Third time's a....Holland America?! Alaska review/compare

[Pens Fan]

Having cruised on several cruiselines, mostly longer cruises, I find the food onboard to be pretty much the same. A lot depends on the particular chef on any given ship. While I find most of the food to be of "wedding banquet" quality, sometimes there are items that just not well prepared.

The one cruise that stands out in my mind for having the "best" food for the entire cruise was a Holland America cruise. The one with the "worst" was a Princess one. And it really wasn't bad, but the chef had a particular liking to italian dishes. Every. night. Lots of pasta, tomato sauces, fish. Not a lot of variety.

I don't have anywhere near the experience cruising on lines other than Disney that you do . But we were utterly shocked at how good the food was on our NCL cruise. Not just the specialty restaurants which were outstanding, but even the complementary options. It blew us away. It's only one experience away from the Mouse, but man did we eat well! (too well, and now I'm trying to lose the pounds I gained ). It sounds as if Holland America can be a great option for food as well and that interests me, a lot.

 

[DnA2010]

I am really enjoying your review! As I mentioned on another thread, we were so impressed with the appearance of all of the HA ships that we saw on our recent Alaska cruise. I'd never really considered them before, but it was hard to ignore those lovely ships in every port.

Your food review interests me. We have never been a big fan of DCL's food, but honestly just though it was kind of what you got on a cruise serving several 1000 people every day - ok but nothing special. After our NCL cruise we realized this didn't have to be the case. Your review of HA just reinforces that. I'm beginning to think it's just Disney playing to their market - lots of kids who even if they have graduated from the kid's menu aren't exactly the most adventurous of eaters. I don't blame DCL at all. They are masters at giving families what they want. But we were blessed to have a son who pretty much gave up on kid's meals by about the age of four and was always looking for more interesting types of food than most kids his age. Now, as three adults, we are definitely looking for a step up on the food ladder so to speak when we travel.

Can't wait for more of your review!

Honestly it was good! I have worked in fine dining through university so I know how a steak, prime, rack of lamb should be cooked, and all of these were cooked properly and seasoned! my BIL has also worked in restaurants and couldn't believe the quality of the food. It was nice to see some different fish on the menu including halibut, kingfish, tuna as well as the usual seafood variety, I had a lovely fillet mignon that was so tender I didn't need a knife. The veggies were of a nice variety as well.
The other standout was the desserts- it wasn't just the gelatinous varieties of desserts I remember from DCL. there were all sorts of things and they were good!
My 13 DD has eaten off the adult menu on all of her cruises, she was never into kids menus- give her rack of lamb, duck confit, and creme brulee anyday
I was expecting banquet food and that is not at all what we got.

 

[vacationer1954]

Buffet- ... Breakfast- ... salmon, ... Let me know any questions on food ...

Was it smoked salmon?

 

[3monkeys4me]

Wow, your reviews of the food alone are enough to make me consider HA when we finally do Alaska. We are hoping to cruise when we move back to the mainland USA, so probably summer 2020, but since we are hoping to do a Disney cruise with the extended family that same spring or fall spending the cash for Alaska is probably out of the question (man it stinks to have to do grown up things like buy a house and a car ) but pricing out HA a few minutes ago puts it within reach. I had assumed we would do another cruise with RCI or maybe give NCL a try but it looks like HA is also under consideration.

 

[Bunless]

We are DCL veterans, but we also live in Seattle, which has several HAL 'Dam ships using it as a departure during the summer. We've done five HAL Alaska cruises. A few years ago they did a major revamp in the food program on the ships. It's good, really, really good. A wide variety of interesting dishes over the course of the week, but also solid standbys for those who are more picky eaters. Canaletto, the speciality Italian restaurant, is especially good, and very much worth the $15/head uncharge.

There are two things that we miss on HAL, when compared to DCL.
1) The dining experience. On our DCL journeys, we have made great, long lasting friendships with our dining room mates. While you can get assigned seating on HAL, the majority of the dining room at dinner is like it would be for breakfast or lunch on a DCL ship, which means different table mates for each night. However, because it is usually just DH and myself on these Alaska cruises, and we are trying to reconnect after the school year is over, getting a table for two was a good option for us.

2) The activities and entertainment for adults. In this case, I am not talking about Disney branded entertainment. On HAL, about the only activity that I participated in was trivia and the whiskey tasting. Typically, on HAL, everyone has gone to their rooms by 11pm, and only a smattering of people are still around at one or two bars.

 

[vacationer1954]

There are only a few mass market cruise lines that are allowed to cruise into Glacier Bay National Park, and Holland America is one of them. (Unfortunately, DCL is not, and that disqualified DCL from consideration for us, before we even got to the point of considering the price.)

