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I recently embarked on Holland America Eurodam to host one of my group cruises with some trepidation, because I'd had past fans of Holland America telling me they were falling out of love with the line, based on three recent changes.
So, I felt this would be the perfect opportunity to put these to the test, as I could tap into the thoughts of everyone on my group cruise. And, based on what we discovered, you’ll hear where we found the concerns about Holland America are right, where they are not, and why.
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0:00
I recently embarked on Holland America Eurodam to host one of my group cruises, and it was
0:04
with some trepidation, because I had past fans of Holland America telling me they were
0:09
falling out of love with the cruise line based on three recent changes
0:13
So I felt this would be a perfect opportunity to put these three things to the test, because
0:19
I could tap into the thoughts of everybody on my group cruise
0:23
And based on what we discovered, you are going to hear where we found the concerns about Holland America are right, where they are not, and why
0:31
So welcome aboard, I am Gary Bembridge, helping you to get cruising on Holland America right
0:36
Let's start with the most contentious issue of all, which is that Holland America are
0:41
actively trying to attract a different cruise passenger at the expense of those in the recent past
0:48
They are trying to get more families to cruise with them by offering and advertising lower
0:52
family affairs, and even having children travelling for free sometimes when sharing parents' cabin
0:59
This is challenging for some of my channel followers. For example, Heather is a school teacher, and she asked me if I had any close alternatives
1:06
to Holland America in terms of overall onboard experience and price, because she must cruise
1:12
on school holidays and was now finding that Holland America is much less adult focused
1:17
and packed with kids during school holidays. I have experienced this myself
1:22
We had over 400 kids aged 17 and under when I cruised on Conningstown over a recent Christmas
1:30
Holland America used to be a pretty much adult only line, although it never had any age limits
1:35
and has always allowed kids on board. But it tended to attract couples, often 60 plus, with a more classic and traditional
1:43
cruise ship and daily programme. And it was pretty unusual to have families and kids on board Holland America
1:48
In fact, many people used to joke about Holland America being a dull line for elderly people
1:54
with little going on after 9pm, although that wasn't my experience. It is clear though that they are trying to broaden their appeal to attract more of the
2:03
fastest growing family and multi-generational cruiser segment. Based on the people on my group cruise, and my own recent experiences of cruising on Holland
2:12
America, we felt there were three critical things that people worried about this should
2:17
absolutely know about. First of all, we know people can get the classic and almost adult only experience on Holland
2:24
America's more exotic and longer cruises because of long haul flights, location and cruise length
2:31
For example, I went on a two week South America trip on the Oostedam last year, and other
2:35
than a smattering of toddlers, it was pretty much an adult only cruise experience
2:41
Which brings me to the next point, which follows on from that
2:45
If you want to have a more adult experience on Holland America, you do need to avoid school
2:51
and major public holidays in popular regions like the Caribbean and the Mediterranean
2:57
This is even more key if you are looking at any of Holland America's cruises that have
3:01
regional departures. For example, that Conningstown cruise I mentioned with over 400 kids sailed out of San Diego
3:09
On the West Coast, there are fewer choices of cruise lines and departures for families
3:15
to choose from, so not surprisingly Holland America became much higher on their list
3:20
Next building on that, and based on all our experiences, you should absolutely assume
3:25
that Alaska cruises are also likely to have a high number of families on board throughout
3:30
the season. Holland America is one of the leading and expert cruise lines in Alaska, and they have
3:35
been there for over 75 years. They are one of the few lines that have rights to call into Glacier Bay, an absolute must
3:42
in Alaska in my view. That makes them a popular choice for everybody
3:47
And critically, Alaska is a popular multi-generational trip, so Holland America works well for grandparents
3:53
parents and their kids who want an affordable but premium cruise experience versus a mega
3:58
ship resort one. The point I made to Heather, the teacher I mentioned earlier, looking for a close alternative
4:03
to Holland America with few kids in school holiday time, is there isn't really one at all
4:11
Holland America operates in what the cruise industry calls the premium category, which
