Company Overview:
Holland America's
launched its first ship, the 1,684-ton
Rotterdam, in 1873. Ever since, for over 130
years now, the company has had one of the most
recognizable names for quality in running ocean
liners in the world.
When Holland America
assembled its first purpose built "cruise ship"
in 1973, the company knew that the one thing it
had going for itself was reputation. Thus, the
Holland America motto, "Tradition of Excellence"
has been smartly embraced to this day, enabling
them to associate their name with
professionalism and tradition in the passenger
shipping business.
Like so many other
successful cruise lines these days, Holland
America is now owned by Carnival Corporation,
having been acquired in 1989. It is important to
note that of the two large megolithic cruise
corporations with several brand names under
their respective umbrellae, Carnival Corp. is
the one with the reputation for having more of a
"hands-off" policy when it comes to the
day-to-day operations of the various cruise
lines within their aegis.
Carnival has
been largely respectful of Holland America
Lines' tradition. Meanwhile, with the help of
Carnival financing, the fleet has grown
dramatically in the past decade-plus to 13 ships
now, including Rotterdam VI (the company uses
the same names over and over as it retires and
builds new ships).
All of the ships
built for the current Holland America Fleet are
fairly new, at least in style, the actual oldest
being the Statendam built in 1993. This was the
first of the S-class ships built under the
tutelage of Carnival Corp. With wonderful art
collections, abundant polished marble, and
sumptuous fabrics, the nearly identical
1,258-passenger S-class ships (Statendam,
Maasdam, Ryndam and Veendam) have continued the
company's tradition of evoking the grand old
liners of yesterday.
Public rooms on all
the Holland America ships, the Ocean Bar and
Explorers Lounge are also present and accounted
for. Covered promenade decks encircle the entire
ships, which also offer a large Lido pool with a
retractable dome and a "Crow's Nest" observation
lounge. Spacious accommodations are 85 percent
ocean view, with 80 percent of those having
verandahs. Numerous dining options are offered,
from elegant full-service to casual Lido
Restaurant service.
When it came time to
create something a little more upscale, the line
choose to re-birth the flagship name, Rotterdam
(1997), but for the most part the only
difference between it and the previous S-class
ships was additional lounges, and a third bank
of elevators, and Holland America's first
Alternative Restaurant.
Beginning with
the Zuiderdam in 2002, the line quickly embarked
on building a whole new fleet of vessels called
the Vista class (followed by the Westerdam,
Oosterdam, and Noordam). Improvements to these
vessels (which still strongly resemble merely
beefed up versions of the S-class ships)
includes a three-deck main show lounge,
Internet/e-mail data ports in all staterooms and
external glass elevators on both sides of the
ship.
As a purely aesthetic departure
from the rest of the fleet, in April 2002,
Holland America acquired the 38,000-ton, 758
passenger Seabourn Sun, originally built in 1988
as the Royal Viking Sun, from sister company
Seabourn Cruise Line. Renamed Prinsendam, she
sails exotic, international itineraries of 10
days and longer. Some ships in the world of
cruising are classic models, too well-loved to
be forgotten, and this ship (forever known to
old-timers as the Royal Viking Sun, though she
has changed names often) is one of them.
That the line is committed to keeping pace with
the times is clear from its $225 million
"Signature of Excellence" initiative, begun in
2004. New features include tableside waiter
service at dinner in the Lido buffet at night, a
new Culinary Arts Program with viewing kitchens
for demonstrations and classes by celebrity
chefs, expansion of spa and fitness facilities,
upgraded Club HAL Kids Centers, and new shore
excursions. The Explorations Cafe is a
combination New York Times-powered library,
Internet center, music listening area and
sidewalk cafe. Staterooms now offer the best
mattresses and duvets sold in Europe, and suites
offer flat screen TVs and DVD players on most
ships. There's early boarding and a choice of
four dinner seatings.
Onboard enrichment
includes the excellent culinary classes held in
working demontration kitchen that looks and
functions very similarly to something one would
see on the "Food Network." Overhead cameras zoom
in on the slicing and dicing action, and food
put in one oven comes out of another one
magically fully cooked just five minutes later -
just like on TV!
Other enrichment
includes a computer center that entices students
to sign up for the paid classes ($20 per person)
by offering two free classes first. This system
is an extension of the onboard Internet access
facilities supplied by David McFarland, who also
originated the computer classes on Crystal
(ComputerUniversity@sea) Cruises many years ago.
Just like the Crystal days, McFarland is up to
his old tricks of acting as if no one knows
anything more about his business than himself.
The Internet connections he supplies are
morbidly slow and will have you tearing your
hair out in frustration. Mine clocked in at the
equivalent of a 2400 baud modem during my recent
Westerdam trip. Welcome to 1993! The classes
were still pretty good, though.
Insofar
as cruising to Alaska is concerned, nobody does
it better. The company purchased a controlling
interest in Alaska tour company Westours in the
early 1970's and hence moved their headquarters
to Seattle, Washington in 1983. But Alaska is
not all they offer. Holland America offers one
of the industry's widest choice of itineraries,
sailing to over 280 ports of call on all seven
continents from 25 home ports, including
Benghazi, Libya; Pearl Island, Panama; South
Georgia Island in the sub-Antarctic islands; and
Narvik, Norway.
Much of the appeal of the
line is in it's spacious cabins, welcoming and
practical in every category. Every ship boasts a
remarkable art collection.
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Holland America Line
Experience:
Holland America Line
(please do not refer to it as "HAL") still
maintains much of its original service
traditions. Just look at the bellman's uniforms
with their little caps. Passengers are still
summoned to dinner by the genteel ringing of a
chime and then dine to the accompaniment of a
string ensemble. Indeed, Holland America's
reverence for its own seafaring history and
tradition is exceeded only by Cunard's.
