Karen In The Mountains wrote a review May 2023

4 contributions

We had been encouraged to try HAL by some 5-star "Mariners" who love that cruise line. We later realized they love it mostly because they have no idea what they are missing on other lines. They had no idea there were perks for being loyal customers, HAL had certainly never contacted them or offered anything. We had to tell them their perks. Which made us wonder what were we getting into... This cruise was doomed from the start. Boarding was a disaster, late, unorganized, with zero communication. The ship had *just* been in drydock, but still looked pretty *awful*. We had lunch in the buffet after boarding, and there were dozens of worn, cracked, *filthy* chairs in the Buffet. The brand new buffet carpet was covered in shedding fuzz and stank of plastic for at least a week. It was also very unstable, hard to walk on, and much harder for wheelchairs. We couldn't even take photos out the windows they were so dirty. The ship looked worn, tired, and filthy... right out of drydock. Communication from HAL staff was just *abysmal* throughout. Signage was missing for reserved accessible tables, staff signage in the MDR, Braille room signs, area signage... Braille signage was missing or hidden all over the ship. There were NO BRAILLE menus, no captions, minimal or broken accessibility tools. Door ramps by the pools were rotted, and taken out & then a construction zone for days Doors were broken, or worked inconsistently. The stench of smoke was horrible on three floors, even with new carpets. The cabin couches were yellowed and stained, and the weird snap-on armrests were broken - everyone we asked said the same thing. I met one poor WC user lady who was bumped out of her booked & paid for accessible cabin, with no warning, and given a regular cabin - and HAL expected to put up with injuries she suffered simply trying to enter/exit an inappropriate, not accessible bed. The promised "new library" was boarded up and there was zero communication about opening (it turned out it would not open until a month later, but nobody wanted to admit they lied to passengers). So... the "library" was ONE BOOKSHELF, in a lounge, unadvertised, no signage. The MDR was... chaos. The waitstaff had NO CLUE how to handle food allergies. We saw or were told of multiple food allergy reactions, because staff were careless/lazy. Day 2(?) there was a *complete power failure* at sea... no lights, no engine, no nothing for almost 20 minutes. The Captain then made an announcement and *joked* about the power failure. It was so unprofessional. But the worst part was the *infections*. Our family noticed at breakfast on DAY TWO the crew were suddenly wearing N95s - and a bunch of selfish, rude, belligerent passengers were bullying/attacking the crew for doing so 🙄💩 We returned to our cabin for our masks, and an announcement was made; the ship had a significant amount of Covid. Masks for passengers were highly recommended, and were compulsory for crew. We were asked to report symptoms. There were even free masks left in our already made up cabin. But, of COURSE 1/3-1/2 of passengers were utterly belligerent, selfish, dishonest, and refused to wear masks, most didn't even WASH, or cover their mouths when coughing, sneezing... It was DISGUSTING. By the time the ship reached Hawai'i HALF OUR HALLWAY CABINS were in isolation, sick, and everyone reported the same all over the ship. There were a LOT of sick people, a lot of empty chairs. Then we started to notice a smell... a very strong smell... of sewage... especially around the inside cabins. More announcements were made, begging people to WASH as "a food-borne illness" was now *also* on board. We ramped up our washing, sanitizing and brought bleach wipes everywhere with us to wipe down the grubby surfaces all around us. Because it was gross. There was no excuse, there were automated hand washers in the Buffet, and sanitizer was everywhere, and FREE masks. The food... was below average, if you could even get it. We gave up on the MDR on night 3, after waiting each night for 45-60 minutes to be served. And worse, we were served revolting, dried out, spoiled food from under a lamp for far too long, that wasn't even what we ordered. Staff seemed oblivious, or adversarial. The "specialty" restaurants were also sub-par, and almost empty, for a reason, we discovered. The "steakhouse" steak was low grade food, and disappointing. The staff were negligent and absent. The entertainment was... Mixed. The on-board dancers & singers were fantastic. The one Hawai'ian cultural night performance was fantastic. That was 5 nights out of 17. Everything else... the guitarist (3 nights, people walked out), the violin "comedy" routines (so offensive & bigoted), the weird "sand artist" (people walked out), the horrendous Lido deck movies, a complete lack of any decent live entertainment in the daytime... The nighttime "offerings" were also awful. The dueling pianos were out of tune, the Rock Room/Blues venue were TINY, dark, crowded, smokey/stank, filthy... The entertainment floor was OBNOXIOUSLY LOUD and next to the gross, loud casino... Even the cheesy "musak" on the speakers shipwide was pretty AWFUL for a supposed "music ship". There was ZERO promised, advertised Lincoln Center/classical music. Supposed cultural "lectures" were merely a slide show with the "cruise director" every single night, no ACTUAL EXPERTS... or a movie.. It was all very minimal, lazy... and cheap. All for a supposed "music ship". There was ZERO music related to Hawai'i. No traditional music, no ukelele group, no Beach Boys or Don Ho, no musical movies... and only one set of ukelele of lessons, offered in the smokey pit. We met a few lovely people on board... But on the whole we - and everyone we met - were disappointed, underwhelmed, or disgusted by the behaviour of the other passengers. We witnessed. SO MANY bullying incidents, and rude passengers kept getting away with abuse. We saw one selfish, drama queen jerk who spent 30+ minutes throwing around pool deck furniture, in a temper tantrum, screaming ORDERS at the crew, all so his precious family could have "the best" seating for a movie. Because the standard seating was beneath his special self. He blocked the entire walkway and then sat there, sulking, scowling and attacking everyone. And nobody did anything. We saw a woman in the Thermal Suite blowing snot into her *hand* and repeatedly wiping it on furniture. We saw multiple grotesque, selfish people mauling food, screaming at staff, leaving their tables in DISGUSTING shape... Just every gross, rude, lazy, selfish, entitled, arrogant behaviour you can think of... seemed concentrated on one ship. We will not be back. We would NEVER let friends book HAL.…

