Holland America Line

Withholding monies due – Whilst I don’t have a problem with the cabin staff or dining staff I certainly had an issue with the fact they took 874USD upon boarding and I had to wait over a month for the money to come back minus the few expenses approx 805USD! Totally unacceptable I will never cruise with the HAL again.

Great Food, Friendly, Clean – Love this ship, 24 nights, great choice of good food, except bacon was rather salty. Greta staff and nice and clean, did not stink of cigarette smoke like so many Carnival and P&O ships do. Show details

Good Cruise, but very disappointed with enforcement of hygiene in food areas – Just completed the New Zealand cruise on 14/1/23. Very disappointed to see no staff at any eating area enforcing hand washing or wearing of face masks like on other cruise lines. Every day we would sit and count the number of passengers entering these areas with no masks and nothing said. Senior staff were informed, but nothing done about it. … Read more

Entertainment was OK. Trivia was being held in an area that could not accommodate the crowd. The theatre should be used as trivia venue. Overall the cruise rated very good, just need to enforce the hygiene rules. Nobody wants Covid.

Contrasting Refund Policies – On 20 January 2020 we directly booked with Holland America (HA) Australia 2 cabins on a proposed Westerdam journey from Hong Kong to Yokohama departing early March. We took out relatively expensive (due to our age) comprehensive travel insurance and booked return air fares for 2 couples. Late January HA advised that due to Covid outbreak the… Read more

itinerary would be changed and embarkation would now be from Yokohama. Our carrier would not change first leg free of charge and we had additional cost. The statement was made that had we been flying into a city in China the change would have been made free of cost. Hong Kong was not regarded as a city in China. On 21 February HA advised cancellation and made full refund of fare and provided a 50% credit on next cruise. Our Travel Insurer advised in March that they would deny our claim for out of pocket air costs relying on a catch all pandemic clause even though the policy had been taken out before the outbreak became generally known. Our air carrier made a minimum refund of original air but no refund of change costs. HA has now, generously in our view, refunded all out of pocket costs other than travel insurance. We have enjoyed our HA cruises in the past and will certainly travel again with HA when it is possible to do so. We will however be looking hard at our travel insurer and air carrier.

Disappointed with Service and Vegan Dining - Never Again – I recently sailed with Holland America, expecting a premium experience, but I was deeply disappointed by the lack of care, poor communication, and unpreparedness for vegan travelers. This was supposed to be a special trip, but it turned into a frustrating ordeal. Clam Shell Booking at Half Moon Cay We pre-booked a clam shell for Half Moon Cay,… Read more

but nowhere on the website was it mentioned that these are located exclusively in a small, overcrowded section of the beach. Upon arrival:

The information desk gave us the runaround, sending us to the water sports area. Staff at the water sports desk were dismissive, barely acknowledging us, and vaguely gestured for us to find a clam shell on our own. When we voiced our concerns, we were told the clam shells could only be used in the crowded area, which was never communicated beforehand. We ended up purchasing an umbrella and sitting elsewhere. When we requested a refund for the clam shell back on the ship, customer service was unhelpful and directed us to Guest Services, which was closed. The issue was never resolved.

Dining Experience for Vegans – A Complete Disaster Despite informing Holland America ahead of time that we were vegan, the dining experience was appalling:

Every meal took over 1.5 hours, even though we pre-ordered daily by marking our choices on a menu and submitting it in advance. Orders were frequently wrong, missing, or delayed, forcing some of us to sit without food while others ate. Basic vegan staples, like margarine and vegan bread, weren’t available in the dining room and had to be fetched from other locations, adding to delays. Over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, things were particularly bad. On one occasion, two of us were left without any food for over an hour, and when it finally arrived, it was incorrect. Despite complaints to supervisors and the head manager, nothing improved.

