We stayed for a week prior to the cruise in Ft. Lauderdale at Marriott Beach Place Towers. Embarkation process was very quick and we were onboard in no time at all. We have always used RCCL before and felt we were about 15 years to early to use this cruise line (we're in our early 50's & our friends in their late 30's)! All crew members were extremely friendly, however, the dining room staff all seemed to be a bit disorganized as we waited a long time for the table to be cleared in between courses and water glasses were slow to be refilled. Lenny was our favorite crew member--he seemed to remember us no matter where we ran into him on the ship! We had expected the service to be above & beyond what we had received on RCCL but did not find that. The food was good & room service was very good. We enjoyed Alfreda, the comedian and the gymnast. We had an aft balcony cabin, #8131, and found it a bit noisy with movement on the pool deck above us and a lot of vibration, ? engine noise. Cabins were comfortable and enjoyed the deck daily. First day at sea was pretty rough and heard a lot of people saying they were sea sick, me included! We enjoyed all the ports...went to the Baths on Virgin Gorda and were disappointed to find all the shops closed down in Tortola when we returned since it was a late sailing that evening. Went to Sunset Beach Bar on Maho Beach in St. Maarten..something everyone should do at least once! Half Moon Cay was gorgeous! We were lucky to have booked a cabana early on and really enjoyed that. Had an early disembarkation because of an early flight back home. Overall experience was ok but probably would not cruise with Holland America until we are much older.