Is Holland America Worth It?
My Experience on the Oosterdam
It's my second cruise of the year! Woot woot! I actually would not normally book cruises this often, but I got a few ‘free cruise deals’ from a credit card I had.
People say “free cruise” but it's really not free. I got this cruise 8 day Western Mediterranean with Morocco for $350 a person. Which is a good deal, but flying to Europe also isn't free. Then there are all the excursions. I didn't really do excursions, but I did pay for things while I was off the ship at the ports. So… not free. But cheap!
I also hadn't planned on going solo. I planned this trip with a friend from college. She wanted to do a European cruise and she speaks Portuguese because she did a 2 year service mission in Brazil. She ended up not being able to come though. At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to do a cruise alone, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it could be fun!
Cruises usually don't have great cancellation policies, so while initially I paid $350, I ended up paying that twice for my friend who couldn't make it. But I got a whole room to myself, so that was nice. :)
Our ship was called the Oosterdam, and they told us it's one of Holland America's smaller ships. The word 'oosterdam' means 'east' in Dutch. I could definitely see some Dutch influences on the ship in the design and the way things were run.
Things I Learned About Portugal:
We departed from Lisbon. I flew straight from a conference I had been to in Nashville, but I wanted to see a little of the city before I got on the boat. I got on a flight Thursday morning and ended up landing on Friday. When you go to Europe you lose time. You get it back coming home though.
I learned that you can't stay in the American Airline lounge (I got a guest pass with extra AA points I had) anyway you can't stay in their lounge unless you’re flying with them on that trip. I guess it makes sense. I also learned that the Capital One lounge access that I used to get with my credit card? It's no more. It's now only for the higher tier card. I could've paid $45 to get in, but I didn't think it was worth it.
Instead I got a chicken sandwich from Buffalo Wild Wings and sat in the seats next to a flight departing for Nice, France. There was a gentleman near me in a nice suit. I could tell he was French because of his nice suit. When I said that to myself in my head it took me a second and then I laughed out loud. Puns are funny. Especially when you're tired.
When I got to Lisbon, I took an Uber to my Airbnb. I stayed at an Airbnb in the old town.
Things First Time Cruisers Should Know
This is only the third cruise I've been on. The first was with a group of friends on a Carnival ship going to the Yucatan. The second was on MSC a few months ago, a short cruise with only 2 scheduled stops (one of which was cancelled :/)
The third is this one, Holland America. Of the 3, I think I can say Holland America is my favorite. For the cruise line and the destination.
As I've been travel-agent-training and going on cruises this year, I've learned a lot I didn't know. Things that first time cruisers might also appreciate knowing:
The cruise ship will charge you for gratuities at the end of the trip. The cost will vary depending on the trip but it's usually $10-$20 per person per day
Like a hotel, they'll make your bed and clean your room every day.
Not all food on the cruise is free. If you want alcoholic beverages or soda there are ‘drinks packages’ you can add on to the cost of your cruise
Depending on the ship, you are scheduled to dine in a certain restaurant at a certain time every night, at the same table. (I heard you rotate restaurants every night on Disney cruises). You don't have to show up, but if you do, they'll give you a menu and you can choose an appetizer, main dish, and dessert (this is included)
There is usually a buffet open most hours, you can go there and eat whatever you want
There are usually ‘specialty restaurants’ where you can name reservations. The food in these restaurants you also have to pay for.
You pay extra for wifi
They want you to spend money on the ship, there are usually casinos and luxury shops for you to buy things at
The cruise ship has a schedule of things you can do; crafts, trivia, shows etc.
When you board the ship, everyone has to report to their ‘muster station’ or the place they would have to go in an emergency. You'll usually get instructions on where to go / what to do when you turn on the TV in your room
The cruise ship will stop at different ports. They'll have a time they dock and a time they leave. If you're in a foreign country you need to take your passport with you. Also your cruise ship room card. Both port workers and ship workers check your cruise ship room card to see if you're okay to get off. You can get on and off as many times as you want as long as you're back on the ship when they're scheduled to leave
The cruise ship can and will leave without you if you're late getting back on. I have a good story about that! Though I did hear a story of one port who wouldn't clear the cruise ship to leave until they had all their passengers back on board. I don't think that's the norm though
Because docking times can change, ports / stops might be cancelled last minute or because shore excursions may run into unforeseen delays, cruise ships want you to book excursions through their ship. If you're on an official cruise excursion and you don't get back in time, they guarantee the ship will wait. They'll refund you for skipped ports. The snag? They're usually 3× more expensive than a tour you can book on land. The land yours usually don't have the same cancellation guarantees though. I read some of the reviews on shore excursions at my destination and they didn't get great reviews. Not many had overall reviews more than 3 or 4 stars.
