What is the Best Holland America Ship You Cruisedc to what Destination/s

[sherryf]

New Statendam Eastern Caribbean Christmas 2021 with the whole family for my son's wedding.  I don't know if anything will ever beat that cruise! 😁

[nw gardener]

Maasdam June 2016, 2 week Alaska RT with good friends,  and perfect weather.  Wonderful crew, loved the  size, and ended up  booking the same cruise in 2020,  but covid happened and she was sadly sold. 😥

[lyndarra]

2013, our very first HAL cruise on Volendam, 16 days Sydney to Singapore via Indonesia. Loved the size of the ship and discovered HAL's penchant for varied itineraries.

Three memorable events from that cruise.

Komodo Island - dragons - and

A wild excursion from Semarang port (Java) to Borobudur Temple. Six or seven coaches with police escort, at speed, to make it there and back in time due to horrific local traffic, and

on a beautiful day, a couple of hours drifting on mirrorlike water of the Java sea when a power generator failed. No power on board except for the bridge and the casino😉.

 

[mcrcruiser]

5 hours ago, lyndarra said:

2013, our very first HAL cruise on Volendam, 16 days Sydney to Singapore via Indonesia. Loved the size of the ship and discovered HAL's penchant for varied itineraries.

Three memorable events from that cruise.

Komodo Island - dragons - and

A wild excursion from Semarang port (Java) to Borobudur Temple. Six or seven coaches with police escort, at speed, to make it there and back in time due to horrific local traffic, and

on a beautiful day, a couple of hours drifting on mirrorlike water of the Java sea when a power generator failed. No power on board except for the bridge and the casino😉.

 

Wow what a experience

[mcrcruiser]

17 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

My first ever cruise was the 1938 version of Nieuw Amsterdam (late June, NY to Rotterdam) in 1959. I became a HAL believer 7 years later when I did 14 nights on the same ship to the Caribbean over Christmas/New Year's.  My next HAL cruise was in 2012 on Westerdam from Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle (17 or 18 nights?). Oosterdam in 2016 (17 nights Rome to FL). Finally, the best one was 2021 on Rotterdam VII from FL to the Caribbean in December with cousins from NC. I am more port conscious than price or ship. This rang all three bells - price, ports and ship. The size is perfect for us.

Jim

Wow how old were you in 1938 Jim ? That is  the year I was born .

Cliff

[mightycruisequeen]

Maasdam 39 nights from Sydney, around New Zealand, and across the Pacific to San Diego in early 2018 was, for us, the best so far.  The itinerary was jaw-dropping; we were completely blown away by Milford Sound in New Zealand, and we love any opportunity to visit French Polynesian islands, especially Bora Bora and Moorea, and enjoy the Hawaiin islands so much too.  The small ship was pretty much the least crowded cruise we've ever been on, and it felt like a friendly little community.  We've done variations of that sailing since, but it's the one to beat, for us!

[mcrcruiser]

3 minutes ago, mightycruisequeen said:

Maasdam 39 nights from Sydney, around New Zealand, and across the Pacific to San Diego in early 2018 was, for us, the best so far.  The itinerary was jaw-dropping; we were completely blown away by Milford Sound in New Zealand, and we love any opportunity to visit French Polynesian islands, especially Bora Bora and Moorea, and enjoy the Hawaiin islands so much too.  The small ship was pretty much the least crowded cruise we've ever been on, and it felt like a friendly little community.  We've done variations of that sailing since, but it's the one to beat, for us!

what a neat cruise that was for you .Unfortunately ,Bora Bora is restricting any cruise ship must be under 1200 pax now to some in. to bora Bora .This is the only island so far doing this rextriction 

[mightycruisequeen]

8 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

what a neat cruise that was for you .Unfortunately ,Bora Bora is restricting any cruise ship must be under 1200 pax now to some in. to bora Bora .This is the only island so far doing this rextriction 

Yup, the 2018 sailing was the last one we got to visit Bora Bora.

[jeh10641]

2 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Wow how old were you in 1938 Jim ? That is  the year I was born .

Cliff

Hi, Cliff,

In 1938, I was three years away from conception. That was the birth year for the Nieuw Amsterdam, my home for my first cruise, 8 days across the Atlantic from New York City (Hudson River, West Side of Manhattan) to Rotterdam. At the time of that trip, I was not yet 18 years old. Now I am 82 and looking forward to our next transatlantic cruise (on RCCL, Anthem of the Seas) in October this year.

