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Holland America Line Complaints 105

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3:07 am EDT
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Holland America Line Unsanitary eating conditions

My wife and I took a 7-night Alaskan cruise from Seattle on the Westerdam. From day one I noticed some dirty dishes in the dining areas and I mentioned this to the staff. By day seven nothing had changed and the dishes were still dirty. Three times I saw lipstick on a glass/cup at my dining table, once I found a Sweet n Low wrapper stuck to the bottom of my spoon, several times I saw dirty cups on the Lido deck where the buffett-style foods were offered, and on several occasions plates and bowls were dirty. On my last day of the trip I brought some of the evidence to the front desk and they basically argued with me and refused to do anything about the problem. I wrote to Holland America's Office of the President, but to date I'm still waiting for a response. This cruise line is overrated and I would not recommend it to anyone. Not only were the dishes dirty, the food is the worst I've ever had on any cruise, and I've been on several. Avoid Holland America.

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John Clay
Melrose, US
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Jun 13, 2016 10:35 am EDT

My wife and I took a cruise on the Maasdan beginning on May 03, 2016. On or about the 7th of May, I complained to medical about diarrhea (watery stools). I was quarantined to my room for 4 days and later reported to medical for evaluation. At that time I was forced to leave the ship. I was transported to a medical facility called Hospital CIMA San Jose Estado. Charge for this transportation, emergency room and doctor $3, 000.00. Charge for hospital stay an additional $5, 381.00. Now I have the cost of transportation to San Diego Ca, where the ship is scheduled to dock, another $1, 085.80. We also left over $100.00 in the casino bank we could not retrieve because when we left the ship, the casino was closed. My complaint is we were forced to leave the ship and in doing so we were also forced to pay additional expenses, over $9, 000, not including the $688.11 bill from the ship for the medical attention I received. Are we going to be compensated for any of the extra expense we paid plus we only were aboard the ship for 4 day of a 15 day cruise? The reason I was sick was because I was stricken with E.coli, which I caught while aboard this ship.

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turtlemom
Chicago, US
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Nov 11, 2011 2:53 am EST

I have been very happy with Holland America. My wife and I really enjoy travelling on Holland America. We will definitely go again. I am sorry you did not receive a response. In my experience everything has been very good. I did request a price for them and I did check around and I was happy with the price I received. Sometimes I book with travel agents but in this case it was a great deal. I alwasy say to do your own research before you buy.

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7:16 pm EDT
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Holland America Line Guest Relations staf

Great cruise, great food etc, just do not work with "Guest Relations" to solve a problem that Holland America created. Problem: Airline connections that were arranged by Holland America. Make your own arrangements !

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Andrew T Smith
Palm Beach Gardens, US
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Sep 08, 2014 2:25 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

To whom it may concern:

My wife had heart surgery in the last minute and we were inside the 15 day window. Yes I know you legally can keep the money paid.

But I really could not understand why you not reconsider after I offered to book an additional cruise if you would allow me to postpone the trip until May 2015.

Andrew Smith
at54smith@att.net

I booked through Discover Alaska

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Fe dela Cruz Santos
El Sobrante, US
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Sep 23, 2013 6:12 pm EDT
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Left my iPhone in my stateroom 9/2013 07:30 am upon disembarkment. I can't go back to get it. The customer info. Just radio someone in the cruise & just said it's not there. I am 110% that I left it on the couch. I emailed & called guest relation 9/20/13 but I don't know how long they answer. I'm positive it is in the room or less the crew took it.

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$200,000+ later
Niceville, US
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Feb 02, 2012 8:05 pm EST
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It is most disappointing that as a 4 star mariner with a guaranteed HH catagory booking, I would not get even one upgrade and am left with a full obstructed view! HAL told my travel agent that the ship was sold out and this was highly unusual to have a 4 star passenger not get an upgrade. I have always had good luck with this but not this time. A three week cruise, not a good cabin, no dance hosts, and no bridge director. What a bummer! I wish I had my money back but too late. Be careful with gurantees, no matter u have cruised with them forever! Dont believe the literature that says 4 stars upgrade - 35 cruises!

