Holland America ... True or False?

[ChiBearsSuperFan]

My parents have been on Holand America a few times and absolutly loved it. They were part of our inspiration to book on the Westerdam for August of 2009 to Alaska. Over the years I have heard many things, from many sources,about Holland America and I would like to poll the population here to see if there is any truth to some of the things I hear.

So, please tell me ... True or False ...

 

The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

 

There are not many activities in the late evenings.

 

Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

 

All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

 

The food is better than most cruise lines.

 

In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music.

 

Like I said, these are things that I hear. I have only ever been on Carnival so I know how their programs, entertainment and food work. Comparisons to Carnival would be easy for me to understand but if you havent been on Carnival before, please let know how how things are on Holland America.

 

Thank you!

[RuthC]

Median age will vary greatly depending on length of cruise, class of ship, and to some extent, destination. Alaska in the summer will have a range of ages with extended families. That's especially so on the Vista class ships.

After dinner there is usually a movie running. There is a dance band in the Ocean Bar until midnight and the Piano Bar is also open until then. There's a stringed instrument group playing in the Explorers Lounge; they tend to end earlier on my last few cruises. On the Vistas and the E-dam there's also a disco. In Alaska I would not expect a late-night crowd as there's lots to do the next day.

Service is not beyond comparison, IMO, as I expect the luxury lines are at least as good, probably better. They are also much more expensive. Service is very, very good, however.

Adherance to the dress code can, and does, vary from week to week, even on the same ship and destination. In Alaska you may see more people not as well dressed.

Food is quite subjective. I'm a finicky eater and have never gone hungry on a HAL cruise. But it's more like very good banquet food than it is gourmet.

How "modern" is "modern music"? There is a fairly decent variety of music eras and styles available somewhere on the ship. Try the disco for the most "modern" style.

Hope this helps. Alaska is the one itinerary where I consider the ports and scenery the destination, rather then the ship itself. This is not a go-go-go-fun-fun-fun place. This is the wonder of nature in all its glory.

[eh2zed]

Like Ruth said it will vary from cruise to cruise but generally you are not too far off. Very different from Carnival. As you may know Carnival Corp owns Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America, Princess, Cunard, Costa, etc. Carnival Corp markets HAL as a premium cruise line, Princess as a standard and Carnival as a budget line. Generally a half to full star between the categories. This in general terms equates to cost per passenger per day; nevertheless you can have a good time on all of them.

[TMJplus1]

Based on my experience on the Westerdam's sister ships, Oosterdam and Zuiderdam (and also having been on Carnival)...

 

Yes, the passenger ages on HAL tend to be older; however, being in my late 30's during my last 2 cruises I found there were always couples the age of me and my hubby and we usually found them during the late hours. Which brings me to my next response...

 

There were definitely not as many late-night activities as Carnival, and many of the late-night activities on HAL were lightly attended. However, there was always live music somewhere on the ship - the HAL Cats playing up in the lounge or a jazz band or quartet playing in some of the smaller venues. The disco was open every night and did take requests; the level of activity and music choices depended on the crowd that was present. I noticed that activity in the disco seemed to pick up later at night when "the cast" from the various onboard productions, as well as several of the ship's officers, would show up. They also had a really fun night that was 70's disco-themed on both Vista class ships I sailed and both times it was very fun and I even did The Hustle. :o

 

Yes, service was incredible. The staff was just very very friendly. Although, maybe I am lucky in that I had excellent service experiences on Carnival and RCI as well and while HAL was exceptional I would not say it was over-the-top exceptional compared to those two lines. My guess from seeing the posts on these boards is that the more you sail with HAL, especially if you sail on the same ships over and over, the more personal your experience with staff will be.

 

I like to dress for dinner every night, and again did not notice people being better dressed on HAL than on RCI or Carnival. As long as you don't go "too" casual, I don't think you will have a problem whether you want to wear a tux on a "normal" night or just slacks and a polo shirt.

