Holland America Was NOT What I Expected. Here's Why

Hello...I love your website I just subscribed. I would like to know about the food. Did you happen to see all races on your cruise I know you mentioned older cruisers but what about all races. Thank you.

My husband and I sailed twice with Holland to Alaska, we loved both. There were a few kids, not many but we had excellent service and would close down the piano bar every night. Our last trip, I was 60 and he was 72. I find it wonderful there is a cruise line more tailored for older couples.

My husband and I are planning on doing an Alaska cruise with them. They seem to have a very nice cruise to Alaska. I’m looking forward to cruising with them

Love your tips!

Anyone knows what was the speed of the wifi for premium package? With the multi device prem wifi plan, can I connect 4 diff device and use the internet at the same time (using the same Navigator acct) Thanks for any insight from anyone.

My first cruise was on the Carnival Destiny it's maiden year. Long time ago I know. We went with several couples who were experienced cruisers. The only downside was there was a large group from South America celebrating their daughters Quincenera so their were a lot of kids. But it wasn't in all areas of the ship. After that, we went on many different cruise lines, & for me , the older I became, the more I enjoyed a smaller ship more focused on older adults. My favorite was Celebrity but I haven't cruised in awhile since my husband passed away. I was working in FT Lauderdale in the late 1990's early 2000's & I met an older lady who worked for my company who worked part time for Holland America as one of those ladies that either met groups at the airport, or worked in the port providing directions for people so they knew where to go. I enjoy watching your videos. My mom was Ukrainian & grew up around Edmonton & my daughter in law is from New London. I spent many summers in Edmonton.

Great informative video

I usually cruise with princess or other I went to Alaska with my mother I’m 30 she’s in her 60s .. very nice cruise ships the have better then princess 💯 but I was probably the youngest person on the ship no joke .. Definitely more towards the older generation people. It was very elegant and nice, but if you’re looking for something really fun as a younger person and a child, I would say no not many activities for young people although I did appreciate a lot of the elegant stuff that they had. They just didn’t have enough events on both cruise ships I went to I guess that’s why it’s directed towards other people, but I was quite impressed with the ship it’s higher end I find very nice tho .. if I was 20 years older 100 percent this is the ship I’d go choose .

I do like the relaxing calm vibe it has Would be good for a couple wanting privacy without a chaotic loud vibe .. if you wanting a bit more excitement for your children don’t take them on this, but other than that it’s great higherr end cruise ship I find

HAL is a good cruise
line to Alaska for my 2 daughters and I in May 2023. I picked it because I was excited about the Music Walk and the classical music venue. To our disappointment the classical music venue was not open all 7 days and it seems to me it's permanently shut down even though it was
mentioned in the videos I followed. My friends who sailed in June also found it closed. If there are closures like this at least they could at least
inform us in some
way.
So for my 2024 cruise to Norway fjords I am picking another line that has lots of live classical music in the piazza.
Otherwise everything else was perfect especially the excellent service !

Yes, I would like more info about the food in Hollad America. Tx

I had to cancel an Alaskan cruise on Holland America a couple years ago which I am thinking about rescheduling

The Choclate ball in Holland it is called Bosse Bol, meaning the bal from the ton of 'sHertogenbosch. What a name for a wonderfull city.

The candle behind you may give people the idea that they can use candles while cruising. NOPE...you can't...

More food info! 😊

Have you done an Alaska land cruise tour on Holland.? Which do you recommend?

We have cruised RC and Carnival before. We are considering booking our next cruise with HA, for a more relaxed “adult” experience. We have heard that all HA ships have a Catholic priest and Mass on board . This is very attractive to us and could be a deciding factor for us

Love your videos. Booked for 42 day cruise November/December 2024 on Volendam. Using your tips to get us informed. We are 66 and 75 and look forward to a more mature group. Can't wait!

Holland America was always my favorite cruise line. It was also my first cruise, and I loved ALL of it. I was on the Noordam, one of my favorites. It is probably a "Medium" size ship but it is still "large." When I started on Holland America in 2008 with a 11-day cruise, most passengers were much older than us (wife was around 38 and I was around 52). Most passengers were from upper 50s to upper 70s+. We hung around with a rare (only?) couple in their 30s, and had a great time. There were not many children, which is ok with me. The food was great, the service fantastic, the excursions were super. I went on a long expensive cruise with Princess Lines around 2014 with wife and kids, and it was a disaster. Never again. I stopped cruising for 6 years after that horrible experience. But I am researching a cruise with Holland again for early 2026. I live in the Philippines now, so I have to fly from the Philippines to Fort Lauderdale for the cruise. I heard Holland stopped their popular Lincoln Center Stage, and also stopped their Kitchen cooking demonstrations that were always popular. That's a big hit. Also, I heard they dropped their steak and lobster in the dining room.

Is the food in the grand dutch cafe included or extra? We're looking at our first cruise ever this fall...

we are booked on NS for a fall 2024 cruise in the mediterranean.. so very excited and appreciate your tips! i have acquired your Ultimate Cruise Planner and have put each page in a plastic protector and made a binder. very useful!

I love HAL. I have been sailing with them for 20 years. Have tried Carnival, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess..Holland is the best. They could and should update their shows. food is great. I miss the Lincoln Center music but the rest of the music is great.

