Overall, I was disappointed in the level of service from Holland America. I would have expected exceptionally service from everyone on Holland; what I thought was more of a high-end cruise line. I was wrong! Due to this experience on Holland America, I will not be a repeat customer of Holland, nor would I recommend Holland to friends or family.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
The embarkation was unorganized and greatly delayed. After we checked in , an announcement was made that embarkation would start after 11:30. However, we were scheduled for 11:00 a.m. After going through numerous lines that were not clearly marked, we finally made it on board around noon.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
After my niece got food poisoning from eating at the buffet. We primarily chose the main dining, Dive In, NY pizza specialty dining. The choices were limited.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The fitness center was snug but it has a decent selection of cardio and weight training equipment.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The BB King Blues All-star singers and band was the best part the cruise. They were great entertainers and musicians! The other entertainment, such as the stage shows were pretty good, especially the lighting effects.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
The main dining and room staff provided great service. Guest services, buffet employees provided some of the worst service, I have experienced on any cruise line. The buffet employees could not answer basic questions about the food, gluten free, vegetarian. They always had to ask someone else who was in back. Guest services took a stance of not caring.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
It was a newer ship, and the decor was great. The shower was much larger than other cruiselines and it was tiled. It reminded me of a high-end hotel bathroom. Very nice. I would have like to see the Adult only pool area, larger and separated from the smoking section. That was unpleasant to see. And, the casino is also a smoking casinos, and the smell wasn't mask very well with the perfumed scent from the oxygenated air.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The room attendant did a very nice job of keeping the room cleaned. Bathroom decor was well done.
Ship tip
The level of customer service will be very poor from guest services, buffet, and others outside of your dining room staff and room attendants.
Did not go to a beach, but visited the pool area and went downtown. The pool was spacious and okay. The downtown area is dirty and not appealing area to visit again.
The beach was very rocky and many holes in the water, where the sea floor has given way. You have to be very careful walking into the water, because you can twist an ankle with the uneven rocks. Good for snorkeling, once you make it out there safely and the sea life was good because of the massive holes in the sea floor.
Similar to other cruise lines, this private island of Holland should be better equipped with a trolley service for areas of the beach further away from the tender. We purchased clamshells through Holland. When we got to the beach by tender, we were given poor instructions on how to check in and to find our pre-purchased clamshell. After walking pass the checkin place, we had to walk back to find someone. Then, we found out the clam shells reservation was on a first come first serve basis and they had to find ones for us. Unfortunately it was further down the beach. The attendant had to ask several people to drive us down there, as a favor to us. I would have expected Holland to have some trolley service, especially with the older clientele. Once we were settled, the beach turned out to be very nice with white sands, level sea floor, and clear blue water. Great for floating, snorkeling and swimming.
I’m sorry that the cruise didn’t meet your expectations. As for embarkation that is up to the terminal. Embarking is typically not the easiest if you have an early time. If you want to breeze on do a later time.
I was on that ship in June for a Norwegian cruise and did not find the buffet bad, and the service I received at guest services was good. Keep in mind most people going to guest services have an issue, the guest services people deal with a lot. The other review for this traveller was also bad and now they will not go on HAL or Royal Caribbean. People will be as happy as they make up their minds to be. I have been on 3 HAL pinnacle class ships in the last year and have 2 more booked for 2023.
Buffet servers don’t prepare the food. If you have questions you need to speak to a cook. But I believe some people look for things to complain about. It also seems that people with no cruise history, are the most critical.
*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.
