Enjoyed the Holland America Cruises from the past and this one was on a fairly new ship. I don't really understand why there are negative reviews as this ship does not deserve them. It had many restaurants and food selection better than we have seen on other ships and other cruise lines. We loved the Dutch Cafe especially the two ladies that ran it during the day. Everyone on the ship took the time to explain the different venues and food selections. I worked in the food industry and the ship absolutely deserves the top housekeeping score it receives. No one except the servers touched the food including the Lido deck . The food was interesting and quite different, many quick selection items were available. as well as many types of foods sourced from different countries. We ate one night at Sel de Mare and had an excellent seafood dinner, and it was worth the price. Watch for 25 % discount nights for the speciality restaurants as they are advertised that day on deck three. We also found a Tapas bar every night at 4 pm on deck 2 below the Casino. with novelty drink selections.

The interior design of the decks was more modern that other Holland America ships and the decor was not the usual dark wood and Old Masters paintings. Our room was on the sixth floor and had easy access to elevators and main venues. We had no noise from adjacent rooms or above us.

We made use of the couples spa package and were very happy with the sauna, spa, warming beds and speciality pool. Read more