 

The food on HAL was exceptional. Loved it. No complaints. Loved the Lido buffet, too. And on the Zuiderdam (not Oosterdam, unfortunately) they had a Bloody Mary Buffet every afternoon which was quite yummy.

 

As for comparing to Carnival, I think there were a lot more "boisterous" type activities on Carnival (the belly flop contest, horse races, and karaoke bar come to mind) than on HAL, but depending on your preference this may not be something you'll miss. I tend to enjoy the quieter activities such as the trivia games and these were abundant on HAL.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[RevNeal]

Food is quite subjective. I'm a finicky eater and have never gone hungry on a HAL cruise.

 

LOL ... Ruth, that's got to be one of the greatest understatements from you that I've heard all year! :D Thanks for giving me a fun chuckle. ;)

[vbmom87]

"The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's."

 

On our HAL cruise to Alaska this past summer, there were all ages. However I would say the majority were 40-60.

 

"There are not many activities in the late evenings."

 

Can't say, because we went in June when it was light out late, so every night we were out on deck or in the Crow's nest lounge with its panoramic viewing. We went to Alaska to see the scenery and that is what we did. I know they had shows going and I heard they were very good. However, once it finally turned dark, we headed for bed. Our port days started at 7:00 a.m.

 

"Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level."

 

This was our only cruise. I will say the staff on Holland was wonderful. Everyone was always greeting us with a smile and helping us out whenever we needed it. We were very pleased with the service on HAL.

 

"All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire."

 

The two formal nights were dressy. The rest of the nights were casual. Although we didn't see many jeans in the dining room, you were allowed to wear them on the non-formal nights and some did. If you don't want to dress up for formal nights, the Lido really is a lovely, casual place to dine. No formal nights there.

 

"The food is better than most cruise lines."

 

No personal experience as we only went on one cruise and it was HAL. I did, however, meet many people who had been on many cruises. Everyone I met who had been on Princess before, said they liked the HAL food better. I met one person who said she liked Celebrity's food better. She had a lot of dietary restrictions.

All I know is we really thought the food was wonderful. My sister is a very picky eater, and she tells everyone how great the food was. She always found something on the dinner menu that appealed to her and she enjoyed.

 

"In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music."

 

The only lounge we were in was the Crow's Nest. They did have a group performing each night. I wouldn't say it was "modern." However, I have no idea what was happening in the other lounges.

[MadManOfBethesda]

Median age will vary greatly depending on length of cruise, class of ship, and to some extent, destination.

 

Ruth, you may be confusing median with mean. The range of ages really doesn't impact on the median, which is simply the point at which 1/2 the passengers would be above that point, and 1/2 would be below. Assuming a median of 60 for example, I think that stating that at least 1/2 the passengers on a given HAL cruise will be in their 60s or older is pretty accurate, regardless of the class of ship or destination.

 

BTW, just to take an extreme example of the difference between median and mean, if you had two sets of grandparents aged 64, 65, 66, and 67; traveling with a total of 3 grandchildren aged 4, 5, and 6; the average (mean) age of that particular group of 7 people would be 39 1/2. However, the median would be 64.

[mom&me_cruising]

The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

Don't know the median age, but definitely seems older average passenger age than Carnival. I was travelling with my parents on an HAL Alaskan cruise, and the passengers were my parent's age or older.

 

There are not many activities in the late evenings.

Agreed that compared to Carnival, there are less activities in the late evenings, and the activities tend to be more subdued.

Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

Depends on which Carnival ship you are on. We have cruised on a couple of Carnival "flagships" (i.e. their newest at the time of the cruise on European itinerary), and we have always gotten great personalized service. And we have gone on an older (same class) Carnival ship Carribean itinerary and the service was not as good. So, HAL service is definitely better than Carnival on the Carribean itinerary, but HAL service might be equal to (and at most slightly better than) the Carnival "flagship". We are pretty low maintenance people; just like to be introduced on first day and greeted subsequently, room cleaned by the time we get back to the room during the day, and turned down service complete before we get back from dinner, ice bucket filled, clean towels, etc. All standard service, I think. :D

All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

Well, again depending on which Carnival itinerary you are on. I found people more dressed up on the European itinerary than the Carribean even on Carnival.