Jim

[albingirl]

On 7/21/2023 at 9:18 PM, RuthC said:

Best HAL ship is a neck and neck race between Rotterdam V and Prinsendam II. Elegant, traditional style ships that were small enough to get around easily, yet large enough to offer plenty to do. 

First cruise on Prinsendam was my first excursion into Arctic waters, when the ship sailed into the Polar Ice Cap. What a thrill! An officer hung over the bow, watching the ice while two crew members hung on tightly to his legs, so if the ship rolled the officer wouldn't fall off. 
I sailed to so many places on the Rotterdam that I couldn't name them all! That included my second cruise into Antarctic waters. Even sailed on her final cruise. What a thrill that was. 

The Rotterdam was often overlooked as a favorite ship for many.  We loved her.  Something special there.

[albingirl]

Our favorite cruises were during the Atlantic Adventure era.  The Maasdam 42 day transatlantic to Europe, and the Veendam 49 day transatlantic to Europe.  There were people who went on these fall crossings every fall and they were magnificent.  Wish they'd bring those cruises back.

[1ANGELCAT]

SS Statendam, September 1976 NYto Bermuda 🇧🇲. My first cruise.

[cruisemom42]

22 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

My first ever cruise was the 1938 version of Nieuw Amsterdam (late June, NY to Rotterdam) in 1959.

 

She was certainly a memorable ship; still carrying on in the glamorous "ocean liner" days. My grandmother sailed on her and I got a chance to go onboard and have tea on the ship with her as well as a little look around. I remember being very impressed.

[jeh10641]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

She was certainly a memorable ship; still carrying on in the glamorous "ocean liner" days. My grandmother sailed on her and I got a chance to go onboard and have tea on the ship with her as well as a little look around. I remember being very impressed.

Hi, cruisemom42,

One thing I remember distinctly about those early (for me) was the three classes - tourist, cabin and first. Never the twain should meet. You could go down a class or two to visit but NO upward mobility was allowed. As a teen (1959), I did not follow those rules all the time.

 

It feels like we are heading back to the class system with cruise loyalty programs and ships within a ship facilities.

 

Jim

 

[cruisemom42]

31 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

Hi, cruisemom42,

One thing I remember distinctly about those early (for me) was the three classes - tourist, cabin and first. Never the twain should meet. You could go down a class or two to visit but NO upward mobility was allowed. As a teen (1959), I did not follow those rules all the time.

 

It feels like we are heading back to the class system with cruise loyalty programs and ships within a ship facilities.

 

Jim

 

 

Completely agree with you, and it's not a trend I welcome.

[mcrcruiser]

4 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

Hi, Cliff,

In 1938, I was three years away from conception. That was the birth year for the Nieuw Amsterdam, my home for my first cruise, 8 days across the Atlantic from New York City (Hudson River, West Side of Manhattan) to Rotterdam. At the time of that trip, I was not yet 18 years old. Now I am 82 and looking forward to our next transatlantic cruise (on RCCL, Anthem of the Seas) in October this year.

Jim

Jim enjoy it all ,those are very nice cruises  .We have sailed on Anthem  2017 New England Canada ,from their Bayonne NJ port.A very nice ship but huge

 Cliff

[jeh10641]

19 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Jim enjoy it all ,those are very nice cruises  .We have sailed on Anthem  2017 New England Canada ,from their Bayonne NJ port.A very nice ship but huge

 Cliff

Hi, Cliff,

Anthem is by far the largest ship we have sailed on. The previous largest was Navigator of the Seas in 2008. But that cruise was only at 75% capacity so only 2500 passengers. Our HAL trips since 2009 have all been on ships with a capacity of 2700 or less. I am not sure I will cope. The town I live in had 5000 souls when we moved here in 1978. They could all fit on Anthem!

Jim

[C 2 C]

Our first cruise 1989 on the Rotterdam.  On formal night the chief engineer joined us at our table and invited us to the engine room.. We climbed the ladders and saw these huge pistons.. a trip never to be repeated with insurance laws etc. 

[whogo]

I am supposed to say I liked Prinsendam best and we did have a couple of great cruises on her including a 30 day Mediterranean/transatlantic, but was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the Noordam 38 day San Diego to Aukland via Hawaii, Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia cruise in October, 2018. There was more and better entertainment and the larger size was no problem.

[Harboursiders]

For us it has to be the Prinsendam, which we were fortunate to sail on for the Grand 2016 South America and Antarctica cruise.  The small ship size, great cabins, fantastic crew, excellent cuisine and diverse itinerary made for an unforgettable voyage,  We have met several crew members since and they all say it was a remarkable cruise.  Friendships made on the cruise have continued to this day.