I have to say, when we booked a cruise for 21 days we were wondering if it just might be too long!!! We had three other couples traveling with us (John and Sandy from Canada, Rich and Sandra from Calif., Marty and Lisa from Ohio and we are from Byrdstown, Tn.). We left from Ft. Lauderdale.............went to private beach in the Bahamas, the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Caracao), then to Cartegena Columbia. We did a full transit of the Panama Canal.....then to Guatemala, Nicaragra and up the coast of Mexico (Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan........) and ended up in San Diego California. After the 21 days, we all agreed that, if we could, we would stay on the ship and go all the way back to Ft. Lauderdale for another 21 days!!! At our dinner table, there were the eight of us and a new couple joined our table. Their names were Jens and Inge from Denmark. They were a wonderful addition to our group!! We had the pleasure to have them at our dining table every night and they joined us on shore also. I hope we always keep in touch with them and hope they join us again! We met John and Sandy from Canada on a cruise probably 13 years ago and they have joined us every cruise since!!! So you can make some really awesome new friends.

Lets start with our room and the ship. The ship was WONDERFUL!!! Clean, colorful and had the best staff ever. Everyone that waited on us for our food and cocktails were the best. Smiling faces and so very helpful. I have to say, the people that manned the guest relations desk left ALOT to be desired!!!! They weren't the most friendly people I've seen on a ship ( and this was probably our 17th cruise!!!.....and we went on many different lines). Before we booked our air flight, we got in touch with Holland America and asked if an 11:35 am flight would be too early to catch...........we were told that would be fine. Well, we found out after we were on the ship that if you wanted to be off the ship early..........YOU HAD TO CARRY YOUR OWN LUGGAGE OFF THE SHIP AND DOWN THE GANGWAY!!! Normally, this might have been a challenge, but totally do-able. But while on the ship I developed back problems which made it virtually impossible for me to carry half our luggage (I even went to the ship doctor so they could verify my problem)!!!! I went to the desk and asked, since I could not lift anything, if we could get a cart so we could put our luggage on it......they said NO. Asked if they had any suggestions..........they said NO!!!!!! They could care less if we were going to have problems!!!!! Luckily everyone in our group helped us with the luggage to the gangplank........but were not allowed to go any further or they couldn't get back on the ship!!!!! Now, you would think that early departures would be for people who had flights, buses, etc....... to catch. But some people just wanted to get off. Therefore, the people who had schedules to meet had to wait for hundreds of people who were just getting off because they felt like it (with no hurry or plans once they disembarked!!!). Add this to the fact that the foreign people started to get checked out around 6:30 in the morning and at TEN THIRTY they were still not finished!!!! Which delayed the early departure people!!!! We got off the ship around 10:45! Made it to the airport by the skin of our teeth........ran to our gate and got right on the plane!!!! WHEW!!!! They really need to work on the disembarking priorities and procedures. It was the worse I have ever seen!!!!! The customer service desk and the disembarking was what kept this cruise from rating excellent on all points. So.......putting that behind.........everything else on the ship was GREAT!!!! Our whole group had balconies.......which they all loved!!! We had an outside room on the main deck and it was just wonderful ... it was midship and it was one of the biggest and most comfortable rooms we have had. It had a nice big window and we felt absolutely no motion!!!! Would definitely recommend it!!!

The food was delicious. We went to the buffet for both breakfast and lunch and were never dissappointed. A few in our group ordered breakfast in their room and they said it was hot and delicious!!!! The dining room is beautiful and the wait staff (we had Yessir and Putu) were the best!!! The were fun and very efficient and friendly. We all looked forward to dinner every night!! The choices were great and the appetizers, dinner and desserts left nothing to be desired. Read more