You did an excellent job with this tour. Concise but covered everything. Thanks
@daradventures5 күн бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment 😃
@ajshacannon72357 күн бұрын
Great video and overview of the line. Helps me to make my decision.
@daradventures7 күн бұрын
Glad to hear the video was helpful! Thanks for the comment.
@markweaver21888 күн бұрын
The way you went from deck to deck on the Rotterdam was one of the best and easiest to understand I has seen. My wife and I will be on that ship this year so thanks for making it easier to find my way around before boarding. I also love the picture of the Rotterdam you have as the lead to your KZfaq which I would love to use as my desktop background but I can't find it.
@daradventures7 күн бұрын
Happy to hear that you found this tour format useful. I think deck by deck is the easiest to follow as well. What photo do you mean? The thumbnail with the orange clouds in the background? All of the photos I use are my own work, so you won’t find them online. happy to share the photo with you if you’d like though!
@user-ju9cv9pr6f10 күн бұрын
I like the demographics of HAL. Your video was spot on!
@daradventures10 күн бұрын
Thank you! Appreciate the kind words.
@SparksandFly14 күн бұрын
Thanks for all the invaluable pre tourist information. How much is a generally acceptable tip amount?
@daradventures13 күн бұрын
Glad you found it useful! For restaurants and cafes, I’d say 10-15% of your bill is good and just whatever loose change you have is fine if you’re grabbing food from a street vendor. For drivers and tour guides, approx 50 Egyptian pounds per day for the driver and maybe 80-100 for the guide. Taxi drivers you can round up the fare - I’d give like 20% on my Uber rides (because they were so cheap to begin with) and the drivers were always super grateful. Also, If I was just grabbing a local guide at a site to show me around, I’d give maybe 20 pounds, depending on how long they stayed with me and how helpful/knowledgeable they actually were.
@morisdegraaf36214 күн бұрын
Thumbs up given the second you used an overview of the video. Informative too
@daradventures13 күн бұрын
Thank you! Glad you found it useful!
@noelreynolds486114 күн бұрын
This was by far the best travel Egypt video I have watched to date! It was informative, realistic, while being respectful. I'll be checking out this channel.
@daradventures14 күн бұрын
Thank you, i appreciate that!
@noelreynolds486114 күн бұрын
@@daradventures Most welcome, I don't post praise easily
@davidhurwitz229116 күн бұрын
Very comprehensive review. We have sailed on 50+ cruises on 7 different lines, but never on Holland America. We are planning on taking a Caribbean cruise on the Nieux Statendam next winter. Looking forward to a different cruise experience after 27 Celebrity cruises. We have also sailed on Viking cruises. We started cruising when we were 40 years old and are now in our 70’s. The lectures and art projects appeal to me. Also looking to play Mah Jong on board. The ships with 6000 passengers and slides and climbing walls are not for us. Old fashioned cruising is what we have always enjoyed.
@daradventures15 күн бұрын
Thanks for the compliment! I have not yet tried Celebrity, I’m really keen on giving them a shot. Hoping to try out one of their newer ships sometime soon. I hope you’ll like Holland America! If you like small to mid size ships and the more traditional cruise experience then I think you’ll have a good experience with them. Happy cruising!
@davidhurwitz229115 күн бұрын
@@daradventures We love Celebrity’s Edge class ships (3200 passengers). We will sail on the Celebrity Apex in January, get off the ship and take a cab to the Holland America ship in the same port (different dock). It will be interesting to compare the two ships.
@daradventures14 күн бұрын
@@davidhurwitz2291 fun! I did a back to back on two lines a couple of years ago - it was cool to compare experiences that way. I hope you have an awesome time!
@noelreynolds486117 күн бұрын
The customs requirements for b2b cruises are readily available before hand. Being surprised by them is a shortcoming of planning, not of the cruise line. JS
@daradventures17 күн бұрын
Yes, but they could have definitely been made clearer, and as I said in the video, we were not faultless in this either 😃. Thanks for the comment!
@noelreynolds486117 күн бұрын
@@daradventures Could have been made more clear. Nice, when did society drop to the least common denominator mentality? Maybe, and I'm just postulating a bit, people should rise to the occasion, not expect the bar to be lowered.
