I WANT to be the youngest person on the ship. I want to be called "kid" all week! 😄 HAL is the best if you like a relaxing, traditional kind of cruise experience.
We have cruised 18 times in the past nine years. 10 times with NCL, 3 times with Celebrity, 3 times with RCCL and 2 times with Holland America and enjoyed every single cruise and have a late May 11 day Norwegian Fjords on the Nieuw Statendam. We are firm believers in the “you make your own fun” club and we usually travel with other friends and family. Don’t listen to the BS and go discover for yourself how enjoyable a HAL cruise can be.
We're with you on that. You have as good a time as you create. Having said that, there are certain things that can make an experience even more enjoyable and we think HAL does a pretty good job with food, music, and the crew! We'll be on the Nieuw Statendam for the month of July. You're hitting the fjords early!
I went on a Holland America 15 day cruise in March/April around New Zealand and Australia. Admittedly, it was not school holidays in Australia or New Zealand. But EVERYONE on that cruise was 70 plus. They were young at heart, civilized, well to do, wealthy retirees.
My wife and I cruise mostly with RCL/Celebrity but have cruised 4 or 5 times with Holland America and found HAL's cruising style very similar to both Royal and Celebrity. Of course we are fairly easy to please as we don't drink, gamble, or use the spas. So bottom line, if you like Royal and Celebrity you should like HAL. Also, if you haven't cruised before I would definitely recommend HAL for your first time.
HAL cruises before covid had a slightly more dressed up vibe for gala nights especially at the later seatings. One cruise there was a group of Japanese women wearing beautiful kimono. You would see the older couples in tuxes and formal dresses. It was great to see but at the same time you didn’t feel uncomfortable when you weren’t as dressed up! I love HAL!
My husband and I LOVE HAL! We are addicted to the Neptune Suite and benefits that come with it. We went on a cruise in Feb 2023 and already have another booked!
One of the things I love most about HAL is the classic exterior design of their ships. Love your channel! Would like to see a segment on Wi-Fi comparisons especially ship Wi-Fi vs. cellular company service.
Thanks Craig! We must say that this spring break season has been rough on the two different Wi-Fi’s onboard our past few cruise ships. Even Starlink failed this past week onboard RCCL 😅
We have been cruising with HAL since 2004 and we love it! We started in our 40’s and have watched HAL evolve. We have sailed with other cruise lines but keep coming back to them because of the overall experience has always been positive.
Thank you! We will be on HAL in July doing Norway, looking very much forward to it. We are in our late 60's, travelling with our mid 30aged daughter and her partner.
Ever since we discovered the Neptune suite, we have booked it ever since. The perks are good and access to the Neptune lounge and Pinnacle Grill for breakfast is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Hello, my wife and I are loyal to Holland America Cruise Line. We have 20 cruises with them and are very close to becoming 5 star Mariners with them. We have done 10 Transatlantic crosses and 2 Transpacific crosses. We always try to only sail on the ships that have the B.B. King All Star Band be cause we are couple dancers. We enjoy the fitness area. The service on Holland America has always been supreme for us. The ages of cruisers does vary depending on where and how long the cruise. I heard the saying once that " The longer the Cruise the older the passenger" and makes sense, who else can cruise on long sailings. And the dress code has relax a lot. We like to dress stylish and usually better than most other cruisers but that's just us. I enjoyed this blog and agree with every thing that was said. Keep up the great work !
We're so grateful to have found your channel and your reviews. Thank you! Found you after having already booked HAL for Fjords in the Neptune for August. Celebrating our honeymoon 31 years later. :)
Appreciate the insights Jared! All booked for our first cruise ever this July on Nieuw Statendam. Some of the tips you provided are definitely not promoted by the line and knowing them can only help us out. Thanks!
Thanks for the app advice. I just booked on MSC yesterday and had the same issue. After watching this video I deleted it and downloaded it again and it worked!! I was stressed and this really helped. Thank you so much.
OMG thank you for the tip about the app on apple devices. It’s been driving me nuts. I even called HAL for support. Just did an uninstall/reinstall and it works. Thank you!
We love Holland America for the itineraries and the quiet. We often are joking congratulated for being the youngest couple on the ship. Our only issue with HAL is sometimes a certain age demographic acts extraordinarily entitled and often complains about things that should be taken in stride but meh, it’s a small irritant. Otherwise, HAL for the itinerary win.
I had the same concerns and we went on the Koningsdam in 2016 with our son and were pleasantly surprised. I never understood why their price point is less than most of the others. The other thing I noticed is the specialty dining is less in price with quality much better than Royal Cariibean and NCL. We enjoyed it so that we are booked on the Rotterdam this June and happy to see the standards have remained.
We cruised through the North Sea on the Rotterdam last fall and loved it. We spent every evening at the BB King’s Jazz Club. Fabulous! Also the food and service were excellent as is always true on Holland America.
Good points, especially about the app. Looking forward to our first HAL cruise in late May through the fjords. (Interestingly, our travel agent is a former HAL cruise director.)
We were on the Niuew Statendam the week after you for our first Holland America cruise. We weren't sure what to expect but really loved it. The food was very good and we thought our cabin was great too. The bed was more comfortable than most and the shower is large with great water pressure. The music venues are wonderful! We enjoyed the exc talks they do also. There was a wide variety of ages on our cruise. Their head entertainment person was a lot of fun! Really the only negative we had was the size of the hot tubs. Most only hold 2 people comfortably so it can be difficult to get one.
Heading out on Saturday for another 2 weeks in the Caribbean on Nieuw Amsterdam. Neptune suite my favorite home away from home. Love HAL! Thanks for showing the positive side of this line so other folks may want to try it.
My wife and I cruised to Alaska on the MS Westerdam four months ago, and we found that the bedsheets were beyond dirty. They were discolored to a light brownish, gray color, indicating to me the sheets had not been changed for several months. Tip to the wise: Immediately check your pillows and bedsheets. We had our room attendant, replace the dirty sheets with new pillowcases, sheets, and comforter.
