Not very relaxing. Had to work too hard to get what I paid for...

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 40

Review summary

You are going to start reading this and think this is a complaint, but you need to read it all the way through! It's a little better than a full on set of complaints, in that Holland America tried...Panama Canal Cruisse 1/6/19 to 1/16/19, Zuiderdam (ship): I did upgrade to an ocean view cabin, but we ended up with a cabin under the BB King lounge ( nightclub on the ship). We could hear thump thump thump late into the night. Guest services offered us earplugs. Earplugs do not keep vibrations at bay. Finally, on Monday, 1/14, they moved us to another cabin that was still on the main deck but not under the BB King lounge! • I am glad we moved from the original cabin on the 10th deck because the cruise was very windy. We could barely walk around the promenade deck outside some days. • We signed up for that program where Holland America checks our bags all the way through to our home airport. Once we moved cabins, we asked if Guest Services were sure the paperwork and tags for that service would go to the new cabin. Did not happen. My husband walked to the old cabin and sure enough, there was the paperwork and luggage tags in the mailbox outside the old stateroom. • I ordered the Romantic Voyage Package. I got a letter that listed everything we were supposed to get as part of that package: 1. Flowers and a bottle of sparkling wine when we came onboard. Flowers were not in the room; had to ask for those (the florist is very busy…). They showed up later the first night. Sparkling wine was there, but no wine glasses and the wine was not chilled. Cabin steward could not figure out how to help us chill the wine. We finally put it in the fridge for later. 2. Chocolate covered strawberries for the last night of the cruise…no, I asked for them and got them within the promised 24 hours. 3. 25 minute massages—the Spa knew about us having the package and scheduled the massages. Yea! But then they added a tip and made me sign the bill??????? 4. A dinner in the Pinnacle Grill Holland America’s onboard upscale restaurant)—They also accepted and knew about us, and scheduled the dinner no problem, but only because I had a card from Guest Services saying I should get it. 5. One sheet of photos—nope, the photographers would not accept my letter (even though Guest Services said they should have). I had to go to back to Guest Services. Guest Services printed a card and left it at my cabin the next day. Then I had to go back to the photographer and get my pictures. 6. $25 in chips and private lessons in the Casino. We went to the casino when it was not open yet. We were told they did not know anything about the Romantic Voyage Package and could not give us chips. They gave us cash and told us to come back when the casino was open. We went back. Oh, now the casino is open. We can only give you a quick lesson in 21 but not anything else….the tables are going to be busy since we are open......hmmmmmmmmmm. I told Guest Services (they became our best friends…) 7. I got really frustrated that I had to keep going back and asking for stuff that I was entitled to due to the Romantic Voyage Package. Holland America needs to provide information to all departments when guests have a package and not give people a hard time. Did not feel very romantic. 8. Guest Services gave us a free dinner in the Canneleto Restaurant (a sort of uscale additional charge restaurant). • Wine…I ordered 6 bottles of wine prior to sailing—2 red for my husband and 4 white for us to share (I cannot drink red wine). The second day at lunch on the Lido deck (the big cafeteria/food court on the ship), I asked for a glass of my wine. Oh my God! It will take 45 minutes. I have to go get it….she finally did. Then I go to dinner in the dining room that night. Anna, our sommelier, tells me I have to let her know where we are eating lunch and dinner every day so my wine can be there! Since when exactly is that my problem? I went back to Guest Services. They apologized. The next day we saw Anna our sommelier again and she still insisted I had to make my plans ahead of time…I ended up eating lunch in the dining room as much as possible. The sommelier in the Pinnacle Grill got our wine before we ever showed up. After we switched cabins, the dining room could not find my husband’s wine at lunch. They brought him a free glass of red wine. Oh, and Anna did not “get” why I wanted to open one bottle of red for my husband and one of white for me at the same time. Who cares? Did I ask you to do it…Not happy. Feeling less like I am on vacation…. • Cabin staff for 1st cabin (1064)—wonderful. Oh my. One night I walked in when Alex (our cabin steward) was making my towel animal. When I guessed what it was, he made me a different one!!!! For our anniversary, they did 2 swans and rose petals on the bed! I thanked him profusely. Cabin staff for new cabin (1093)--Made the smallest towel animals possible… • Wait staff in the dining room—Telhed (our waiter) made animals out of paper and cups and cans—oh so cute. One night we ate in the Pinnacle Grill, and he saw us walking around the promenade deck later and brought the figure he’d made out to me on the promenade deck. The dining room staff were both AMAZING! The assistant manager remembered us from an Alaska cruise nearly 10 years ago! We had a couple next to us at dinner that both live with visual impairments. I heard Telhed telling the wife each night where foods were located on her plate. They were so respectful to them. The husband and wife were fascinating people. They had their service dog with them, and the husband and I started discussing rules and regulations for taking service animals into foreign countries. They have a Facebook page: Servicedog Joska! Features a lot of pictures of Holland America voyages! • We really enjoyed the spa. We always sign up for the heated ceramic chairs and the wave pool. But one night they had a ladies night, and it was so noisy we left. No way to relax…. • Selfishly, everyone made a big deal out of our 43rd wedding anniversary, and we appreciated it. But no one ever mentioned my PhD….which was ½ the point of the trip….and I told my Holland AAmerica agent thatw as why I was booking the cruise. He spent 4.5 years clalling me every 6 months to see if I finished the Ph.D. and was ready to book my cruise… • We did the excursion where you go see the other 3 locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. I get all the waiting….but when one has 6 busses with most people over the age of 50, the bus either needs to have a bathroom or there needs to be a restroom available, and people should be able to get out of the bus and walk around. There was no restroom on the bus. We sat on the bus at the dock where the tenders took us from the Zuiderdam to the dock for an hour, spent a few hours in a bus (with a stop for restrooms and food at a place way too small to accommodate us), and then when we got to where we were supposed to get on the ferry, we had to wait over an hour for the ferry pilot…the Canal pilot to show up. No bathrooms. Not allowed to leave the bus. The head driver said there was a firehouse and if it was an emergency, a few of us (from all the busses) could go use the toilet…really? • Lastly, I felt as if I worked very hard to get wine, romance package stuff, etc. It just did not feel very relaxing. And I think because of the cabin change, we never got our pictures of the ship or the Mariner pins we were supposed to get…. So, after waiting over 5 years to go on a cruise, it was stressful and not very relaxing. Lack of communication seemed to me to be the biggest issue…that and why in the world are there cabins under a nightclub? I sent the above to my agent at Holland America, and this was his response: Hello and welcome home from the Zuiderdam. Thanks for your email recap about your cruise. We appreciate all compliments and critiques so we can know what serves guests well and what needs improvement. I’ll forward your email to my colleagues of our post-cruise department, Guest Relations, for their handling and response. They also communicate back to the ship and the departments involved. I’m sorry to hear about the first stateroom’s vibration issue, the mail/communications mix ups that resulted from changing staterooms, the sommelier & wine problems, and the difficulties with the Romantic Voyage Package. I hope that the positive parts of your trip outweighed the problem issues! We appreciate your valued business and Mariner loyalty. Hopefully as we learn from your feedback, we can serve you better in the future if we can have the opportunity. Thanks again, and, enjoy being home and returning to your routine.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island) Did not visit port

Oranjestad, Aruba

Willemstad, Curacao

Enter Panama Canal At Cristobal

Cruise Gatun Lake (Inside Panama Canal)

Cruise Gatun Lake (Inside Panama Canal)

Cruise Gatun Lake And Panama Canal

Exit Panama Canal At Cristobal Did not visit port

Colon, Panama

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica

Disembarkation

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