I have cruised many times with the other cruise lines but never with Holland America line. I often heard that Holland America ships are a cut above than the others. I was excited about this cruise especially it is a new ship. Well, things did not go well on the ship.

My travel companion fell ill the second day. He had upset stomach and diarrhea but felt ok the next day. The second night,at the dining hall, I ordered a mixed fruit cocktail as appetizer. I chewed on something crunchy of my last bite. It turnout to be a little piece of broken glass. I felt more crunches in my mouth, so I hurried to the nearby lady's room to rinse my mouth thoroughly. When I returned to the table, the plate was taken away and I had no chance to tell the wait staff what had happened. The food was mediocre to say the least both at the buffet and the dining room.

As far as the balcony state room, it is pretty small. The floor in the shower is kind of flat and the water does not go down smoothly. When taking a shower, the water accumulated up to my ankle. I mentioned to the cabin attendant twice and each time I was told that it was taken care of. However, it stayed same through out my entire trip. Also, the toilet smell urine every time the lid was lifted. It had the same odor even after complained to the cabin steward. Read more