Jared, my 1st cruise was on HAL, and we love it. Another tip on the app, once on board you might need to redo the app to get the messaging to work, so make sure you know that password!!
We've traveled HAL many times & our 1st choice of ships. I believe free drinks in the casino are at the discretion of the manager I didn't gamble 3k at the slots & did receive free drinks. I also do know while at the tables drinks were not always comp & believe it was due to the behavior of a particular guest, once he left drinks complimentary. I was given a bottle of champagne for my B-day at the table from the pit-boss.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts and impressions about HAL. I had cruised with Celebrity, Princess, Royal, and HAL. I plan to go back to HAL so your video is very helpful. God richly bless you more and more.
Now almost only go on HAL. Love them the best by far. They have “tea time” free every afternoon and the Orange party they have is awesome! Hope you went
I have sailed over 35 days on the Statendam. I have the Apple 14 pro iPhone, never had a problem. Love the weekly orange party, Rock room and Blues club. Also love the Jerry Garcia baked Alaska, the latter is the best at sea. Celebrity and Hal have the best food for the premium cruise lines
The deck plans for any of the HAL ships do not show the men's and women's saunas, but they all have them nearby the spa. Only the Pinnacle class ships have the windows in the sauna however. There is also a relaxation room just down the hall with loungers and teas, juices, etc. Also don't forget to ask for the bread pudding with warm vanilla sauce at the dessert station in the buffet. So yummy. Newbies might not know that they have it since it is behind the server.
We just got off a 35 day cruise with HAL to Tahiti on board the Koningsdam. Great trip, but a lot of sea days. Agree about the Navigator App. One of the best finds is the fries from the Dive In Burger bar, which is located by the main pool. They have a coating that makes them crisp.
My husband will hate those fries. We will be doing our first with HAL this fall in the Med. we chose it for the itinerary and the fact that most cruise reviews were positive. I unfortunately have an Apple phone
My wife and I have 15 HAL cruises under our belt and 8 on Celebrity and P&O. We enjoy the more refined atmosphere of the older ships. Prior to Covid and while still in the Navy I would wear my mess dress (Naval Officers tuxedo for those who do not know) on formal nights and since retirement always take a tuxedo. It is a nice feeling to dress for supper on the rare occasion we get to do so. I believe that the dress code for gala nights should have at minimum dress slacks and dress shirts for men, jeans can be worn in the Lido or working in your yard at home, but do not belong in a more formal setting. Just my two cents worth or two pence worth for our British cousins.
Late to the video, but thank you Jared. There was good information here I haven't gotten from other UA-camrs. We are actually some of those older foolk that will be cruising on HAL to New England/Canada. We've been through the party years, and are now looking for a more relaxing cruise. But, I'm gald to hear there are activities for the younger cruisers as I want them to have the fun we had when we were their age.
I booked a HAL cruisetour of Alaska for 2024 and I can not wait! Could not resist that Have It All - Early Booking promotion during shoulder season ;) I'm excited for the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali National Park my buddy is amped to see College Fjord in Prince William Sound. And we're both amp'd over experiencing TWO National Parks in one trip, Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park. Here's hoping we come back with two thumbs up.
We've done the HAL Alaska cruisetour, it is our favorite of 20 cruises. The land portion is a busy pace, but seeing the interior of Alaska was so worth the early morning wake ups.
Yep, and the pricing beat out Princess, RC, NCL , DCL and even Carnival( which we didn't really want but compared) for Alaska! All we've heard is how there's no activities and no families etc and so on. It was more affordable and offered covered swimming which actually was a want list for our group. The ports were top selection too.
We did the Alaska cruisetour several years ago - our first cruise. In addition to flying over Denali, our ferry cruise across Prince William Sound from Valdez to Whittier was our favorite part of the land tour. Then we boarded the Nieuw Amsterdam in Whittier for the inside passage to Vancouver and we were hooked on crusing and hooked on Holland America. In less than 2 weeks, we will board the Rotterdam for the Panama Canal - our 4th Holland America cruise. We love HAL & you will too!
Great video Jared. I've only sailed with Celebrity so far (and have really enjoyed it), but would like to consider other options and Holland America has been at the top of the list of other possible cruise lines for me. Everyone seems to enjoy the music and food onboard and they have some great itineraries. That said, some of the perceptions/misperceptions you discussed - especially re the dress code - were on my mind. (Spent many years wearing suits and uniforms and am pretty much done with that.) Glad to hear that your experience was a positive one! Thanks for sharing the tips and keep up the excellent work on the channel.
Thanks Matt for watching and sharing your thoughts! We completely understand regarding the formal dress code and were so pleasantly surprised! We have our final full review coming soon 😉
So happy to hear about your positive experience on Nieuw Statendam! Last summer we booked that ship, our first experience of Holland Amerika. We really loved it all. We never found the sauna though. So we must go one more time🙂. The age of passengers is also depending on the itenary i think. We went from Denmark to Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and USA. I did not see any children on that trip!
We have cruised on over 15 HAL and have been on most of their Ships. One thing to check into is the Orange Club a lotbof good perks for the additional price.
Thank you for all the good tips. Excited to be going on HAL:s newest ship Rotterdam next month. I had no problem with the HAL app on my (slightly older) IPhone. Also, regarding cost -- my veranda cabin was about $4 more than an oceanview cabin on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas, similar Norwegian fjords itinerary. Surprising, so always compare.
Excellent. Holland America is my favorite cruise line. I am older, and do appreciate a quieter, less crowded ship, with good food, service and staterooms. And I do avoid their biggest ships and times when kids are out of school. My favorite cabin is a Signature Suite, which is only slightly smaller than a Neptune Suite, but is big and comfortable. I also love not waiting in lines, which has been my experience over many cruises. For years I drug alone formal attire, then a suite and tie, but finally decided I didn't want to cope with all the luggage. Ten years ago I got a peevish look from the maître d' at dinner on formal nights, but now people wear what they want. I have never had a problem with their app on my iPhone or iPad, but will certainly remember your advice to delete it and redownload if I do. I think your review was very accurate.
