http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/ 163-194 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/prinsendam.html This cruise was a great way for us to unwind. The passengers onboard the Prinsendam are generally a lot older than we are with the average being 60's. They also cater to these type of people which means you won't have loud music around the pool or lively entertainment. Instead what you find is relaxation and good service. The staff did an excellent job and we just enjoyed the peace and quiet. The food onboard was excellent as well as the service. With so many other cruise lines quality of food going down it is nice to see that some still offer good food. The ship itself isnt new but they keep it in good shape and everthing is clean. The cabins were comfortable and we slept well on the great pillows and soft linen. The shows we watched onboard were good and we enjoyed them. There are lots of different things to do in the evening and we kept busy. Overall the Prinsendam is a nice ship and we will sail with Holland America again. ]]> Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:35:16 -0500 159-166 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/eurodam.html This was going to be my first cruise and both me and my partner were really looking forward to it. I had looked into the reviews prior to this cruise and found some negative ones but mostly they were positive. After seeing the ship I bon't know how anyone can be so negative. Just go with a positive attitude and you will love the Eurodam. That said you should be expecting a party if you want that I heard you should go to Carnival. You will see lots of families and seniors who are more interested in just relaxing. This is what we were looking for as well. Don't buy any food before you board as there is always so much to eat. This is the first thing we did when we got onboard. The cabin was a good size and quite comfortable. The cabin steward was efficient and knowledgable. I was surprised though to hear how many of them have been working with Holland America for over 10 years. Entertainment is there is you need it but we enjoyed just relaxing more and that is what we did. You can enjoy a movie in the Screening room. The food was excellent and we enjoyed the food we received at all the locations onboard. Everything went smoothly on our cruise on the Eurodam and seeing how Holland America treated us we definitely will sail with them again. ]]> Mon, 10 May 2010 17:55:13 -0500 159-160 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/eurodam.html My husband and I have done a lot of cruises over the years. We especially love going on Holland America. We find it is best suited to our tastes and we have sailed on almost all the Holland America Ships. Therefore we were vary curious to see how the Eurodam compared to the others. With Holland America you will find a lot of older people as this line is more appealing to them. The average age is 50 onboard though it depends on the cruise. The longer itineraries usually have older people and the shorter ones have some younger people. Though most of the guests that you met are very friendly and we have made a lot of friends over the years on various cruises. The ship is cleaned constantly and it shows everything is spotless. One night an elderly man got seasick outside the theatre and within no time the mess was cleaned up. The food was excellent and with the anytime dining you really never had to wait. The entertainment was okay but don't expect much in the evening. I would give the Eurodam 5 stars for the great service, amazing ship, and excellent food. We would definitely sail on the Eurodam again. ]]> Thu, 06 May 2010 17:30:22 -0500 159-146 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/eurodam.html My husband and I and our two kids took this cruise on the Eurodam. We were a little worried after I booked and saw some of the reviews written by other people. Especially about what they said that everyone onboard is a senior and the kids program they just put them in front of a TV. Well our kids found this was not the case and they were well entertained the entire cruise. The played games, did crafts, played Wii and overall the staff were wonderful. The food onboard was quite good and we enjoyed it all. The other family that we were seated onboard were quite friendly and we did enjoy talking with them. The room service to your room was wonderful and we watched a lot of DVD's which are all free while eating. This was enjoyable for us especially with our kids. The entire ship was very clean and you could always see the staff cleaning everything. The spa facilities were really nice onboard and I got two massages which were both really relaxing. My entire family really enjoyed their cruise on the Eurodam and we would sail again with Holland America in the future. ]]> Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:32:57 -0500 159-36 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/eurodam.html I just got back from our Caribbean cruise on the Eurodam. As soon as we got onboard at Port Everglades we went up for a buffet at the Lido Buffet. We had a inside room as the price was so good we couldn\'t resist. The room was clean and well laid out and we have enough room for our needs. The Eurodam is a beautiful ship with wonderful amenities. My favourite was the Casino as I am an avid gambler. I won a little on the slots which helped pay for my cruise. The ports of call were good and the staff was really friendly. Food was excellent and for the price it was a good break away. I would recommend sailing on the Eurodam again especially if you can get a good price. ]]> Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:36:10 -0500 169-43 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/westerdam.html Well I just got back from that Dam ship! I just returned from my cruise on the Westerdam