While cruising to Alaska from Seattle is fine, cruising from Vancouver offers an added benefit to those who prefer scenic shorelines to the open ocean. Cruising from Vancouver generally means cruising the Strait of Georgia, the Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait to reach Queen Charlotte Sound, while cruising from Seattle generally means cruising in the Pacific Ocean to reach Queen Charlotte Sound. That's a big difference worth considering.

 

[Shanti]

How were the daytime activities on HAL on sea days? Was there lots to do like on DCL?

 

[DnA2010]

Was it smoked salmon?

Yes it was smoked salmon

 

[DnA2010]

There are only a few mass market cruise lines that are allowed to cruise into Glacier Bay National Park, and Holland America is one of them. (Unfortunately, DCL is not, and that disqualified DCL from consideration for us, before we even got to the point of considering the price.)

While cruising to Alaska from Seattle is fine, cruising from Vancouver offers an added benefit to those who prefer scenic shorelines to the open ocean. Cruising from Vancouver generally means cruising the Strait of Georgia, the Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait to reach Queen Charlotte Sound, while cruising from Seattle generally means cruising in the Pacific Ocean to reach Queen Charlotte Sound. That's a big difference worth considering.

Given the weather we had once we got up to Alaska was super crappy, I was really thankful we had the lovely cruising in and out of Vancouver- that was the only scenic areas we got to see.

 

[DnA2010]

How were the daytime activities on HAL on sea days? Was there lots to do like on DCL?

I'm going to write up about this soon, but short answer- not quite as much

 

[DnA2010]

Service/Cleanliness:

So I talked a bit here and there about service/cleanliness but here are some more details:

Service overall- we were very happy- around the ship we did feel like the people on the ship were happy to help and had our best interests in mind. Our room attendant was good, I wouldn't say outstanding, but good. We were a tricky room, with being in and out with a baby napping etc, but he managed to get in to service the room in the am, grab diapers in the afternoon, turn down in the evening. After the first night we got towel creatures every night. The turn down chocolates on HAL are GOOD! Yum! Sometimes he wouldn't take away a dirty highball glass etc, but always had enough towels, etc.

Dining room service- was interesting and it took me 3 days to figure it out. So our service was fine- we didn't want for anything- our food orders were taken at appropriate times, our waters were filled etc but the service wasn't as personal as we've had on our other cruises, which I felt a tiny bit bad about as I had built up the MDR service a bit to my sister and mom- I realized that after the first night, we were the one of the only tables that seemed to return- it seems that anytime/mytime dining is popular now and the servers seem to cater to the folks that just want to eat. Once our server realized we were coming back every night (by the 3rd night I'd say) he warmed up to us and had the baby chairs there, brought out the amazing kids mac and cheese (seriously the best homemade mac and cheese ever) the bread the babies liked, etc. These guys work HARD! the kitchen seems to be on the far end of the MDR and we were on the other end dining room from the kitchen, so seeing the guys bringing out big trays with 8 covered plates- yikes! While we didn't get the jokes, magic tricks etc, our service was correct and pleasant- we did notice nice touches like proper cutlery when needed coming out ahead (ie steak knives) which didn't always happen on RCL or DCL.

At the buffet (Lido) the tables were cleared and cleaned instantly and we never had to wait for a table.

The other thing was, a lot of people seemed to get off the ship/get on the ship after 3 nights in Skagway, so the tables all changed. As she ship was so small, you def noticed the change in passengers.

As you can imagine, we got SO much attention, having the only babies on the ship- so many of the staff took the time to learn their names and would be very interactive when we say them in their positions on the ship.

One thing to note is that the workers are primarily from Indonesia and the Philippians- around 30-35% each- we found everyone very pleasant and genuine.

Cleanliness- the ship was kept Clean- I had read a bit before we left about some Norwalk issues on HAL ships but I saw 0 signs of sick people and was very happy with how clean the ship was- the bathrooms were immaculate and always being cleaned, I never saw fingerprints or dirt and there were always people cleaning the stairways and elevators. I never saw anything on any floors. There was one room (Hudson room) which was like a cards/gaming room, which we called the "crawling room" as we would take the babies there to crawl around- it was so clean that I was ok with this, after being a bit nervous of Noro. Where the ship worn, it was still clean.

 

[Dug720]

Do they still do the thing where the "buffet" is really a cafeteria for the first 2 days?

I get that they do it to try (in their minds) and prevent anything from spreading because they know some people lie on their pre-cruise health survey, but it's annoying to go to a "buffet" and be served. Especially when they forget they are past day 2 and keep doing it when there are no indications of restrictions anywhere else on the ship that would indicate a need for it.