Liked the video. Good info. Going on my first cruise ever in April! Glad it’s not all formal lol. Didn’t know what to expect. Going on the Eurodam. Anyone have any experience on that one? Thank you.
We are going on our first HAL cruise in 2024 to Alaska. We were booked on another brand ship with all the bells and whistles but decided to go for a smaller ship where we can enjoy what we are going to Alaska for...the scenery and the beauty of Alaska. We are going on the Eurodam. Any advise to us on this ship and/or cruise?? We have cruised many times on Carnival...this is our first cruise on anything other than Carnival. Thank you for your review. I love watching your channel..always a smile and always informative!!
We are frequent cruisers and have just booked our first Holland America trip on the Rotterdam 12-Day Panama Canal Sunfarer for 25th of February 2024 sailing.
Thanks! Great advise. I was wrong earlier and apologize for my rude comment. While I was concerned something bad happened, but if the sucky app is the only problem, I can deal with it. You guys are a joy to watch.
Great video. We have never cruised HAL and have one booked for next year. There is some confusion for us regarding carrying on a limited amount of soda like other lines allow. 1. Do you know if they allow this? 2. Do you know if you can pre order soda to have in your stateroom? Thank you for your video!
We just got off our cruise on the Nieuw Statendam and we had a great time! It was our 3rd cruise with HAL and booked a Mediterranean cruise in 2025 while on board. I saw Jose in this video and have to say he was the most entertaining part of the cruise. We went to music trivia almost every night and Game Night is a blast. We had lots of fun all over the ship. The lido was the worst though. We were disappointed every day with the options and quality of the food. Definitely take advantage of the main dining room and the specialty restaurants on board. The food is exceptional in those venues. The ports were fantastic as well. Looking forward to our next cruise with HAL. ❤ 🛳
I went on a Viking cruise with my dad last year; my dad is 62 and I was 33 at the time of the sailing…I think most of the boat were ages 75+. We had a good time but I doubt we would ever do another Viking cruise because of what was available to do on the ship wasn’t stuff we wanted to do. A lot of drinking wine/beer and socializing…that’s great if you want to do that but that wasn’t our cup of tea.
8we have travelled many lines Royal, Celebrity, Princess and HAL. We find that the Holland ships are just as exciting as the others. The only negative is that some of the entertainment post covid is not as good or not as often. We loved the BB King, and the Hall of Fame music areas we love the crew and if we were to not use a line again, it might beRoyal which is way to crowded.
I see this is about 5 months old but I thought to get a good experience with HAL on a longer cruise you may want to try the Koningsdam Hawaiian cruises in November, December & January. Longer enjoyable sea day's with the beautiful islands to tour & a relaxing return. Never better sunsets on the return viewing the west sunset in the MDR 😮 during dinner. 😮 Hay Happy Cruising ⛴️ 🙏 ❤️
Hey, great videos. I am a new subscriber. Can you recommend a overnight hotel in Fort Laudsrdale that offers airport and cruise ship shuttles. Also what is he earliest you can get on HAL cruises. Thanks
New subscribers here. I think you’re right, the demographic changes on HAL depending on length of cruise and destination. Cunard is definitely the more formal cruise line.
@@JJCruise Cunard is just so very British - but that's part of its appeal. We really like HAL, but we're also thinking about experimenting with some of the expedition ships in SilverSeea, Hurtigruten and Viking. We hope you'll check out our channel where we mostly cover ports rather than ships.
My wife and I cruised on 2 Holland America Line ships in Nov-Dec of 2022. First, the Nieuw Statendam for a week, then later the MS Volendam for 17 days. We loved both, but the Nieuw Statendam was state-of-the-art, while the Volendam was an older and much smaller ship (think 1300 passengers vs 2600). Food was excellent on both ships. The entertainment was more diverse on the newer ship (which had the Music Walk) vs the Volendam. We would sail again on either ship.
Looking forward to my first cruise ever and we booked HAL for Alaska this year. I am a little nervous about it but I am feeling even more confident that we will enjoy it after watching your video. My 25yr old nephew thinks we need something like NCL or Celebrity, that I'm not old like other older people and we will be bored. lol! He's the sweetest. :) but he's never been on HAL. I told him that Glacier Bay is a must and HAL does it, so HAL to Alaska it is. My husband will love finding the dry sauna! That's a great tip! Also, there is 24 hour room service and that sounds lovely. Did you take advantage of the room service?
Hi Darlene! We did not do room service but we did enjoy the Main Dining Room food a lot! Celebrity would be a younger demographic, but you are correct in noting that Glacier Bay is only available through certain cruise lines (not including Celebrity). You will have a wonderful time in Alaska! Enjoy!
We will be sailing for the first time on HAL Eurodam next April (2024) with Gary B. and the members' cruise. Being Disney Platinum (12 cruises), I was surprised at how "remarkably low" the cost was compared to DCL. When we received the quote from the TA at $3470, I thought that was the same as DCL per person 7-night verandah But, oh no, that was for both of us! Thanks for the tips.
@@JJCruise We could have a signature suite on HAL for the price we pay for family verandah on DCL. Pinnacle suite is cheaper than the Walt Disney suite on Dream. Crazy! QUESTION: is there a blog site for HAL like DISboards has for DCL?
Weird that Apple device doesn't work right. Oh well. What did you think about the new Have It All package? It seems if you like higher end wine, for instance, you may have to add another package? Curious how it works.
Thanks for show. Which cruise line do you like better Princess or Holland America Line? I see that swimming pool was crowds. I know Princess have more swimming pools. I was thinking about taking HAL because I was on HAL's Maasdam in 2003. Now I am thinking about take Princess ship next time because they have more swimming pools and hot tubs. They have beautiful Italian decoration inside. I never seen Princess before.I like your video of your trip on Princess. I was surprised that you telling me that many guests were soak in hot tubs at night. I never soak in hot tub at night.