@karenmccahey620123 күн бұрын
Great video
@daradventures23 күн бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment.
@theopinions4725 күн бұрын
Not going there I’m good with TV
@ReasonQuest25 күн бұрын
Wow! Such a comprehensive tour of the ship! Thank you so much!
@daradventures25 күн бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@user-qy5nh5pq7d27 күн бұрын
What selfie stick and camera do you use for your videos? Great review! I really got the gist of Holland America
@daradventures25 күн бұрын
Glad you found it helpful! I use a variety of cameras, depending on the situation. The talking head shots along with lot of the deck by deck tour footage of the Rotterdam were filmed on a Sony A7 IV. I film a lot on my iphone as well, which is only a 12, although I do hope to upgrade that to the newest model at the end of the year - the footage quality is much better with the newer phones. For stabilization for the iphone I use a DJI OM 5 gimbal. I also mix in some shots from my Insta360 X3.
@drwillie948627 күн бұрын
Never travel to this country: dangerous, thieves, liars
@chuckleavitt430927 күн бұрын
Thanks. The paperwork with drinks and signing seems to be a big problem with many reviews and reviewers!!
@daradventures27 күн бұрын
It was annoying. Not enough to ruin the trip or to not recommend the line, just a frustrating little thing to have to do all the time.
@conniehom679827 күн бұрын
I was curious what you Might say about Holland America. My daughter is 37 and Holland America is the only cruise line she would consider sailing on again. BTW The service at the LIDO buffet has been that way for years. It has nothing to do with COVID. Regular HAL cruisers appreciate the extra steps they take in sanitation avoiding cross contamination. The sneeze guards are perfect. Holland America has one of the highest health and sanitation records in the industry. That is why five generations of our family love Holland America so much. Sorry the children took over the pool and hot tub. There is another pool in the back of each ship that the children usually don't visit. During school holidays HAL often allows children 17 or under cruise free. This is most likely why you saw so many children on your second leg. Thank you for covering the info on the back to back cruises. We took a recent two week cruise but it was continuous. Your information was helpful in the event we take two separate legs of a cruise. I learned something from you even though we have cruised with HAL for decades. Thank you.
@daradventures25 күн бұрын
Yes, a couple of other cruisers mentioned that the Lido buffet has been that way since pre-covid times, it was an incorrect assumption on my part! It is nice that they have been taking extra steps on sanitization since before the pandemic, I definitely appreciate that, since cruises can be such hotspots for diseases spreading on board - I do still think there is room for improvement with the slowness of getting food though. I didn't know they had one of the best records in the industry for health and sanitation - that is a HUGE selling point, they should talk about that more often! I've come across more than one person who doesn't want to try cruising because of the concern over diseases spreading. We did spend some time at the back pool, which had considerably fewer kids, but the back pool on the Rotterdam was also home to the smoking section, and we didn't like having to be so close to all the smoke. But no cruise or setup is perfect! Thanks for taking the time to write out such a lengthy comment, I appreciate having the dialogue! And I'm really happy to hear that even though you're a well seasoned HAL traveler, you learned something new from my video. Such a great compliment! Glad I am contributing in my own small way :-)
@TravelwithLily199528 күн бұрын
Your advice is incredibly insightful and practical! Capturing a photo of the sign at each site is a fantastic tip for keeping memories organized. Using a tour company to navigate sites requiring governmental approval is also very helpful. Have you had any particularly memorable experiences at places like Abydos or Dendera? Do you have any favorite lesser-known sites that travelers should consider visiting?
