We just got back from a 12 night Mediterranean cruise roundtrip from Venice. This was our first experience with HAL, and here are our impressions.

Holland America misrepresented the need for Visas. In the documents they emailed us after booking our cruise, they stated that it was our responsibility to determine if Visas were needed as USA citizens for the ports we were going to . They stated that the penalty of not doing so, we would be denied boarding. I went to each country's site and found that the only Visa that was required was for Turkey. I filled out the appropriate application and paid the $60 a piece fee and were emailed Visas, and thought we were all set. Curiously, on embarkation no one asked to see these Visas, and never did at any ports in Turkey. Unfortunately it turns out as cruise passengers, you need no Visas for Turkey. We feel that HAL should have better advised us on this.

Embarkation was painless, easy and non-stressful. When we went to our stateroom, we were surprised as a married couple that our beds were separated. They remedied the situation quickly after we called. The cabin was lovely, although the couch/sofabed was uncomfortable to sit on. We enjoyed our verandah tremendously, but were bombarded by smokers on both sides of our cabin, which made it impossible to sit out there at times. Read more