A Wonderful Cruise

This was our first "real" cruise (we took a cheapo three-night cruise out of Los Angeles 15 years ago, but it wasn't anything to compare from). We are in our late 50's and normally do more adventurous self-guided travel. This time we were more in the mood for a trip where everything is planned and done for you, and this cruise did that.

Airline -- We booked online through Holland America. This was the only area where we felt truly let down. Apparently we had been booked onto an oversold flight. I had a hint that something was amiss because upon booking, we were given our seat assignment for the return flight, but not the going flight. I wrongly wrote this off as an airline protocol and never questioned it. When we got to the airport we were told we did not have seats. Several other passengers -- also bound for the Eurodam -- were in a similar situation. After some pressuring with the gate staff, the airline came through, sort of: my spouse was assigned one of the crew chairs, while the flight attendants sat on boxes in the galley! Lesson learned -- if you don't get your seat assignment promptly after booking, raise a fuss. Given how far in advance we had booked there was no excuse for putting us in this situation. Read more