@daradventures25 күн бұрын
Yes, I live by my sign photos - especially if I don't end up organizing my photos as soon as I get home, I'd forget everything otherwise! Thankfully in the digital camera age we can snap as many sign or informational photos as we want for reference :-) Abydos, Dendera, along with Kom Ombo and Edfu are all on my list for my return trip :-( (along with scuba diving in the red sea and exploring the white desert and siwa oasis) Simply too much to see in one visit, and traveling with a guided tour did restrict me a bit. I thought I would have the opportunity to visit Kom Ombo as an optional excursion on this trip, which turned out not to be true :-/ Kom Ombo and Edfu are pretty easy to get to if you book an independent Nile cruise though, as they boats will often stop there. I did have a lengthy conversation with my guide on this trip about wanting to visit Abydos, as that was probably the site I was most upset to miss out on, and he indicated that it wasn't as easy as some of the other sites. He said having a guide is pretty necessary for visiting, although I haven't looked into it further, so take that with a grain of salt! Honestly one of my favorite days was visiting Saqqara and Dashour. It is on some tourist itineraries, so it's not completely off the beaten path, but I do think quite a few tourists skip it. The necropolis isn't far from Cairo, and the history there is SO incredibly rich. Fewer crowds and more flexibility to find a pocket of ancient Egypt that you can have all to yourself. If you want to do inside a pyramid, I'd recommend doing it here versus at Giza - much fewer crowds and it's the same sort of experience. Also if you make it to Alexandria, get lost in the markets! Khan El-Khalili in Cairo is great, but it's very touristy. The markets in Alexandria are full of locals. We had a great time wandering through one rainy night!
@diannebrideson2368Ай бұрын
My first HAL cruise will be in November on Amsterdam. Thanks for the video.
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for commenting! I hope you have a wonderful cruise.
@bonniebaird4240Ай бұрын
Having to pay for drinks on Half Moon, is that because of Bahamian law?
@daradventuresАй бұрын
@@bonniebaird4240 that’s an interesting suggestion as to why we have to pay. I’ll have to look into that, unless anyone else scanning the comments happens to know the answer? 😀
@dking257Ай бұрын
Wear EarPods and politely ignore
@desdicadodog8452Ай бұрын
Agree with most everything. However, wear what you like. Most tourists are in shorts, t shirts, dresses, shirts short, long it does not matter except in mosques and holy places
@daradventuresАй бұрын
yes, you can certainly wear what you like. There’s no dress code, and locals are obviously used to seeing tons of tourists who dress all sorts of ways. But as a woman who did wander around a fair bit solo, I think I would have been uncomfortable and gotten a fair bit more unwanted attention had I not chosen to dress a bit more conservatively. if you’re staying in a group and not straying from the main tourist sites, then you can wear what you are comfortable in. I just prefer to dress more conservatively in Muslim countries. But if you do choose to show some skin, don’t forget your sunscreen 😎
@robertvanover8378Ай бұрын
It’s too bad you missed Parque Nacional Tayrona - it is amazing!
@daradventuresАй бұрын
I know, it looks incredible. Whenever I do make it back to Colombia to dedicate a full trip to exploring, I will absolutely spend some time in Tayrona!!
@erandajanaka3790Ай бұрын
Wow. Where i live now....❤❤
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Very cool!
@doreenfriel7039Ай бұрын
Great video! Very well-thought-out and accurate. You had me on the floor with your gold bar comment! 🤣🤣🤣 Pro tip for sailing around the holidays: To avoid the kids during the day, book a private cabana in The Retreat. It’s peaceful and relaxing and they don’t allow small children there.
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Thank you for the compliment! That’s excellent advice for the private cabana. It didn’t have a separate pool, but it did have its own hot tub and peace and quiet, which definitely would have been appreciated during some of those louder moments at the Lido pool. Thanks for commenting!
@Brancoladage-zk3xrАй бұрын
*here the 3 best and honest tips I can give: AVOID, AVOID & AVOID*
@ElderRavenАй бұрын
I got 20 Egypt travel tips..... Don't go to Egypt Repeat that tip 20x
@Brancoladage-zk3xrАй бұрын
I have 50 Egypt travel tips : *REPEAT THAT 50 TIMES*
@lilco268Ай бұрын
i thought it was a boat but nah it's just a building
@erniesimeon5307Ай бұрын
it's free to enter the area?
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Yes! Walking around the area and the cattle drive viewing is free, the activities like the pony or horse rides or the maze or mechanical bull have an extra charge.
@peterireneАй бұрын
Today I'm the first viewer, the video is very nice, you have a beautiful voice, thumbs up from me.👍
@daradventuresАй бұрын
The very first - thank you!!!
@JeffreyEdwardsАй бұрын
@DarAdventures, thanks so much for this video! It seemed to address so many questions I had. We are in the same age range as you and yours, so it was the perfect fit. I'm excited to check out the tour after seeing this one.
