We had done this itinerary a year ago on a different cruise line, and really enjoyed the number of sea days, so decided to repeat it on a Holland America ship. We live close enough to San Diego to be able to drive to the port easily, and avoid the hassle of air travel/hotel expense. The embarkation was very smooth, and we were accompanied all the way to our cabin (one of us needs wheelchair assistance). Our stateroom was one of the Lanai cabins, with a sliding glass door replacing the ocean view window, allowing direct access to the teak walk-around Lower Promenade deck. It also includes two reserved wooden deck chairs right outside the door. We had been on this particular ship in March 2014, so the layout was very familiar for us. We had requested and received early fixed dining at the same table for two as last March. We had stopped for brunch on the way, and weren't hungry for the Mariner embarkation luncheon. Luggage arrived quickly, and we found spots for everything in spite of my penchant for overpacking. The standard bathrooms on this ship class don't have much storage; the over-door shoe bag is a must. Our stateroom attendants introduced themselves & we were more than satisfied with their friendliness & service throughout the cruise. They made some unique towel animals that we had never seen. We asked for ice twice a day and they always delivered it. The disaster drill was on deck (no lifejackets), and took a little longer than we were accustomed to, the passengers were restless and had lost interest after about 30". After a short rest on our deck chairs, we adjourned to get to the MDR by 5:15. Very easy to remember the table frome the previous cruise, and we met our dining staff - so very nice throughout the remainder of the cruise. We signed up for a wine tasting & ordered a bottle of wine. The meals for the duration of the cruise were all very good to excellent, temperature perfect, seasoning good. We do like spicy food, but understand that they have to season the food for the majority. When we ordered medium rare beef, it was perfectly done. We do like to try things we have not had before, or unusual (for us) foods. Lobster was on the menu only once (not even on the Pinnacle Menu), which didn't disappoint us, but we heard some grumblng from other passengers. We dined in the specialty dining venues once each, and had equally fine experiences. We try to avoid the Lido just because it is usually crowded, difficult to get around the entire serving counters and to find a table. The couple of times we did end up there we were OK with the food, but my husband said his was not even warm. The best food outside the MDR was the "Dive In" burger/hot dog joint at the end of the pool area. The fries were hot, crispy, and seasoned well. the burgers were really good. There is also a Mexican buffet there each day.

Entertainment was mediocre in the showroom - we missed the Broadway show which was probably good, but it was only offered at 9:30 one time, we are early-to-bed types. The best show was "Encore", which showcased a good male & female singer, the Hal Cats turned orchestra, the violin performer from Adagio, and 2 female dancers. Light opera, Broadway show songs, very nice costuming. We had seen it last March, but liked it equally as well this time. The best one of the entire cruise. Entertainment is like food, depends on the person. There was a change in the crew shows - the Filipino crew show was at 2:00 PM, standing room only. We enjoyed it a lot, have never been able to stay up for the usual 11:00 Indonesian one, missed it this time too. We really like the layout of this ship, small & easy to get to everything. Best library of any one we have been on. There were daily activities for absolutely everyone, if you couldn't find something to do it wasn't HAL's fault. We attended several of the lectures on the history and culture of Hawaii, learned a lot of new facts. We only got off at one port, didn't do any excursions since this was our 3rd visit and we had seen most of what interested us before. We did get off the ship to go to "Hilo Hattie's", had not been to any of these stores prior to this trip. The sea days after we left the islands were great for us, our side of the ship was now on the south (sunny) side, and we camped out in our deck chairs most every day. Seemed like lots of the passengers were tired of the sea days & couldn't wait to get back; we didn't feel that way at all, we like being lazy & waited on. The day did finally come though, and I have to say that the disembarkation was the worst we have experienced on any ship. As I mentioned, one of us requires wheelchair assistance which we signed up for, but many of the passengers who showed up for it had not reserved it. There were more than 50 passengers in the Sea View Bar when we arrived, and more coming all the time. Not enough wheelchairs, or pushers who could handle the ramps that they had to negotiate. Passengers demanding that they be let off immediately, ones who decided they didn't want to wait & left,(why were they there at all ?) The poor man who was trying to coordinate the process was overwhelmed. We were more than an hour past the time we should have been let off, lucky we weren't on an early air flight. Overall we tried not to let this part of the experience negatively color the rest. I keep a journal each day, so have looked it over to read all the good parts. When I asked the onboard future cruise consultant she let us know that HAL will not be scheduling this cruise, the Mexican Coastal itinerary, or any other shorter R/T itinerary from San Diego after 2015, only the 30 or so days ones. So sad to see them go.