I thought that I should write a little
bit about the two cruise lines so I will be able to remember our thoughts on
each one. We have been on 2 Norwegian ships recently and 3 many years ago, but
this was our first experience with Holland America.
Ship: The ships are comparable. The
Holland America ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam, does not have a grand atrium, but
that is not a deal breaker in my book. Holland does have a super fancy
explorations area in their observation area where you can use computers to explore
you next destinations. Winner: Tie
Room: Our Holland room is a balcony
and very large with much storage, but we have never had a balcony room on
Norwegian so I can’t compare. However, Holland has many more options on the tv
like movies and tv shows. Additionally, Holland leaves fruit in your room each
day which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. Most importantly, Holland has free room
service. Winner: Holland America
Dining Room: The food in the dining
rooms have been comparable on both cruise lines. Holland has set dinner times
which does lock you into a time. However, on Norwegian we were always limited
on the times that we could make reservations because of our large party size so
we were also locked into a specific time though we were able to choose an early
or late time. On Holland, you set at the same table each night so you have the
same servers. This means that they know get to know you-bringing the kids
lemonade, ordering extra fries for the kids and bringing Grandpa coffee.
However, on Norwegian they had chocolate lava cake almost every night while the
desserts on the Holland haven’t been exceptional to me. Winner: Tie
Kids’ Club: Holland has older
passengers so their kids’ club rarely had anyone there, always less than 10
kids with no one in the teen area. Their security was lax, and they didn't even
have bathrooms in the kids’ area. Norwegian is hands down the winner on the
kids’ club. Their security procedures seemed to take forever, but they were
thorough and in place. Norwegian was full of exciting kid activities for kids
of all ages. On Holland, we urged the boys to skip the kids’ club since they
wouldn’t have fun being with the smaller kids. Winner: Norwegian
Cruise Director: So this category
doesn’t really matter at all. Hollands’ cruise director was not too impressive
at all while Norwegian's was exactly what you would picture a cruise director
being-full of life and full of energy. However, the cruise director impacts my
cruise zero percent. Winner: Norwegian (not counted in final total)
Activities: On the cruise agenda each
night, we have circled about 4-6 items each day to do on our Holland cruise. On
the Norwegian cruises, we would have to pick and choose what we wanted to do
because of so many different choices. Norwegian was full of activities from
sunup to sundown. Now, with all of these activities we often felt like we never
slowed down at all-which is what we are used to. So having free time on the
Holland America is a bit odd to us. Holland does have America’s Test Kitchen
which was on of Campbell’s favorite things. Holland also has some super
cool computers to use to explore the ports.
Winner: Norwegian
Shows: I think that the shows on both
cruises have been fairly comparable. Norwegian might have a slight edge, but
not enough to count them as the winner. Winner: Tie
Buffet: On Holland, the buffet food is
definitely fancier. At night, it becomes a restaurant, and they even bring you
drinks. However, since the food is fancier, it is more difficult for the kids
to find food that they enjoy. Holland has had scoop ice cream available at all
times, plus waffle cones and not just soft serve in a plastic cone. Winner: Tie
Winner: Norwegian with a score of 2-1.
I am pretty sure that our next cruise will probably be a Norwegian, However, if
we find another great deal on Holland, we will jump on the boat immediately.
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