@daradventuresАй бұрын
I'm glad it was helpful to you! This was first time doing a "talking head" style video, but there wasn't much content out there about Holland America coming from people in my age demographic, so I'm really happy to hear people are finding it helpful when figuring out what will work best for their vacations. Thanks for the comment, and if you do sail with HAL I hope you have a great time :-)
@jlawrence0181Ай бұрын
We have done the Konigsdam and the Eurodam. We like the food, the great service, and the entertainment. Like Celebrity, staff ALWAYS greets you when you get on and off the ship and always has a cold beverage to greet you with. I think that the only thing that I do not like is that if you get seated with certain longtime HAL cruisers, you have to listen to the "nothing is like it was 30 years ago" lectures. The only thing we do not like about the ship is the pandemonium in the MDR on the first night on every cruise. We learned that the first night's menu is less impressive than the rest of the cruise so we head up to the buffet that night. Personally, the Dive In hamburgers are the best I have had on a cruise ship. Also, we like that the Promenade Deck allows you to walk around the entire ship somewhat covered from the elements. As for children, both of our cruises have been during school times (1st week of December, 1st week of January) and there have been 15-20 children on board and their presence was barely noticed. I do NOT like the served buffet as I like to try a very small quantity of many dishes. Instead, I would get full portions of small dishes which led to more waste (and more waist) Your video was quite good.
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Thanks for the compliment and thoughtful comment! I haven't tried Celebrity yet, they are next on my list of new lines to try. I've heard really good and really bad things, but I think I'll enjoy their new ships so excited to sail with them when I can fit it into my schedule. Oh that's interesting feedback on the MDR for the first night... we usually end up at the buffet too, mostly just with all the travel and jet lag we often aren't in the mood to dress up and have a sit down meal. And YES on wrap around Promenade decks!!! A lot of newer ships don't have these, and I hate that they are falling out of favor. To me it's an essential classic feature, to be able to stroll around the ship. Yeah I'm the same with the buffet, I like being able to put like a tablespoon of 15 different things on my plate if I want to, but with this style of buffet that's really just not feasible. I imagine those 15-20 kids were probably quite bored :-/ Taking kids on HAL during the school year is probably not the best recipe to create lifelong fans of cruising.
@jlawrence0181Ай бұрын
@@daradventures If we weren't such budget travelers (our target is under $100 pppd fare+fees+grats-OBC), we would be on a Windstar for yacht with less than 300 people on a cruise with no sea days. However, instead we are doing b2b2b cruises looking for deals on the Vacations to Go website. If you liked HAL, you will probably like the M-class and S- class ships on Celebrity and Princess. They have more similarities than differences
@charlesrichard8601Ай бұрын
Would suggest 45yrs old & up, the only problem I have personally had with HAL is it seems the alcohol beverages are very week & only like 4.2% beer. Get a drink package you are going to need it.
@daradventuresАй бұрын
That’s certainly a fair assessment. I can’t imagine going on any cruise without the drink package 🙃
@heathergetzingerwestphal7450Ай бұрын
Great video! 🤩 One thing I will say about the music, though, is that my friend and I are young Gen Xers who sailed on board Holland America’s Koningsdam this past November, and the musicians at B.B. King’s Blues Club performed both Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason” (1995) and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” (2013) (with “radio edit” lyrics, LOL). So, we definitely heard some more recent hit songs than it seems you did during your experience. 🎶🛳️🎶
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Ah that’s good to hear! Hopefully they are starting to branch out a bit into more recent decades, of course it is possible that I randomly missed the more modern songs on my sailing too 🙃. Thanks for watching the video, glad you liked it!
@myalausanne4986Ай бұрын
Go USA!!!
@santhoshtraders5037Ай бұрын
From india my son and grand son living now historical place southampton
@daradventuresАй бұрын
I hope they are liking it! 👍🏻
@AdamK3lАй бұрын
Thank you for the review! very informative! :)
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@tomhart6962Ай бұрын
Very informative. Thank you. Trying to compare the Oosterdam and Rotterdam.
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@paulj4228Ай бұрын
The best thing is they don't have six to 7,000 people on the ship biggest ship has only around 2800 to 3,000
@daradventuresАй бұрын
Yes, their ships are in that sweet spot - not too big too be overwhelming but large enough to have lots going on.
