

Nine of us traveled together to cruise the Panama Canal. Our group consisted of three married couples and three single ladies ranging in age from 50 on up. Despite different interests among the members of the group, I don't remember anyone complaining of being bored. Three of us enjoyed the trivia contests, others spent lots of time (and money!) at bingo, some enjoyed the movies and ...

My wife and I were on Holland America's Niew Amsterdam for its 18-day cruise through the Panama Canal, departing San Diego October 3, 2018 and arriving in Ft. Lauderdale on the 21st. Though we had many good-to-great experiences on this voyage we also had far too many disappointing ones. Highlights of the good-to-great experiences are as follows: 1. The ship's decor is spectacular, a feast ...