Comparison

Cruise Countdown & Picker vs Holland America Line Navigator

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cruise Countdown & Picker

Easily search and compare thousands of cruises without annoying pop-ups. Set price alerts for specific trips or subscribe to deal categories to find the best prices. Explore ship details, dining, entertainment, and cabin options.

Highlights
  • Search and filter cruises
  • Price alert notifications
  • Last minute and destination deals
  • Detailed ship and cabin information
  • Cruise countdown widgets
  • Compare prices from multiple sites
Features
Read full description

You know when you go to a cruise website and it gives you a hundred pop-ups asking for your email and then screams at you to call them now before this 'deal' disappears? Ugh. I found this annoying as well and set out to build a simple, user friendly way to find cruises using just my phone. No annoying pop-ups or asking for emails. CruisePicker lets you easily search thousands of cruises by destination, departure port or cruise line and your desired travel dates. You can then sort and filter results by lowest price (or per night price), your favorite cruise line, port, type of cabin, or how long you want to cruise for. Don't overpay for your cruise. If you have your eye on a specific cruise, simply add a price alert to it and we'll send you a daily push notification with any price changes. Price alerts are free and there is no limit - set as many as you want! If you are interested in last minute deals or balcony deals for Alaska, subscribe to these categories in the deals section. The app monitors thousands of cruise prices and will automatically send you a notification when it spots a cheap price. Its not unusual to find deals from $30 / night! Deal categories include (more in the app): - 7 night Caribbean deals - Balcony deals for Mediterranean - Cruise deals from Miami - Cruise deals from Los Angeles - Deals on NEW ships - Carnival cruise deals - Royal Caribbean deals Many people want to learn about the ship - what's the food like? C'mon, we know food on a cruise is key! We list each restaurant and bar, entertainment venues and onboard activities. In addition, we describe each type of cabin (there are many). Where we can, we also list which venues are included (free) and which require an upcharge. Here is a summary of the features the app provides: - NEW: Cruise countdown widgets help you get excited for your cruise - Search and Filter cruises by departure port, date, length and cheapest prices - Watchlist: Get price alert notifications when prices for a specific cruise price drops (or goes up) - Deals: Track the best prices for last minute cruises, new ships, or by popular destinations and lines - Compare prices from many sites to make sure you get the best deal - Detailed itinerary: each destination and arrival and departure times - Explore what to do on each ship including dining, entertainment and activities - Browse the various cabins and staterooms categories - Content: Learn about the cruise lines and how each is different - See deck maps for every ship - Dark mode for late night browsing:) Covers all the major cruise lines including: - Carnival Cruise - Royal Caribbean - Norwegian Cruise Line - Disney Cruise - Celebrity Cruises - Holland America Line - Princess Cruises Note: each cruise line is unique! Read our guide to cruise lines. Cruises from all ports including Miami, Ft Lauderdale, New York, Galveston, Seattle, Vancouver and more. Also, check out popular destinations including: - Caribbean & Bahamas - Alaska - Europe & Mediterranean - Mexico Have questions or an idea to make the app better? I'd love to hear from you. Email my team: team (at) cruisepicker (dot) com - We read every email. Lastly, check out what our users have been saying. Tony R. "I like getting CruisePicker alerts when I'm in a boring meeting. I can quickly check out the deal and see if it's worth checking out more." Ashley G. "I have my eye on deals from Miami. I live here so I can easily catch a ship even if its last minute. Any day on a cruise is better than on land!" Maria A. "My husband and I have busy lives and a cruise is how we destress and relax. I just love all the filters and sorts this app has - makes its super easy to find the best cruise for us."

About

Holland America Line Navigator

Plan and manage your cruise experience before and during your voyage. Access booking details, explore ship amenities, book excursions and dining, and stay updated on daily events. Connect with fellow travelers and enjoy onboard services.

Highlights
  • View booking details
  • Explore shore excursions
  • Make dining reservations
  • Check daily itinerary
  • Connect with other guests
  • Order stateroom services
  • View fleet map
Features
Read full description

