Holland America Line Reviews 

Because I have cruised with Holland America previously, I receive mailed "Private Sale" brochures that supposedly offer cruise fares not otherwise available. Recently, the day I received one of these Private Sale offers, I decided to book one of the cruises that had a fairly good fare. However, when I called Holland America, I found out that the price per person had risen by $185. Thus, it was obvious that, with these Private Sale brochures, Holland America is engaging in the unscrupulous marketing practice known as "bait and switch." The company attempts to excuse its conduct by pointing to the tiny footnote on the brochure that simply says, "Subject to availability." So they send out tantalizing cruises with good fares, only to pull the rug out from under consumers who attempt to purchase the cruise at the advertised fare. Had I waited to try to book the sale fare at the end of the sale period, I could understand their saying that that fare was sold out, but, when sale fares are unavailable at the beginning of the sale period, that smacks of the unscrupulous practice called "bait and switch."

Rating as one star because zero isn’t an option. Recently traveled on the Nieuw Statendam on a Caribbean sailing. Couldn’t say more positive things about the crew and the ship.
My negative comments reflect solely on the Head Office. Prior to the trip,, I called Holland American to book some additional trip perks,, laundry and Club Orange. I was told laundry was $70.00 USD and Club Orange was $350 USD. Agreed to both and both transactions were paid on a USD credit card. When the bill came in, the two charges were on listed, $70.00 USD for laundry, but 377.80 for Club Orange! I have sent numerous emails, many phone calls to try to resolve, but no luck. I was told that Club Orange was converted from USD to Canadian dollars, then charged to my USD card, which then converted the amount back into USD, which accounts for the difference. Apparently they treat one upgrade differently than the other, as they say that Club Orange is a cost of your voyage and must be converted to the currency used at time of booking, whereas laundry is different! In any case, I am out the difference. I am not sure why they couldn’t just credit me with the difference between the two figures.

We needed some help making sure we got the right documents after having updated our cabin, so we contacted customer service. Masonya was our customer service rep. and she was wonderful. She listened to us carefully, spoke English perfectly and so was easy to understand (we are in our 70s), she answered all of our questions, was very friendly and emailed us all the information we needed. Masonya was exceptionally professional in an age when customer service is usually not helpful. This is the first time we are cruising with Holland America, but if the service on ship is anywhere as professional as the service that Masonya gave us, we will be cruising with them every year.

We purchased and boarded Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam ship 7-day cruise Mexican Riviera January 2026 hoping to have a wonderful time. Cruising is not like ordering a combo with fries and drinks nor something that comes along frequently at times in a month or a year, you need to have more than enough money saved to be able to afford it! Family members and friends I know haven't been lucky enough to get on a Cruise their entire life. Such entity should have protocol and properly train their managers. They are a very large corporation to be representative by a heartless employee like Rachel from the Dining Room of Nieuw Amsterdam Holland America. If Rachel was expecting hard work from her team members, she should be expected to deliver the hardest specially to ALL their guest on board. The GUEST are the reasons they're sailing in the Sea so guest must be treated with kindness and respect. Her badge must include these qualities to attain happy guest and frequent passengers. Lacking friendliness, professionalism and all said traits will lead guest to give bad comments and complaints.

Website can not be corrected. You hit the EDIT button, make changes, hit confirm, and its all gone. Trying to navigate this webpage is like going back to the 1990s, but at least in the 1990s we had good customer service.

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam from Ft Lauderdale to San Diego in April 2025. Unfortunately when we returned home we were landed with a bill for over $600 which was completely wrong. It has taken me 7 months and much waiting for replies to my messages to get my money back. It was only the threat of legal action that did the trick.
Please check your bill before leaving the ship, it may save you a lot of hassle later!

My partner and I just finished an 11 day ABC cruise and were very disappointed in the lack of enforcement of the dining room dress code. Tee shirts, baseball caps, jeans seem to be the norm. No hosts or hostesses stopping people from entering the dinning room. Very disappointed with this lack of focus our dining experience. This did happen more that one time as we ate in the dining room for dinner every evening. Being a 2 star mariner with Holland America I am rethinking our future cruise choices.

Very Disappointing Experience with Holland America Line

I joined Holland America’s two-week English Channel cruise starting on August 24, and the trip was full of problems from day one.

First, I was given the wrong room. Then, I found hair in a piece of cake. The worst part was the constant noise from the kitchen above my cabin — it was loud 24 hours a day and I couldn’t sleep at all.

I asked to change rooms but was told there were no available cabins. They only offered me $300, which I refused. I paid almost $2,000 for a relaxing holiday, but instead I spent two weeks exhausted and stressed.

I emailed the company twice (on September 8 and again a week later) and have waited over six weeks with no reply at all. Very disappointing customer service for a company that claims to care about its guests.