and I thought I would write a review while it is still fresh in my mind. I have sailed extensively with other cruise lines and this is my fourth with Holland America. We picked this ship due to the itinerary it wouldn\'t have been my first choice. The price wasn\'t bad so that also convinced me. We got a balcony cabin for this cruise and I can say we didn\'t regret it. There was plenty of room for us and it was so nice to be able to step out for some fresh air. We spent a lot of time out on the balcony more than I thought we would. Now if you are under 60 years of age then you won\'t like this ship. Why? it is all older people on board. The night club was empty and past 9:00pm the halls are empty to. I found most of these old people weren\'t very friendly either so kind of put a damper on things. The food onboard was average but nothing special. The inside of the ship definitely wasn\'t my taste. Overall unless you are looking for an older crowd stick with Royal Caribbean or Celebrity but stay away from the Westerdam. ]]> Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:52:12 -0600 169-47 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/westerdam.html I am a senior and me and my wife decided to go on a Caribbean Cruise on the Westerdam. The Westerdam is part of the Holland America Line which we have travelled with before and it is our favourite Cruise Line. Boarding in Fort Lauderdale was quick and easy and we were able to get onboard and enjoy a good lunch. The stateroom was clean and well maintained. Our location was prime and we carefully choose it so that it was close to everything that we wanted. We both enjoyed the Library as you could just go and get a book and then return it later. We caught up on a lot of reading onboard. We could also check emails which was a nice way to stay in touch with our family. The entertainment was lovely and we never missed a show. The comedian and illusionist were all really good and very entertaining. We liked spending our evening in the Casino with my favourite game being blackjack. The slots weren't bad either. The food onboard was just above our expectations. Our waiter was very attentive and gave us excellent service. Overall it was a wonderful cruise and a great getaway. Both me and my wife look forward to going back again. We made a lot of friends and would definitely sail on the Westerdam again ]]> Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:04:24 -0600 159-48 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/eurodam.html We have travelled with Holland America before and always prefer to sail on brand new ships. I did try to get on the Maiden voyage of the Eurodam but unfortunately it was sold out at the time. When I heard it was doing a New England cruise out of New York I jumped on doing that cruise and didn't regret it. The embarkation and disembarkation was so fast and easy that we only waited in line for a short time. Some of our other cruises have been much longer. We tried the "As you Wish" dining option which took place in the lower restaurant. Your reservation times are 5:30, 5:45, 8:00 or 8:15 pm otherwise the rest is just walkin. We found it was always best to reserve a table otherwise there would be a wait. I also really recommend the Pinnacle Grill experience as we really enjoyed that. Overall the dining was wonderfull from our wait staff to the food they brought we were just delighted. I do recommend reserving the Cabanas onboard the Eurodam as you are given a covered area, a stewart, large bowl of fruit, 2 bottles of water, towels and a robe. Overall a pampering experience. The Greenhouse spa on the Eurodam was wonderfull and I had many treatments there. Cabins were clean and well organized and spacious though we had a Deluxe S category cabin. There was always lots to do onboard from Culinary Arts Center to computer classes. Unlike Princess these were free of charge. Overall I really enjoyed the cruise and though the passengers are generally older it was a good cruise overall. I can't wait to cruise again. ]]> Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:06:41 -0600 159-51 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/eurodam.html First of all I would like to state that the Eurodam is a very beautiful and well built ship. The design was carefully thought out and the Eurodam looks very sophisticated and elegant. The day of embarkation was a complete nightmare as there was a long line waiting to get onboard and they hadn't even cleared the Eurodam of the last guests. We finally got onboard and took a while to get familiar with the ship. We went for lunch at the dining room which seemed a little disorganized. We finally were able to get a table and had a wonderfull lunch. We had prereserved some cabanas for the whole trip which is really a wonderfull idea. However the idea didn't work out well. The 2 people who took drink orders just didn't deliver. I waited up to an hour for a drink order and it was wrong. The food I wanted wasn't delivered or a wrong order. The place wasn't even that clean up there. So we paid all this money and didn't receive anything that was promised. I went to have my hair done and though they did a good job they tried to push all the products on us. This is obviously how they make their money and I heard stories of people getting product as gifts when actually it was added to their bill. Always get a receipt. The Pinnacle Grill and Neptune Lounge was just horrible. The people were so unfriendly and the food uneditable. I would not recommend eating at this place on the Eurodam to anyone. The best part of the whole cruise was the Grand Cabana on the private island. We had an open bar and barbequed food. It was a little piece of heaven. Overall I like the Eurodam however the service onboard really was a downside for me. I don't think I will sail with Holland America again unless this