Nieuw Statendam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Had a fantastic time on the ship and in the ports! I highly recommend doing this cruise.

Enjoyed the cruise overall. Might have underestimated how cool and rainy it was. The verandah was great, except for most days it was too cool to sit outside.

I couldn't see Greenland, which I wanted to see, because Holland America canceled and changed the schedule. According to the letter from Holland American, the weather in Greenland was changed due to ice conditions for the safety of our customers. However, it was 8 degrees Celsius (46.4 F), which is typical summer weather in Greenland, and there was no unexpectedly heavy ice conditions as Holland American said. If we had not sailed to Greenland from the beginning and only went to Iceland, we would have taken a plane to Iceland instead of taking the cruise. That would have been more cost-effective and time-efficient. This time, Holland American should provide grounds for why we couldn't go to Greenland due to technical issues and provide compensation for this. Not only me, but also the other people who were on board said that they had no idea about the schedule change before boarding. In conclusion, I forgot to trust Holland American and my vacation was ruined. I am just glad that I was able to return home safely and in good health.

A wonderful experience overall. The staff and crew were very friendly and courteous. I great vacation.

When we boarded, we were informed that there had been an itinerary change due to unsafe ice conditions in Greenland. Initially, we were very sad about this change because we wanted to see Greenland. We were provided alternate ports, though, including the Faroe Islands. These ports were a wonderful addition to our cruise. We appreciate the captain making the decision to keep us safe and allowing us time at other locations. Some other ships simply had more sea days, but our captain did the work to make sure that we could go to more places.

While having good points, overall our cruise was disappointing and endangered our health. First the good. The staff were awesome, and went out of their way to provide excellent service. Our veranda stateroom was spacious and clean, with an efficient and easy-to-use heating and cooling system. Neutral The food was adequate, though nowhere near the quality and selection of the Holland America cruises we took in 1998 and 1999. While having staff serving food in the Lido buffet looks good on paper, it creates significant bottleneck, in that one has to wait for a server to become available, while one’s food is getting cold, for even for simple things like getting jam or a piece of fruit. While several music venues were great, the main stage entertainment for the most part was mediocre. The Bad First of all, even when we booked online, we could not secure a reserved time for the main dining room. When we were on board, we could not even make dinner reservations on a daily basis for the main dining room. I finally went to guest services and managed to secure a set dining time. Our table mates had the same problem, and knew of multiple cases of other guests being unable to secure a set dining time. Yet in the deck 3 level of dining room there were plenty of empty tables. Obviously Holland America’s reservation system does not work. Limited public spaces relative to the number of passengers, for example the small dance floor was very overcrowded for the line dancing lessons and there would be no place available unless one got there early. Hot tubs also had very limited capacity. Up charges for things that are free on other lines, such as no free lobster night and a limited selection of free beverages. Orange night was not free, requiring guests to purchase a 4-drink set package. Tendering even in deep-water ports and an overly short stay in Liverpool with a 3:30pm all aboard. Poor quality tours sold through Holland America, such as our disorganized whisky and cathedral tour which used an over-crowded standing room only public shuttle, scheduled the whisky tasting first at 10am! As well having the guide abandoning us outside the cathedral, with no guided tour of the interior, and no escort back to the shuttle pickup point. However, the most egregious thing was the Captain failing to inform the guests that there was a COVID outbreak, which resulted in us getting COVID. We found out that many passengers were sick from other passengers and staff, though too late for us to take precautions such as masking in public spaces and tenders. As we caught COVID, this lack of being informed in a timely fashion that there was an outbreak significantly endangered our health and ruined the last four days of our cruise. We had decided to give Holland America one last chance and they failed to deliver, therefor we are unlikely to cruise with them again.

Delta MISREPRESNTED- They indicated GRATITUTIES INCLUDED-- STILL Holland Cruises charged 38 DOLLARS DAILY FOR ' STAFF APPRECIATION"-- I request a refund !!!

The places we went were great, but the ship did not have good activities or any night life (if you're under 65). We did have really rough seas (25' waves) so it was a rough trip.

This was a great cruise, with incredible views of fjords, mountains, waterfalls, and more. We loved the food (except the weak coffee) and especially loved ballroom dancing on the ship.

One of the best cruises ever. Excellent ship, cabin, and itinerary.

The views and scenery of the ports that we visited are magnificent. The ship is very stable, even in a rough sea (just one night between Norway and Scotland.) The ship is relatively new and clean, and is a good size (not so large and not so small) for efficency (of going onshore and coming back) and variety of activities (shows, and etc.)

