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A wonderful Holland America cruise we will never forget

samcevoy

By samcevoy,
in Holland America Line

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samcevoy

samcevoy

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We had cruised 51 times before and in almost every part of the world. These previous cruises ranged from 7 to 14 or 15 days in length. Because of the travel time to and from the ship, we grew to prefer cruises that are 10 or more days in length. These prior cruises were all spectacular in so many different ways.

 

In searching the Internet, we found a 30-day Holland America cruise on the Statendam sailing from San Diego to Lima, Peru, and back to San Diego. We visited ports in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Ecuador. We had three full days in Lima to explore this wonderful city. The itinerary and ports were different in each direction.

 

There is cruising but this cruise was nothing like the previous 51. For the first three weeks or so, we could not even think far enough ahead to or beyond the end of the cruise. We felt more like residents on the ship than as short-term guests. It was definitely a different and world-class experience!!!

 

We sailed with Holland before and everything was still top of the line. Because we technically booked two back-to-back cruises (we purchased the 30-day option), I was quite surprised that the entertainment and shows were different over the entire 30 days – no repeats.

 

Usually on cruises, I feel deprived of my daily newspapers and hardcopy access to the current news. Sure, Holland and other cruise lines have satellite TV (and movies and more) in the cabins with a number of news channels, but this is not like having access to the daily news in newspaper detail. Holland also provided a summary news pamphlet each day in several languages.

 

However, I was elated that Holland also provided free Internet access to the full New York Times 24/7. I was able to use their computer terminals as well as my own laptop, and the cost was absolutely free. There was never a wait to use one of the ship’s computer terminals for this free access.

 

Holland had numerous on-board activities to keep us entertained, educated and/or engaged, if we wanted to be. The many free Digital Workshop courses on Windows, photo editing, creating movies and slide shows, digital cameras, and several other interesting subjects, were all enjoyable and informative. I found these free sessions to be quite valuable, and I use computers all the time.

 

There is cruising, and then again, there is cruising. This 30-day Holland America cruise on the Statendam was wonderful beyond compare.

 

I was able to do some consulting work remotely while on the ship, and I was more than impressed by how the ship’s crew catered to my needs and requests whenever I asked. I am writing this review primarily to pay some respect and homage to Holland America because of all the help the ship’s crew graciously gave me during this cruise of a lifetime.

 

Steve McEvoy

West Chester, PA

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Cruising-along

Cruising-along

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This is wonderful to hear, so glad you reported back. We were on the 2nd half of your cruise (Lima-San Diego). While I wouldn't say it was our best cruise ever (there were some A/C and plumbing problems we haven't had on other ships and a few other things), the crew is indeed great. I hated saying good bye to Asap, Fauzie and Eko especially. :) Also the laundry service was the best we've ever had, very quick turn-around!

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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So happy you had such a wonderful cruise. Your enthusiasm is shining through in your writing.

 

Welcome Back. :)

 

I just noticed you have been a member here for a very long time and this is your second post. That in itself shows how great your cruise was.

Edited by sail7seas
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Loreto

Loreto

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Thank you for your positive comments! The crew does indeed work hard to ensure a quality product. We were on the round trip of your itinerary last November on the Statendam and found the ports amazing, especially Trujillo and Lima, Peru. There is no way we could have seen so much if not for the cruise! A highlight for me was the excursion to Tikal.

 

We are on the Statendam again in August and looking forward to her.

 

Karen

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Nice to hear that you had a memorable cruise.

 

While every trip is wonderful, some hold closer places to your heart than others. So glad this one did for you.

 

Such a nice report. Happy to hear it. and welcome home.

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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Great review! Glad things worked out so well for you!

 

Could you tell us who the Captain, Hotel Director and Cruise Director were?

 

I think the Hotel Director may have been Mike Mahn but he is not on the ship right now.

 

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Lauranne

Lauranne

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Thank you for your review. We have only take short cruised. Good to know that a longer cruise has a different feel. When we retire in the next couple of years we will remember your review.

Laurie

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samcevoy

samcevoy

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Great review! Glad things worked out so well for you!

 

Could you tell us who the Captain, Hotel Director and Cruise Director were?

 

I had to look at the cruise log they gave us at the end of the cruise.

 

Captain was Vincent Smit. Only saw him two or three times - all business.