Buffet Options for Vegans – Limited and Poorly Thought Out The buffet offered virtually no vegan options, with only 1–2 marked vegan dishes available across seven days. Even vegetable dishes were often cooked in butter instead of oil or margarine, unnecessarily excluding vegans. Simple adjustments like using plant-based options for mashed potatoes or oatmeal could have made a big difference.

Overall Experience The lack of communication, poor customer service, and failure to accommodate dietary restrictions were completely unacceptable for a cruise line advertising itself as vegan-friendly. These issues significantly impacted our holiday, and despite voicing concerns repeatedly, nothing was done to rectify the situation.

Final Thoughts I cannot recommend Holland America based on this experience. From the mismanaged Half Moon Cay excursion to the disastrous dining and buffet experience, this trip was frustrating from start to finish. We will not be booking with Holland America again and will be sharing our experience with others to ensure they are aware of these shortcomings.

Holland America had the opportunity to make things right, but their failure to do so speaks volumes about their customer service and attention to detail. If you’re vegan or expecting top-notch service, look elsewhere.

Room 4005 – Update, they have moved us to a new room and are very happy with it. We are currently on a holland American cruise 1-14-2025. We bought a unobstructed veranda but we sit here looking at a white wall! We can see if we're looking over the edge of the shop. Room 4005, then we are trying to sleep and the music and bass drumming from the theater is… Read more

coming through the room. I wrote to them letting them know how disappointed I was. They asked that we see them at customer service. The lady asked what our problem is and I told her. She went to the back office came back and said we needed to call them when it starts up again and they will send someone to check it out. I said that they know of the problem with not just our room but many in that area and she said it didn't matter that they need to verify it. So I'm sitting here with the banging music going on looking at a white wall and thinking what is the point of calling them. They will just show me how stupid we are for booking on this cruise line. Sometimes our only choice is to decide who will get our vacation money. HAL will not receive it...

DO NOT TRUST HOLLAND AMERICA WITH YOUR MONEY – DO NOT TRUST HOLLAND AMERICA WITH YOUR MONEY!!! Holland America wrongfully debited $191.44 from my bank account which was ONLY supposed to be a 'Holding Fee' for any purchases I made on board. However, I did not buy any drinks or other items and I was told my money would be reimbursed as soon as I disembarked. Now two months later, I have written… Read more

3 emails to Holland America and rung 4 times Guest Relations and l have STILL RECEIVED NO REPLY OR MONEY BACK !! DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY! YOU WON'T GET YOUR MONEY BACK.

A Company Not To Be Trusted with Money – Holland America wrongfully debited me from my bank account $221 US which was ONLY suppose to be a 'Holding Fee' to create an active account. I didn't purchase anything whilst on board. Two months later, having written now 3 emails & rung twice to Guest Relations, l have STILL RECEIVED NO REPLY OR MONEY BACK !! ...Don't Trust this Company

Unhelpful complaints department – Cruise was fabulous, but had one of the hotels take money out of our account as a hold and haven't refunded it. All we want guest relations to do is put us in contact with the hotel and multiple emails and hours on the phone has got us nowhere. We have a phone number for the hotel but with several attempts can't get through and there is no email address. Guest relations are not helping at all. Show details

Fake best price guarantee for shore excursion – Holland America refused to honour the best price guarantee for shore excursion which was promoted on its website. When I booked the shore excursion, there was a cheaper alternative for the same tour by the local operator. Once I booked with Holland America which charged double the price, the local operator tour was no longer available. When I… Read more

submitted the best price guarantee claim, the response was " Denied - competitor tour is Sold Out on port date, cannot book with competitor." I showed Holland America that the standard price for the tour was much less than the price they charged. It was sold out because I made the booking with Holland America and took the previously available booking from the local tour provider. I sent my email to bestpriceguarantee@hollandamerica.com but they do not respond to me. The "Best price guarantee" is false advertising. They never honour this and passengers should book with the local tours.