I recently returned from an 11-day cruise with Holland America that began on September 10, 2025, and I need to express serious concerns about Holland America's sales practices. I was misinformed by your cruise consultant about critical details that significantly impacted my trip. When I booked the cruise, my Holland America consultant assured me that the vessel was approximately 5 years old. In reality, the ship was over 20 years old, with clear signs of aging and disrepair. This misrepresentation significantly influenced my decision to book this cruise and constitutes a serious breach of trust. One of my essential requirements, which I communicated in advance, was reliable Internet access to manage critical client responsibilities remotely. However, the connection was unreliable, slow, and frequently disconnected, severely disrupting my ability to fulfill work obligations throughout the cruise. Furthermore, our stateroom experienced a significant flood due to the ship’s faulty plumbing, damaging our luggage and making the room uninhabitable. Rather than receiving immediate assistance, we were provided a large, commercial fan and advised to sleep elsewhere because of the noise, which is wholly unacceptable. The delay in reassigning us to a new stateroom forced us to cancel an early morning next-day excursion. What really speaks volumes about Holland America’s ethics is a letter they sent falsely claiming that the room change was handled "immediately," which is not true. In summary, the total trip cost makes the offered compensation of $150 per person not only insulting but also inadequate. The combined effects of misinformation, service failures, mismanagement during the crisis, and unfulfilled promises warrant significantly greater restitution.

I am writing to formally express my deep dissatisfaction with our recent cruise experience, specifically regarding our assigned stateroom 1120 (OOsterdam). This trip was meant to be a special and memorable vacation with our 92-year-old mother, and instead, it turned into a distressing ordeal due to the unacceptable conditions of our cabin and the dismissive responses we received when we raised concerns.

We are not cruise experts and trusted the room assignment provided to us. Unfortunately, stateroom 1120 is located directly beneath the kitchen, and the noise levels throughout the night were unbearable. It felt like sleeping under a construction site—constant banging, chopping, and the relentless rolling of carts. We were unable to rest, and this severely impacted our ability to enjoy the cruise.

When we reported the issue, the responses were not only ineffective but frankly insulting. We were told staff were being reminded hourly to be quiet—an impossible request given they were simply doing their jobs. On another occasion, we were offered ear plugs. For a cruise that cost us over $6,000 in airfare and another $6,000 for the cruise itself, this is outrageous. If this had been a hotel, we would have left immediately. But on a cruise, we were trapped.

While the onboard staff were kind and the food was excellent, none of that compensates for the fact that Holland America knowingly sells rooms like stateroom 1120 to unsuspecting guests. This is not just poor practice—it borders on deceptive and exploitative. I am certain we are not the first to complain about this room, and yet it continues to be offered. That is unacceptable.

At the end of the cruise, we were reimbursed $75 per passenger. This token gesture does not reflect the severity of the discomfort we endured. We should have been moved to another room or fully refunded.

Unless Holland America provides meaningful compensation for this experience, I will be compelled to share our story publicly on social media and travel review platforms. Others deserve to know the risks of booking with a company that knowingly sells rooms unfit for rest.

I look forward to your prompt response and a fair resolution.

My wife & I booked an $8,000 cruise with $2,000 worth of Excursions. We were given $100 each in HIA money to use on Excursions so we used it on the first Excursion we took. HA screwed up and we weren't picked up for our 1st Excursion. They appologized and said we would get a refund. They did not refund our HIA $200 or allow us to use it on another Excursion. They said that was use it or use it money. We said use it on our other $1,800 in Excusions. The Guest Relations person we were dealing with (she said she was Maxwell Janes) said "That's the Policy", like that made it OK. After a while we asked to talk to her manager. She said she wasn't allowed to transfer a call to her manager. We then asaked for a different agent. She said she wasn't allowed to transfer to them either. I would hope she was lying and the company is not this poorly run. After spending $10,000 on a cruise and excursons, they decided that screwing us out of $200 was a good business model. Pitiful!! Will NEVER book a Holland America Cruise again.

Have cruised with this company several times, the longest being a 72 day cruise around half the world in 2010 aboard the Volendam.
Whilst the onboard staff were nothing short of incredible the administrative staff let things down badly.
Mistakes were made regarding room charge rates and despite complaining several times, they couldn't get it right.
Excursions were obviously untried, resulting in last minute cancellations, dangerous activities with some passengers injured and insufficient timing to complete tours.
In a latter cruise in 2012, one excursions timings were changed on the morning of departure through lack of interest without prior notification.
After the excursion we discovered that the lack of interest had been caused after some passengers discovered the cruise to see puffins on Puffin Island wasn't possible due to the fact they regularly migrated three months earlier!
Visiting Cruises ships almost always monopolise and over inflate prices on excursions often with poor results.
It's sometimes better to negotiate with a local taxi driver who's knowledge of the area will make your visit far more enjoyable.