4:15
also includes Celebrity, Cunard, Princess and Disney. All of those lines have many families on board these days too
4:23
The only adult line in the premium category is Virgin Voyages. But in my view, that's not a close alternative to Holland America, as Virgin has a more out
4:32
there quirky youthful party vibe. To have a similar experience and an adult only or mostly adult in the main cruising
4:41
regions at school vacation time means having to look at the small ship luxury lines, which
4:46
of course are way more expensive. Viking is an adult only line in that category, but other small ship lines like Azamara and
4:54
Windstar tend to have fewer kids, as of course the even more expensive ultra luxury lines
4:59
like Seabourn, Region 7Cs and those sort of lines. It seems to me, and those in my group, that while it is still possible to have a mostly
5:08
adult experience on Holland America, it is true that it is not guaranteed everywhere
5:13
as it used to be in the past. Which leads me to the next big issue I have seen many people complain about, and possibly
5:20
a consequence of this shift in emphasis. That's around entertainment, and especially a change that has enraged and confused past
5:29
loyal fans. I get and see many complaints that range from there is virtually no entertainment, to the
5:34
offering is rather dull and uninspiring compared to competitors, through to one massive issue
5:41
which is the scrapping of the previously always busy Lincoln Centre stage and a lack of classical
5:48
music on board the ships. Many people say to me that they choose Holland America because of their partnership with
5:55
the Lincoln Centre stage and the multiple daily classic recitals that took place there
6:01
One of Holland America's point of difference in recent years was the music walk
6:06
They had four key partnerships and venues, BB King's Blues Club, The Rolling Stone Rock
6:11
Room playing rock, Billboard on Board, two pianists playing various theme sets, and Lincoln
6:17
Centre stage which was classical music. But there have been changes that past Holland America fans are not happy about
6:26
The Lincoln Centre stage partnership has ended and the venue scrapped. Based on recent announcements, there is going to be very limited classical music on Holland
6:35
America ships. In fact, it seems there will only be a live classical music trio on selected European
6:44
voyages on the main stage and longer voyages in the Explorers Lounge
6:52
Another side effect is the popular BBC Earth concert playing the score against footage
6:57
from the famous Dave and Attenborough wildlife show can no longer be run because the Lincoln
7:02
Centre stage musicians were acquired for that performance. Also they have made other changes to the music walk
7:09
While BB King's Blues Club, Rolling Stone Rock Room and Billboard on Board survive as
7:14
stand-alone venues on the three new and larger Pinnacle-class ships, the Connings Dam, New
7:21
Staten Dam and Rotterdam, but on the six Vista and Signature-class ships they have
7:26
changed BB King's into a Rolling Stone Lounge which has a six-piece band playing a mix of
7:32
rock and pop mostly, and still have Billboard on Board. Another thing I see growing as an issue by regular Holland America cruisers is that
7:40
like with the music walk, there is no longer consistent Holland America entertainment across
7:46
all the ships in the fleet, and it will depend increasingly on what ship, and in fact even
7:51
where you are sailing on Holland America. Personally, I am pleased with some of the change, because they are bringing back the
7:58
more song and dance review style shows that they moved away from when they dialed into
8:05
the dance only shows with the Step One Dance Company. Four new shows are being rolled out across the fleet, including things like Song and
8:11
Dance which is based on Broadway Hollywood songs, Class Act which celebrates iconic female
8:18
performance and Hey Mr DJ a cavalcade of songs from the 60s through to pop hits of
8:24
more recent days. The second thing they are doing is focusing more on regional shows
8:32
In the Caribbean you are more likely to see orchestral steel drum concerts called Island
8:37
Magic, if you are going to Canada and New England a show called Bretton Thunder with
8:41
Nova Scotia music, in Europe you will get string music and European tenors with shows
8:46
called Cordial Chamber Trio and the Panthenon. In Alaska they are still going to focus on the Step One Dance Company with their dance
8:55
and video projection shows. Although they seem to have walked away from classical music, we all felt on the group
9:01
that overall live music is still a big part of Holland America, and the way they do it
9:06
is a plus and a point of difference versus many cruise lines and their competitors
9:10
But for classical lovers this is not good news, and I can see why they are not happy
9:16
There is one other factor that I think is an issue when it comes to entertainment, which
9:20
is weaker for me as a long time Holland America passenger, and I feel they are less good on enrichment
