Our first cruise with Holland America and we were very satisfied. This was the first cruise after dry dock so every one was given $200 OBC (pp) to start with. During sailaway from Civitavecchia a few technical tests were run for a short time but complimentary food and unlimited drinks (wine, beer etc.) were provided.

This was a very port intensive cruise with only 3 sea days. We chose this cruise because of the busy itinerary and did look forward to the sea days which turned out to be just as busy!We found the crew to be excellent and very friendly and helpful.

There were some minor issues but nothing to spoil our enjoyment of the cruise. There was a smell of sewerage probably 3 times in 22 days and in a different area each time and was soon fixed. We did have an issue with not being able to regulate water in our shower so it was either scalding or just warm. This was fixed on the 2nd day but occurred again 3 days before the end of the cruise and was fixed again. We did report this both to cabin steward and front office. Front office staff were very apologetic and gave us further OBC which we had not asked for or expected! Read more