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Just what we needed. by
Michele from Orlando, FL Sailing date: Mar 2007Pros: The friendly staff. Relaxing vacation...good food and wonderful service. We got to see some new (to us) ports of call. Overall great cruise. Entertainment & Activities
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Belize City, BelizeCave tubing in Belize.
What an experience! Our guides were the greatest. It was quite a hike to the site. It wasn't just a lazy river float through a cave.
Costa Maya (Mahahual), MexicoSpeed boating in Costa Maya.
We had a great time outside of Costa Maya in Mahaual. We went on the xpeed boats...two seaters. Lots of fun.
Key West, FloridaBack to Key West.
We revisited places we had been to just last year... on a land vacation. Had to go to BO's Fish Wagon and Sloppy Joe's. We did a lot of walking. The best way to see Key West.
Don't Miss: If you're there for the sunset, a sunset cruise on a smaller sail boat is the best. Santo Tomas De Castilla, Guatemala
 18 out of 20 people found this review helpful.
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  I found ship to be less comfortable and by
Paul from Island Park, NY Sailing date: Dec 2006Pros: The cabin service. So-So. Definitely the worst experience I have had with Holland America. It seems they are becoming less elegant. Entertainment & Activities
22 out of 33 people found this review helpful.
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What a wonderful trip, despite the rain by
Sharon C from NY, NY Sailing date: Sep 2010Pros: Great food and reasonable Cons: Lunch buffet closed too early really enjoyed being on a ship that was not tremendous. The room was nice, the service was excellent, the staff really knew us. We had fresh fruit in our room daily. Our cabin steward knew are names & addressed us as Mr. & Mrs. The breakfast buffet was plentiful, but if wanted to sleep in, you have to wait until 11:30 for lunch, by 10:30 it was shut down. Dinners were excellent. You must make a reservation if you don't have assigned seating. The shows were okay, but the comedian was great! Best ship show I have seen in a long time. The casino was a little small, but good enough. I enjoyed it. My husband loved the texas hold 'em tournaments & cash games.
The weather was not the best, but the retractable roof over the pool allowed for you to enjoy the water even in the rain. I loved the afternoon tea. And the spa was reasonable, offered great deals when in port and the service was wonderful. The staff was very professional. I liked the library/game room as well. You really had a lot of options while on board. Ship Qualitythe only thing that needs improvement woulde be retreat. some of the tiles were missing. Otherwise the public rest rooms were always neat & clearn. Dining/FoodExcellent food. Breafast and dinner was always good. Dessert was also good. Stateroom Qualityroom was average size, bed was nice and the tub in the bathroom was a plus. Ship Staff QualityAlways went above & beyond. Addressed us by name and was very accomodating Entertainment & ActivitiesShow quality was average, but the comedian was the best I have seen. Often activies conflicited. So it was eat dinner or happy hour, dinner or kareoke. It was hard sometimes to do everything you wanted - especially if you had the later dinner
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Hamilton, BermudaThe beach was beautiful. We spent a lot of time at horseshoe bay. The waves were very rough.
St. George's, BermudaNot much to see. We did some exploring on our own. We ate lunch out, which was delish, but service was slow. The only bad thing was waiting 2 hours for the tender ferry.
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Veendam to Alaska - just okay by
Patricia M. from Dallas, Texas Sailing date: Aug 2009Pros: Food Cons: Sea sickness and plumbing issues on ship The ship was nice enough and the stateroom was adequate for our needs although I would have preferred a room with a bathtub instead of a shower only. Ship QualityDid not appreciate the plumbing issues. Sometimes the toilets worked; sometimes they didn't. The Veendam is a smaller ship and you really feel the motion of the water! Dining/FoodThe food was generally good but not outstanding. The chilled soups are not to be missed. A couple of the desserts were outstanding (brownie baked Alaska and a caramel banana pie) but the desserts at the Lido buffet and the midnight chocolate extravaganza were pretty but bland (grocery store quality). Stateroom QualityClean and comfortable and well maintained by our cabin steward. Ship Staff QualityJoko did a good job, was friendly and helpful. Entertainment & ActivitiesWe enjoyed the musicial theatre at the Showroom at Sea. Our cruise director Eric was equally entertaining. Skip the "how to shop in port" talks unless you're interested in buying expensive jewelry. We enjoyed the casino slots (won some money). There weren't just a whole lot of activities/talks that interested us, so we skipped those.
