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Cruising Down Under. |
| Reviewed By: Greenlees, Wirral on 11th Jun 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Holland America Cruises |
Times cruised before: 3-5 |
| Cruise Ship: MS Statendam |
Sailed:
February,
2008 |
| Destination: Australasia |
Age: 46-55 |
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Cruising for the first time with Holland America was a trip into the unknown. It was, however, a fantastic experience. An Anniversary cruise to Australia and New zealand started with ballons in our cabin, which had a king size bed, bath robes and a complimentary bowl of fruit.The cabin size was pretty good but there was no room for storage of our large suitcases and they had to be taken away and stored elsewhere.The things that we missed, there were no tea making facilities or fridge in the cabin,which from an English point of view, I found disappointing. A flat screen television and DVD player were a nice touch (DVDs were for hire from the library.) The crew were excellent, from the cabin staff, the restaurant staff and the officers, couldn't do enough for you, although this did come with a compulsory charge of $10 per person per day. The ' allocated seating' restaurant was like eating in a 5 star restaurant every night and the top deck retaurant - more informal and quicker. Entertainment was varied and top class and the onboard facilities,as you would expect , were excellent. One major disappointment was the cost of the excursions, if purchased through the ship, a second mortgage in some cases or was this because we were in Australasia and maybe everything was dearer! On our Anniversary, whilst in the restaurant,a chocolate sponge cake appeared with a candle and the waiters sang something' foreign' to the tune of happy birthday that made us laugh! (Not too sure what they were singing!) Overall, this was a very enjoyable cruise, that only 2 other cruise lines do ,to my knowledge, so if you want to cruise Down Under - Go Holland America.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Restaurant on Deck 7/8. Steak was special. Fish was very good appatently but not for me. | | Entertainment |  |
| The resident entertainers were very versatile and put on various shows. | | Shore Excursions | n/a |
| Too expensive. Did our own thing locally. | | Staff | |
| Agus in the top deck restaurant, always smiling,informative and very friendly, one of the family. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Library, Board games ,DVDs for hire, Cinema, Swimming Pools , Gym, Spa. | | Cabins | |
| yes,would have liked a fridge and tea making facilities. | | Overall Rating | |
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