Have sailed over 90 cruises all over the word on most lines. I find the crew on there ships the most friendly and helpful of any line. Have done 6 long cruises with them in the last 2 years. I Like the ships are smaller and not thousands and thousands of other passengers.
Thank you for sharing we booked our first Holland America cruise for December and my husband is teasing me constantly about the "demographic". It's nice to hear that a 7 day Caribbean cruise is going to be a larger demographic. Thanks again for the tips!
Our very first cruise was on HAL. The bars closed at 10pm. There were no activities to do. We were so disappointed. But the service was impeccable, and after all was said and done, we became "avid" cruisers. Would you say that things close relatively later now? Would you say they have more activities for cruisers, especially during the evening and sea days? I would love to know. We would love to try them again.
We definitely saw bars and venues staying open later than 10 pm on our cruise. Now this may change on longer voyages as we’ve seen venues close earlier on repositioning cruises as well as trans ocean cruises to give the crew a longer break given the many back-to-back sea days. Overall, we wouldn’t recommend Holland if you are looking for best nightlife, but if it’s just a portion of what you are looking for and the rest fit Holland, then we would say go for it! 🥳
I'm about to go on my first HOL cruise and found their website and app very glitchy and frustrating. I am happy to hear it doesn't reflect the experience onboard.
wow im surprised 57 was the avg age even with 300 kids.. as for gambling.. know your limit, play with in it. I'm glad the formal night was more relaxed.. your on vacation.. Keep up the great work JJ.
Thanks for the clip. I have a question about the app, I have it downloaded on my Samsung. Would you know how the app works onboard - must I buy the internet package? Or do I hook into the ship's wifi for free? Thanks.
We sailed last November out of San Diego - Mexican Riviera. We are Viking fans and were curious to check out HAL. Yes, problems with app for me (I phone) but not my partner (Samsung). No biggie…. Our trip was true HAL demographic (Koningsdam). It was a bit more crowded than we are accustomed but given the price differential (Viking vs HAL) it was manageable. We did the package which I thought was good value (drinks and dining upgrades). Not thrilled with our cabin - we inadvertently booked a cabin with connection option to cabin next door. It felt like the couple was in our room….heard every word and sneeze and cough. Consequently WE whispered all week….not wanting to disturb. We are booked on the Statendam for August / British Isles out of Copenhagen. The cost was a fraction of a similar itinerary on Viking. We shall see how it goes with the bigger cruise population (2666 vs 930 passengers) But overall we enjoyed our November cruise - enough to be willing to go again in August!
We have apple devises and cruise Holland America all the time and have no issues. We have been on 4 Pinnacle class ships in the last 15 months. We have another one in 192 days, 15 days transatlantic on the Rotterdam. What you said in your review is right on the money for this line.
I'm a HAL fan, because I cruise for the ports. I want to see the world, and I love how HAL emphasizes learning about the ports.
I agree. I can be happy on any line, but the HAL goes above and beyond to make sure you get the most out of your port stops.
I WANT to be the youngest person on the ship. I want to be called "kid" all week! 😄
HAL is the best if you like a relaxing, traditional kind of cruise experience.
We have cruised 18 times in the past nine years. 10 times with NCL, 3 times with Celebrity, 3 times with RCCL and 2 times with Holland America and enjoyed every single cruise and have a late May 11 day Norwegian Fjords on the Nieuw Statendam. We are firm believers in the “you make your own fun” club and we usually travel with other friends and family. Don’t listen to the BS and go discover for yourself how enjoyable a HAL cruise can be.
Thanks Matt for watching and sharing your cruise experiences! 🤗🥳
We're with you on that. You have as good a time as you create. Having said that, there are certain things that can make an experience even more enjoyable and we think HAL does a pretty good job with food, music, and the crew! We'll be on the Nieuw Statendam for the month of July. You're hitting the fjords early!
You gotta try Carnival. Always an amazing time
HAL is class without being stuffy.
That’s the best description I’ve heard.
I went on a Holland America 15 day cruise in March/April around New Zealand and Australia. Admittedly, it was not school holidays in Australia or New Zealand. But EVERYONE on that cruise was 70 plus. They were young at heart, civilized, well to do, wealthy retirees.
We are looking at cruising New Zealand and Australia and one of the lines we are looking at is HAL. How did you like it?
My wife and I cruise mostly with RCL/Celebrity but have cruised 4 or 5 times with Holland America and found HAL's cruising style very similar to both Royal and Celebrity. Of course we are fairly easy to please as we don't drink, gamble, or use the spas. So bottom line, if you like Royal and Celebrity you should like HAL. Also, if you haven't cruised before I would definitely recommend HAL for your first time.
Thanks Greg for watching and sharing your thoughts! 🤗
I just booked my 3rd cruise with HAL and it never dissapppointment. Great food , entretainment and specially destinations
HAL cruises before covid had a slightly more dressed up vibe for gala nights especially at the later seatings. One cruise there was a group of Japanese women wearing beautiful kimono. You would see the older couples in tuxes and formal dresses. It was great to see but at the same time you didn’t feel uncomfortable when you weren’t as dressed up! I love HAL!
My husband and I LOVE HAL! We are addicted to the Neptune Suite and benefits that come with it. We went on a cruise in Feb 2023 and already have another booked!
One of the things I love most about HAL is the classic exterior design of their ships.
Love your channel!
Would like to see a segment on Wi-Fi comparisons especially ship Wi-Fi vs. cellular company service.
Thanks Craig! We must say that this spring break season has been rough on the two different Wi-Fi’s onboard our past few cruise ships. Even Starlink failed this past week onboard RCCL 😅
We have been cruising with HAL since 2004 and we love it! We started in our 40’s and have watched HAL evolve. We have sailed with other cruise lines but keep coming back to them because of the overall experience has always been positive.
Thank you!
We will be on HAL in July doing Norway, looking very much forward to it.
We are in our late 60's, travelling with our mid 30aged daughter and her partner.