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5:55 am EDT
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Holland America Line Nightmare

My husband and I took a cruise the week of March 20-27 on the Holland America Oosterdam to the Mexican Riviera. Our laptop computer and camera were among our luggage that was found to be missing after being entrusted to Holland America staff's care on a 10 minute ride from the airport to the ship via their subcontracted transport vehicles. We didn't realize these items were missing until we boarded the ship. We were continually prevented during the cruise by the management at the front desk from escalating a report to the hotel manager and the security on the ship who may have been able to initiate an investigation early after the incident occurred. This was a frustrating and frightening experience and certainly not one we expected aboard a Holland America Cruise ship. Upon disembarkation, we have filed complaints with Holland America Guest Relations, Holland America President and CEO Stein Kruse, Holland America Lost Luggage and AAA Travel Agency with whom we booked the cruise. We are also

filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and on multiple web sites. We want everyone to be aware of the hazards of cruising and that there may exist policies, procedures and processes established by cruise lines but they are not always followed and there is poor management on some of these ships. Stein Kruse, the President and CEO of Holland America may have an Advanced Management degree from Harvard but sadly, some of his manager employees don't know the first thing about management or service.

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cruiserneveragain
US
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Feb 03, 2013 5:25 pm EST

me and my wife just suffered thru a week on the nieu amsterdam, this was also a cruise from hell they had the main dining room closed 3 times for lunch. forcing you to go to there buffet which has very long lines filled with the help, getting there food ahead of us.finding a seat was also a problem.we waited hours for room service, who finaly came with cold food and no silverware to eat it wit h said he be right back and we never heard from him again. never mind the fact the food was not what we ordered.this happened every time we called for room service.we asked the crew for directions on the ship seven times we were told i dont know.this was our 11th cruise and i wish we had stopped with ten.

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JeniferLyn
Puya, US
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Dec 10, 2010 9:35 am EST

I 100% believe you, & feel your pain as I also had the cruise from hell on Holland America. From the second my husband & I stepped foot on the Oosterdam, I was shocked at the well worn patio furniture, the inability to find anyone on the Lido Deck who would point you in the right direction to get a cool drink, & the unbelievably sad, even remorse look on the crews faces. Where were the people holding the trays of tropical cocktails, as on every other cruise I've been on? Why was I corraled, like a cow to slaughter, in an enormous building to sit & sweat with the hundreds of other people, dodging walkers, wheelchairs, canes, & scooters...& no tray of drinks?
Obviously I am trying to make light of the WORSE vacation of my life, & being a child of two pilots, I've been on quite a few thru the years! But while on the cruise & after contacting them, I was made to feel as if I had just crawled out from a rock & had never been out of my county before.
Our story is full of how awful the entire experience played out. From having a dilapidated in bad need of repair, life boat blocking the entire floor to ceiling window, then finding a worker inside the boat looking inside our room as I was putting on a shirt. This room was smelly, very warn, & also desperately needed to be either deep cleaned or the drapery/carpets/sofa/bedspread replaced. But we figured we'd be busy & we'd live with it.
After waiting until almost 8pm, my luggage appears & Im able to put on my own clothes. Off to a HORRIBLE dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, raw filet mignon returned to me burnt on the outside, raw in the middle. The hollandaise sauce had separated, ruining the asparagus, & the potato was ice cold. We left hungry & unaware the Lido Deck does not serve food after 8pm, so then began our roomservice cruise from hell!
Sitting in the room one thing kept going off in my head. It's 10:30pm, where is everyone? This is a Mexican Riveria cruise & yes the average age was around 65, but does the entire ship board up when the sun goes down? I read the itenary, as the next two days were at sea & realized we were in big trouble. We are in our late 30s, celebrating our five year anniversary on a ship which had activities, such as beginners computer classes, Bridge, Friends of Bill W, & how to play canasta.
I'm writing too much & should stick to the major concerns! I ended up paying to upgrade our room, due to the fact that we spent all of our time sitting watching tv & complaining about how awful this truly was. Then, after packing up all of our things, which were scattered everywhere, we moved to room 5025 which had a deck, & a toilet which didn't function.
I called information, which by the way, we probably spent a total of one day of our cruise on the phone, on hold. A plumber came, said It was fixed, but never was. I called information again, after being on hold about 20min & explained how the toilet still would not flush. The woman said, "Please ma'am, we would appreciate it if you did not call unless the contents have went over the rim." This was an hour & a half after my husband had waded thru my fecal matter!
After that experience I used the Lido Decks bathroom, & only recently found out my husband was urinating in the shower!
The crew lied to us over & over, we were turned away from the dinning rm due to not having a jacket, then was placed into a three sizes too small one. I counted eleven men, eleven white men, as I walked to use the restroom, all without ties or jackets. Mind you, I called HA, as well as Mother, twice asking if he needed to bring a dinner jacket. My husband is a quarter Filipino, & was horribly embarrassed by the dinning room manager, & was treated just as bad as all the lower ranking Filipino crew were treated by the higher ranking non Filipino crew members. We witnessed multiple incidents of scoldings of such crew, & honestly I feel as if they were over worked, treated terribly, & did not want to be on the Oosterdam. Just imagine how wonderful it felt, from the second we arrived? Not good at all!
I lost six pounds on this cruise, as the food was awful, that is if you could get to any of it. The lines were long & when you include the canes, walkers, scooters, & wheelchairs...good luck! I felt sorry for all of them as well, because they were just as hungry as us. That is why I stated this was our room service cruise from hell!

