Glacier Discovery Southbound from Whittier, 20 August 2023 (7 nights)

12 Sep 2019

Alaska Glacier Discovery from Vancouver, just returned. We chose H&A because things appear a little more laid back, the food is good and there is not much noise after midnight on their ships. We had a great week around Alaska. We pre-booked the whale watching tour which was first class, or perhaps we were lucky with the company of whales we saw. Bad bit, the crew were perhaps not as focused as on previous cruises. There was no sign of the ship's dance crew, without their performances on the main stage, the main stage offering was poor. The food portion sizes were reduced. Which leads me into the good bits. You could always ask for a bit more which does save on waste and some were still receiving more than they could eat. The Lincoln Centre Stage provided a good area for classical music. The music selection was a not from a top 100 list of most popular but made up for a lack of quality activity on the main stage. Our intention was to view whales and that was achieved. Would I book H&A again? yes.

20 Aug 2019

Our first cruise, which was to Alaska, was brilliant. Iglu cruise answered all my questions, and were very helpful, so we decided to book with them. However, the embarkation process was awful, and first impressions of the Lido cafe we’re not good, as everybody was there for lunch after getting on the ship, so it was very hard to find a table. The ship is clean and well maintained, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. I thought the shopping onboard could be better, there wasn’t really that much to purchase. If you want a cruise with fantastic scenery, and glimpses of wildlife, then an Alaskan cruise is for you. We had been on a 9 day tour of the Rockies, prior to boarding the ship, and having had the scenery in Canada, we did wonder if it could match what we’d seen, but this cruise did. We had fantastic weather during the 7 days we were on the cruise, and of course that helped!  I would advise to book the trips early as they seem to sell out - we had to do our second choices as we’d left it until the day after departure to decide which excursions we wanted to do. Overall I would recommend this cruise line, the ship, and definitely a cruise to Alaska, and I’d do it all again tomorrow, because it was awesome..

07 Jul 2019

The ship was disappointing. It had no buzz about it and seemed sedate. The entertainment on the main stage was poor. Everyone we spoke to said they would not recommend HA to friends. It was lots of little things that irritated. No self service in the buffet, always having to be given a pager for open seating dining as no tables available, lack of staff so service slow, ridiculously long embarkation process ( over 3 hours ) , Air con on all night so sleeping difficult with the noise of the fan, wine ridiculously expensive, food choices average, not enough seating in entertainment venues, cabin design poor with wardrobes adjacent to bathroom leaving little room in corridor, smoked mirrors not suitable for women applying makeup.

17 Jun 2019

Our first cruise with HAL and an excellent overall experience. Quality staff and decent, considerate guests. Nieuw Amsterdam is medium sized ship, traditionally and beautifully finished. The only odd area for us was the expansive aft section behind the bar and pizza spot. We felt that this could do with more theming and an overall spruce up. Compared with other cruise lines we've tried I'd say the food and the staff were the best. Main Dining Room brilliant and the Steak House a wonderful meal. Entertainment was a little samey and some more production shows would have been good. The one that was staged however was simply brilliant. The magician and comedian we saw I'm afraid weren't to our taste. Must mention the lifts which on all other previous cruises have been a pain. All lift groups on Nieuw Amsterdam worked brilliantly. Hardly any wait time at any time of day. A mat was placed inside each lift marked with the day of the week which was a real help. The Alaskan itinerary is well known and of course a life enhancing experience. Our cruise did this justice, including Glacier Bay National Park which was carefully chosen and not to be missed.

11 Jun 2019

We spent a week on the Nieuw Amsterdam following a week touring the Rocky Mountains and Rocky Mountaineer train. This was a complete trip though Iglu cruises and it turned out to be probably the best holiday we have had. The experience of the area around Banff, Lake Louise, Calgary and Jasper was simple beautiful. From big bears to birds of prey to ice fields and the most spectacular train ride. Just great. Then to top it off just a bit more the HAL Nieuw Amsterdam was just as special. We had a high cabin on the aft of the ship which provided the best views. Overall the ship was great. For use the entertainment wasn’t the best but what was provided was ok. One to look out for was the B B Kings All Stars. Next to a another group we have seen, December 63, these guys were brilliant. As ever the service from Iglu team was great. Shame we had a bit of rush in terms of issuing of the tickets but we got there in the end. Thanks to all involved.

11 Jun 2019

I found iglu cruises very helpful .answered all my questions could not fault them. Well wen we got to the port the embarkation was horrendous, we were mixed in witth people from princess cruise ship that 2as in dock aswell and the queue was tirtirering hot and stuff and took 1hr an 35 mins in queue. The ship was clean gud decor but we found the food awful same food day in day out we found our selves going to the burger grill an pizza place. The staff were friendly alaska was great enjoyed that part of the holiday .i would not though go back on nieuw amsterdam.

30 Sep 2018

The stateroom was very comfortable and spacious and we liked having a bath as well as a shower but it was noisy. On the whole the food was good but the self service restaurant was very crowded and it was often difficult to find a table even at time when we didn’t expect it to be busy. One had to be served from the salad bar which made it very slow and difficult to choose just what one wanted. It was impossible to book a table for 2 in the dining room in the evening between 5.15 pm and 8pm unless one did it several days in advance. The quality of the food was variable except on gala nights when it was excellent. Space was wasted round the pool by cabanas which he’d to be booked but remained unoccupied almost all the time during our cruise.

28 Aug 2018

Ship good but trips poor

28 Sep 2015

Just back from a wonderful cruise on the Neiuw Amsterdam, it was the first time with Holland and America but the best ship we have been on in 17 cruises. We booked with Iglu and spoke to a very nice lady called Tina Conlan who was brilliant. She kept in touch by email with every detail and the transfers where there waiting for us, everything went smoothly. We even got an upgrade on the ship to a balcony which made it even better. Have booked another cruise to Australia and New Zealand so i am confident there won't be any problems.

03 Mar 2015

Can I start by putting into perspective my review. Our preference is small ships and priorities are destinations, accommodation and quality of food. So HAL for our taste did not hit all the spots. Pros, we were on a guarantee suite. At first we were disappointed to be 2 levels below the suite deck. However, we had an aft suite which was a first and we really enjoyed our accomodation and service from Evianna who was fantastically efficient. Destinations lived up to expectation so no disappointments there. Cons, food overall was disappointing. Generally food was of poor quality, seldom more than warm and unappetising. 

31 Oct 2014

Thank You Iglu for a very organised holiday on the nieuw amsterdam and we were very impressed with the two day stay you organised for us in Venice, the hotel was comfortable and the transfers were brilliant.

29 Oct 2014

This was a lovely ship, all that you would expect from a cruise ship, the entertainment was a little poor, but then the entertainment team had only just got together before sailing to the Carribean. The food was excellent, although once again we felt the dining room service was slow, but think this is also down to newly recruited staff. The excursions and destinations were wonderful, however we did have a mishap with one tour which the staff booked incorrectly, but eventually agreed to give us our money back. Mistakes happen. I will be going HAL again in the future.