We chose this ship specifically because of its BB King’s Blue Club. We’d been on another Holland America ship where the same club was the best part of the voyage. But no—this club barely played any blues at all. Imagine ordering steak at a restaurant and being served a hot dog. “But this is what we call a steak.” OK, HAL, you want to play to a different market, fine. But don’t advertise as something you’re not.
The food was sub par. Having ordered a dessert with fruit and macadamia nuts, the plate arrived with one blueberry cut in half, a thin slice of a strawberry, and one macadamia nut cut into pieces. Order a hot dog with onions at the outdoor grill, and it comes with onions and relish. Instead of buying into anything with scrambled eggs at breakfast (never made with freshly prepared eggs), we ordered eggs over. More often than not, we had to send them back to the kitchen because they arrived too hard or too soft. (This occurred in the restaurant reserved for suite guests—not many people there in the morning.). Sandwiches were gross: the roast beef had more fat than beef.
Another annoyance. Given that the main breakfast and lunch venue was generally overcrowded, you’d expect that the crew would be quick to clean tables. It often took up to three requests for a table to be cleaned so we could sit down (this while we were holding plates of food).
The cabin was clean and the service was fine.