My wife and I had cruised on seven previous occasions and this was our eighth in total and first with Holland America. We had been led to believe that we were in for 'something special''. Not so, in fact almost everything was very average.

Our stateroom balcony cabin and attendant were excellent but everything quickly fell away after that. The ship was drab and dreary. The dining room staff were dressed in uniforms more usually found on motor mechanics. The same people did not have a good grasp of the English language. Food in the main dining rooms was ordinary but with an improvement on formal dining occasions. Main courses were often served on cold plates and warm food was often cold by the time it was served (we were probably the furthest table from the food collection area). We opted for less expensive wines with our meals but half the wines we selected were "not available".

Front office staff were courteous and friendly. Embarkation and disembarkation procedures were good. Read more