28 Nights British Isles & Iberian Peninsula: Waterford Cruise

I was impressed by Holland America .

Was very impressed with the ship.Spotlessly clean . Had a verandah on deck 11 . Quiet and close to stairs. The food was excellent as was the service. I liked the fact that you were served in the buffet and you were also offered drinks in there. I really enjoyed the Pinnacle grill speciality restaurant Unfortunately on the first day we left Rotterdam 4 hours late ! The ship was full and sometimes was difficult to find seats at busy times. I would say the evening entertainment was quite basic . There was a comedian , singers and musicians but not really shows. The stateroom attendants were efficient and quick . There were various activities on offer during the sea days . The library was large and plenty of games in the crows nest on deck 12 . Disembarking to go ashore was fast and well organised from decks 2 and 3. We have booked again for next year . The shop on board was not well stocked which was surprising

Great week on Nieuw Statendam!

This was our third cruise on Holland America and it continues to deliver very good value in our eyes. We have also sailed multiple times on ach of Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and NCL. We are in our 40s with 2 kids aged 11 and 14. No doubt that the fellow cruisers tend to be older, with very few kids on board. That said, the combination of excellent live performances (BB King Blues Band is absolutely fantastic, Rolling Stones excellent), good food all around (diverse buffet, good salads, good dining room experience), fantastic service (the staff was one of the better ones we have witnessed on all our cruises - good vibes could be felt throughout the week), interesting "extras" (the Lido fanfare for Mardi Gras was very fun), very nice cabins, pristine ship, excellent embarkation/debarkation, .... I would like to add that despite the few kids on board, there is a very nice room for teens called the "High Score" with multiple free games, including some pinball machines. No nickel and diming here. Well done HAL! Only drawback I would say is that we didn't particularly care for the few shows by the resident singers and dancers. That said again, the excellent BB King and Rolling Stone bands made up for that. We also enjoyed the comedian Frank Townsend very much. As you can hear, we were very pleased with our week and warmly recommend the Nieuw Statendam!!!

Relaxing time cruising the Bahamas

The perfect relaxing vacation to get away from winter. Our first Holland cruise and it does skew older but we were looking for serenity over roller coasters. The ship is not too big and offers great entertainment. We especially liked the dualing pianos at Billboard lounge. We opted for the bus service from Miami airport and traveled same day from home. Everything was smooth. It was not very full either. More people should take advantage of it. Embarcation was fast and smooth. Since we were arriving at 1:30 the crowds had dispersed. Our room was ready right away. Stewards were awesome and made us feel at home. First day was at half moon cay. I rented a kayak and paddled about on the gentle lagoon. Dining in the main dining room was probably the least we'll executed of all the places we ate. It is not bad, it is just the specialty dining was that incredible. Morimoto's popup is not to be missed. The sushi bar is excellent. And the there is Rudi's which we liked so much we dined here twice. Be sure to order the escargot. The lido buffet can be a longer wait for omelettes or salads so off times may be easier. Food is great there so no worries if you are wanting a pool day vs dressing up. Entertainment at Billboard was our favorite. The performers had a great banter as well as played incredibly well. They had a deep repitoire playing a variety of songs in their multiple shows.