We were actually booked on an RCCL 8 day Norwegian Fjord trip in August but then we received a Holland America Casino offer which saved us a few thousand dollars. Jumped on the opportunity to go for 12 nights AND save money. With that said, you get what you pay for. It is a very average ship with very average things to do. The slot machine selection in the casino is very lacking therefore, I did not leave as much money behind as I usually would have! (more money saved!!lol) The passengers truly were mostly older and even though we are 'older' a lot of people just seemed older than us. Very old fashioned and stuffy gala nights. On every other ship we have been on a sport shirt and dress pants were adequate for my husband. You know...fine if you want to get dressed to the hilt but after an 8 hour excursion it is kind of the last thing you want to do. Nor do you want to eat in the buffet, therefore they insulted my husband by making him put on a jacket to walk through the dining room which he immediately took off and did not wear again. Kind of ridiculous HAL...we were not dressed in jeans and looked quite respectable. I respect tradition BUT!!!

We unfortunately spent money in the Spa. VERY FAIR TO AVERAGE SERVICE AT BEST. My husband had a reasonable haircut...buzzed at number 2...not too difficult. Even though I received an embarkation day special for a 'precision cut and color' I would have gladly paid more for a better job done. I was out of there in about 2 hours where at home for the same service it is 3 to 4 hours. The facial I had was a bit of a joke for the price. Do not waste your money on their microdermabrasion. We paid for the hydropool and thermal suite pass and the pool was closed 3 days albeit they did reimburse a few dollars. I had to convince the nail tech to do what I wanted rather than downgrade my gel nails to acrylic nails which is all she could do. This kind of bugged me because I went out of my way to get the BRISA gel nails before I left home because the HAL Spa advertised they had this service. ALSO...filling out a medical questionnaire before a facial is ridiculous. It is just a ploy to use your 'issues' to sell you other services. All they needed to know was if I had any allergies...they don't need to know what my occupation is and my medical issues.

NOW FOR THE EXCURSIONS...some of them were 'over rated'. The tour to the 'Christmas Town of Drobak' was almost a joke. Yep...there is a small store in comparison to a lot of real Christmas stores but with not a huge selection. So glad we bought an expensive one of a kind ornament in the Tivoli Gardens because I sure did not find anything like it at this store. That's the only Christmassy part of this tour but with that said the scenery was lovely. The 'Falkirk Wheel' near Edinburgh is not worth missing Edinburgh for...I was very disappointed when I learned the last tender was at 9PM when I thought it was 11PM, therefore we did not have time to go on the Hop On, Hop Off in Edinburgh. Also we were told the taxi from South Queensferry to central Edinburgh was about $75USD one way. There is a train which apparently gets there in about 20 minutes but if you can't walk long distances after a long day you are stuck with a taxi. Speaking of walking...watch your step everywhere! My husband had a terrible fall but we witnessed the aftermath of another gentleman who had a disastrous fall where there was an ambulance involved. Curbs everywhere and uneven pavement/cobblestone everywhere. Be very careful! The day excursion to York from the Newcastle Upon Tyne Port...the guide gets on in York and proceeds to waste a lot of time talking. Do your historical research before you leave home, get the time and meeting place for your group tickets to enter the cathedral and ditch the guide. What a waste of our time. We finally did leave on our own after a couple hours and went and did what we wanted to do. She was the only one on the whole trip we did not tip. Read more