Ever since we discovered the Neptune suite, we have booked it ever since. The perks are good and access to the Neptune lounge and Pinnacle Grill for breakfast is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your experience in the Neptune Suite! 🤗
Hello, my wife and I are loyal to Holland America Cruise Line. We have 20 cruises with them and are very close to becoming 5 star Mariners with them. We have done 10 Transatlantic crosses and 2 Transpacific crosses. We always try to only sail on the ships that have the B.B. King All Star Band be cause we are couple dancers. We enjoy the fitness area. The service on Holland America has always been supreme for us. The ages of cruisers does vary depending on where and how long the cruise. I heard the saying once that " The longer the Cruise the older the passenger" and makes sense, who else can cruise on long sailings. And the dress code has relax a lot. We like to dress stylish and usually better than most other cruisers but that's just us. I enjoyed this blog and agree with every thing that was said. Keep up the great work !
We're so grateful to have found your channel and your reviews. Thank you! Found you after having already booked HAL for Fjords in the Neptune for August. Celebrating our honeymoon 31 years later. :)
Appreciate the insights Jared! All booked for our first cruise ever this July on Nieuw Statendam. Some of the tips you provided are definitely not promoted by the line and knowing them can only help us out. Thanks!
Thanks for the app advice. I just booked on MSC yesterday and had the same issue. After watching this video I deleted it and downloaded it again and it worked!! I was stressed and this really helped. Thank you so much.
OMG thank you for the tip about the app on apple devices. It’s been driving me nuts. I even called HAL for support. Just did an uninstall/reinstall and it works. Thank you!
This definitely makes me want to try Holland America more! Thanks for this. 😀👏🏼
Thanks for watching, Emma! We are certain @Holland America Line would be more than happy to have you onboard ☺️🥳
@@JJCruise The last cruise I was on was on a ex HAL ship and I thought the ship was so cute, so that makes me interested too! :)
We love Holland America for the itineraries and the quiet. We often are joking congratulated for being the youngest couple on the ship. Our only issue with HAL is sometimes a certain age demographic acts extraordinarily entitled and often complains about things that should be taken in stride but meh, it’s a small irritant. Otherwise, HAL for the itinerary win.
I had the same concerns and we went on the Koningsdam in 2016 with our son and were pleasantly surprised. I never understood why their price point is less than most of the others. The other thing I noticed is the specialty dining is less in price with quality much better than Royal Cariibean and NCL. We enjoyed it so that we are booked on the Rotterdam this June and happy to see the standards have remained.
We cruised through the North Sea on the Rotterdam last fall and loved it. We spent every evening at the BB King’s Jazz Club. Fabulous! Also the food and service were excellent as is always true on Holland America.
I have never had a problem with the app on my iPhone or iPad! I was just on for 74 days with no problems. I am glad you enjoyed HAL! I love them.
Good points, especially about the app. Looking forward to our first HAL cruise in late May through the fjords. (Interestingly, our travel agent is a former HAL cruise director.)
We were on the Niuew Statendam the week after you for our first Holland America cruise. We weren't sure what to expect but really loved it. The food was very good and we thought our cabin was great too. The bed was more comfortable than most and the shower is large with great water pressure. The music venues are wonderful! We enjoyed the exc talks they do also. There was a wide variety of ages on our cruise. Their head entertainment person was a lot of fun! Really the only negative we had was the size of the hot tubs. Most only hold 2 people comfortably so it can be difficult to get one.
HAL cruiser here. Free room service, free films in cabin, super food, and music, music, music. Utterly loyal.
Heading out on Saturday for another 2 weeks in the Caribbean on Nieuw Amsterdam. Neptune suite my favorite home away from home. Love HAL! Thanks for showing the positive side of this line so other folks may want to try it.
Thanks Hermina for watching! Have a blast in your Neptune Suite! 🥳
My wife and I cruised to Alaska on the MS Westerdam four months ago, and we found that the bedsheets were beyond dirty. They were discolored to a light brownish, gray color, indicating to me the sheets had not been changed for several months. Tip to the wise: Immediately check your pillows and bedsheets. We had our room attendant, replace the dirty sheets with new pillowcases, sheets, and comforter.
My wife are celebrating our 25th anniversary in June by taking our first cruise - Double Denali on the Nieux Amsterdam. Can't wait!
Thanks. First HAL cruise this year. Looking forward to it.
Jared, my 1st cruise was on HAL, and we love it. Another tip on the app, once on board you might need to redo the app to get the messaging to work, so make sure you know that password!!
We've traveled HAL many times & our 1st choice of ships. I believe free drinks in the casino are at the discretion of the manager I didn't gamble 3k at the slots & did receive free drinks. I also do know while at the tables drinks were not always comp & believe it was due to the behavior of a particular guest, once he left drinks complimentary. I was given a bottle of champagne for my B-day at the table from the pit-boss.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts and impressions about HAL. I had cruised with Celebrity, Princess, Royal, and HAL. I plan to go back to HAL so your video is very helpful. God richly bless you more and more.
Now almost only go on HAL. Love them the best by far. They have “tea time” free every afternoon and the Orange party they have is awesome! Hope you went
We definitely went to both and plan to chat through both in our full review coming soon! 🥳
I have sailed over 35 days on the Statendam. I have the Apple 14 pro iPhone, never had a problem. Love the weekly orange party, Rock room and Blues club. Also love the Jerry Garcia baked Alaska, the latter is the best at sea. Celebrity and Hal have the best food for the premium cruise lines
The deck plans for any of the HAL ships do not show the men's and women's saunas, but they all have them nearby the spa. Only the Pinnacle class ships have the windows in the sauna however. There is also a relaxation room just down the hall with loungers and teas, juices, etc. Also don't forget to ask for the bread pudding with warm vanilla sauce at the dessert station in the buffet. So yummy. Newbies might not know that they have it since it is behind the server.
