Disembarkation: This was fairly easy. You get to the station you get a number and your number is called and you go through a check in process which only take approximately 45 minutes. You get you card and you are on the ship and ready for your vacation. We were not allowed in our rooms because we were on the ship around 1pm and the rooms were not ready yet. We were allowed in our rooms about 2:30. When we first got on the ship we were able to go to the Lido deck for lunch.

Food: This was our 5th cruise and I have to say the food was not at all what we have experienced in the past. To start with the dining room: The selection on the menu was not at all 5 star as we had expected. One cruise that we had been on in the past atleast had the old standby(steak, chicken, fish, cheesecake and icecream sundies) at the bottom of there dining menu each night. On this cruise one night was meatloaf and another was spaghetti and meatballs this is not 5 star or close. As far as the taste: the food was not bad but not the what we expected either. The starters/appetizers were okay and atleast always had fruit. The 2nd course was okay too atleast you could get a plain salad if not anything else. The presentation of the food was not what we had seen on other ships. We did not like the fact that men had to wear pants even at lunch time in the Main Dining Room. Who wants to get dressed in the morning into shorts change for lunch and then change again for the afternoon and then change again for dinner. In the past shorts were excepted at lunch time. Needless to say we didn't eat lunch in the dining room at all during our 11 days onboard.The lido deck food was okay. The mornings you could have eggs, bacon and waffles. The waffles were the best thing. The staff on the Lido deck for the most part were great some though wouldn't even acknowledge you were there. Bert "Reynold" was the best he always remembered your name. The midnight buffet was not what we expected. It was not open early enough it opened at 11:15 and closed at 12:30. We sometimes wanted something to eat right after the shows and had to wait. Other nights we wanted stuff after relaxing and couldn't because they closed down right at 12:30. All other ships we have been on were open later and had a much better variety. This ship didn't seem to have any leftovers from dinner. One ship we had been on in the past has some dinner leftovers so you could try different things and they used the food up so there wasn't as much waste. And the in room dining was not great at all. You had a VERY limited menu. And there were certain times you could get that limited menu (breakfast was only until 9:30 and they didn't give at all on that time). If you called the in room service about 5 minutes after the breakfast time you could not get what you wanted at all.

The entertainment: The shows were good. The dancers and entertainers worked very hard. Jason Venner was a good director not the best we have had but he was okay. The magician and John Davidson were the best. The Holland America Idol was great. The Newlywed not so Newlywed show was funny. The band in the Crow's nest was okay but not as good was we have seen in the past. The Piano Bar was about a 3 star it really wasn't a good place to hang out as we have seen other piano bars on other ships. Activities: There were not as many activities as we have had in the past. I think that Holland America needs to work on more activities for the guest. especially on the Lido Deck. Most ships the Lido deck is hopping with excitement and entertainment and on this one it was not. The band hardly played and they kept the deck covered so you couldn't enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. I know that the deck hard to be covered in New York and maybe part of the next day but it was covered about 80% of the time. When they had a boat building contest in the pool on the Lido they didn't make the kids get out of the pool and that was a disaster. They had a ship building contest to see what guests could be the best ship our of products found on the boat, you had to set the boat in the pool and see if it would float alone and then with a 12 pak. The kids would not get out of the pool and made it hard for the contestants. We had our son with us and if he would have been in the pool we would have made him get out but other parents didn't. Bingo was great for those of you who like to gamble and the Casino was okay too. It was non smoking which was a plus for me. Read more