I am an experienced cruiser, and we chose this cruise because of the ports being visited...Panama Canal. This was the first cruise with Holland America. We will cruise again, but we will be choosing a different cruise line.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The staff at the port were great. The ship crew were helpful as well in getting us to our room.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
We dined mostly in the Lido market. The cuisine options were varied, but we had the same menu most nights. They didn't offer many vegetable options throughout the cruise other than salad.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
There were a couple of options for pools that were nice with hot tubs as an extra perk.
The casino was relatively small with not a lot of slot machine differences.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The artists were OK, but nothing spectacular.
Children's Programs
no children traveling
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The waiters and serving crew were great. We had a beverage server who looked for us every meal and remembered our names and order.
Our room stewards were great. They checked in on us several time throughout the day and made sure we had ice and fruit in our cabin.
Not too much great to say about the other members of the crew we encountered. We felt dismissed and talked down to by some of the crew when we had a water issue in our bathroom. We had several accessibility issues with the cabin and on our excursion that were dismissed or we were given incorrect information which lead to disappointment.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
The ship was clean, but it felt dated in decor. The layout was ok.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We had to change cabins due to an accessibility issue with the rented scooter. The scooter rental was known by Holland America from the time of booking and we completed their forms regarding accessibility.
The new cabin was nice and the balcony was enjoyed by both of us. But, there was an issue of wet carpet from the time we entered the cabin and we were basically told we weren't using the shower curtain correctly...which was extremely insulting. I told at least 2 different crew members what the issue was just to be dismissed.
Ship tip
Don't expect a huge variety in activities or menu.
We took the day excursion which tendered us to a bus which took us to the ferry which traveled the canal. The excursion was the highlight of the trip. We had a great hostess on the bus and ferry. Traveling through the canal was a once in a lifetime experience.
The only downside to the excursion was the questionability of the bus. It didn't seem to have a functioning speedometer or headlights.
The disembarkation seemed very unorganized for people who had accessibility issues and needed assistance. The crew was dismissive to us and seemed to be more concerned with their wheelchair than getting us off the boat.
Holland America is known primarily for their itineraries and not their entertainment and onboard activities. We have cruised with them twice and found the food, service, entertainment and activities below what we experienced on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. It seems many that rate HAL highly rarely cruise with other lines and have nothing else to compare it too. We would only cruise with HAL again if we could not find a similar itinerary in another line.
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