cruzer0007

Not sure what to offer on that, I was simply expressing my preferences. I didn't say I was shopping other lines for classical music, I said I was shopping other lines for quality live music. It just so happens that I considered Hollands classical (the Lincoln Center) offering among the highest quality live music experiences I have had in the cruising world. Yes, Holland has other live music offerings, but on the recent Zaandam cruise, and most of the other Holland cruises we have sailed, they pale in comparison to the quality offered by the Lincoln Center (and the Classical Duo on our most recent cruise). We've been cruising for 25+ years, multiple other lines in our background, but had been exclusively Holland in last 4 cruises due to our preference for the Lincoln Center.

We recently completed an 11 day new england cruise on Zaandam, and overall it was a good experience, but we left with a somber attitude about the future of holland america cruising due to the lack of the Lincoln Center experience. We are not classical aficionado's, we just really enjoy live music, and the quality, and caliber of musicians the Lincoln Center experience provided was simply unmatched by any other cruise line in our experience. We realize the audience might be a little smaller relative to the total number of cruisers on the ship, but over the course of the whole cruise, I think a fair number of folks would attend Lincoln Center shows, and all the interaction I ever had with fellow cruisers about Lincoln Center was always positive. It was the one thing (for us) that truly separated Holland America from practically every other main stream cruise line, nobody else had that, but now it has practically vanished. We were able to experience a "Classical Duo" on Zaandam, and to be clear, they were fabulous, gifted, and a pure joy to listen to them play. We did miss the quartet, but the quality of the duo was very much there. The real disappointment was that we learned from several other passengers who had been sailing other Holland ships that almost none of them offered this classical duo program, only one other ship was known to have it (maybe Volendam ?), and all other ships have none. There is a Lincoln Center program at the main theatre, but that is once (or twice) a cruise, where the original format was daily programs, and multiple of them, so even with the main theatre offering, its just not the same. Am hoping Holland will recognize the uniqueness, and the value in having such a quality experience that nobody else offered ... and that they would re-visit this and restore the format to their fleet. Hoping there are other Cruise Critic voices that might feel similar, and might help express thoughts in that regard. I do realize Holland needs to be profitable, and all things are on the table now days, it was just such a unique, and high quality, experience that I really left that last cruise rather deflated to know we won't be enjoying it any longer. This change does very much affect my cruise shopping preferences, and I will most certainly be cruising other lines more often in search of quality live music now that I cannot count on the Lincoln Center experience with Holland anymore.

We did a TA last year that ended in Amsterdam, and had the same issue to solve. Although we did stay a couple days in Amsterdam, the path could be the same for you. We were off the ship more or less at the same time as any other cruise in the USA (approx 8am). We are in good health, with good mobility, so we walked from the ship to our hotel with luggage in tow, a few blocks into Amsterdam, and on the path we walked directly through the main train station for Amsterdam (I dont recall the name of the station). From this station, you can get a train to the Airport, I think it was about 25min for that ride, that does not include the time to walk (probably 10-15min from the ship to the train station). As I say, we have good mobility and like to walk, and it was relatively easy to do that. Do be aware most all the signage is in Dutch (not English) and we had to ask several times for some assistance in getting to the correct platform and train. Similar situation for the cruises that end in the port of Rotterdam ... same train option (to the Airport) exists, but you probably have to take a street tram from the cruise terminal to the central train station (that is a very long walk) *edit* I should have also mentioned that when we got to Schipol airport (last year) we waited over an hour just to get through initial security line, to get into the terminal area (after luggage checkin) so do allow lots of time on that end of things.

I just got off from the TA to Barcelona, and I remember an impressive couple of stacks of games up near the Crows Nest on the port side of the ship. Sorry I cannot recall any specific games and I dont have any photos, but I recall thinking there was a good amount of options I saw on the shelf.

Agree with most of the posts here, both cruise lines are comparable quality, and there are differences, but it all comes down to what each of us puts as high importance vs low importance and I suggest only you can make that call. For perspective, I have 3 recent HAL cruises, one celebrity (Apex), but overall more cruises on celebrity. I agree the celebrity main theatre is hands down better in every way than HAL, but if main theatre is not important then that’s probably not a factor. On the newest Edge class celebrity ships, there is NO forward view unless you are a suite class traveler (I am not …) and I really dislike that aspect. I also dislike the “infinite veranda” cabin, much prefer an actual balcony. Also enjoy walking laps around the lifeboat deck (on all cruises), HAL enables that, and celebrity does NOT. I am a huge fan of live music, both lines have been good in that regard, but I do prefer celebrity for a couple reasons. I like to listen to the individual/small groups, and HAL is more of a stage show, and the music is quite loud. Slightly more relaxed feel to that music experience (for me) on celebrity, but this is very much an individual preference issue *not* a quality issue (for me). Am also a big fan of the Lincoln Center on HAL but that is going away, and lack of that offering will be a factor in my future cruise planning and decisions (again an individual preference item). I felt celebrity had slightly more noticeable flavor (more seasoning) in food, HAL more mild/neutral, but I felt food quality was comparable (very good on each). Older celebrity ships do still offer forward views, and real balcony cabins, so we will probably seek those when we can in the future. Hope that info is helpful.