They have themed nights where you are supposed to dress up a certain way. Wear a certain color for the dance party that night or dress up fancy. They'll usually list on the schedule what the dress code is for that night. Our dining room on Holland America didn't allow people in if they were wearing shorts even on ‘casual dress’ nights.
There is usually an ‘app’ you can download on your phone to access information about the cruise. The free wifi will only work with this app. On my MSC cruise it had a messaging feature where we could message other people on the ship through the app.
The ships usually have special areas or clubs for kids and teens, and there are also some areas (usually a pool) that is for ‘adults only’
There's usually a spa, the services there are not included
Phew. That's all I can think for now.
This cruise ship was the smallest I've been on. And our cruise director (makes announcements, in charge of entertainment) seemed really young. Like younger than 25. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
When I boarded on Sunday, I noticed there was a ‘free massage sampler’ on the itinerary. Usually when there's something free, you have to let them sell you something first. They showed me their mineral pool, the fitness center (that's usually free to access), they showed me several massage rooms and talked about different treatments, and then gave me a quick massage. I thought it was worth it. My goal on the first day was just to explore the ship.
The cruise I went on in May, the ship was HUGE. there were cool rooms and areas we didn't discover until the last day that I wish I had known about before. So I explored the Oosterdam (name if my ship) in day 1.
It has 10 decks. 1-3 and 9 & 10 were the ones with things I could access. The others were pretty much just state rooms. Most of deck 1 were staterooms too. That's where I was. For some reason I had a wheelchair accessible room? I'm not complaining, it was spacious and the doors opened with the push of a button.
Our ship had a library, which I loved I read a lot more on this trip than I had planned and I'm not mad about it. 😁
Things I Did on the Ship
They had a ‘guess the weight of this statue’ game. I entered and got invited to set gallery events the rest of the week. I went to 1 and got some free artwork.
Our ship had 2 pools, one adult only pool next to the buffet - and another partially covered.
The stage area with seating took up 3 decks at the end of the ship. ‘forward’ I guess. 😅 The screen was playing clips of what to do in each port, no one else was in the room, so naturally I had to stay and watch.
Aaaand I'm sure you don't care all that much about the particular layout of my ship. BUT I'd recommend you doing exploring on boarding day of your cruise.
Day 2 was our only day at sea (the rest we were in a different port). I read a lot, in many different locations, I worked out in the fitness center, water colored in the art center, and watched a movie in my room. We had a large selection of movies on our TV and then a bunch of channels. Or MSC cruise had movies we could pay for, so instead me and my friend watched a lot of Food Network. :)
I went to a q&a with the cruise director which was about 15 people in a lounge listening to our cruise directors story and he told us about the shifts people work on cruise ships. He said it's usually like 4-6 months working and then a few months off. He has a background in theater and broadcast journalism, which makes sense for a cruise director. He said most of Holland America’s fleet is doing Alaskan cruises because those are so popular. He said they always sell out so he wouldn't be surprised if they have more and more ships do that route. He hadn't planned on being a cruise director, he applied to several cruise lines and got accepted by all of them so he initially just asked to shadow a bunch of directors to get free cruises. But ended up deciding to do it and get liked the way Holland America did it best. It was cool to learn a little behind-the-scenes.
Meeting the Singles ;)
Day 2 on the cruise there was a lunch for solo & single travelers. I was curious what it would be like, so I went. Most everyone was in their 70s 😁. There were probably 10 of us, one man and the rest women. I really enjoyed talking to them at lunch.
One of the ladies, Sylvie, is going to be on cruises from now (mid - July) until Nov 28th. She will go home for December and then be back on ships for another 6 months. She said she sold her home and her car, her husband has passed, and she says she gets enough time with kids and grandkids the few times she's off the ship because she stays with them. Another woman, Medina, said her husband has died but she has pets at home so she's only going to be on the ship for 2 consecutive cruises. Another woman, May, is staying on the ship until September.
