This was my second cruise and my husband's first. Also our first time cruising Holland America.
The good:
Check in was smooth. We arrived around 11:30-12 and did not have to wait in line very long at all. We were upgraded from the inside suite we had purchased to an oceanview. We absolutely loved our room, but it turns out that watching the moving water outside the window made us sea sick so we kept the curtains close unless in port. We would take an oceanview again, but we won't specially purchase one in the future. The robes provided in each room were very nice, and I practically lived in one while we were in the room. The staff was absolutely incredible. They were always quick to get anything we needed. I loved that our MDR servers learned our names and would speak to us when they saw us around the ship! The food in the Lido and MDR was always great. There was always a large selection to choose from and something for everyone which was great since I love seafood but my husband prefers meat and potatoes. The omelet station in the Lido was really good. The adult beverages throughout the ship were always delicious and our wine stewardess in the MDR was very sweet. Our dinner time was 8pm, so we took advantage of happy hour in the Ocean bar from 7-8 where they had 2 for 1 drinks! We enjoyed the adult only pool/hot tubs and honestly didn't ever visit the other pool area.