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Steve R wrote a review May 2023

Chatham, United Kingdom267 contributions144 helpful votes

The weather was our Alaska saviour

By a glorious freak, we had wonderful weather. It was 26C in Juneau, a town where it rains for 222 days a year, and glorious throughout the week. Otherwise, the cruise would have been a disaster. This one is all about scenery. Our cabin was great and the views superb. Glacier Bay is simply out of this world. BUT... food was good in the dining room once we eventually got in there, but the Lido was like everyone's nightmare school canteen. Just terrible, people queueing for sub-standard junk, tables not cleared. Terrible bread, non-existent cooked vegetables. The bars were OK, but again more queues. And smoking was allowed by the top deck pool which meant we didn't go near it. It stank to high heaven up there and should never be allowed. At the other pool below, it was impossible to get a sunbed because the time limits were not enforced. The staff throughout were OK, but not enough of them. And as for the ridiculous gratuities... do as we did and have them deleted at Customer Services (more queues). I tipped those who looked after us personally rather than being ripped off. And I was glad I booked a drinks package, otherwise you get even more added tips to your bill for no good reason whatsoever.…

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Hi-there-all wrote a review May 2023

Greater Sydney, Australia305 contributions471 helpful votes

Pleasent trip

We went on a 7 night cruise up the inland passage from Vancouver to Alaska at the beginning of May 2023. It took over 2 hours to board the ship as there were 3 other ships boarding also. Our cabin which was a visit suite was nice but the same size as every other balcony cabin on the ship. We also paid the extra to join Orange Club on the ship which was worth it, express line to board which saved us 1 minute then everyone joins the US immigration line for over 2 hours. Another benefit was a room upgrade within your class of cabin. Special breakfast and dining room which was excellent. Also a special line at guest relations which was useful. Also not really applicable on this cruise express lines to board and disembark at ports maybe useful in warmer ports. Skagway train was excellent excursion. But the helicopter glacier flight was a waste of money in Jeanu. said 2.5 hours tour but really 2 x 6 minute helicopter flights and 12 minutes walking on glacier as helicopter did a shuttle service between glacier and airport loading and unloading customers. Spent longer getting there on the bus and other bits. Cost $380 USD each and a complete ripoff. Glacier Bay was excellent, the 3 ports Jeanu, Skagway and Ketchikan were ok with the exact same tourist trap shops in each. I was there for the Alaska scenery and beauty and not the shops. Staff on the ship were very good also.…

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Cindy wrote a review May 2023

