In virtually all aspects this was the typically great Holland America product: excellent food, great staff, really really excellent entertainment crew, very good enrichment offerings and Cainoa, the legendary locations guide for this part of the world, superb cruise director Gene Young, well-thought out itinerary and high-value shore excursions.

So what could go wrong- sad to report - in one, but very critical aspect- we were plagued by a sour sewer stench that made our premium-priced balcony cabin (Verandah Deck - mid ship -starboard) unusable for the vast bulk of the trip. This was duly reported to the front desk, attempts were made to provide maintenance and they even taped off the scupper vent but the problem persisted to the final days of the cruise.

The repeated verandah maintenance flushings would give relief for about 24 hours and the smell was right back again. We had two extended 7-day at sea day periods as well as several long sea day sections between islands, so the inability to fully enjoy our balcony took away from the overall experience. Which, I again repeat, was in all other regards the excellent HAL product. Read more