We sailed on the Zuiderdam in the Caribbean about four years ago, and had a great time. When I got back I read some reviews about other HAL ships and found that everyone thought they were all for old people on walkers..... you will see that comment a LOT. If you are planning on a Caribbean cruise out of school vacation time you might find that to be the case, but otherwise it will eb a mix of families and all ages.
Med cruises are very port intensive so the ship comes second to the resort for a lot of people..
They are a little more 'refined' than some mainstream lines.
What ship are you looking at? Read plenty of reviews of the cruise you are thinking about, Disregard the ones that say everything was awful, and disregard the ones that say everything was perfect...

The cruise is Mediterranean Empires and it's their brand new ship New Amsterdam. Having gone on Thomson Destiny this year I know it will be more expensive overall but the itinerary looks fantastic. The package we are looking at includes a 2 night stay in Venice before the cruise which is very attractive. Have you any idea on what beer they serve on board, I'm not a wine or spirits guy but I do like a lager. I'm also assuming the costs of drinks and excursion will be similarly expensive.

Cheers,

Jim

Sorry, I don't drink beer, but since they are a Dutch ship sailing from a European port with a mixed demographic of passengers they are sure to have a variety to suit the clientele. Drinks $5-6 each. More for premium brand names and more if you buy a souvenir glass ... Cruise and ship look wonderful BTW. Plus you get to sail from Venice. Very nice.

Hi Jim, We cruised with Holland America this Spring to the Caribbean on Maasdam and had a great time. They have the friendliest staff I have come across. Every single one went out of their way to help. We found the drinks to be quite expensive. 15% is added to all drinks prices by way of gratuities for the bar staff. Hubby drank bottled Grolsch but he can`t remember how much it was. There were no draught beers or lagers available. They have the usual American brands, Bud, Miller etc. I had a cocktail every night. These are about $9 but they have a drink of the day which is about $6. We only did one Holland America excursion. We found it easy to arrange our own and about half the price! I think you will find it generally more expensive than Thomsons and also your final bill will be in dollars and it depends on the exchange rate at the time as to what you will pay but it looks like a great cruise and on a brand new ship. I want to go!

Holland America are one of the best. Haven't sailed with them in the med but in the Caribbean most passengers are American. I think their food and service is much better than Cunard.

Thanks guys, the ship & itinerary look great and I understand from HAL they do sell draught beer, in a bucket if you want, believe it or not.

Draft beer in a bucket? They sell buckets of beer, but it is usually 5 bottles of beer in a bucket of ice for the price of 4.... domestic beers $20 and imports $25.

Jim, can you tell me where you have seen this cruise please, have looked at the HAL website but that is criuse only.
Thank You

Emdia 43, bit stupid of me to think I could get a bucket of lager. I thought it was their version of a pitcher of beer. I'd still buy their bucket of beer mind.

Marjrie,it's not through HAL it's a package put together by Planetcruise tel: 08009533627. It was in a supplement in the Daily Mail http://www.travelmail.co.uk/planetcruise. Their prices include London flights but not transfers.

Jim