many thanks for sharing that info ... I figured they had to have some sort of plan but I had no idea how it would unfold, and with all the chaos around staff shortages, etc, my concerns were elevated to say the least. My cabin assignment did show up within the last hour (~4 days prior to sailing) so my initial paranoia around the potential for lost bags has subsided significantly. I can print my own bag tags, that have my deck and room number details.

I am sailing in 5 days on a transatlantic, and for the first time ever, I have booked a guaranteed cabin rate (inside cabin). Still no cabin assigned, and if we do not learn the assignment until we board, how does the luggage get handled ? We will be separated from luggage before we enter the terminal building and I had not considered this was a possibility until seeing this thread, so now am getting a bit nervous about lost luggage risk(s). Am sure a part of the reason we don’t yet have a cabin is because the ship is at or very near capacity (Nieuw Statendam) all the more reason I am concerned about luggage getting misplaced in the process. Anyone been through that sequence know how they keep track of bags when the deck and cabin are not known when dropping bags at the curb ? I really do not want to walk on with my bags, it’s a 14 day sailing so we will have several.

Thanks for sharing your recent experience. I saw some mention about the Rolling Stone band, could you share any feedfback about other live music around the ship, in particular the Lincoln Center Stage. I know HA is in the process of revising that program in a significant way (at least in my point of view). Were they still having the Lincoln Center shows with 3-4 musicians playing a variety of instrumental music ?? How about the piano players in the billboard lounge ? Any other live music opportunities that I didnt mention ?

We are big fans of ride share (Lyft/Uber) and have come to rely on them for most aspects of our cruise travel, from home to departure airport, from pre-cruise hotel to the cruise terminal, and from cruise ship to the return home flight. Very convenient, almost always the most cost effective, but with the "surge" pricing sometimes the price can vary quite a bit so do be aware of that.

Am considering a last minute TA on the Constellation, leaves in a couple weeks, and the #1 factor in my level of enjoyment is quality of live music, in particular the solo artists, small groups,etc. that play in various lounges and/or public spaces on board. This is even more impactful for me on a TA, 15 days total for the cruise I’m investigating, many of them are days at sea. Can anyone that recently sailed on the Connie share feedback about the live music experience ? Many thanks in advance.

we also do this, drink tap water (always), and even get it at lounges in the evening (free). I do tip (cash) the servers who bring me water, and after a few days they start to bring it without me even asking. We do not get the drink package, neither one of us can drink enough, day after day, to enjoy our time, and be ahead financially with that approach if we want a glass of wine at dinner (we eat early) we sometimes get a glass (or even a double poor glass) at the very end of happy hour then head to the MDR with it in hand as we enter. we avoid the up charge restaurants, for us the MDR has always been very good.

FWIW the e-mail I send does not come back, but I very rarely get a response of any kind …. Seems to me the personal consultant is really just an internet “bot” that is (only) fishing for new business

does anybody know what "late night" pizza really means for this class of ship ? Our first/only HAL cruise was on Westerdam, they didnt have this venue onboard, only had late night pizza at the Lido buffet, and on that cruise, late night meant 10:30 to 11:30 .... that was not exactly my view of late night, but once we learned of that constraint, we managed ok. Are the late night operating hours the same for the dedicated pizza venue (for the ships that have that venue) ?

We were on Westerdam just after Labor Day, I think I spotted a single tux on one of the formal nights, don’t recall which night. Also saw very few jackets (of any type) on formal nights.

ocean bar (on Westerdam) had a piano player most days at 4pm (and again at 5pm)

Thanks for that suggestion, I thought the app only had that detail once on board, now I can check out more details for a wider range of ships ! Regarding fill in for the 13 nights, I’m not expecting much change. We did a 14 night from. Ft. L to Amsterdam on the Apex in may, and there it was no changes during the cruise, in fact there was less than planned in small venues because one of the scheduled musicians did not get his luggage in time and we sailed without him. Same headliners multiple times in main theatre, but they did perform different material. I think COVID still restricts how much flexibility they have with changing entertainment mid-cruise. Not at all like the pre-Covid days in that regard …..