The surprising thing about the line, however, is
how price competitive they are with even
mid-priced cruise lines such as Princess and
Royal Caribbean. Great prices can be found on
these ships, and if you are looking for quiet
elegance on a longer itinerary, it is hard to
beat Holland America for a combination of
elegant, kid-free cruising at a very affordable
price.
In the past, many passengers found
Holland's cuisine to be somewhat bland, but a
new generation of chefs is changing that. The
lines' buffets have always been some of the most
tempting at sea. The open daily ice-cream
counter (noon to 4:00 p.m.) is the best at sea,
with handmade varieties accompanied by toppings
like caramel and toasted almonds, and even fresh
oven-baked cookies. All of the creamy goodness
at no extra charge! Indeed, if there is one
complaint creeping in to cruise lines selling at
similar prices to Holland America, its the
"nickel & diming" other lines do to chase the
onboard revenue. Holland America has the good
taste to keep public announcements and under the
door flyers to a minimum.
Holland
America's warmly gracious Indonesian and
Filipino crew is probably the single biggest
reason that the cruise line gets so much repeat
business. The line actually operates schools in
each of these respective countries to train
their future crewpeople. The line did suffer
somewhat during the rapid expansion days of
1998-2002, and keeping up with staffing so many
ships was a bit of a challenge. But as the
growth slows down and the company has a chance
to re-focus on its onboard service, the quality
is coming back quickly. The company's famous "no
tipping required" policy has given way to a
pre-paid $10 per person per day, adjustable at
the Front Desk.
That the line is
committed to keeping pace with the times is
clear from its $225 million "Signature of
Excellence" initiative, begun in 2004. New
features include tableside waiter service at
dinner in the Lido buffet at night, a new
Culinary Arts Program with viewing kitchens for
demonstrations and classes by celebrity chefs,
expansion of spa and fitness facilities,
upgraded Club HAL Kids Centers, and new shore
excursions. The Explorations Cafe is a
combination New York Times-powered library,
Internet center, music listening area and
sidewalk cafe. Staterooms now offer the best
mattresses and duvets sold in Europe, flat
screen TVs, and DVD players. Owners of wireless
laptops will be delighted to learn that many
parts of the ship are equipped for "wi-fi."
There's early boarding and a choice of four
dinner seatings.
Insofar as cruising to
Alaska is concerned, nobody does it better. The
company purchased a controlling interest in
Alaska tour company Westours in the early 1970's
and hence moved their headquarters to Seattle,
Washington in 1983. But Alaska is not all they
offer. Holland America offers one of the
industry's widest choice of itineraries, sailing
to over 280 ports of call on all seven
continents from 25 home ports, including
Benghazi, Libya; Pearl Island, Panama; South
Georgia Island in the sub-Antarctic islands; and
Narvik, Norway.
Much of the appeal of the
line is in it's spacious cabins, welcoming and
practical in every category. Every ship boasts a
remarkable art collection.
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Fellow Passengers
Holland America's
longer cruises seem to appeal primarily to those
over 60, but the average age on one-week cruises
is plummeting, thanks to concentrated marketing
to the line to a younger clientele who
understands the value the line offers in service
& comfort. Such new features as Internet cafes
with wireless access and boutique alternative
restaurants help, as well as the expansion of
the Club HAL program with kids and teens
centers.
All that said, those who like
to bar-hop or shake their booties well after
midnight should stick to the 7-night Caribbean
cruises, or are likely to find themselves doing
so mostly with the entertainment staff. Bedtime
on longer cruises still tends to be about
midnight amd youngsters are few and far between.
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Taking Kids:
Club HAL now
includes kids and teens three to 17, whereas
previously you had to be at least five for them
to take any notice. Dedicated youth coordinators
run full days of events for each age group on
Maasdam, Ryndam and the Vista-class ships, (Zuiderdam,
Oosterdam Westerdam). New teen areas The Loft
lounge and The Oasis have sundecks with their
own waterfalls, hammocks and covered snack
areas.
On Caribbean cruises, the private
island Half Moon Cay is without a doubt one of
the best in cruisedom. Activities offered;
horseback riding including a horseback swim in
the ocean, bicycle tours, parasailing, rental of
snorkle and scuba-diving gear, deep sea fishing,
and an excellent alternative to Grand Cayman for
swimming with stingrays. Instead of a 90 minute
jaunt by bus and boat to the middle of bay
packed with tourists, you can walk down a set of
steps and right into the welcoming fins of the
sleek creatures. The same experience without the
delays and boredom.
Group babysitting is
available in the Club HAL facilities from 10
p.m. to midnight at a charge of $5 per child per
hour. Limited private babysitting is available
through the Front Office for ages 3 to 12.
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Shore Excursions:
Holland America
offers expertly managed shore excursions
wherever it cruises, and though the line cruises
all over the world. They're neither much more
nor much less expensive than other cruise lines'
excursions.
Tipping:
For years
Holland America was known for its no-tipping
policy, intended to make passengers believe that
staff were doing it for love, rather than money.
(Yeah, right.) Nowadays, though, gratuities of
$10.00 per person (including children) are
automatically added daily to the shipboard
account for dining and stateroom service. Visit
the front desk to adjust that amount. That a 15
percent service is automatically added to bar
bills should surprise no one.
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Repeat Passenger Programs:
Mariner Club members
receive a quarterly newsletter; special
promotional offers, amenities on select
sailings; separate check-in; luggage tags;
onboard cocktail reception with the Captain; and
other onboard goodies based on number of
cruises.
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