This was our first cruise experience and we were very pleased. We really enjoyed Holland America Lines and will cruise with them again. We traveled with our two children (7 and 13) and all 4 of us had a good experience. Our verandah room was actually roomier than we expected and our cabin stewards were fabulous! Our rooms were always clean, never lacking clean towels and we LOVED the towel animals and chocolates left on our bed each night.

One area that we were disappointed was Club HAL. Our daughters were in different age groups and they wouldn't let them be together. Our daughters didn't want to be separated (and they shouldn't have to be in our opinion), so we didn't use Club HAL services at all.

We enjoyed all of our dining experiences. We enjoyed the buffet on the Lido deck and the Dining Room, (we didn't visit the specialty restaurants). We really enjoyed the 24 hour pizza at the The Slice. One downside of the buffet dining was that it seemed at times that there were not enough crew to keep lines down in the made-to-order areas. The service in the Rembrandt Dining Room was excellent and our servers were always attentive and remembered our likes and dislikes. We loved the International/Baked Alaska night, and being entertained by the servers, that was a highlight. Read more