Hello,
We just completed a 26-day cruise on Holland America Line, and I wanted to share some practical observations that may help others planning a similar trip. This was our fourth cruise overall, but our first experience with Holland America. We are an active couple in our late 50s and travel full-time, so our usage patterns may differ slightly from shorter vacation cruises.
Overall, we had a positive experience and would sail again. The longer port days (typically 8–10 hours) felt well balanced, giving enough time to explore, eat locally, and still return without rushing. Sea days were productive for work and exercise. Food ranged from good to very good, occasionally excellent. Entertainment was decent but somewhat repetitive over a long sailing. The gym was well equipped and generally quiet in the afternoons.
We used Starlink internet onboard and consistently saw speeds around 50–80 Mbps download and 10–40 Mbps upload. Both the Stream and Premium packages performed similarly in terms of speed. Premium mainly added access to streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. VPN worked (we tested Mullvad), but the ship’s internal app stopped working while connected to VPN.
A few practical tips from our experience:
Check onboard account frequently: We initially saw over $200 in beverage charges that should have been covered by our drink package. These were corrected within 24 hours after we raised it.
Drink packages and ordering: Beverage service in dining areas was slow. It was faster to order at a bar beforehand and bring drinks to the dining room. Also, if ordering wine, asking for a double helped reduce repeated waiting.
Reservations vs walk-ins: While reservations help, we were still able to get walk-in seating with short waits most evenings, even in specialty dining.
Buffet food quality: Asian dishes in the buffet were consistently strong, likely reflecting the culinary staff composition. We actually preferred these over some main dining options.
Theme nights: Check these in advance. There were themed events (for example Dutch heritage nights), and we would have packed differently if we had known earlier.
Shore excursions and shuttles: Not all shuttle options are listed in advance. In several ports, walking or local shuttles were available without pre-booking.
Transfers: Ship-arranged transport can be significantly more expensive. For example, airport transfers were far cheaper via ride-share in some ports, while longer intercity transfers offered better value through the cruise line depending on convenience.
Happy to answer questions if anyone is planning a similar long cruise.
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