9:27
On most cruises they run corporate scripted set piece talks, which are visually quite
9:32
striking and are given by the cruise director, and cover things like Holland America history
9:37
but other general topics that are not linked to the destination. Coming back to the importance of the exotic cruises I spoke about earlier, they do seem
9:47
to treat those differently. On that South America cruise I was talking about, they had an outstanding enrichment
9:53
programme and speaker in the form of the cruise director, Kevin, who lives in Argentina
9:58
He comes on for the South American season and ran the cruise director sailing stuff
10:04
but delivered incredibly detailed port and historical talks. I mentioned a few times the difference based on the ship you are on
10:14
This is where the third area of concerns or issues are getting raised by long time Holland
10:18
America cruisers, and that is the move into bigger ships and the consequences of that
10:24
But before I get into that, if you enjoy my content and tips, consider becoming a YouTube
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10:41
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10:48
travellers to find out more. Now back to Holland America. During the pandemic, Holland America sold their smaller ships
10:56
However, I think there are many positives in what has happened to the fleet, and many
11:01
of the people on the group agreed with me. By the time of recording, Holland America has 11 ships in the fleet, with four different
11:09
classes, the most recent being the Pinnacle class that carries 2,666 guests with New Staten
11:15
Dam, Rotterdam and Koningsdam. Then they have what are known as Signature class ships, which take 2,104 guests like
11:22
the Eurodam that I was on for the group cruise and the New Amsterdam
11:26
Then there are Vista class ships, which carry 1,964 guests like the Zeyderdam
11:32
Then they have two smaller ships, the Zandam and Volendam that take 1,432
11:37
But as you can see, while the newest are bigger ships, they are not particularly massive
11:42
especially versus the competition in the same category like Princess and Celebrity moving
11:46
into way bigger ships. And the bigger ships, I think, have brought some interesting innovation
11:53
As I mentioned earlier, they have the music walk venues, and they have introduced the
11:58
Grand Dutch Cafe, which everyone on the group who has been on those ships loves
12:03
It's a great place for coffee, snacks and people watching. They have a much more innovative and high-tech world stage as well
12:14
They also have a dedicated Club Orange dining room, which is a big plus for those in suites
12:19
or those people who are the Club Orange package, which I will talk about later
12:24
And they have introduced 12 solar cabins, so there are some upsides in the move to slightly
12:29
bigger ships. The other big upside, I think, is that Holland America, as they move bigger, have not joined
12:35
the ship within a ship trend, that even lines like Princess have introduced within their
12:39
new Sphere class, Celebrity has with their treats and Cunard has with their grills
12:45
This is where large sections of the ship are closed off with access only to those travelling
12:49
in suites. Holland America does not have a dedicated suite only deck, and while they do have the
12:56
Neptune Lounge for suite guests, it is small and out of the way, so they haven't created
13:01
lots of separate areas closed to other non-suite guests. In fact, the area that the suite guests eat in is called Club Orange, which on ships other
13:11
than the three large Pinnacle class ships is a section in the main dining room
13:16
Any grade of passenger from inside to balcony cabins can pay a small Club Orange add-on
13:22
fee as little as $15 or £12 per day per person to dine in Club Orange too, and you get other
13:28
perks like property embarkation, disembarkation, dedicated fast track lines for guest services
13:34
and shore excursions and various other perks. So anyone can do that
13:39
The ships also have the Retreat Cabana's deck that anyone can hire, rather than a deck
13:44
just for suite guests. For example, on the group cruise, one of the attendees, Kimberly, combined a good value
13:50
inside cabin by booking a Retreat Cabana, and that combination cost her less than the
13:56
next grade up and gave her great outside space during the day, but the value of an inside cabin
14:02
So, I feel that while people are complaining about these three big changes in Holland America
14:07
it is not all bad news, and the group and I agreed we still had a great time, and so
14:12
much so that I have chosen Holland America to do my next group cruise, which is the Panama
14:15
Group Cruise, based on this trip. But if you are not sure about Holland America, join me over in this video where I look at
14:21
which cruise lines are being rated highest by cruisers today, starting with one that
14:26
really surprises me. See you over there
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