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Haines, AlaskaBook a shore excursion. The town is quaint, but small and you can pretty much see everything in a couple of hours.
Juneau, AlaskaNice town. We enjoyed just walking around and shopping.
Ketchikan, AlaskaVery touristy. Lots of high end jewelry stores, but I really didn't go to Alaska for that.
9 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Ship Review by
Ann from Fayetteville, GA Sailing date: Mar 2007
Entertainment & Activities
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Belize City, Belize
Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico
Key West, Florida
Santo Tomas De Castilla, Guatemala
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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the worst cruise of my life by
Anastasios Tom Tsocanos from Woodridge, NJ Sailing date: Aug 2012Pros: the end Cons: everything, including lack of service, rude and crude boat personell, horrible ride, made the wife dizzy food service was the worst ever that I have experienced.
extra charges very extreme and annoying, will call credit card to fight some of them.
air condition not cool enough first 3 days, then room extremely cold for last 4 days, 1 child caught cold.
safe borke, tv would not shut off. wait for basic water for 18 minutes was unexceptable. no help with baby sitting request of only 2 hours for 1 day quite saddening. Ship Quality
Dining/Foodlack of service unexpected. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activitiesvery boring Children's Programsfew available 6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Wonderful experience. by
Susannah from Washington Sailing date: Sep 2006Pros: The staff. This cruise exceeded my expectations in so many ways. Beautiful cabin, excellent staff, great food, and scenery that took your breath away. Entertainment & Activities
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Ship Review by
Melissa from Reading, PA Sailing date: Mar 2007
Entertainment & Activities
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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A wonderful cruise by
Ustaman from New York Sailing date: Aug 2012Pros: Onboard amenities and the destination itself Cons: A few servers were rude but I believe they were working very long hours The value for money in terms of all the onboard amenities - food, entertainment, activities, gym etc was great. Also, there were not too many young children and that was a plus. The few things I wished are - the swimming pool, hot tubs, spa and the gym closed at 9 pm - wished they remained open longer. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodIf possible arranged seating is probably better than open seating - because I noticed that with open seating, one has to wait in long lines if wishing to go to the best restaurants. Stateroom QualityThis was my first cruise so I am not sure if this is a problem with all ships - the toilet would not flush sometimes - apparently clogging in someone else's toilet affected mine too. Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Pleasant cruise by
Dimitry and Genny P. from Long Island, NY Sailing date: Jul 2011Pros: Food in the dining rooms was excellent, classical music quartet was outstanding, ship's decor was very tasteful (in a conservative way) Cons: Rectangular jacuzzis were the worst I've ever seen: to uncomfortable nobody used them. Ship's showing its age: rust spots here and there., The ship carries about 1200 passengers, so it is not one of those behemoths we see in advertising brochures. This means that getting into and out of the ship is an efficient and fast operation. On the minus side, it means that there is less variety in the facilities onboard. The Holland America Line caters to a rather sophisticated crowd, so there is emphasis in certain degree of formality: on a short, week-long trip to Bermuda there were two formal-attire nights when tuxedos were suggested or formal suits at a minimum, and although the ship had the usual contingent of bars, casino and shows, it also had an excellent quartet playing classical music three hours each evening. Very good library and communications center.
The crew was obsequious and helpful (faulty toilet repaired within 10 minutes, shoes shined in 5).
Food was excellent in the dining rooms, but lagging somewhat at the Lido cafeteria (stale bread once, spoiled strawberries once).
Overall, a very pleasant voyage. Ship Quality
Dining/Food
Stateroom QualityA bit cramped, and some rust in the porthole and bathroom door. Ship Staff Quality
Entertainment & Activities
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Hamilton, BermudaEverything is more expensive than in the US. This is a place to window-shop,o enjoy the beaches, rent a scooter, roam around and go back to the ship to eat. Highly recommended: Horseshoe beach. Perhaps the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. You can go to the bus terminal (about 4 blocks from the ship), get bus tokens (about 4 dollars), take the #7 bus and be at the beach in 20 minutes. Rental of chairs and umbrellas: $11 each. Or you may go by taxi.
St. George's, BermudaVery little place, reached by tender. Go to the beach and visit the small boutiques but these are expensive.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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