Thanks Bob for sharing the extra tips from your HAL Experiences!! 🤗
Shhhhhhh, it’s a nice secret. They aren’t crowded and it’s lovely lol
We just got off a 35 day cruise with HAL to Tahiti on board the Koningsdam. Great trip, but a lot of sea days. Agree about the Navigator App. One of the best finds is the fries from the Dive In Burger bar, which is located by the main pool. They have a coating that makes them crisp.
Thanks for watching and sharing your epic 35 day Tahiti Cruise Experience/Tips with us!
We did love those fries 🍟
We were on the Hawaii Cruise just before the Tahiti cruise. The RollingStone Rock Room band was one of the absolute highlights of our trip.
My husband will hate those fries. We will be doing our first with HAL this fall in the Med. we chose it for the itinerary and the fact that most cruise reviews were positive. I unfortunately have an Apple phone
My wife and I have 15 HAL cruises under our belt and 8 on Celebrity and P&O. We enjoy the more refined atmosphere of the older ships. Prior to Covid and while still in the Navy I would wear my mess dress (Naval Officers tuxedo for those who do not know) on formal nights and since retirement always take a tuxedo. It is a nice feeling to dress for supper on the rare occasion we get to do so. I believe that the dress code for gala nights should have at minimum dress slacks and dress shirts for men, jeans can be worn in the Lido or working in your yard at home, but do not belong in a more formal setting. Just my two cents worth or two pence worth for our British cousins.
Late to the video, but thank you Jared. There was good information here I haven't gotten from other UA-camrs. We are actually some of those older foolk that will be cruising on HAL to New England/Canada. We've been through the party years, and are now looking for a more relaxing cruise. But, I'm gald to hear there are activities for the younger cruisers as I want them to have the fun we had when we were their age.
I booked a HAL cruisetour of Alaska for 2024 and I can not wait! Could not resist that Have It All - Early Booking promotion during shoulder season ;) I'm excited for the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali National Park my buddy is amped to see College Fjord in Prince William Sound. And we're both amp'd over experiencing TWO National Parks in one trip, Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park. Here's hoping we come back with two thumbs up.
Have a wonderful cruise tour Douglas!! Sounds like one epic adventure! 🥳
We've done the HAL Alaska cruisetour, it is our favorite of 20 cruises. The land portion is a busy pace, but seeing the interior of Alaska was so worth the early morning wake ups.
My wife and I are doing the Double Denali cruise tour in June. First cruise and first trip to Alaska!
Yep, and the pricing beat out Princess, RC, NCL , DCL and even Carnival( which we didn't really want but compared) for Alaska! All we've heard is how there's no activities and no families etc and so on. It was more affordable and offered covered swimming which actually was a want list for our group. The ports were top selection too.
We did the Alaska cruisetour several years ago - our first cruise. In addition to flying over Denali, our ferry cruise across Prince William Sound from Valdez to Whittier was our favorite part of the land tour. Then we boarded the Nieuw Amsterdam in Whittier for the inside passage to Vancouver and we were hooked on crusing and hooked on Holland America. In less than 2 weeks, we will board the Rotterdam for the Panama Canal - our 4th Holland America cruise. We love HAL & you will too!
Great timing as we are going on our first Holland America cruise next month.
Enjoy! 👍🏽
Great video Jared. I've only sailed with Celebrity so far (and have really enjoyed it), but would like to consider other options and Holland America has been at the top of the list of other possible cruise lines for me. Everyone seems to enjoy the music and food onboard and they have some great itineraries. That said, some of the perceptions/misperceptions you discussed - especially re the dress code - were on my mind. (Spent many years wearing suits and uniforms and am pretty much done with that.) Glad to hear that your experience was a positive one! Thanks for sharing the tips and keep up the excellent work on the channel.
Thanks Matt for watching and sharing your thoughts! We completely understand regarding the formal dress code and were so pleasantly surprised! We have our final full review coming soon 😉
Thank you for the review. Enjoyed sailing on Holland.
Thanks Angie for watching! 🤗
So happy to hear about your positive experience on Nieuw Statendam!
Last summer we booked that ship, our first experience of Holland Amerika.
We really loved it all. We never found the sauna though. So we must go one more time🙂.
The age of passengers is also depending on the itenary i think. We went from Denmark to Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and USA.
I did not see any children on that trip!
Yes, itinerary and length of sailings really can impact the average age onboard. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience!! 🥳
We have cruised on over 15 HAL and have been on most of their Ships. One thing to check into is the Orange Club a lotbof good perks for the additional price.
We love HAL! However, it is the only cruise line that we have cruised. This is our 5th cruise and love the calmness of HAL.
I was looking for a solo getaway and found HAL. I want a nice thermal suite and it sounds like a good one.
Thank you for all the good tips. Excited to be going on HAL:s newest ship Rotterdam next month. I had no problem with the HAL app on my (slightly older) IPhone. Also, regarding cost -- my veranda cabin was about $4 more than an oceanview cabin on Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas, similar Norwegian fjords itinerary. Surprising, so always compare.
Thanks Juanita for sharing your thoughts and booking experience! Have a wonderful cruise! 🥳
My first cruise was on the original Rotterdam, HALs flagship - very old school. I was in my 30’s. I am now 70. I hope you love the new Rotterdam.
@@naturalPaths Thank you -- I am excited!
Excellent. Holland America is my favorite cruise line. I am older, and do appreciate a quieter, less crowded ship, with good food, service and staterooms. And I do avoid their biggest ships and times when kids are out of school. My favorite cabin is a Signature Suite, which is only slightly smaller than a Neptune Suite, but is big and comfortable. I also love not waiting in lines, which has been my experience over many cruises. For years I drug alone formal attire, then a suite and tie, but finally decided I didn't want to cope with all the luggage. Ten years ago I got a peevish look from the maître d' at dinner on formal nights, but now people wear what they want. I have never had a problem with their app on my iPhone or iPad, but will certainly remember your advice to delete it and redownload if I do. I think your review was very accurate.
