This was the first time we had sailed with Holland America. Cruising may be addictive and we were busy feeding our new found addiction. Recent empty-nesters we decided to try out our new "wings" and see what travel in the adult-only world feels like. We were thrilled at the prospect of having a cabin to ourselves and had heard HAL catered more to people at our stage of life than others so decided to try it out. Our last family cruise was on NCL's EPIC, which is a whole other review in itself...
Embarkation was in San Diego. Trying to drop our bags off was confusing. Guys in the baggage drop area couldn't quite decide on where and how that should occur, shuffling customers from one point to another. When finally rid of our bags, we went to check in. Check in and embarkation went smoothly. Because we were early, rooms weren't ready but lunch on the Lido was.
This was the first time I had ever been served at a buffet. It made for a pleasant experience. Because staff did the serving, there wasn't the usual spills and mess you usually find on most buffets. AND it seemed more hygienic. By day 3, people could more or less serve themselves but staff prepared and served most of the dishes as we went by. The food was always fresh and hot. My favorite was the Asian station. The sandwich line always had a wait as staff prepared food to order. Most times it was easier to get service on the hot meal lines. The dining rooms were elegant, the food was excellent and the service superb! We loved our waiter Ari and the maitre'd, Indra. They went over and above to insure our experiences were memorable.
the size was good. The decor was a bit drab. The bathroom was a nice size. There were lots of closet and drawer space. It would have been nice to have a coffee pot and small refrigerator.
Being on the promenade deck next to a doorway out, it was a bit noisy at times. We knew our view would be limited but ended up closing our drapes most of the time anyways because we didn't really want to see the people walking by or have them see us.