Holland America Maintains Its Reputation

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 0

Review summary

We returned to HAL after having tried other lines and found our remembrances of HAL's 'quality service' had held true to form. The cruise we took was to Alaska in September '07 and, apart from the weather being somewhat dismal, it was a FABULOUS trip. We did have the benefit of being in a Deluxe Suite so we were able to use the exclusive Neptune Lounge and their Concierge services. I also liked the fact that we could eat breakfast in the quiet surroundings of the Pinnacle Grill because of our cabin class. The Noordam was only a few months old at the time of our cruise but it seemed that the crew had settled in nicely and all knew/performed their respective roles quite well. For such a large ship, it never seemed crowded. It's obvious that a great deal of thought went into 'passenger flow' when designing the liner. The fact that HAL was trialing an 'open seating' venue in one of the two main restaurants was a big plus and I understand that they have, or are in the process of, rolling this feature out fleet-wide. Kudos for HAL. I do wish, however, there were more tables for two! We don't care to sit with strangers and make small talk and others must also feel this way because the duce tables were the hardest to secure. Be sure to make a reservation for the Italian specialty restaurant shortly after embarking because if you wait past the second day, all of the reservations for this no-added-charge specialty restaurant will be booked for the remainder of the cruise and you'll be out of luck! All and all, this line and ship maintained HAL's reputation for quality and refinement.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Pros: Responsive service; stateroom amenities; use of Neptune Lounge for suite guests; Daily Catholic Mass and weekly services for other faiths are offered

Cons: If you didn't book a reservation for the Italian 'specialty restaurant' within the first 2 days of the cruise, one was unable to do so for the remainder of the trip.

Recommends Noordam? Yes!