Dutch cafe: Stroopwaffels. Best ever!

Signature fleet does NOT have the BB King lounge.
The bean bag game is known as 'Corn Hole'.
The only other time we did HAL was in 1999 to Alaska. They seemed to have something to do all the time. They made a miniature golf course in the atrium using bar glasses, Kleenex boxes and such. It was actually well done and quite fun. Also a shuffleboard tournament and other competitions.

De Bossche bol.

I’ve cruised on the Oosterdam, Veendam, New Statendam, Eurodam, Zaandam, and will be cruising on the Koningsdam next March. Post-Covid has seen a lot of changes from Pre-Covid days. I started cruising in 2010 and have loved HA.

Yes,more on HAL food would be great.

Going on HAL in Feb 2025. Sydney Australia to Auckland NZ. 14 days. This will be our first on HAL.

One thing that drives me nuts on cruises, is the lack of vegetarian protein. Seems every time my husband has a steak or a rack of lamb, I get spaghetti with tomato sauce on it. And it just doesn’t seem fair. I’m not asking for much but come on a little , plant-based protein would be very welcomed

Will be doing a transatlantic next year so really looking forward to it. I’ve cruised with NCL and honestly the quality of their food leaves a lot to be desired. Seems most of it was frozen and not at all plentiful, for a cruise that’s saying a lot. Based on your experience I cannot wait for my cruise. Thanks for the content, always informative!!

In early August I went on the Eurodam to Alaska and it was absolutely amazing. The food was excellent and the mountains at glacier bay are so beautiful. I also saw a sister ship about 2 miles away.

I loved my first cruise with HAL. One point tho regarding extra charges in specialty dining. I find that odd that they charged you. I had 2 entrees at both the restaurants we tried as I’m a bit of a foodie. Morimoto by Sea and Pinnacle Grill were delicious. No extra charge tho. We were on Sep 29 repo cruise to San Diego from Vancouver

We just returned from a 10 day cruise on HA. It was our first and last cruise with them. We both lost about 5 lbs each due to the over-spiced food, stale bread, odd flavors we were not use to. It is one thing to go to a place and try food, but to not have the option of normal foods you get to a point where you are miserably just trying to find something that is not overseasoned. Even a filet mignon was soaked in pepper sauce. Who does that to a steak. The wifi was a huge issue, even after we paid most expensive package. The access to the ports was also a major issue, most were accessed via small boats coming up to the ship. Considering the age of most passengers was in their 60+ it made it so most could not even go ashore due to safety issues (ourselves included). The pool music was way too loud and we could not hear each other talking. The plush carpet everywhere made moving via wheelchair impossible and we always had to beg for help. They sold us this cruise package under the guise of being "completely accessible". It was far from it. Entering and exiting the ship was done by a couple porters, one at the front, another at the back, literally dragging me in my wheelchair over a make-shift stack of ramps covering the distance to and from the ship. It was embarrassing and terrifying. They were nice about it but it was a clear safety hazard and necessary or you have to stay on the ships like during the ones they use the boats on. So, 10 days and over 13k poorer, we will not be sailing with them again. The drink package water had an odd tinny taste due to it being canned water.

Can you bring wine ?

I’m from the Netherlands and I can tell you that I have eat that big chocolate item very often. It calls Bossche bol and its delicious. In 2 months i’ll cruise with the nieuw statendam.

My husbands father was a Captan on HAL and the operating mgr in NY! We have sailed for 53 years on HAL!

You talked us into our first cruise on a big ship! Until now we cruised with the now defunct Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. This one will be with Holland America to Alaska. We hope that it will be the first of many more to come. Thank you for your videos!

Please more we are going on a first in April looking forward to it is the Dutch Café extra for everything or just the coffees

The Pinnacle class has the added benefit of the entire pool and hot tub area can be covered in the event of bad weather. I've been on the Nieuw Statendam in the Caribbean and I'll be on it's sister ship Koningsdam for 35 days in the South Pacific. Those BIG rolling greenhouse sections may be welcome in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in February.

I prefer no music by the pool since I like to read and music is a distraction.

This is extremely helpful for my wife and I, as we are anticipating our first cruise to the Caribbean; we are taking our kids and we are trying to get a sense of what to expect; it looks very promising! We'll be on the Nieuw Statendam for the Ramsey "Live like no one else" cruise in 2025, and we anticipate that the entertainment will be slightly different. It's also good to know that the pool will not likely be over-run with music.
Thank you! (My wife has binged watched all of your videos!)

We love Holland America. Our room attendant was wonderful. His name was Man, short for his real name.

just did cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam during the week after Christmas. I was blast. New Years eve on the ship was really fun. The food was excellent. I hit the lido deck got most meals but did do a couple of meals in the MDR. I heard about their breadpudding and it didn't disappointment. I really liked being able to catch the late buffet at 11pm. Good movies on their television that were a break from a lot of activity. The staff was great. our stewards were attentive and make sure we had everything we needed with out being annoying. definitely do the orange party!!!

Is this a ship for 5 year olds?
I am wanting to go from Sydney to the USA. Once in a lifetime experience. For my wife and my son.

Yes please .. a video on the food is an awesome idea ❤