I wanted to visit St. Thomas/St. John because I had not been there before. My friend and I were also celebrating my birthday. She had not cruised with Holland before and had a very bad experience on her previous cruise which was overloaded with young party goers. She had a great time on Holland with a much more mature crowd of folks. She also didn't have to get up early and snag a chair in order to sun, which was her main source of fun. She was always able to find a lounge chair no matter what time she went onto the outside deck. I also enjoy the casino and was pleasantly surprised when I found there was a no smoking policy now. Loved that. Still wish there were bigger shows to enjoy. Our cabin steward was the worse that I have ever experienced. The food was very good as usual and room service every morning for breakfast was also very good.