 

The food is better than most cruise lines.

YES!!! On the Alaska itinerary, be sure to have a cup of dutch pea soup on deck while cruising through glaciers. Yum!

[Stevesan]

My parents have been on Holand America a few times and absolutly loved it. They were part of our inspiration to book on the Westerdam for August of 2009 to Alaska. Over the years I have heard many things, from many sources,about Holland America and I would like to poll the population here to see if there is any truth to some of the things I hear.

So, please tell me ... True or False ...

 

1) The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

 

2) There are not many activities in the late evenings.

 

3) Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

 

4) All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

 

5) The food is better than most cruise lines.

 

6) In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music.

 

Like I said, these are things that I hear. I have only ever been on Carnival so I know how their programs, entertainment and food work. Comparisons to Carnival would be easy for me to understand but if you havent been on Carnival before, please let know how how things are on Holland America.

 

Thank you!

 

All these, of course, are generalizations, but they're fairly accurate.

 

Most, especially 3), 5) and 6), are good things! :)

 

The only arguable item is 1) which largely depends on cruise itinerary and/or length. The same might be said of 4).

[twinkletoes4445]

 

The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

 

True, at least on our 7-day HAL Caribbean cruise. In fact, the average age was more like late 60's. And this would be true, IMO, for the 10-day and longer cruises.

 

But...

 

I've read that there are many more young people on the HAL Alaskan cruises, and you can expect more kids when cruising over President's week and Spring Break.

 

On Carnival we saw a much more varied age range, with tons more kids.

 

 

There are not many activities in the late evenings.

 

True. We found the HAL ship pretty much shut down by 11:00.

 

On Carnival the ship rocks until the wee hours.

 

 

 

Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

 

Very true on HAL.

 

Carnival doesn't hold a candle to HAL in this area.

 

 

All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

 

False. We were surprised how casual the dress was on our 7-day HAL cruise. I had brought along several dressy pantsuits for casual night, but ended up wearing Capri sets. On formal nights we saw only a few tuxes. The rest of the men wore suits. We did see a few men in sports coats and ties.

 

I've read that the longer cruises on HAL tend to be more formal.

 

On Carnival we saw much more casual attire, even on the formal nights.

 

 

 

The food is better than most cruise lines.

 

True. We found the food on HAL to be quite good. We also love the room service menu. HAL also gets extra points for being able to order a full breakfast (and write in items) on the breakfast room service and for being able to order off the dinner menu and have the food delivered to your cabin.

 

The food on Carnival was so-so. The buffet didn't hold a candle to HAL's buffet.

 

 

 

In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music.

 

True on HAL.

 

Carnival's lounges were geared to the younger crowd (50 and below).

 

 

 

This is just my opinion on our experiences. We had a good time on Carnival (we had our kids with us), but it's too much action for us. We chose HAL because I've read about their service, and thought it might suit our needs better, and it did. It's great that there are so many options out there...and hopefully, you'll find the one that's best for you. :)

[NevadaHiRoller]

My parents have been on Holand America a few times and absolutly loved it. They were part of our inspiration to book on the Westerdam for August of 2009 to Alaska. Over the years I have heard many things, from many sources,about Holland America and I would like to poll the population here to see if there is any truth to some of the things I hear.

So, please tell me ... True or False ...Thank you!

 

The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

 

True

 

There are not many activities in the late evenings.

 

True

 

Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

 

True

 

All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

 

True

 

The food is better than most cruise lines.

 

False

 

In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music.

 

True

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

True-60s or older.

