Holland America Line
View company profile →
Holland America Line experience
We have cruised for about 30 years. I have never felt I needed/wanted to do a review until now. We recently cruised with Holland America Line, Oosterdam,for the first time from San Antonio in Chile to Buenos Aires in Argentina. The cruise included most of the destinations we wanted to visit in the South America region. It was not like any cruise company we had used before I will start with the positives. Boarding was relatively straightforward. The cabin was comfortable, and the crew members we came across were friendly and helpful. The safety demonstration was easy. Watched an instruction video on the room TV, after which we went to our allocated muster station and had our room key checked. Sadly, from there, things were not so good. Before unpacking our cases, we had to clean the shelves and drawer bases before we could put our clothes in/on them. We were told that on the previous cruise, some passengers had suffered from gastro intestinal issues and that prior to the cruise commencing, there had been a deep clean carried out. We were asked to regularly wash our hands and use sanitiser before entering restaurants, which we were happy with. I was laid up for 3 days, feeling quite unwell. That said, during the 14 days on board, I only twice saw a member of staff cleaning the hand rails on the stairways. On the cabin TV, there was a public health warning about consuming raw or undercooked meats, eggs and poultry. Every night, they supplied different cuts of beef. Every time, the meat was red with blood running out of it. Even a beef wellington had blood running out of it. Could that be a source of the gastrointestinal problems on the ship. The meat was that raw they could have tried the kiss of life to revive the animal.As we had a 2 week holiday built round the cruise, we did not pack dressy clothing for the dining room, so we ate in The Lido Market, which was buffet style food but served by the staff due to the gastrointestinal issues. I could not get a hot coffee, but I could get hot tea. I did not once get a hot meal while on the cruise. It was always barely warm. On the third last night, we got into the Dining Room. A much more leisurely experience. The soup was extremely hot. I had brisket as a main and was surprised that that was not hot, barely warm. The tips for the staff were $17 per person per night. The cruise line described that as "their compensation"!!. What does that mean? Are the passengers on each cruise temporary crew employers? There are 1964 passengers. Potentially, the passengers create $467,432 in gratuities. There are 783 members of crew, but not all will get a share of the gratuities. If 650 are entitled to a share, they will receive about $719 per 14 night cruise, $1438 per month. That is not bad money unless they pay for board and food. Whether they receive payment from Holland America Line or not, that is a huge "compensation" One other thing, they hold $30 per person per day to cover your expenditure on the cruise, $420 each. I changed the account to be used when I arrived on the ship. It took 30 days !! to get it back in my bank account. I have emailed them several times and they don't have the courtesy to reply. NEVER AGAIN will I set foot on a Holland Ameria Line ship