After reading a lot of negative reviews about HAL we were slightly dubious about our 2nd sailing on The Noordam. The first time we sailed on her was 9 years ago and we hadn't done another HAL ship since
Our first impression was that the ship was very clean and in good order. The staff were really welcoming as we boarded. Our cabins were ready straight away so once we had dropped our carry on ...
We returned from a Noordam -Christmas Cruise on the 17th December 2022 -Sydney to Sydney. and sadly we found Holland America standards had fallen dramatically. We have always had a very good experience on the many Holland America cruises we have undertaken in the past.
The food was very substandard and to receive a decent meal the menu indicated payment of surcharge was required. The lunch ...
We are in our early 70's and have wanted to go on around Australia sailing for some time. Due to Covid we had to push our sail date back a year to the Noordam from the Oosterdam. We have been sailing on mostly HAL and Princess since the mid 80's. Its been nearly 3 months since our cruise ended and I was hoping I would feel better about the experience vs. how I felt at the cruise end in mid ...
A wonderful itinerary covering Melanesia, sailing out of White Bay Cruise Port Sydney & under the bridge.
Some of the best unspoilt islands visited.
Including Vanuatu - New Caledonia - Australia
The video featuring a ship tour & facilities on board.
More posted on my youtube Bellaircruise channel.
We have been enjoying Holland America for many years travelling the world on various ...
What was meant to be a holiday of a lifetime was spoilt by choosing Holland America as our cruise line. We were on a 15 night cruise starting from Sydney on February 26th. Although this ship was refurb the only changes to the cabins was the television on the wall. The bathrooms are very tired and our friends whose cabin was next door had the enamel peeling off the bath.
On return from our ...
We chose this cruise because we had heard good things about Holland America and it was going to places we wanted to visit. We have been on many cruises before always using Cunard, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean in the past without criticism. However, from the moment we boarded we were disappointed. The ship looked very tired. Our stateroom had a balcony and we had paid a lot of money for it. ...
We heard that Holland America has a more mature passenger crowd and fewer kids. The activities are geared towards a more mature clientele, but there is still a kids club and swimming pool for the few kids who were on the cruise, but no water slides, etc.
Holland America really went the extra mile to keep the guests happy. One of the sightseeing destinations On the itinerary was a morning of ...
14 days on the newly renovated Noordam and felt thoroughly pampered every day. From the outstanding service of the room attendants to the doting Main Dining room staff ( we had a fixed 8pm seating and loved it!) this was a fabulous cruise. Turned out to be the retirement cruise of our HAL Captain John Scott so there we’re lots of unique touches and events to commemorate the event.
The casino ...
The itinerary was good. A place we had never been before and very much wanted to see. We Hadn't been with HAL before but will never go with them again. Extortionate drinks prices, happy hour lasted 15 minutes in BB kings. Entertainment rubbish other than BBkings. Food luke warm, not much choice for vegetarians, lots of pasta and pizza and salad. They were proud of the fact they would make you some ...
We were very hesitate to go on this cruise after reading posts on this site. I am a 4 star mariner and was extremely surprised that the bad reviews were way out of line. This fall we sailed the Nieuv Statedam and in January took the Noordam around Australia and found the Noordam much better in almost all categories. The ship is not tired or in need of major upgrades. The crew was probably the ...