Liked the video. Good info. Going on my first cruise ever in April! Glad it’s not all formal lol. Didn’t know what to expect. Going on the Eurodam. Anyone have any experience on that one? Thank you.
I love cruising on HAL and I have been on a lot of different cruise lines.
We are going on our first HAL cruise in 2024 to Alaska. We were booked on another brand ship with all the bells and whistles but decided to go for a smaller ship where we can enjoy what we are going to Alaska for...the scenery and the beauty of Alaska. We are going on the Eurodam. Any advise to us on this ship and/or cruise??
We have cruised many times on Carnival...this is our first cruise on anything other than Carnival.
Thank you for your review. I love watching your channel..always a smile and always informative!!
We are frequent cruisers and have just booked our first Holland America trip on the Rotterdam 12-Day Panama Canal Sunfarer for 25th of February 2024 sailing.
Enjoy your cruise!! 🥳
Thanks! Great advise. I was wrong earlier and apologize for my rude comment. While I was concerned something bad happened, but if the sucky app is the only problem, I can deal with it. You guys are a joy to watch.
Thanks Roger! Have a wonderful cruise! 🥳
Great video. We have never cruised HAL and have one booked for next year. There is some confusion for us regarding carrying on a limited amount of soda like other lines allow.
1. Do you know if they allow this?
2. Do you know if you can pre order soda to have in your stateroom?
Thank you for your video!
Good thoughts. Our cruise was very old….so it does depend on the cruise.
We are 5 star mariners on HAL but recently fell in love with Celebrity. HAL has great food! They also do Alaska very well.
Thanks for sharing Angie! ☺️
Thanks for doing this!
I used the Navigator app on every HAL cruise I have taken on my iPhone with no problems.
We just got off our cruise on the Nieuw Statendam and we had a great time! It was our 3rd cruise with HAL and booked a Mediterranean cruise in 2025 while on board. I saw Jose in this video and have to say he was the most entertaining part of the cruise. We went to music trivia almost every night and Game Night is a blast. We had lots of fun all over the ship. The lido was the worst though. We were disappointed every day with the options and quality of the food. Definitely take advantage of the main dining room and the specialty restaurants on board. The food is exceptional in those venues. The ports were fantastic as well. Looking forward to our next cruise with HAL. ❤ 🛳
I went on a Viking cruise with my dad last year; my dad is 62 and I was 33 at the time of the sailing…I think most of the boat were ages 75+. We had a good time but I doubt we would ever do another Viking cruise because of what was available to do on the ship wasn’t stuff we wanted to do. A lot of drinking wine/beer and socializing…that’s great if you want to do that but that wasn’t our cup of tea.
8we have travelled many lines Royal, Celebrity, Princess and HAL. We find that the Holland ships are just as exciting as the others. The only negative is that some of the entertainment post covid is not as good or not as often. We loved the BB King, and the Hall of Fame music areas we love the crew and if we were to not use a line again, it might beRoyal which is way to crowded.
I see this is about 5 months old but I thought to get a good experience with HAL on a longer cruise you may want to try the Koningsdam Hawaiian cruises in November, December & January.
Longer enjoyable sea day's with the beautiful islands to tour & a relaxing return. Never better sunsets on the return viewing the west sunset in the MDR 😮 during dinner. 😮 Hay
Happy Cruising ⛴️ 🙏 ❤️
Hello JJ, I have done cruises with the Holland America and their App runs very well in my mobile and my wife mobile, both Apple brand.
Jared you did a great job! Sure miss you guys, hope all is well.
Thanks Jamie! Miss you too! 🤗
Thanks for the insight. I would have hever guessed!
Thanks for watching and commenting! 🤗
Hey, great videos. I am a new subscriber. Can you recommend a overnight hotel in Fort Laudsrdale that offers airport and cruise ship shuttles. Also what is he earliest you can get on HAL cruises. Thanks
we took one holland america cruise and it was the STRANGEST cruise ever. i felt like i was in the twilight zone.
Good content. Never been on Holland America. Love Royal
Thanks Danette! We have our full HAL Review coming soon! 🥳
New subscribers here.
I think you’re right, the demographic changes on HAL depending on length of cruise and destination.
Cunard is definitely the more formal cruise line.
Thanks for watching and subscribing! We look forward to sailing Cunard in the future to truly see the differences. 🥳
@@JJCruise Cunard is just so very British - but that's part of its appeal. We really like HAL, but we're also thinking about experimenting with some of the expedition ships in SilverSeea, Hurtigruten and Viking. We hope you'll check out our channel where we mostly cover ports rather than ships.
Love Club Orange when sailing on the Pinnacle Class ships due to the private dining area!
Great points. Thanks so much. I really thought they were a strict formal night line.
Thanks Cydney for watching! We definitely thought the same thing. ☺️
January 2024 going on Oosterdam from Santiago (San Antonio) to Buenos Aires, via Cape Horn and Drake Passage/Antarctic Peninsula
That’s one awesome itinerary! Enjoy! 🥳
My wife and I cruised on 2 Holland America Line ships in Nov-Dec of 2022. First, the Nieuw Statendam for a week, then later the MS Volendam for 17 days. We loved both, but the Nieuw Statendam was state-of-the-art, while the Volendam was an older and much smaller ship (think 1300 passengers vs 2600). Food was excellent on both ships. The entertainment was more diverse on the newer ship (which had the Music Walk) vs the Volendam. We would sail again on either ship.
Thanks Steve for watching and sharing yo ur experience with us! 🤗
@@JJCruise Love your videos!
Looking forward to my first cruise ever and we booked HAL for Alaska this year. I am a little nervous about it but I am feeling even more confident that we will enjoy it after watching your video. My 25yr old nephew thinks we need something like NCL or Celebrity, that I'm not old like other older people and we will be bored. lol! He's the sweetest. :) but he's never been on HAL. I told him that Glacier Bay is a must and HAL does it, so HAL to Alaska it is. My husband will love finding the dry sauna! That's a great tip! Also, there is 24 hour room service and that sounds lovely. Did you take advantage of the room service?