I couldn't help but think, how do they afford it? People say it's cheaper than a retirement home, or even cheaper than taking care of a house… I don't know, man. I've heard about it before, but meeting people living that way made me think more about what it would be like.
After lunch I took a 2 hour nap. That was glorious.
The buffet was a little different on Holland America, they emphasized using hand sanitizer before going in, they had people at most of the stations serving you (like you couldn't grab stuff yourself, you had to ask them for it). I think this is probably to control portions and keep the area clean. They also had utensils and cups already on the tables so you didn't have to carry those around when looking for a seat. This is really riveting stuff, isn't it?? 😅 Well, I mean, some people like to know the details!
I also, for not the first time in my life nor the last, took for granted how nice it is that everything is in English. I didn't even think about it before the cruise. All the announcements are in English. The menus and signs. The shows.
I also took diligent pictures of everything I ate in the dining room. For some reason I think if it's really good that I'm going to recreate it or something? I'm not sure. It's probably just a weird habit at this point. Very millennial of me, I know.
Not intentionally, I felt like there was a little bit of a theme to the movies and books I was consuming. I read ‘Beneath A Scarlet Sky” about an Italian teenager who helped Jews escape Italy then became a spy, and then I watched Gladiator and Gladiator II, and Braveheart. And after I finished the first book I read the new Hunger Games book ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’. {spoilers} Not only do all of these show some of the effects of violence and war, of dictators and empire building, of displays of power and treating death like it's a spectacle and using it to control other humans… they all have heartbreaking endings to their love stories. So after crying one night because of that 😅 I watched Young Victoria which has a great love story.
I do think it's important to consider those hard and heavy things, especially the real stories, but man I also need happy stuff.
Wasn't this supposed to be a post about a cruise?? Lol.
You can read about my experiences in each of the ports here:
Entertainment on the Ship
I also saw some great shows on the ship. One of the entertainers was a self proclaimed ‘professional nerd’ he had a really great memory and did things related to that. He also did a few tricks with a rubix cube which was fun. I also watched a dance show put on by 6 dancers, it was a fun show.
I didn't go to any of the dances or late-night parties. I was in bed pretty early. I’m not really into partying with strangers or trying to meet people in that kind of environment. But if you're into that, I'm sure they're fun. :)
It was really nice to have that time on the ship I was forced to ‘unplug’. To read. And think. I was planning on bringing my computer and getting some offline work done, but I didn't and I think it was better that way. To re-remember what it's like to vacation where I can't do anything about the day-to-day stuff I stress about. That's part of the reason I like to travel, first to learn about others, but second to remove myself from the everyday grind. When I remove myself, I see it more clearly. More objectively. It helps me reconsider and re-evaluate. I think everyone should try to get this out of a vacation. I’ve had some life-changing moments doing this.
One of my favorite shows on the ship was a dance show on our second to last night. They had a crew of about 6 and did an hour show with a lot of fun dances. I love watching dance shows. I saw Derek Hough when he came to SLC and I loved that show too.
Final Thoughts
I was treated very well on the ship. Whenever I left my room, the room steward would call me 'Ms. Allen' and ask if I needed anything. The dining staff was also very friendly.
Whenever I got back on the ship after a hot day in port, they had cold towels for us and a glass of cold water with an electrolyte mix.
Now I know I haven't been on the fanciest of cruise ships, Carnival and MSC are my other two... but Holland America is way better. The halls of the ship were lined with old fashioned maps and paintings of ships. I loved that it wasn't trying to be a modern flashy ship (cough cough MSC). The cruise line feels older and more established. I liked that vibe.
So far, in terms of the on-board experience I think Holland America is my favorite. I might try Princess next year or Virgin... I'll be sure and let you know how it goes. ;)
About the Author
Hi, I'm Tara-
I want to be a different kind of travel advisor.
One who shares information and education and empowers you, rather than one who is motivated to make money off of you.
I want to share what I've learned. What I believe makes the best trip, how to get deals, travel on a budget, I would definitely consider myself an expert in that department.
You can read a lot of my tips and tricks for free online through my blog. If you want to consult with me about a trip, I'll charge a fee to help you plan, but I'll leave the actual booking up to you. That way you know the advice I give is not motivated by commission.
Follow along for my stories, tips, and tricks!
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