We like Holland America because it fits our life style (we're both retired, in our mid 60's). We chose this 21 day cruise because it visited several ports we had not been to before. The ship had just arrived from Europe for the start of the Caribbean season and there had been an outbreak Norovirus on board. This delayed the embarkation process by several hours as the crew did an extra special job of sanitizing the ship. Although HAL sent notifications of delay to passengers a couple days ahead, it was too late for most of us to change our arrival plans. This resulted in a very long line passengers having to wait outside the terminal (in the sun) for an hour or more prior to checking in. Let me state for the record that this is NOT the norm and we've always found HAL embarkation to be quick and painless. We were among the first to get on the ship and found our cabin clean and our luggage inside. We had a mid ship ocean view cabin and it was perfect - close to the elevators and free from much of the ship's motion. On the first 7 day leg there were probably 25 children on board (which is most I've seen on any HAL ship) while the next 14 day leg there were only two.

We ate all breakfasts in the Lido as well as most lunches and a few dinners. We like the variety offered there. Seating was plentiful and readily available unless you chose to have a table to yourself. We don't like to share tables as it gives us the chance to meet our fellow passengers. On this cruise there were a number of folks from the Tampa area as well other parts of the US and Canada. We found the Lido food to be very good and a cut above what we've experienced on past HAL cruises. The salad stations were great as was the pasta station. Their pizza is pretty good and the Dive-In serves up great burgers and the best hot dogs I've ever had (Nathan quarter pounder on a seeded brioche bun).

We ate in the main dining room for most dinners. For the last several cruises we've selected anytime dining as it gives us the chance to meet more people. Unless we got to the restaurant prior to 6:00 pm we found ourselves with 30-45 minute wait and generally eating at 8:00 pm or later. Dinners generally lasted two hours which was fine with us as it allowed plenty of time for good conversation. Read more