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My wife and I cruised on the Zaandam before Christmas and our experience was completely different. We joined in Sydney on the 9th December and visited New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu returning to Sydney on the 23rd December. We were in Australia visiting our son over Christmas and decided to take a cruise whilst we were there. The options from Sydney I am afraid are fairly limited (unlike Europe) because of the location - you can only really cruise the South Pacific as we did, do a round trip of New Zealand or do the Australian ports of Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin etc en route to Singapore and other similar Far Eastern locations. Also the choice of carriers is limited - we chose Holland America because it is traditional (similar to P&O in the UK) - surprisingly P&O in Australia is completely different and if you were choosing to cruise down under would have to do your research regarding which line to go with. Our cabin was an outside on the walking deck so was convenient for taking daily exercise. It was about as spacious as you would expect - although compact it was well laid out and we had enough room. A bonus for me was the presence of a bathtub! It was kept clean and tidy by the two stewards allocated to it and a pleasant surprise every night were the ingenious towel sculptures that kept us amused. Food was plentiful and good quality - we dined prodominently in the Rotterdam on an any time basis. We had the occasional lido buffet meal. Booking for the Rotterdam was not essential and they could accommodate requests for tables for two only if required. Although we like to dine with other cruisers it was nice to sit on our own occasionally. The entertainment was no better or worse than we have experienced on other cruises although I did appreciate the comment about two different comedians telling the same jokes as that happened on our cruise too. But it hardly made a ripple in our enjoyment of the cruise. We were particularly enthralled by the entertainment provided on two nights by first the Indonesian crew members and then a few days later the Fillipino crew members. During sea days there was always plenty to do and I found that there wasn't enough time to do everything that I wanted to. I was particularly impressed with the on board Microsoft techy who introduced me to a few things on my computer that I have since found very useful. The travel guide did have lots of information and did claim to have been to a number of universities around the world and we went to most of his presentations. I found them OK at best but, once again, wouldn't let that influence my enjoyment. I refuse to go on the arranged tours on any cruise - of course they are a rip off and it is naive not to expect that. We always arrange our own trips when we get off the boat - their is competition all over the place with tour guides falling over themselves to show you the sights - at a fraction of the price! We visited Dravuni Island and Lautoko in Fiji, Noumea and Isle des Pins in New Caledonia, Louganville and Port Ville in Vanuatu. Because New Caledonia is a French protectorate the infrastructure is reasonably good and the facilities there seemed up to Western standards. Isle des Pins in particular was absolutely beautiful but there isn't much to do! Fiji and in particular Vanuatu are poor with a deteriorating infrastructure - once again there isn't much to keep you there other than the culture and beautiful scenery. I did however find a men's brand of after shave in the duty free shops of Port Ville that I cannot otherwise get unless I purchase it on the internet! We diod not encounter any bad behaviour and the children that were on board were well behaved and seemed to have plenty of things to occupy them - in fact there is an adult free zone on board exclusively for children and the professional carers. Having spent quite a while on mainland Australia where the cost of living is frightening I was relieved to find that the on board alcohol prices were very reasonable - being levied in US dollars. Over the course of two weeks our on board bill was about US$900 which included drinks and gratuities and a small amount of internet time. The staff and crew were very professional and helpful. We did not encounter any surliness and can only praise them for their efforts. The cruise seemed to go very well and we were always kept informed by the entertainment director Michael. All in all it was a very enjoyable cruise.

We used to like Holland America ships.We had previously been on two long cruises with them and they were great but I have to say that our latest cruise with them in September was a disappointment. We were on the Rotterdam for eleven days prior to joining the Orient Express in Rome and as in the previous report we found that their standards had slipped pretty badly.

My husband and I have also become disenchanted with Holland America. We have cruised with them several times but, after our disasterous Alaskan cruise on the Statendam, they are no longer our cruise line of choice. The service was very poor and quite unfriendly, the food uninspiring and many other things caused a major disappointment. I would also mention that, in these days of light, bright, modern ships, the decor on HAL ships is extremely dark, dreary and conservative. No HAL, you won't be getting any more of our money, look to your competition for example!!

So you didn't enjoy your cruise then. You certainly seemed to have had some bad luck.

I am disappointed to read your review as I have booked a cruise on the Veendam for the 28th of March with an inside cabin, I hope your comments to the staff will have improved things. Did you have to pay the 11 dollars a day gratuity? Thank you for your information

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to write your review. It sounds so disappointing for you. It has been very helpful, however, from our point of view. My husband and I have been married for 40 years this year and are looking to find a 'special' cruise. We had a short list of possible cruise lines and Holland America was one of them as, like you, we thought they were one of the 'good' ones! We will definitely be crossing them off our list now. We have travelled in the past with Royal Caribbean and cannot fault them. Relatives of ours regularly cruise with P & O who are also superb. I think we will stick with the ones we know!

GOING ON THE ZAANDAM FEBRUARY. BIT CONCERNED NOW RE REVIEWS. DID YOU TIP AS SUGGESTED AT $11 DOLLARS EACH PER DAY OR CANCEL THESE AND PAY INDIVIDUALS ACCORDING TO SERVICE RECEIVED?

Very interesting comments. My husband and I were seriously considering Holland America for a different cruise experience after normally cruising with Princess(who we think are great) and P & O. I think we shall cross this one off the list now as one does expect better quality in every respect when paying so much more for the privilege.

I too was on this cruise as a solo traveller early part of same age group but my experience was very different ! I loved my cruise although I was very disappointed due to bad weather conditions not to see anything of the coral and the ships excursions were highly expensive. On Christmas Day I unusually ate lunch in the restaurant free wine and topped up too. The evening meal had the Christmas fare. we generally a alovely selection of food at dinner my only critisim would be that fish was overcooked tasteless and tough - this did does not include shellfish, lobster, salmon or prawns which were all simply mmmm!. My midship c category cabin on lower promenade was great robes fluffy and white i think I struck lucky? but next time I'd go next deck down to to D category. - larger and noone walking by or sitting i deckchairs outside the window, not that they could see in unless the light was on and the curtains not drawn.. My robes were thick, fluffy, white and looked new. My daily programme was always there I attended one singles lunch which was o.k but didnt seek out singles events. Yes I attended art auctions I liked the free glasses of champagne and I did make a purchase for the first time ever!! Yet to arrive. Its unfortunate but Im thinking Tabitha had an incontinent or mentally or intellectually handicapped passenger in her cabin before her hence the lingering smell or maybe it was chemical . All passengers should have vacated long before 2.pm so suggests the previous passenger severly disabled. I agree much of the entertainment was abysmal music too loud and dancers clumsy and out of time however there was an illusionist act just one night delayed by Christchurch earthquake which was awesome. I must admit for me no dancers will ever equal the professional ballet ones I saw on Compagnie Du Ponants Le Diamant. Spoilt for life there!! I liked most of the craft classes actually I loved decorating my tote bag and making a travel diary and agood selection of freebies was supplied. Digital photography classes were impressive and free excellent tutor unfortunately she fell ill the last two days so no classes. Re swimming pool yes lots of complaints children absolutely out of control and took over main pool every day but the aft pool was deeper and and there the adults went at least the day I swam there. There certainly were waits in the restaurant like Xmas Eve which led me to change from free style to fixed dining much better service and we were lucky due to one seat permanently being vacant, to get an officer on the table one night which meant one free bottle each of red and white wine and he was good looking all the ladies eyes nearby were on him!!.