Nieuw Statendam is truly an amazing experience. It is worth following this ship's itinerary for a superior cruise.

I have been on numerous Holland America cruises and already have 2 more booked for 2025. I love the way you take care of us and the amazing staff I’ve encountered at every level. Your system is efficient, the crew is well trained, and they stay friendly and helpful no matter how hard they’ve worked or how tired they must be. I love the ship design, smaller ship size (but still with stabilizers), great services like acupuncturist for sea sickness and other issues, the spa services, the entertainment, etc.

First trans Atlantic crossing. Met all expectations. Love all the days at sea. We will do another one ( maybe east to west next time ).

My husband and I would cruise again with Holland America's Nieuw Statendam class ships. We were once again pleased all around.

I really enjoyed this cruise and I'm already highly recommending this to my friends and family. Looking forward to my next trip.

Excellent time aboard the ship! Staff is outstanding . Have Mass everyday is why I choose Holland America.

GREAT CRUISE-ENTERTANMENT WAS POOR AT BEST- DRINK PRICES OUTRAGEOUS!! CASINO GAMBLING-POOR- NO COMPED DRINKS WHEN GAMBLING????

We spent alot of time in the Spa. Cash Money was a delight to visit and work with. She's funny but takes her job very seriously. Joy was a true pleasure to spend time with. Had both a pedicure and manicure and she was amazing. Easy to talk to and so friendly!

Go to your room, there you will find your card key, the key to all your fun! Everyone in your party, watch the safety video together, then be sure to go find your Muster station, as it's important should an emergency occur. Then grab lunch and review all the fun things to do on the ship. This is when you should wander around and see where everything is! (If you wander first, lunch will be over!) If you haven't downloaded Navigator, do this now. If you have issues, Staff is on hand at various points throughout the ship to assist. On this app, you can see all the activities, check the ones you are interested in and it goes into your "Personal Itnerary" page. There's also a chat feature you can use to chat with your fellow passengers or new friends you make during the cruise. Wi-Fi service on the boat is not needed for this. Take advantage of being unplugged. Don't get Wi-Fi. Service is not guaranteed while on the ocean, the shipwide system with Navigator is all you need. Take advantage during the day of their fantastic Library, enjoying the sea air by the pool or at the many shaded areaas. There are places to meet new friends and places to enjoy some solitude should you desire. The food is Incredible, however there are Specialty Restaurants also aboard that are Amazing. I highly recommend Nami Sushi. Pricing is a la carte and we enjoyed an Amazing Meal for under $30! For both of us!! All the staff greeted me with a Welcome Aboard the first day and never missed an opportunity to ask how our cruise experience has been. Be sure to explore every deck, from the Crow's Nest inside, to the outside viewing deck above the "Nest" all the way down to the bottom floor where the expansive air studio resides. Other decks contain the Music Venue's (Billboard Onboard - dual piano players), Rolling Stone Lounge (across from Billboard) who switch back & forth playiing, to B. B. Kiing's Blues Lounge! There are other lounge areas away from the noise if a more quiet atmosphere is more your vibe. In addition the World Stage hosts musical shows, movies and presentations about the ship & the ocean. Oh, let's not forget the Casino, which is open all night some nights. Now..... here's something you may have not expected. The Photo Studio. Now, lots & lots of pics are taken at all different places and times on the ship, but they have a World Class Professional Photography Studio on board. Hubby (who is very uncomfortable in front of a camera) agreed to do a sitting with me. I figured why not, it'll be fun and there was no obligation whatsoever too buy. So, our first dressy dinner night, we sat for photos. Imam, our photographer was very outgoing and fun, making little comments of encouragement & had hubbs laughing. A day or so later, we returned to see the results and were absolutely SHOCKED at how Wonderful these pics were!!! I doubt we've ever looked quite that good (maybe 30 years ago), but it still absolutely looked like us. They are stunning. I was able to get an album along with all the pics in both black & white and color as well as the copyright, so I'll have no issues doing reprints. My album is a work of art. They took the best 20 pics (each of us alone and together) and mounted them in this book. The quality of this book is unlike any I've ever seen. This will become an Heirloom. So, what are you waiting for??? Holland caters to a more mature crowd, so if you are looking to party hardy with the kids go check out Carnival, but if you are looking for a relaxed, friendly, fun cruise in the most beautiful surrounds, book a Holland America Cruise and get absolutely Spoiled!