This is a lovely ship -- as long as you don't have a room on Deck 4. We started out with a partially-obstructed view (lifeboat) from our veranda. It wasn't that bad and we thought we could live with it. However, once the music in the Queen's Lounge directly below us started, we knew we were in trouble. I am an extremely light sleeper and hubby and I retire early. The volume of sound coming up through our floor was exceptionally loud and the throbbing bass literally made my ears hurt. I could even understand some of the words to the songs, it was so loud. I was crying by the end of the first night wondering how we would be able to endure the week. I put on a bathrobe, walked down to the front desk, and inquired whether ANY other room was available, even an inside cabin, for the duration of the cruise. It was a full cruise, but they had some no-shows, and once it was confirmed that they would not be on the cruise, we were transferred to a lovely veranda room on Deck 6. (Our Deck 4 cabin steward was not surprised that we transferred due to the noise. He's dealt with unhappy guests regarding this before!) This new Deck 6 room was absolutely SILENT -- we could not even hear the flush of the toilet in the next cabin. The soundproofing is excellent between the rooms, but definitely not between decks 3 and 4! We are so grateful to Jules, the desk clerk, who helped us above and beyond!!! Our cabin was cozy, but the storage was quite good, we had a sofa, footrest, desk and chair, and a large TV opposite the bed with a good choice of movies, live TV, and videos, and a wonderful shower in the bathroom.

We are Holland America regulars, and this re-design of the ship wasn't too jarring except for the Promenade Deck. It has been shrunk so that some of it is single-file, the lifeboats are just off the railing so there is very little clear view of the water, and there are no deck chairs. We prefer to walk the Promenade deck rather than the upper walking track around the Lido Pool roof, but this change wasn't a deal-breaker, as this cruise had plenty of shore opportunities for walking and we always take the stairs rather than the elevator to try to work off some of the good food.

The artwork on display was all modern. Some of it good, some fascinating, and some not so pretty. We enjoyed the music theme of much of it. Read more