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Report: #1411029

Complaint Review: Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam - Seattle Washington

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  • Reported By: Guest — Fort Lauderdale Florida United States
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  • Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam 300 Elliott Avenue West Seattle, Washington United States

Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam Nieuw Amsterdam, Arvee, Holland America Cruise, Caribbean Cruise, Seabourn Cruises, Carnival Cruise Corporation,Cunard Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises Nieuw Amsterdam / Holland America COMPLETE Ripoff Seattle Washington

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We chose this cruise because we had just come back from a trip to Germany and wanted to get out to the Caribbean before ski season.  We didn't even consider a cruise at the time, but saw this about 2 weeks before sailing and this cruise had St Croix and Nassau on the itinerary and it was 7 days so it seemed good. It also included Cap Cana DR and Half Moon Cay.

Turns out they switch ports and instead of Nassau and St Croix they end up going to Amber Cove Dominican Republic, Cap Cana Dominican Republic and Half Moon Cay. So every passenger got cheated out of a port. When I complained to the front office they had me talk to a Holland America representative named Arvee, who basically used "safety" as an excuse for not making ports.(funny how "safety" didn't factor in to the amount we paid them to board the ship) Arvee was rude and interrupted me continuously and refused to compensate us for the deception. My travel agent ended up crediting my onboard account as a show of good faith because it’s likely they understood it was a deception on the cruise lines part and felt bad. I book many vacations through them and in my opinion the travel agent went above and beyond what anyone would have. Arvee on the other hand refused to do anything at all and just made excuses. Later Arvee tried to make it seem like it was Holland America who credited my account when in reality my travel agent put funds on my onboard account.

Many people on board were irritated at this, but many people just put up with it and made no fuss (which is what Holland America counts on and why they do things like this because they know people will just go along with it)

Not to mention that Amber Cove (although around 6 hour drive from Punta Cana/Cap Cana) may as well be the same place. (Essentially it is so boring the ship drops you off at what amounts to a large shopping center and not a thing around for miles. They are 2 places that were basically made by the cruise lines to fleece passengers of money) the excursions offered are boring and not worth it. So it’s just one big shopping center with the same old souvenir junk you find at every port.

The beaches themselves were garbage and covered in sea weed, along with brownish water in Amber Cover and Cap Cana. It wasn't even worth getting in the water and we went back to the ship early, we noticed many other people did the same and many didn't even bother getting off. They left Amber cove late due to engine issues and departure was delayed by about 45 min, they said it wouldn't delay arrival time in Half moon cay, which it didn't delay the arrival time, but they left Half Moon Cay 30 min earlier than what was on itinerary. I am not sure, but I think they left early to make up for lost time they had in Amber Cove so they wouldn't arrive in Fort Lauderdale late.

Half Moon Cay actually had blue water you expect in the Caribbean but the ship was only there for about 5 hours and when you factor in that the tenders take forever waiting to load everyone and unload everyone that leaves about 4 hours (including back and forth tender service.)

As for the food on the cruise, it was above average for cruising. The desserts were pretty good and the wait staff did an excellent job and were very courteous. We appreciated their service and friendliness. In particular an assistant that worked at the dessert place on lido deck named Raymond Capricho was very friendly and helpful and made us feel like welcome guests which was in contrast to our experience we had with Arvee earlier who treated us with arrogance.

There was a decent variety of food available, but I would have liked the salad bar to be open for later snacking rather than the fried foods in order to have healthy options later in the evening.

Overall I think Holland America pulled a bait and switch, and cheated passengers out of their money and time. We have been on many cruises on different lines and this is the first time we have ever experienced any deception like this. I would like to think Holland America would conduct themselves with more honesty and integrity. This was my first time on Holland America line and I liked the fact that they didn't play loud obnoxious music and that it was quiet and laid back, more so than some other lines which was a huge plus for us. It’s unfortunate they chose to conduct their business in such a lowly manner, I may consider Holland America again if they chose to conduct themselves in an honest and upfront manner.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 11/08/2017 05:39 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/holland-america-nieuw-amsterdam/seattle-washington-98119/holland-america-nieuw-amsterdam-nieuw-amsterdam-arvee-holland-america-cruise-caribbea-1411029. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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