we are considering the transatlantic next month, from Barcelona to Ft L, and would love to hear from anyone who recently sailed on Reflection about the on board entertainment, we are most interested in the individual musicians, and the small bands, that play in the lounges around the ship. We also go to the main theatre shows, but those seem to be more "static", not much changing there, but still welcome feedback regarding what is currently playing. A peek at the daily schedule would be a nice reference, but any info would be welcome to help us formulate a decision. Lots of sea days on the ocean cross, and the on board entertainment is a big part of our reason to choose (or pass up) those itineraries. Thanks in advance.

we are just back from a 7 day on Westerdam, happy hour from 4-5 every day, in every bar we came across that was open at the time. It did bring out some social connections, we thought it was a quiet and pleasant happy hour, not a race to drink.

We are leaving out of port 91 in Seattle on the Westerdam in about a week, and this is our first time on Holland, and first time cruise out of Seattle. We have a senior citizen in our party that has some difficulty with long walks, and long standing lines, and I was hoping to get some recent experience opinions from folks that have cruised out of port 91. Concern is elevated because I have seen a number of posts about the general chaos in Seattle on boarding day, so we are trying to map out contingencies in advance. Can we easily locate a wheelchair for our senior to use during the embarkation process ? How strict will they be regarding our arrival time, for instance, if we have a noon appt time and we arrive at 11:15am, will this be acceptable ? How far will we be walking from the passenger drop off area to the actual check-in processing area at the pier (for purpose of this question, assume we will take Lyft or Uber to get to pier91) ?? How about the reverse, when we depart at the end of the cruise, and we "walk off" with our luggage, how far do we have to walk to get from the cruise terminal building exit to the shuttle that takes you to the Lyft/Uber ride share area at pier 91 ? Many thanks in advance for recent experiences and suggestions.

We are new to holland, but have cruised many times prior, and I am now realizing I cannot find anything that confirms my dining status. I booked on-line, we are paid in full, and checked in (except for the health questions before boarding day). We sail in a couple weeks .... where can I find what my dining assignment is ? I probably inherited some default selection, I did not make a specific selection, and now I do not see anywhere in my booking status what my dining assignment is ... anybody know how I can find this ?

Wife and I have an inside passage cruise on Westerdam in a few weeks, and was hoping to hear from anyone who has recently sailed her, about the current line-up, what musicians are on the music walk, or elsewhere on the ship, and what were the evening events in the main theatre ? Anyone have any of the daily schedules that they could post so we had some examples to help us with expectations ? We have never been on a Holland America cruise, and are quite curious what the offerings will be. We have pretty good familiarity with RCCL and Celebrity, in case there are comparisons anyone can offer. Thanks in advance for any insights.

Is the same true on a Sunday ? Do the odds favor us to make an 11:55am departure at SeaTac from Pier 91 (on a Sunday) ?

Thanks Anne for that perspective. I probably should have been a little more clear in my original post, it was really *not* the main theatre entertainment I was concerned with, we enjoy some of it, but the thing I really enjoy are the individual musicians, or small groups, playing in the smaller venues. I plan my day around when and where those folks are appearing, so thanks for sharing your experiences around that aspect. I am encouraged by your post, and I intend to keep the older ships as primary options. We sailed on the Equinox about 5 years ago, and really enjoyed that, everything was great, my only "want" for that ship class/cruise was a piano player 😐

We did our first transatlantic this past May (Apex to Amsterdam) and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We are getting the "fever" to do another, and the fall crossings are fast approaching. As I look at the options there are multiple we can pick from, so I am hoping some with more experience can weigh in and help me assess the offerings. The Apex is still "new" and they market it that way, we have seen many posts (and heard many in person comments) that new ships always have the best entertainment and live music offerings, and older ships slightly less. Please share experiences, or information, around what we might expect, especially for live music (individuals or small bands) on ships other than Apex or Beyond. How much difference is there in live entertainment for a transatlantic ? There is a meaningful (to me) price difference for some ... wondering if the lower cost options mean lower quality entertainment, or less options for entertainment ? Thanks in advance for feedback.

These things continue to change over time, I dont have current information but I can offer that wife and I did a "side to side" last April, and we tested (at no cost) on the last full day of the first cruise. Our side to side was RCCL first (Allure) then Celebrity (Apex). It was painless ... other than the anxiety of needing to see the negative result. I suspect that for as long as they require pre-cruise negative tests, they would continue the policy to support side-by-side in their corporate umbrella, but I would check to be sure