Below average - wouldn't recommend – The food was well below expectations.eg. one meal in the dining room was disgusting. Couldn't even cook some basic pasta. Onboard services were expensive including alcohol...Two itinerary changes before ship even left port. The ship's airconditioning is not conducive to healthy respiratory conditions. Cabin cough very prevalent.. Show details

Worst cruise ever – The ship is old, the passengers were all old, the food was below average, the entertainment was none, the shows were boring, the songs played were just boring. Worst cruise ever Show details

Website is flaky – I'm logging on to pay for my booked cruise and the first thing it says when i logon is welcome Alexandra. That isn't my name. When i try and pay it changes my name to Alexandra. Weird.

Mediterranean cruise from hell – Cruise itinerary looked great but contracted covid onboard and cruise liner sent me to medical clinic with $16,000+ unnecessary medical fees. Cruise liner takes no responsibility. Show details

Poor corporate company-AVOID – Booked and paid for cruise with Holland America through Vacations2go. The cruise was scheduled for October 2020. Holland America cancelled cruise in May 2020, refused to refund money until October 2020. When I finally received refund it was $500 short because of foreign exchange fall. Travel Insurance company says they won't pay my claim for loss.… Read more

My sincere advise as a someone that has taken many enjoyable cruises is not to book until the cruise industry changes their payment system. It is disproportionately weighted in their favour just like banks and insurance companies. CAVEAT EMPTOR

No refund after cruise cancellation because of COVID-19 – We booked a Holland America cruise in January 2020 to sail in May 2020 from Italy. The cruise was cancelled because of COVID-19, but they wouldn’t give us a refund. Instead we got a credit, but it had to be re-booked this year. It is still the height of COVID-19, and our country does not allow international travel for its citizens. We think this is very poor service, and reflects badly on Holland America  Show details

Thank you for refund – I want to thank Holland America for their promptness in providing a full refund. It was a very distressing time finding out that our Mediterranean cruise was being cancelled due to COVID-19 and not being allowed to leave the country. But it was great to know that we were offered different alternatives regarding the payment we had made. After the pandemic is over I would certainly consider Holland America again. Show details

Keep a dying man's money, just because they can – Happy New Year to Holland America Line who refused to give us even a full credit for our cancelled cruise several weeks prior to sailing. My pre-existing medical condition, which our travel insurance didn't cover, suddenly and unexpectedly deteriorated. I am terminally ill, and am about to start in clinical trials aimed at buying me time.… Read more

Despite the letter from the haematologist stating that not receiving immediate medical intervention could result in my death, they refused to even give us a full credit for a future cruise, but offered a 50% credit of what we paid if two people sailed, (which is impossible for me as I must now always be close to a major hospital) , or 25% if only one sailed. The latter would amount to $1,400.00 of our $5,600.00 odd paid to them. That will not go far for a person paying single supplement. In other words, more would have to be paid in order to use their offer! This had to be booked within 12 months and would allow us to gift the credit to family members on the condition that we now give the company the names, addresses and phone nos. of any people who may be able to use it. As if! The ship was not full. We cost them nothing. I ended up in Emergency, followed by admission to the Austin Hospital during the time I would have been on the cruise. The "Pat on the back" correspondence we received from HAL, reminding us that, as stated in the contract, the money was non-refundable reflects poorly on the company, and is in sharp contrast to all other service providers who graciously refunded everything in a rather extreme case, or so I would have thought.

VERY DODGY – On the final night of our cruise I settled our onboard account. When I received my next credit card account HAL had put another $7 on it. I know it isn't much but it adds up if you do it to every cabin. Result - 2 otherwise happy passengers who won't be back. Plenty of other cruise companies around Show details

Be careful – We booked a cruise 3weeks ago, after being convinced to go a atf suite as it was the most popular, we were told we need to put 460.00 deposit down. We were not informed the deposit was non refundable nor non transferable. We rang to transfer our deposit to a later date due to unforeseen circumstances, was told we can’t and they would need to… Read more

listen to the phone call to see what was said at the time of booking. I rang them back and asked where does it say that the deposit is non transferable and when in the phone call did they say it was non transferable, the reply I got was we dont use that terminology. ( non transferable) They are very unprofessional , rude and are thieves, be careful. They don’t explain things clearly and will steal your money.

