We took the March 12 sailing for 10 days, including partial transit of the Panama Canal. Unlike other recent sailings, the weather was great, and we made all stops as scheduled. We have been on about a dozen cruises, but this was our first experience with Holland America.

Embarkation: The embarkation process was smooth and orderly. We got there at 11:30, so it was probably the most crowded time to board. But they moved very efficiently and the whole process only took 15 minutes or so. The main hold-up on boarding seemed to be the photographers who were taking pictures of all passengers as they board. Without that delay, the whole line would have moved even faster. Having boarded early, our cabin wasn't ready until 1:15, but we were able to have lunch in the Lido cafe.

Cabin: We had a standard outside cabin on the 2nd floor. It had more storage than we needed, and seemed bigger than the pictures on the Holland America website had led me to expect. The air conditioning worked fine, and we had no problems with the toilet (as other reviewers have reported). Our cabin steward did a great job. Read more