I embarked the Nieuw Statendam on August 2, 2022 for the 24 day Canada, Greenland, Iceland & New England cruise and it was a zoo.
We were getting conflicting messages from Holland America regarding check in times via email the day of, which superseded our original boarding times, which made things confusing as some people checked their email the day of and others didn't. Apparently, as others have pointed out, there was a US Coast Guard drill scheduled. We got to the pier at 2 pm and the line up was all the way down the terminal. It was a hot day and there was not enough room to inside the terminal to provide shade for everyone.
Bottom line: It was not a pleasant boarding experience. Standing in the hot sun, in a very long line for a very long time. Getting through the terminal check-in process was also chaotic as the lines for those who had done their pre-check in documentation via the apps (VeriFLY etc.) vs. those who did not.
Not entirely the fault of Holland America and the staff at the terminal did the best they could.
We were late departing as they were still loading pallets onto the ship (which was also delayed due to the Coast Guard formalities).
Disembarkation was also chaotic - long queues for transportation. I was lucky and was able to get a very good Uber.
Sounds like those who went in 2023 had a better experience.
Cheers!
DebC
