This was my first ever cruise so I can't say I had a lot to compare it to but overall this was a great vacation. It was a mother/daughter trip (Daughter is in her late 20's and mother is in her 50's)

Embarkation: We decided to spend a day/night in NYC before embarkation day which I highly recommend. We had a jog around central park before we took a cab to the cruise ship terminal. We arrived around 12:30 and stood in line for an hour, I imagine this would be hard on older folks to be standing for so long but we had a cute baby in line in front of us so this kept us entertained while we were waiting. After we boarded we headed to our room even though they said not to; it was ready but our luggage hadn't arrived yet but we were able to unload the boxes of wine and water bottles we brought on board (you are able to bring unlimited) then we went to the Lido for lunch. After lunch we went back to our room and our luggage had arrived and we were able to unpack and sit on our patio while we headed out of NYC.

Food: Overall we thought the food was great! The only complaint was that pretty much every soup and sauce was waaay too salty which was surprising since Holland America is typically known for having an "older" clientele most of whom are probably advised by doctors to watch their sodium in-take. So if you aren't a salt lover and/or have to watch sodium intake just stick to the salads and ask for sauces and dressings on the side. We preferred to eat breakfast and dinner in the main Dining room because the few times we were forced to eat at the lido buffet because of timing constraints it just wasn't as enjoyable because its sort of a free for all with lines and sometimes pushing just not as relaxing. If you are going to eat at the dining room be aware that its a slower more relaxed way of eating; we had heard that some people at breakfast walked out because they weren't served fast enough. It can take anywhere from 1-2 hours. Also get the early (5:45pm) seating. We booked this cruise early and were still wait-listed and had to call about 10 times before we got the "right" person to make sure we definitely got early seating. They typically moved things along faster at this hour because they had to get you in and out before the late seating. This really was the best timing because most days we could skip lunch because we knew we were getting an early dinner and this gave us more time in Bermuda and on sea days more time at the spa or pool. Read more