 

Hotel Director was Mike Mahn/Simon Tanner. I do not know why the two names. Maybe they swapped out in Lima!?

 

Cruise Director was Tameryn Hurly from Australia. She joinded the ship with us in San Diego, and her husband and two-year-old child joined in Lima. She was a unique young lady and an ideal cruise director.

 

Steve McEvoy

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VacationCharlene

VacationCharlene

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Sounds like you had an amazing time! We live in San Diego and would love to look at this cruise roundtrip San Diego to Lima, Peru. I couldn't find it on Holland America's website. I must be doing something wrong. Can anybody give me the link. Thanks so much!! We usually have to fly everywhere to go on our cruises, would be a nice change to not have too :p

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Loreto

Loreto

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Sounds like you had an amazing time! We live in San Diego and would love to look at this cruise roundtrip San Diego to Lima, Peru. I couldn't find it on Holland America's website. I must be doing something wrong. Can anybody give me the link. Thanks so much!! We usually have to fly everywhere to go on our cruises, would be a nice change to not have too :p

 

Hi Charlene! It is the Incan Empires cruise 32 days this Nov. 16 from San Diego on the Amsterdam (a wonderful ship). To find the cruise on the HAL web site it is under South America/Antarctica...then All of South America...Nov2015 then over 17 days. HAL had also been doing this itinerary in March. It is an amazing trip! We had a lot of cruisers from the San Diego area/southern CA.

 

Karen

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samcevoy

samcevoy

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Hi Charlene! It is the Incan Empires cruise 32 days this Nov. 16 from San Diego on the Amsterdam (a wonderful ship). To find the cruise on the HAL web site it is under South America/Antarctica...then All of South America...Nov2015 then over 17 days. HAL had also been doing this itinerary in March. It is an amazing trip! We had a lot of cruisers from the San Diego area/southern CA.

 

Karen

 

I hope that my following comments do not violate any rules.

 

In the old days before personal computers, and when you had to rely on printed brochures and the like, you had to do much research to identify and consider the various cruises offered by the many cruise lines. The personal computer and Internet have changed everything. Today, I can research offerings in any part of the world and/or for any period of time in a minute or two, something that years ago would have required me to visit a travel agency and pour over brochures for many hours (if not days), and then calling many travel agencies to get price quotes.

 

Today, there are many search tools out there besides and including the cruise-line websites. The best one I have found is *************.com, and I use the custom-search feature. You can use any, some or all of the search parameters and filters when doing a search.

 

For the person who was looking for the same or similar itinerary, an easy way is just to list Lima or Manta (Ecuador) as a port to be visited, and all the cruises of all the cruise lines stopping at LIma and/or Manta will show up.

 

If there are some cruise lines that you do not want to cruise with, you can list up to two. If you only want to consider cruises of certain cruise lines, you can list up to four. (I frequently limit searches to five, so I have to run the search twice.

 

Our freinds call me expert in finding great cruise deals. However, anyone using this seach tool can become an expert in a few minutes!

 

You do not have to book through *************, but I do many times. They have great back-office support and great pricing. On other occasions, I can get a better deal through another discounter.

 

My main point is that there are great Internet search tools out there, and they can quickly make anyone a travel expert in the eyes of the uninformed.

 

I have been told that I forgot to include our cruise dates. We sailed on the Statendam from March 15 to April 14, 2015.

 

Steve McEvoy

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samcevoy

samcevoy

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Hello Margie:

 

You are the first to reply to my earlier post in a long time. I am sure that you will enjoy your Incan Empire cruise very much.

 

After I made my original post about our wonderful HAL long cruise, I realized that I should have added a short word of advice.

 

Make a detailed checklist now of everything that you want to do to prepare for being away such a long time.

 

In our case, we need many medicines to keep us healthy. We take two sets of the medicines we need for the vacation plus one week extra in each set. We keep one set in our carry ons and the second set elsewhere. Losing or running out of life-sustaining medicines while out of the county can be a real problem.

 

Paying insurance premiums and tax bills are also very important.

 

We even "remember" birthdays and anniversaries before we leave.

 

We prepared and use a detailed two-page checklist and I recommend that anyone going on a long cruise prepare and use the same. I felt bad that I did not include this suggestion in my original post, and here it is.

 

Steve McEvoy

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