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justiceforallhere
NL
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Apr 14, 2010 6:25 pm EDT

everything i have read about this company pales in comparison to the dirty truth. i have first hand experience with what REALY goes on behind the closed doors on these ships. the hair on your neck would stand stiff if you knew truths such as what you were really eating, and who prepared it. what about where the deceased body were really kept and what the continual offender hotel manager was up to.

your friend, The dirty door keeper.

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1:31 pm EST

Holland America Line Food Quality

Just returned from a cruise on the Oosterdam arriving in San Diego on November 1. We had taken the same cruise last year in December and had a good experience. The food quality has substantially decreased since our cruise a year ago.
a few examples: Caesar Salad dry and lacking enough dressing, cold pancakes in Vista Dining room in the morning, chef's specialty banana french toast was merely horridly fried banana bread, escargo was bland, lobster thermador bad tasting, lobster bisque thick and tasted terrible, cold tomato soup tasted like a can of tomato juice, most meals were dry, pasta dishes were heavy on pasta and so light on the sauce that most of the pasta just went to waste for lack of sauce. Link sausages floated unappealing in some sort of yucky water at the Lido restaurant. The scooped ice cream they served was soft and mostly melted at the ice cream station.
The best meal the entire trip was a cheeseburger and fries on the pool deck.

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On May 29th, I phoned up a Holland America Booking Agent and asked for their best deal Mediterrnian Cruise. I wanted the bottom line price, everything included, no surprises. I booked for a party of four, was told over the phone the final price, where upon I used my credit card to pay in full. One week later, on June 4th, a message is on my machine from...

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Overview of Holland America Line complaint handling

Holland America Line reviews first appeared on Complaints Board on Oct 6, 2008. The latest review Negligence by holland america's cruise consultant was posted on May 2, 2025. The latest complaint Unsanitary eating conditions was resolved on Jul 27, 2011. Holland America Line has an average consumer rating of 1 stars from 105 reviews. Holland America Line has resolved 4 complaints.
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  1. Holland America Line Contacts

  2. Holland America Line phone numbers
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    +1 (800) 541-1576
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    450 Third Avenue West, Seattle, Washington, 98119, United States
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