On our 10 day we were by far the youngest (we're in our 30s), with most being 70 & older. We saw many with walkers, wheelchairs, and canes. We like this about HAL-there are never any drunks, college kids, crowds, obnoxious kids. The passengers are always fun, interesting, & kind. I have never seen more than a handful of small children and a few teens onboard (and hope it stays that way :p).

 

There are not many activities in the late evenings.

We are never up past midnight, but I do recall a 50s sock hop, karaoke, Superstar contest, shows, movies, casino, DJ in the nightclub, etc.

Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

We love the HAL crew! Always fantastic service with a smile.

All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

Thankfully, yes.

Only once on a Caribbean cruise (on the Westerdam) did I see 1 man in jeans in the dining room. :rolleyes:

The food is better than most cruise lines.

We are Vegetarians and they have great selection, taste, presentation, and portion sizes. They always give us a separate Vegetarian menu and have even cooked us dishes not on any menu.

Food in the Lido varies-sometimes excellent, sometimes bland.

In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music.

On the Westerdam, the bar in the Atrium always had top 40 music playing. The Northern Lights disco played top 40 dance music, the piano bar played hits from the 70s, other lounges usually classical. The Crows Nest music was varied-80s, 70s, 50s, to current hits. The Joel Mason & Friends show played songs by Pink Floyd, The Eagles, and Charlie Daniels.

[RuthC]

Ruth, you may be confusing median with mean.

Thank you for the remedial math lesson. The concepts of "mean", "median", and "mode" are fairly elementary, and I am familiar with them.

I am of the belief that all three will vary depending on length of cruise, class of ship, and to some extent, destination.

[jjgoo]

I never worry about the age. I have seen some people in there 60's who love to party late night.

[MadManOfBethesda]

Thank you for the remedial math lesson. The concepts of "mean", "median", and "mode" are fairly elementary, and I am familiar with them.

 

 

Hey, I was just trying to be helpful. There was no reason for your sarcastic reply. I'm sorry that you took offense.

[mamadot]

Once when we were in a port which we had visited many times we decided to stay on board and have dinner. We were the only couple in the dining room when they brought a lady to dine with us. I had seen her around the ship.........she was delightful and told us wonderful stories. She had just applied for a new passport, waiting to the last days in order to be able to travel until she was 100........

Sometimes OLDER pax have something to say!

[AirGorilla]

The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

TRUE, although some longer cruises have averages higher than that.

 

There are not many activities in the late evenings.

TRUE,

 

Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

FALSE. It's good, but not beyond comparison.

 

All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

FALSE. They have casual nights, just like other lines.

 

The food is better than most cruise lines.

FALSE. Somewhere in the middle.

 

In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music.

TRUE.

[ChiBearsSuperFan]

Thank you all for the information! Im sure we will thoroughly enjoy our time on the Westerdam. Besides, doesnt matter who else is there, we are bringing our own fun crowd with us!

[hammybee]

 

As you may know Carnival Corp owns Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America, Princess, Cunard, Costa, etc. Carnival Corp markets HAL as a premium cruise line, Princess as a standard and Carnival as a budget line. Generally a half to full star between the categories. This in general terms equates to cost per passenger per day; nevertheless you can have a good time on all of them.

 

And yet all three charge about the same when sailing hyper -competitive runs, like Alaska. HAl is often the most affordable.

[HWH]

1. On your Alaska itinerary the crowd will be younger, though my wife and I (early 40's both) received lots of comments from many of our fellow passengers about how young we were.:p

2. If you choose, as we did, to fill your port days with physically active shore excursions, the issue of what to do late at night will likely be a moot point!

3. As far as your expectations of the service you will receive, don't set yourself up to be disappointed. If you expect good service you'll probably be pleasantly surprised, but if you truly expect "service beyond comparison" a mass market cruise line, even a "premium" line like HAL, will fall short.