One of the worst I had been – We were on the Asian cruise last month and the following were our comments: Pros: 1. The staff at the front office were helpful; 2. Some wait persons at the Lido Buffet were quite polite and cheerful; 3. Our room steward had kept the room clean and inviting. Cons: 1. Most of the staff who served food behind the counter at Lido… Read more

were rude and miserable; 2. A few waiters at the main dining room were lazy and don't border to serve properly; 3. Old movies were shown all the time; 4. There were no performance on some nights; 5. A junior officer was so rude to us that we had to report him to the higher authority; 6. The breakfasts at the Lido were very bad and we tried to skip them if possible.

All in all it was not one expected on a cruise holiday.

Terrible experience – It was the most terrible cruise I have been to. Their service was very poor. 1. we had to pay for everything in USD dollar and they didnt tell us while we were booking it. The ship wad almost like a retirement place .95 percent of people were 65+. No entertainment at all. Nothing to do in the cruise. Food was horrible and every day the same… Read more

menu.

They drop us on shore every time we supposed to see different stop, without any transport option and we had to pay extra to get the taxi or any other transports options.

It was so noisy and we cant sleep well. The beds were not comfortable.

Their customer service wad very poor. It was almost waste of money and time to travel with them. The boring ship with no effort to make the guest happy as we were in holiday. It was just about getting your money in any way they could. I will never ever travel with them again in my life and If you have plan to do it I shall say you will regret that badly.

Worst Customer Service EVER!! – We have recently cancelled a 28 Night Asian Cruise, set to sail in October 2018. Since February 2018, on at least 5 occasions I had email Holland America about my booking. Each time, I received an Automatic Reply with a Reference Number and note to say they would be in contact. After 5 months only 1 reply which was a copied email from my last… Read more

cruise, which had nothing to do with this enquiry. Guest Relation and Loyalty Web Priority, What a JOKE!! Never again.

Lost Items, HAL Response Unacceptable – We generally enjoyed our cruise on Noordam, which concluded on Fri 5 Jan 18. Upon leaving the ship we realised that personal items had been left in the cabin's 'under bed drawer'. The items included high end gym gear, under wear and swim wear for my wife as well as $350 cash. We advised HAL same day and their response took until 10 Jan. The… Read more

response was 'they would look and get back to us'. I followed up with three emails, their last response of 21 Feb advised: Regarding your lost & found inquiry, we have followed up with our shipboard staff and been advised that unfortunately they have not been able to locate your missing clothing items. We certainly understand and regret how disappointing this news may be and will keep your information on file in case this item is found at a later date. If you have a Homeowners or Travel Insurance policy you may want to check with your provider to see if it includes coverage of personal property while traveling. Thank you again for contacting our office with your concerns, and please let us know if we may be of further service.

Kind regards, [name removed], Special Advisor Office of the President

Beware....clearly the crew cleaned the room before the afternoon sailing, the items did not just disappear...someone took them.

In my opinion go with another Cruise Line – Christmas/New Year Cruise 2017-2018 The boarding process in Sydney was quick and painless. The Stateroom we occupied was also OK. However the food in the Lido and the Main Dining Room was below standard, had to pick the best of a bad bunch at times. To call Canaletto fine dining is stretching the truth, Pinnacle Grill was OK but you should't… Read more

expect to pay extra for average food. Entertainment was OK however the staff in the Spa and at the Front Desk very surly and not helpful at all. Although there was a coffee shop, the coffee was not worth buying and we ended up getting our coffee fix on the shore excursions. The shore excursions booked through HAL amount to daylight robbery. Would not cruise with Holland America Line again.