Holland America Reviews

We had a very good trip. We loved the entertainment on board, which was exceptional. Our only complaint was the size of our cabin, which was too small and oddly configured. That may have been a consequence of the age of the ship. As always, we got wonderful, personal, and highly professional service from Avoya travel agent Shane Biesemeyer. We can't say enough good things about him.

Hawaii and French Polynesia are beautiful. Some of the French Polynesia islands had minimal things to see or do, but the more populated islands were enjoyable. Evening entertainment was 'spotty'. Some great nights, but many evenings the available options were minimal. There are four music venues, all on the same deck, and often the music 'spilled over' from one venue to another, particularly from "Rolling Stone" which was excessively loud throughout the cruise. "Lincoln Center"/"BB King" had very nice entertainment almost every evening. We were in suite 5001, at the front of the ship. The balcony wrapped around, but the front area was partitioned off, and the remainder of the balcony was barely large enough for two recliner-chairs. Due to the shape of the front of the ship, the forward wall of the cabin was on an angle, cutting off quite a few square feet compared to a standard rectangular suite. The ship personnel were fantastic; the food was well prepared. We purchased "Club Orange" package which included a separate dining room (about 15-20 tables) . For us, the service/intimacy was well worth the up-charge. Most of the shore excursions were sold out weeks before embarkation day.

great spring cruise

After years of cruising, the food and the service were the worst I ever had. Had a great stateroom and attendant. The ports were about the same as always, no complaints. Shows were worth going. Casino was smoky, with limited number of popular machines. In 7 days and nights being in there, only had one drink brought to me. I did go to the bar and get several, leaving the machine I was on. No tournaments for cash, only for casino credit. No Mainers special lunch during cruise. On boarding you could go eat in dining room, but they have always had that. Four days before we left injured my knee, called to get assistance boarding, was told they had to know 49 days before boarding. Glad I was able to walk with brace to get on or I guess it would have been no cruise for us. That is another service problem I had. I will not be sailing with Holland for a while. Celebrity has much better service, food, casino, and deals.

The cruise was nice but we booked it as a 2 week cruise and it was really 2 back to back cruises so there were duplications of the shows, enrichment programs and menu. There were also a lot of add ons, even in the speciality restaurants. The ship was older but clean. The price was right and overall the cruise met our expectations.

All went well.

Great Itinerary and had a wonderful time. However, the Koningsdam was understaffed for a sold out journey, and is in desperate need of a refurbishment.

The Koningsdam did not live up the the usual HAL standards. Lines everywhere. Loud, loud venues. Internet staffed rolled into the customer service area. Food delicious but very repetitive. Ship was full and as a result, they seemed understaffed. Staff was very hard-working and friendly but not enough of them for how many cruisers.

We took this cruise to the Panama Canal which was our first in 3 years due to Covid. Although we have been on the Eurodam before we were somewhat disappointed in this cruise. We don't think that the cruise had enough staff and it showed in the bars and restaurants. We would go to dinner in the Dining Room at 5:15 and not leave till after 8:00. Usually there is a waiter and an assistant but although we saw many assistant most of the time our waiter was doing it all. The ship was packed and it was very difficult to get into any of the bars or shows especially the shows for the Comedian. We had to get there 1 hour and a half in order to get a seat. The ports were great especially Costa Rica and we enjoyed our journey through the Canal. Unfortunately our room, our friends room next to us and the hall had a horrible smell that would come and go but one night it was so bad that I woke up during the middle of the night with a headache and feeling like I needed to vomit. We ended up having to leave our Balcony door open in order to get fresh air in the room. Since the smell came and went when we had someone from Customer Service come up they could not smell it and told us to call back when we smelled it. Fortunately someone from the maintenance department did come and check it out and for the remainder of the cruise it was tolerable. We also had a noise in the wall that sounded like something was loose and was hitting the wall. This noise only happened when we were at sea and moving. Although we enjoyed the buffets variety and quality of food they did run out of a lot of things. The dining rooms food was not up to the standard it used to be. We did originally book another cruise for next February but due to our experiences we decided to cancel it. We probably will not be taking a Holland America Cruise in the near future.

Excellent

We enjoyed a wonderful family trip aboard the Rotterdam. The staff was excellent and The Retreat was amazing.

We had a trip aboard the Eurodam through the Panama Canal in Feb 2023. The ship is definitely showing some wear and tear but I believe it's getting some work done very soon. The staff are good and most of the food is good, some being very good and some being okay. The biggest problem we had was the venues were filled to capacity long before the event/show started which meant we sometimes missed what we wanted to see/do or get there an hour early.

everything went well

I loved everything about it but my wife was sea sick 3 of the 7 days. Next time we'll be better prepared.

Rough water, lousy entertainment, mediocre food, too many people.

This itinerary at this time of year was great. Good ports with nice shore excursions and the marvels of the Panama canal.

Just returned from our 11 night cruise on Holland America Eurodam. Had a great time. Our signature suit was just perfect with a great balcony for viewing the canal. This is a smaller ship geared towards an older crowd. If you’re looking for a relaxing experience this is the ship for you.

That ship seemed overcrowded, not enough staff. The bar areas and pool areas had a hard time keeping up with demand and discarded plates, glasses etc. laid on the tables for an extended period of time.

What a wonderful way to travel across country with great food, travel companions and a staff that went out of their way to serve you. HAL, you hit a grand slam, a hole-in-one, the winning goal and a half court shot.