4. I wore my tuxedo on formal nights, but few others did. I was surprised at how many attended formal night dressed more like "country club casual", jacket maybe but no tie. Alaska cruises, I'm told, tend to be less formal.:confused:

5. I enjoyed the food on HAL. I have since taken a cruise on Celebrity which is supposed to have excellent food and found the food on HAL to be better--in terms of consistency, being cooked to proper temperature,etc. As far as creativity, I'd give Celebrity the edge.

6. If the bands on my cruise played anything recorded after the mid-80's, I didn't hear it. But then again, as I said in #2, we were asleep pretty early on most nights!

[iancal]

Based on only one HAL trip...we really did like the HAL experiece.

 

-average age on our cruise was definately 60 plus but so what?

-they tend to roll up the sidewalks fairly early...we did not care about this

-service was very good, but frankly not particularly better than what we have had on Princess or Celebrity

-can't comment on attire, I never take a great deal of notice

-food was very good, but again no better than Princess or Celebrity. This tends to be a ship specific thing. We thought the beef dishes, with one exception were not up to par-probably because of cutbacks on meat quality or grade but we found the same on our last Princess cruise. The found the buffet to be much better than Princess but we generally go to the D/R. They are all cutting back

-modern music...no but we did enjoy the music much more than the show

 

Don't get me wrong, we like HAL but would never consider it to be an upscale line. Just look at the price points-definately mid market. It certainly did not compare to our Crystal experience but it did provide very good value for money and I am certain that we will select HAL again.

[richnorto]

Your preconceptions are pretty much true on all accounts except age. That, as has been mentioned does change with the time of year you travel. On our HAL cruises (over holidays) there are always some families and a younger clientele. A lot of teachers and younger professionals do travel over Christmas and spring breaks. I can't speak for Summer as we do land vacations then. I have not run into CRAZY behavior at all on HAL. This is a "classy" line (not a first choice for families with elementary kids or college kids as there are no slides, rock walls, ice skating or lax liquor policies) and NOT where you will find untoward behavior usually! You will not find "new" music either...:(. I miss my "modern" music (Nickelback, Shinedown, coldplay etc.) onboard , but do bring an MP3 for my walking and work-outs.

It's a great line and is a very good choice for our family.

 

BTW, the service has been spectacular on our HAL cruises!

[AlohaPride]

 

The median age of the passengers tends to hover in the 60's.

 

Depends on your itinerary and the length of your cruise. DH and I are both 26 and loyal HAL cruisers ;)

 

There are not many activities in the late evenings.

 

Define late evenings? I've noticed a LOT of dancing, singing, music, gambling, and visiting amongst guests well past midnight. As I don't stay up much later than that, I can't tell you if there is a lot of activity in the early morning hours ;)

 

Staff service is beyond comparison, rising to a very personal level.

 

Oh so TRUE!!! This is one of the main reasons DH and I love HAL so very much!!

 

All dinner seatings lean more towards a dressier attire.

 

I'd like to THINK so. At least, DH and I like to dress nice for dinner. Some will not. Some will. I think itinerary and length of cruise also play a roll in this.

 

The food is better than most cruise lines.

 

I wouldn't know. Only sailed with HAL. HOWEVER, my parents went on NCLA and said the food was hit or miss.

 

In the lounges & clubs, there is not much in the line of "modern" music.

 

Not sure what you mean by modern. The dance club was playing a lot of r&b, pop, and hip hop. :)

 

Comparing HAL to Carnival is like comparing apples to oranges IMO. Both companies target a different type of cruiser. HAL's ships are smaller, more personal, and way more traditional. My impression of Carnival is that the ships are like cities at sea.

[rclcruzer]

IMO a yes to all.....however on our last HAL cruises we have brought our kids (ranging from 8-12 at the time, now 14-18) and they had a blast. Even though we are in our very early 40's, and RCL cruisers at the time, we would not hesitate to cruise HAL in the future again for sure!

Make of it what you want and you will have the time of your life :)