Log in with your Hollandamerica.com account and get access to your current profile and information, and all of your past or upcoming bookings. Before your cruise, you can review all the services available to guests, check out events and shore excursions planned for your trip, and review an interactive Holland America Line fleet map to see the destinations where our ships sail. Once on board, connect to the ship’s WiFi to view dining menus, spa services, shore excursions, chat with other guests and more at no additional charge. (An onboard Internet purchase is NOT required to use the Navigator app.) Use the Holland America Line Navigator app when in port to check your daily itinerary, book shore excursions and make dining reservations. So, you can just relax and enjoy your time ashore, knowing you’ll never miss an important event during your cruise. Happening On Board Get the latest on events, activities, and the evening dress code even before you board. See planned events and add them to your itinerary. Chat Keep in touch with traveling companions, connect with new friends, and more while on board. Shore Excursions Reserve and book your shore excursions easily and conveniently. Dining Make reservations at any of the ship’s specialty restaurants. My Itinerary Stay on top of your daily activities, including your booked shore excursions, and dining reservations. Fleet Map See the entire Holland America Line fleet of ships and learn about their destinations and ports of call. My Account View account details, see your upcoming bookings and review your onboard statement. At Your Service Order items like towels, pillows, ice and more straight to your stateroom. (Available on select ships). View & Buy Photos Review, purchase, and share your cruise photos. (Available on select ships). Daily News Enjoy a selection of complimentary daily news digests from various regions of the world. Spa & Salon View our extensive menu of spa treatments and services. Connect to Paid Internet Navigator is your portal to purchase and use additional internet plans. It doesn’t matter if you are new to cruising or a returning guest, Navigator is available and works with all Holland America Line ships with full functionality... so download today! Full Holland America Line fleet includes: Amsterdam, Eurodam, Koningsdam, Maasdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Nieuw Statendam, Noordam, Oosterdam, Rotterdam, Veendam, Volendam, Westerdam, Zaandam, and Zuiderdam.

Screenshots

Cruise Countdown & Picker4 screens
Holland America Line Navigator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cruise Countdown & Picker at 74% against Holland America Line Navigator's 22%. Cruise Countdown & Picker also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Holland America Line Navigator's advantage is ratings volume (37K vs 2.8K) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cruise Countdown & Picker holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Holland America Line Navigator has 37K ratings behind it against 2.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Cruise Countdown & Picker's written reviews are positive against 22% of Holland America Line Navigator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cruise Countdown & Picker ships an update every 2 weeks, Holland America Line Navigator fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Cruise Countdown & Picker versus Holland America Line Navigator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCruise Countdown & PickerHolland America Line Navigator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.8K ratings) — better4.5 (37K ratings)
Positive reviews74.4% of reviews — better21.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2.8K37K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB212 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCRUISE PICKER LLCHolland America Line Inc

Customer experience

Cruise Countdown & Picker

All ratings2,824 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews82 reviews
Positive74.4%
Neutral4.9%
Negative20.7%

Holland America Line Navigator

All ratings37,209 ratings
Positive88.4%
Neutral5.3%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews358 reviews
Positive21.8%
Neutral14.2%
Negative64.0%

User reviews

Cruise Countdown & Picker

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Amazing app
  • 🚀 Ideal for cruisers
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Convenient
  • 👍 Customizable countdown

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Widget issues
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Missing cruise lines and ships
  • 🐛 Difficulty editing settings
  • 🐛 Inaccurate ship/image display in widget

Holland America Line Navigator

From 37K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Helpful for planning cruise
  • 💡 Useful features like chat and dining reservations
  • 🚀 Comprehensive information on ship activities

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent login issues
  • 🐛 Unreliable connectivity and app crashes
  • 👎 Difficult to navigate and find information
  • 👎 Outdated or inaccurate information
  • 👎 Poor user interface and small text

Bugs and requests

Cruise Countdown & Picker

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Widget not working properly
  • Inability to save new cruise
  • Crashes when using certain features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more cruise lines and ships
  • Improve widget customization options
  • Allow editing of settings without adding widget first
  • Enhance cruise search capabilities
  • Provide option to exclude certain cruise lines or ports

Holland America Line Navigator

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to book dining and excursions through app
  • Disappearing itinerary and reservation information
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Real-time ship location tracking
  • Improved chat functionality for group messaging
  • Better integration with cruise itinerary and reservations
  • Larger font sizes and more intuitive navigation

In-app purchases

None

Cruise Countdown & Picker

No in-app purchases

None

Holland America Line Navigator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cruise Countdown & Picker free?
Cruise Countdown & Picker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Holland America Line Navigator free?
Holland America Line Navigator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Cruise Countdown & Picker or Holland America Line Navigator?
Cruise Countdown & Picker is rated higher. Cruise Countdown & Picker averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Holland America Line Navigator averages 4.5 from 37K ratings.
Do Cruise Countdown & Picker or Holland America Line Navigator have ads?
Neither Cruise Countdown & Picker nor Holland America Line Navigator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cruise Countdown & Picker or Holland America Line Navigator?
Cruise Countdown & Picker ships an update every 2 weeks, and Holland America Line Navigator fortnightly. Most recently, Cruise Countdown & Picker was updated on September 22, 2026 and Holland America Line Navigator on September 24, 2026.

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