Wonderful 17 day cruise. Staff and meals were very good. Older, smaller ship was nice as you could meet and become friends with many people. Second trip on HA. Would recommend to anyone.
Amsterdam Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America
17 Night Panama Canal Holiday (San Diego To Fort Lauderdale)
Sail date: December 18, 2019
Ship:
Amsterdam
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 2598
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
The Panama Canal is so amazing. You can never see it too many times. This was our second trip through. Different ports this time. Last trip on the Oosterdan which is a little bigger than the Amsterdam. It had duelling pianos which we really enjoyed. Hope Amsterdam will get them too. Went on a tour at every port as we are a pretty active pair of “old folks”. So nice to go on a cruise over Christmas and New Years and being from Alberta Canada it’s nice to get away from the cold weather for a while too. Would recommend this trip to anyone. There were a few kids on this cruise too and I they sure had fun at the pool.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was fast and easy.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was excellent in MDR and buffet. Didn’t go to specialty restaurants.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Went to trivia every afternoon in the crow’s nest. Lounged by the pool enjoyed happy hour and music in bars. Wish duelling pianos were on this ship. Enjoyed casino once in a while also.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Entertainers did as well as they could as it was a pretty small ship. I feel entertainment is going down on the last ships I have been on.
Children's Programs
Grandparents
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff everywhere went above and beyond to look after the guests. As good as I’ve ever seen on a ship.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
It’s an older smaller ship so it is showing some “wear” but overall it was good. They seem to always be refurbishing something as things wear. Very easy to get around the ship because of it’s size.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
First time we had an ocean view. Usually have a balcony but went the cheaper option this time. Bed was under small window so had to kneel on bed to look out. Tons of closet and storage space. Good bathroom and shower.
Ship tip
Great ship to meet people and make friends. Had open seating at dinner and made friends with 6 others the first night so we always had a table for 8. Our waiters Anam and Alli were wonderful. Also the bartenders in the Ocean Bar, Roland and Caesar were superb.
Went on a tour inland to the big lake by bus. Then across lake by boat for lunch (excellent). Long day. 7 hours travelling. Hour late getting back to ship so sailing had to be delayed waiting for us. Vendors are relentless trying to get you to buy their wares.
Good port. Tour was on bus for tram and zip lines. Took tram over forest to high up in hills and then 10 zip lines down. Wow this was amazing, even for us two 75 year olds.
A very big area with many bays and lots of container loading facilities. Most ports we stopped at were big container ports. Our tour was a boat ride along the old walled city and a walking tour of the old city. Tour guide was excellent. Enjoyed the walking tour very much.
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