Hi Darlene! We did not do room service but we did enjoy the Main Dining Room food a lot!
Celebrity would be a younger demographic, but you are correct in noting that Glacier Bay is only available through certain cruise lines (not including Celebrity).
You will have a wonderful time in Alaska! Enjoy!
We will be sailing for the first time on HAL Eurodam next April (2024) with Gary B. and the members' cruise. Being Disney Platinum (12 cruises), I was surprised at how "remarkably low" the cost was compared to DCL. When we received the quote from the TA at $3470, I thought that was the same as DCL per person 7-night verandah But, oh no, that was for both of us! Thanks for the tips.
We have been shocked by HAL rates many times as well! Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! 🤗
@@JJCruise We could have a signature suite on HAL for the price we pay for family verandah on DCL. Pinnacle suite is cheaper than the Walt Disney suite on Dream. Crazy! QUESTION: is there a blog site for HAL like DISboards has for DCL?
Maybe Disney is so expensive because they have to buy so many costumes!! LOL@@CruisingEngineer
Weird that Apple device doesn't work right. Oh well. What did you think about the new Have It All package? It seems if you like higher end wine, for instance, you may have to add another package? Curious how it works.
We always cruise on HAL. Always get Neptune . This does not mean you need to upgrade to have the same beautiful experience
Wow, didn’t know that about the app. I have an iPhone and it worked great the 3 times I cruised on the Rotterdam.
That’s great to hear!
Love the ship, it’s one of my favorites
I have an iPhone 14 pro max and have had no trouble using the app! I’ve booked excursions, etc!
Thanks for show. Which cruise line do you like better Princess or Holland America Line? I see that swimming pool was crowds. I know Princess have more swimming pools. I was thinking about taking HAL because I was on HAL's Maasdam in 2003. Now I am thinking about take Princess ship next time because they have more swimming pools and hot tubs. They have beautiful Italian decoration inside. I never seen Princess before.I like your video of your trip on Princess. I was surprised that you telling me that many guests were soak in hot tubs at night. I never soak in hot tub at night.
Have sailed over 90 cruises all over the word on most lines. I find the crew on there ships the most friendly and helpful of any line. Have done 6 long cruises with them in the last 2 years. I
Like the ships are smaller and not thousands and thousands of other passengers.
Thank you for sharing we booked our first Holland America cruise for December and my husband is teasing me constantly about the "demographic". It's nice to hear that a 7 day Caribbean cruise is going to be a larger demographic. Thanks again for the tips!
Just booked transAtlantic for next spring.
Our very first cruise was on HAL. The bars closed at 10pm. There were no activities to do. We were so disappointed. But the service was impeccable, and after all was said and done, we became "avid" cruisers. Would you say that things close relatively later now? Would you say they have more activities for cruisers, especially during the evening and sea days? I would love to know. We would love to try them again.
We definitely saw bars and venues staying open later than 10 pm on our cruise. Now this may change on longer voyages as we’ve seen venues close earlier on repositioning cruises as well as trans ocean cruises to give the crew a longer break given the many back-to-back sea days.
Overall, we wouldn’t recommend Holland if you are looking for best nightlife, but if it’s just a portion of what you are looking for and the rest fit Holland, then we would say go for it! 🥳
I use the Navigator app on my Apple iPad with no problems.
I have the Holland America app on my iPad and haven’t had any problems yet.
I'm about to go on my first HOL cruise and found their website and app very glitchy and frustrating. I am happy to hear it doesn't reflect the experience onboard.
wow im surprised 57 was the avg age even with 300 kids.. as for gambling.. know your limit, play with in it. I'm glad the formal night was more relaxed.. your on vacation.. Keep up the great work JJ.
I LOVE HAL, only cruises I take
I've sailed several times and never knew about the dry sauna!!
We are so glad we could help! 🤗
Thanks for the clip. I have a question about the app, I have it downloaded on my Samsung. Would you know how the app works onboard - must I buy the internet package? Or do I hook into the ship's wifi for free? Thanks.
You can use app for free! ☺️
Great content 🙂
Thanks Martine!! More to come 😉
My Apple iPhone has Nav app and it shows my booking and everything else. Used it at least 4 times.😊
That’s great to hear!
We sailed last November out of San Diego - Mexican Riviera. We are Viking fans and were curious to check out HAL. Yes, problems with app for me (I phone) but not my partner (Samsung). No biggie….
Our trip was true HAL demographic (Koningsdam). It was a bit more crowded than we are accustomed but given the price differential (Viking vs HAL) it was manageable.
We did the package which I thought was good value (drinks and dining upgrades). Not thrilled with our cabin - we inadvertently booked a cabin with connection option to cabin next door. It felt like the couple was in our room….heard every word and sneeze and cough. Consequently WE whispered all week….not wanting to disturb.
We are booked on the Statendam for August / British Isles out of Copenhagen. The cost was a fraction of a similar itinerary on Viking. We shall see how it goes with the bigger cruise population (2666 vs 930 passengers)
But overall we enjoyed our November cruise - enough to be willing to go again in August!
Thanks Patricia for sharing your experience as well as comparing to Viking!
Have an awesome August Cruise!! 🥳
On the app- it works 100% when you're on the ship. It's not designed to work when you're not on the ship's wi-fi.
We have apple devises and cruise Holland America all the time and have no issues. We have been on 4 Pinnacle class ships in the last 15 months. We have another one in 192 days, 15 days transatlantic on the Rotterdam. What you said in your review is right on the money for this line.
Thinking of holland America Neptune suite for Alaska.
That would be one awesome way to visit Alaska! 🏔️
Holland America excels in the Alaska cruise world. If you get a chance, do the land and sea package. I highly recommend it.
? If I play $3000 through the casino are the watered down drinks really free?
36 k and climbing ! Way to go guys !
Thanks Lori!! 🤗🥳
I am getting ready to cruise HAL in less than 2 weeks.
Have a wonderful cruise, Karen! 🥳