Gainesville, Florida4 contributions4 helpful votes

Nice ship & great staff but beware - SMOKING is allowed and prevalent

PROS: - embarkation & debarkation were great! We left out of Vancouver and it was one of the smoothest experiences ever! - Open dining was the way to go. The staff was great and very had workers. Food selections were great. - Specialty dining was very nice. We did lunch when we could for a discounted price and the meals and server were excellent. We ate at Pinnacle Grill & Cannalano - Entertainment at BB King was very good. They were great entertainers and very talented. - Bar staff was quick and did a great job with drinks. We did purchase the "Have it All" package and it was well worth it! - Our Steward (Herman) was the best. Very attentive but also illusive - couldn't ask for better! CONS: - SMOKING. Shame on me for not finding out before but I also feel like it should be outlined on the website that these ships allow smoking. We had an aft cabin and the designated smoking area was aft on deck 9 so the smoke (at times) wafted down to our balcony. Very disappointing. There was also a nice hot tub on deck 9 aft that was only accessible if you wante to inhale while soaking. Not my thing. - we were assigned fixed dining (didn't ask for it not want it) and it was horrible! We ate there the first night and never went back. - Dueling piano bar entertainment was painful - Not great entertainment @ world stage. Showing "80 for Brady" two different nights was just sad. - Restaurant choices were limited. Both in places to eat as well as times offered. We found the Lido deck (buffet) bland and limited choices. We did enjoy the ice cream in the afternoon. - Coffee in dining room was really bad. Good coffee is important. Breakfast (in open dining) was good but we couldn't stomach the coffee. - Pool deck was very hot when sliding roof wasn't open. The weather was beautiful during our sailing but we couldn't sit out there as the room was shut and it was extremently hot and the chloring was over powering. Overall, like any experience, there was good & bad but I would not travel Holland (or any line) again knowing that there was smoking allowed on board.…

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

3 Helpful votes

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Gregory F wrote a review May 2023

1 contribution4 helpful votes

Holland America Accounting/Customer Service

Holland America Alaska Cruise My name is Gregory Brock Fryer. I had a very difficult experience with Holland America Cruise Lines. My father had booked an Alaskan cruise for the family, leaving Vancouver May 13, 2023, to May 20, 2023. He paid for each of our tickets for the cruise. My wife did not come, so it was just me, 2 bothers, 1 sister, their spouses and my father. I was aware of all the charges that were to be charged to my credit card regarding Crew Appreciation tips and other various port and room charges. Basically $325.00 U.S preapproved charges. Would have been much higher if I took the Internet Package or other Holland America cruise packages, which I did not. We left port My 13th. May 14th I got a frantic text from my wife for me to explain why $1769.00 C. (1,325.00 U.S) was charged to our credit card from Holland America. I immediately went to customer service to try and get and explanation. It seems that Holland America had charged my credit card for all the trip charges of my brothers and sister and my father. I was assured that charges would be reversed immediately. Later that day I checked my Holland America account, and nothing had been done. We all returned to customer service with our room numbers and credit cards #s for each of us so Holland America could put the correct charges for each person on the credit cards. Holland America assured us again that the correct charges, like Crew Appreciation, drinks etc. would be charged to the correct card numbers for each member. That did happen but the charges for the first 2 days were still on my account. Now remember my credit card had been charged $1769.00 C ($1325.00.U.S). So that was $1,769.00 C that my wife or I could spend because of the Holland America hold. Monday May 15th the charges were still appearing on my account and the $1739.00 C hold on my credit card was still there. Back to customer service with my family to get this all rectified and the correct charges for Crew Appreciation tips and drinks removed from my account and properly charged to the credits card #s provided by each family member. I did not sleep well that Monday evening and had a nightmare regarding to whole issue, check my account again, still no changes. I went to Customer Service again, 1:30 am. I was angry and demanded an explanation and have the charges removed. A Customer Service supervisor came out and threatened to call security until he realized that all of this was Holland America’s mistake. Two memos were recorded of their computers from Customer Service staff but were never followed up by the Customer Service Supervisors. Now he was all apologetic and I demanded that all the incorrect charges were removed from my account. I waited and watched as he removed each incorrect charge from my account. Remember this is 2 am. I went back to my room only to discover that the Customer Service Supervisor did not give me back my room/account card. Card to customer service desk to get my card. No apology. I was finally able to get some sleep. I will not get into other less than satisfactory customer service because that would be petty, but I was not impressed. No apology from Holland America for their financial screw ups or any apologies for causing me stress and aggravation. The $1,300.00 U.S. was removed from my credit card yesterday, May 20th. I suspect that if I had not caused a scene, Holland America would have tried to scam the $1,300.00 U.S. from my account that was their error. Still no apology from Holland America hence this response. I do not want anything from them accept an apology. The cruise itself was great. I recommend the cruise but not with Holland America.…

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3 Helpful votes

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