@chrismckinney2555Ай бұрын
Seemed a very fair and even-handed review. Very informative. First HAL cruise in two weeks. Very young 67yo's. Hope they listened to your music concerns.
@daradventuresАй бұрын
I hope you have a great time! The music really is very enjoyable, just wished for the variety, but I also understand they are going to cater to their primary demographic. Happy cruising and thanks for watching the video!
@shivanisaxena67982 ай бұрын
Best Informative video. Exactly what i was looking for. Planning trip to Southampton soon . This is very helpful video . Thanks a lot
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful! I hope you have a great visit to Southampton.
@peterirene2 ай бұрын
Great work, very nicely presented and everything is well described. Thumb No.7 from me.
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
Thank you! Cheers! Appreciate your kind words as always 😊
@myalausanne49862 ай бұрын
Oh wow that's amazing, maybe a little scary for my tastes
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
It’s definitely not for the claustrophobic, but it’s a beautiful dive. Short too, you can get in and out of the cavern quite quickly.
@Holler212 ай бұрын
I just got back from a three day trip to red eagle lake
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
Amazing! How was it?
@Holler212 ай бұрын
@@daradventuresit was awesome the views were just beautiful
@FraserAtSea2 ай бұрын
Enjoyed this! I cruised with HAL recently (as a 32 year old) and was really impressed. I was also onboard Rotterdam, and found her to be absolutely beautiful! The average age was MUCH higher than the cruises I'm used to, but I also genuinely believe that age is just a number - it really didn't bother me in the slightest!
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed the video and had a great experience with the Rotterdam too! She is a beautiful ship, and I really do appreciate all the history that HAL has behind it. And agreed, age is indeed just a number 😊. HAL is for specific type of cruiser, but I do believe that if you like what the line offers than go for it regardless of your age!
@devicetestsandvine-hn2gg2 ай бұрын
LIKED IT
@julieDJTFP2 ай бұрын
We're loyal Holland America cruisers. My husband and I are GenXers. This seems to be the demographic they are trying to entice right now because the boomers are getting older. I've noticed more people in our generation love HAL. We're not partiers and want a quiet vacation. We also came of age in the 80s so music is important to us. We're taking our millennial daughter on soon, so we'll see if she likes it. Also, you can update the beverage package to the elite package and it covers more if you want the more expensive beverages. Beverages that are fully covered don't show up on your bill.
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
Yes, it makes sense that they would start trying to appeal to the Gen X demographic. We did consider upgrading the beverage package, just to eliminate the annoyance of all the tiny charges, but in the end it wasn’t anywhere near worth it for us, as we don’t order enough drinks per day to make up the cost difference. It is good to note that this is an option though! Curious how your millennial aged daughter will enjoy the experience - I hope your family has a lovely vacation!
@scottlenyo85792 ай бұрын
We have sailed on a couple of HAL cruises and do like the line as a matter fact we’re going to be on the Rotterdam in September. I was born in the 1960s and even I think that the typical passenger skews much older than me. I do wish they would play some music genres not from so far in the past, that being said we really do like, HAL
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
The Rotterdam is lovely, you’ll have a nice experience. Yeah I’m curious to experience the line outside of school holiday time. I didn’t feel out of place on our sailing, but I’m curious of my opinion would change we had sailed at a different time of year.
@jonellegressman64752 ай бұрын
Thanks for the information! Cruising 1st time on HA in 2025. We are in our 50s, but I know I would like some generational music variety as you mentioned.
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
exciting! I hope you have a great first sailing - what ship are you on? I think you’ll enjoy the music regardless, it may not skew much into the more recent decades but the musicians truly are top notch.
@Tom-pw2ni2 ай бұрын
You nailed the today HAL experience. Back in the 90's they called it comfortable elegance, and for me the current HAL experience is a calm, comfortable and pleasant experience.
@daradventures2 ай бұрын
Calm, comfortable and pleasant. That’s exactly it. That’s why I liked it. I want to have fun on vacation of course, but I do like my fun a bit more calmer these days. 😊
@motherpacker2 ай бұрын
Excellent vlog, fair imo. We cruised on HAL once, in our 50's and we found it "old" Yet, I do like everything u also pointed out. Thanks