Our 7th cruise but the first with Holland America. We normally book a balcony room but as the choice was so limited when we booked we went for an ocean view and were very happy with the cabin. The bed was the comfiest we have had on any cruise , the bathroom layout was very good with both a bath and shower and the window was much larger than expected. The room was at the very front on the bow so we had the wonderful view of the ship going forward, if you are tend to suffer from motion sickness i would say this room would be one to avoid though as it did get a bit rocky on a few occasions , for this reason we did not spend as much time in the cabin as we would usually do. There was a door near our room to allow access to the small balcony on the bow and i was concerned that people would be out there looking in our window , i was told by the cabin steward that it was only very rarely unlocked and the window was made so you could see out but no one could see in. As it happened they opened the door to hose it down while we were in a port and they allowed us to have a look so i can confim all you see is your own reflection when looking in from outside. But It was never unlocked again any way.

We enjoyed the food in both the dining room and the Lido buffet, the Lido was set out really well with staff serving everything so not the usual free for all grabbing that we have experienced on other ships.

Some passengers said the entertainment was poor but we were surprised to hear this as we were out every night till very late and there was always somewhere to go and some entertainment going on, we loved having a few drinks listening to the piano man then spending some time in the BB King bar or the crows nest and there were plenty other bars a casino plus a show every night in the Theatre. There were movies shows to go to , sports bar with big TV screens and a classical music Duo which was always well attended. Read more