Over the cruise was great. We really love Holland America Line and have 3 cruises booked with them for next year. The ships are beautiful. The crews are great and it's fun to cruise.
I would definitely recommend HAL over any of the other cruise lines we've been on.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Holland America Line, HAL, has once again streamlined embarkation. They have all the information at their fingertips and, if you are a return passenger, even your photo. Very quick!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Generally HAL has top rated food in all their venues. We were disappointed with the food in the main dining room this time. The Koningsdam had just come out of dry dock and, I believe, they have changed some dining room processes which contributed to a rather chaotic dining experience for dinner and breakfast. The breakfast good was okay - egg preparation was not good. Dinner was just disappointing. We ate most of our meals at the speciality restaurants: Pinnacle, Rudi's and Tamarind. Pinnacle and Tamarind are our favorites, always delicious and great service. Rudi's, to me, is not up to Pinnacle and Tamarind standards. As for the Lido deck food I rarely if ever eat there. I did have a salad one day and it was fine. I love the coffee bars!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
HAL has great fitness centers. I go every morning when they open at 6. The equipment is good. They offer good classes and usually have a good attendant in the center.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
We do not generally go to the stage shows and did not on this trip. Love the string quartet and piano player who were in Lincoln Center Stage; a young group of Italians who were very good. The band in the Rolling Stones Rock Room was mediocre at best. The bass player and drummer where really good. The two guitar players and keyboard player were ok. The vocals were bad - they were off key and flat most of the time. The dueling piano guys were not good, too much kitsch. Sam, the piano player in the Ocean Bar was a good pianist, he tended to add too many embelishments to very song which took away more than added to each piece.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
A big thumbs up to all the staff. Everyone was polite and went out of their way to deliver excellent service. Our room stewards new our names immediately and could not have been any better. They quickly new our schedule and the room was always in order and we basically never saw them - it was amazing!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Koningsdam had just come out of drydock, it is beautiful.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
6001 is Forward on the Mozart deck, at the very front of the ship directly below the bridge. Terrific, unobstructed views with no one looking down from above except the officers on the bridge. The room itself is comfortable, same size as other cabins but the layout is different. The bed is situated beside the door to the balcony. The sofa is love seat size and in front of the bed to the left side. Big dressing area across from the bathroom which is shower only - that was a disappointment - closest is a bit smaller and 3 of the drawers are half size in depth. Very comfortable bed. Clean and well kept.
The biggest drawback, to me, with this room is the balcony. It wraps the side of the ship which is great as long as you do not want to sit out there. If you sit on the side of the ship you can use the footstool and be comfortable; if you want to sit in the front you can not use the footstool unless you sit sideways. And, the balcony does not have the plexi, it is solid steel so you can not see out when you sit down unless you are really really tall. That was a huge disappointment as I really love to sit out there and watch the water.
Very quiet room. Easy to reach the fitness center and crows nest.
Ship tip
Enjoy! Be kind to your stewards and they will take excellent care of you.
We've been going to the French side of St Maarten for over 20 years. We did do an excursion to the beach which was not good. The place they took us was along the airport runway - not the famous beach at the end of the runway - nasty beach and really nothing to do. We took a taxi to Orient Beach, had lunch and taxied back.
We did not do an excursion in Martinique. Probably should have as my opinion might be better. It was not very interesting walking around the city. The St Louis Cathedral was beautiful.
The excursion in Soufriere was good, lots of driving. This where we saw the waterfall, Mt. Piton, the mudpits and geysers. Some beautiful views and the late day cruise of the bay where the Petite and Gros Piton are located was a nice finish to the day.
Excellent tour to Harrion's Cave - the eco tour. Be prepared to get wet, muddy and crawl around on all fours and your belly. Not for those who are not in good physical shape or who are not comfortable in close spaces.
Driving tour to the Botanical Gardens which had been destroyed by the hurricanes. Also say waterfalls emerald pond. There were at least 3 ships in port here so too many people everywhere.
Enjoyed our excursion in St Thomas, we did the kayaking, snorkeling and hike. Great guide and a good trip. The kayaking is in a bay, calm waters and easy to navigate on the tandem kayaks. The snorkeling is in a protected bay and very good. We saw lots of different fish, octopus, crabs, sea urchins, etc. The hike was nice out to the sea.
No ship we have been on has a good disembarkation process. I wish HAL as different. We always do expedited because we have only small easily handled luggage. We were suppose to get off between 7:30 and 7:45. It was after 8.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