 

[DnA2010]

Do they still do the thing where the "buffet" is really a cafeteria for the first 2 days?

I get that they do it to try (in their minds) and prevent anything from spreading because they know some people lie on their pre-cruise health survey, but it's annoying to go to a "buffet" and be served. Especially when they forget they are past day 2 and keep doing it when there are no indications of restrictions anywhere else on the ship that would indicate a need for it.

Can you explain what you mean? Like people serving your food? If this is what you mean, I don't remember much of that- I think some of the hot food maybe? Not enough that I noticed it

 

[Dug720]

Can you explain what you mean? Like people serving your food? If this is what you mean, I don't remember much of that- I think some of the hot food maybe? Not enough that I noticed it

Yes. At least a few years ago, HAL's policy was that NOTHING was self-serve for the first 48 hours of the cruise. There were crew serving everything in the alleged "buffet". No salt and pepper shakers on the tables or other condiment dispensers - everything was individual packets.

Basically they started every cruise as if it was in Code Red for Noro for the first 48 hours.

 

[DnA2010]

Yes. At least a few years ago, HAL's policy was that NOTHING was self-serve for the first 48 hours of the cruise. There were crew serving everything in the alleged "buffet". No salt and pepper shakers on the tables or other condiment dispensers - everything was individual packets.

Basically they started every cruise as if it was in Code Red for Noro for the first 48 hours.

Nope it def wasn't like that

 

[PrincessShmoo]

but the service wasn't as personal as we've had on our other cruises,

We've found on HAL, most servers are treated like servants by the passengers. So they tend to be more reticent. It's been our goal to "jolly" them out of that by the 2nd or 3rd night.

Do they still do the thing where the "buffet" is really a cafeteria for the first 2 days?

Sadly, the "Code Orange" policy has ended. Even though onboard illnesses did seem to be reduced when they did that, HAL has opted to drop the policy.

 

[DnA2010]

Kids/Teens Activities-


So I feel really bad here- I forgot to ask my teen to keep the daily teen notice she got of the activities planned. My apologies there. I'm guessing one came out for the kids club too. She's also away right now, so I'm going off my own impressions- I will add more when I talk to her.


Clubs:

So I booked this cruise knowing there wouldn't be that many kids/teens on the ship. My DD13 knew this too. She knew this would be more about family time then hanging in the clubs.

We did a walk through the day we boarded- not that impressive for sure. We did go into the kids club and see if she might be allowed in there if she wanted/met someone who was 12, as she had just turned 13- answer- no. I respect that, you do have to have a line somewhere.

So we did encourage her to go the first evening to try to meet kids- she quickly came back saying there were 3 older teen boys who were trying to get the video games working.

She went back the next couple nights and nothing really happening according to her. She did go nights 5/6/7 (3 nights I think- maybe 4) as she had met some kids and more were showing up- I will ask her more details, but I know they played some games, had some video game tournaments, went for almost midnight snack, that sort of thing. I think she stayed out till 11 ish?

Other:

Covered Pool:

So one awesome thing about the Volendam is the covered pool deck area- we used this a lot since the weather was not good. It was so nice to be able to be somewhere outside that was protected by the elements. There is a large deep pool and 2 hot tubs- I think at least part of our group swam and tubbed every day. It was also really nice as an alternative place to sit for breakfast, and we loved eating there for lunch (see food section) the bar guys were nice and there was often a 2-4-1 afternoon special on the Alaskan beers- yum!

Games Room:
There was a games room that we frequented, and used to let the babies crawl around. We played games in there (that we had brought) they had the standards such as monopoly, scrabble etc. Nothing super interesting


Daytime Activities:

There honestly wasn't that much that interested our DD as far as activities unfortunately- so port days we mostly played our games, swam etc. She wasn't into going to the cooking kitchen, the trivia sort of activities weren't geared at young people. I believe she did see a movie or two. Like I said, we were prepared for this and did games and swimming and that. \

So honestly, let's be serious, it's not a kids line, but our 13 year old did have a good time...would there have been more activities on DCL or even Royal? Yes,but we did enjoy spending time with her.

Please let me know of any questions

 

[DnA2010]

Should I keep going? any thoughts or Questions?

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Please do! We didn't want to rush you, but your take is very interesting. I think, by your original outline, you still have Entertainment, Ports, and Debarkation left. We're listening!

 

[bcwife76]

Yes if you have the time please continue! I'm writing my own Alaskan trip report but I'm taking my sweet time lol