A bucket list cruise of a lifetime. Holland America remains our first choice for cruising. Just be aware that on their newer (Signature Class ships) the cabins are significantly smaller, including the suites.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
The afternoon embarkation, Holland America was told that ALL passengers must have a Rapid Antigen before boarding. Holland America did an outstanding job of trying to assemble testing personnel and stations to get the job done. However, when passengers arrived at the terminal, all 1600 had to wait outside in the Florida sun until the opened for testing at around 1:30. For most passengers it took at least 2 hours to complete the process before they were able to board the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The Rotterdam is a true gem of a ship. It is done in traditional HAL design.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Many activities to choose from throughout the cruise.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Holland America has SIGNIFICANTLY improved the shows presented on The World Stage. Still not as good as other cruise lines, but a big improvement.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Great staff that were always seeking to make our cruise a great experience.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
If you love the design of a more traditional cruise ship, that almost any Holland America ship, especially the Rotterdam, will fulfill your requirements - especially if you enjoy a true walk around promenade deck.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
WARNING- The Vista Suite is about the same size as a standard balcony cabin on their older ships and the bath (even though very contemporary) is smaller also. With that said, we were very pleased with our cabin selection.
Ship tip
If you have sailed on the older Holland America ships, the three newer ships (Signature Class) have cabins that are significantly smaller. As a result, Holland America was able to have more cabin in the same amount of space. Example; if you sailed on the Zuiderdam with a standard balcony cabin, you will find the standard balcony cabin on the Rotterdam smaller both in the cabin area and bath.
I'm a HAL customer for life. Just curious why passengers weren't pretested before arriving at port instead of doing the covid test at port? Or am I misunderstanding that? We sailed Rotterdam in February and everyone had to be pretested.
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