improves. ]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:13:44 -0600 162-66 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/oosterdam.html After a long year of work we had decided to take a cruise for our 10th anniversary and thought this would be a good relaxing holiday for us. We found that on the ship the average age was 50+ and would have liked to have more people our age. We didn't go with the transfers with the cruise line and just took a cab. We found that it was quicker and also cheaper from Seatac. Embarkation was smooth with no problems and soon we were on the ship. The ship itself was well maintained and clean everywhere. We had a balcony cabin on the ship which was quite nice and we enjoyed sitting outside most days. The main dining room food was okay. Though we didn't like the set dining time and would have preferred the anytime dining. It gives more flexibility especially since we were always busy with shore excursions and couldn't get ready in time for first dining. We really enjoyed all the shore excursions that we did with Holland America. We really got out into Nature and were able to do fun things that we never have done before like Kayaking, glacier trekking and helicopter rides. Overall this was a good cruise but I think I would try a different cruise line next time. ]]> Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:50:45 -0500 165-75 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/ryndam.html We booked our airfare online going from Portland to San Diego and we arrived in San Diego with plenty of time to spare. Boarding went quickly and there wasn't many lines which made us happy. So onboard we went and headed to the buffet. We have cruised many times with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and we have to say that the Ryndam food was the best that we have had. The desserts we didn't care for though as much. We had an inside cabin and it was quite spacious and had enough space for all of our things. We rarely stay in our room except to sleep. Our cabin stewards were wonderfull and answered all of our requests. He even made towel animals on our bed a first for us on a cruise. We had main dining has we enjoy meeting with new people and we did meet another nice couple from Texas and had a lot of laughs. Now we have always heard that Holland America is only for older people so that is what we expected to see. We are in our 50's but we found alot of people onboard around our age. There were several older seniors but so many were so nice to talk to and we had so many good conversations. The entertainment was okay but nothing that great. The ports were good and we especially liked sailing in Puerto Vallarta. So overall a good cruise and we were quite surprised at how much we enjoyed it. We will travel with Holland America again. ]]> Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:10:02 -0500 161-77 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/noordam.html This was our 11th cruise as we had sailed with Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival before however this was our first Holland America cruise. The Noordam was leaving out of New York but was delayed due to a storm the night before. There were 300 kids under 18 on this ship and I heard of other guests complaining about kids running wild but I wasn't bothered in any way. The dining went well and we really enjoyed the food. They had a baked Alaska parade and all the waiters sang. The buffet was average buffet food though I liked the ice cream station. We enjoyed the entertainment onboard and they had some really good acts on this sailing. I also really liked their show "That's Vegas". The room was quite comfortable and I liked that the closests had doors on them not like some of the other cruise lines. The room was spacious and had enough room to store all our bags. The crew was very friendly and would always stop what they were doing to say hello. We really appreciated that. Overall I think we will be sailing with Holland America again. ]]> Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:13:43 -0500 170-83 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/zaandam.html The ship was nice no complaints about that. We have 2 teens and were hoping they would meet other teens their age onboard. When we got onboard is seemed like the average age was 70. Even if there were other teens they won't have anything for them to do onboard. We were left with the task of entertaining our kids for the week. The disco is deserted, as well as the gym as they don't appeal to seniors. Chairs by the pool were easy to come by as most seniors wanted to sit in the shade. The staff was nice and accomodating and the food was okay. However everything shuts down at night and the ship feels deserted. Overall the ship was nice but I wouldn't recommend for anyone with kids or those who can't entertain themselves. ]]> Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:24:03 -0500 158-82 http://www.cruisereviews4u.com/cruise-reviews/holland-america/amsterdam.html Me and my wife are retired and after many cruises with the other cruise lines we thought we would give Holland America a try. I really liked how they have smaller ships with fewer people on it. Well we booked our tickets through our agent though we were disappointed all the balcony cabins were booked out. We flew from Denver without a glitch and got to the cruise terminal. The line was very long and even though we had an express pass we still needed to fill in a lot of forms. Once we were signed in we boarded the ship. We liked our room and appreciated the full tub in the bath. The ship seemed up to date and was very modern. The dining was good and we meet another couple from Houston that we got along well with. Overall we liked our ports and thought the cruise was good. I would sail on the Amsterdam again if I got a good deal. ]]> Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:22:32 -0500