First the staff made the cruise amazing.

However, the ship Volendam from Montreal into Canadian maritimes had water leaking from the ceiling in the food areas the entire cruise. There were towels and bins on the floor to catch water the entire cruise. Ice machines out of order the entire cruise. Bathroom urinals and sinks out of order throughout the ship.

Food in the casual dining was not kept cold or warm
Enough to be considered safe zone by North American standards. Saw shrimp left out at room
Temperature every day at the build your own pasta station. Never saw food and beverage managers taking temperatures of food.

Was pretty shocking what a mess the boat was. Officers acted like it was OK.

Went on a Holland America cruise around Japan in March/April 2025.
The cruise was fine.

However, upon return and examining the onboard charges bill in more detail, I found an overcharge of $556 for a single item of the spa usage, which never happened.

I have written to HA to complain about this, and requested a refund, both via their online form on the website and also direct to guest relations services.

Not a single reply from them or even an acknowledgement.

Very poor customer service, and sufficient to say that I won’t go on another Holland America cruise, if this is what happens post cruise!

Obviously, it’s an individual choice by other customers, but just know, as many have said, they don’t deal with refunds or complaints’

Please be aware. I googled Holland America cruise line and got a phone number off goggle. The number was 1-844-987-7031 and the person answered the phone hello this is Max. No mention of Holland America at all. He was looking for me to pay a gratuity for an up and coming cruise. Red flags went off because we already payed the gratuity. We immediately called Holland America and reported this scam. Please be aware of this, and do not use the phone number off goggle for Holland America its a scam!!

Hello, I have made several attempts to contact Holland America re my statement refund from my Alaskan cruise aboard the Zaandam. This has taken the form of emails approximately 7 and three phone calls. I have not had a single response from any of my enquiries. Could someone please respond to my enquiry and tell me why I am still waiting for my refund and when this refund will be paid. Regards

Our family was a loyalist to Holland America for years. However it has been really deteriorated for the last 2 years. We found a cockroach in the room. The food is really bad now. Last year the shower was plugged and water was not draining. They couldn’t fix it for almost 3 days till we got to Juneau. Still gross stuff coming out of the drain. This past August, I found hair in the greens that was served with food. I just switched and for the first time, I took a cruise with Norwegian. Absolute class, clean, the best variety of food, great night time entertainment and much better arrival/ departure time at ports. Enjoy your cruise

🌟 Title: A Truly Exceptional Cruise Experience – Thank You Jamal & Rapi!

From the moment we stepped aboard our Holland America cruise, we were treated with the utmost care, respect, and attention to detail. I want to especially commend Jamal and Rapi, our stateroom attendants, who went above and beyond every single day.

They serviced our stateroom three times daily with impeccable care—everything was always fresh, tidy, and thoughtfully arranged. They kept our mini fridge stocked with our favorite drinks, always remembered our preferences, and treated us with such warmth that it felt like being cared for by family. Their kindness, professionalism, and quiet grace truly elevated our entire cruise experience.

Holland America should be proud to have staff like Jamal and Rapi representing the heart of their hospitality. They made our vacation not just relaxing but deeply memorable. This was not just a trip—it was a gift, and we are filled with gratitude.

Thank you, Holland America, for creating such a high standard of service. We can’t wait to cruise with you again!

— Maria Florence Oliverio & Diane Marie Scott 🌊💙

Holland American refused to refund my deposit 106 days before departure. Myself and my wife, who is Chinese and has permanent resident status in the USA had booked a cruise from the US to Japan. Due to the current immigration issues going on in the USA today we decided not to leave the country with fears of her being detained and arrested without merit at all, coming back home. I explained all this when I called to cancel the cruise and I was told my booking was non-refundable. I asked why because I looked up HA's refund policies on-line it stated full refunds if canceled before the 90 day window to departure and I was calling 106 days before departure. I was told my booking was booked as non-refundable. I asked where does it say this, I was not aware of this? I was told it was in my booking summary I received. I than pulled up my booking summary which was 5 pages long and I asked where in the 5 pages of fine print does it say it is non-refundable. The customer service rep could not tell me, just saying, its in there somewhere. Holland American just lost a customer, I will never do business with them again and I will write many more reviews on my experience with them.

We had a 14 day land/cruise with Holland America, 10 days land and 4 days cruise. When we arrived in Anchorage, at 12:30am local time, we found that our shuttle was not available and we were to get a taxi and would be reimbursed. Our hotel room was not booked for us until 9am. We were told that we could sleep in the lobby. This happened to 2 other gentlemen that were on our same flight. We have yet to be reimbursed for our taxi ride and have not received anything in regards to sleeping in the lobby. Totally unacceptable!!