Actually, we chose this cruise because it was the least expensive 7-day cruise occuring during my vacation period! Plus it was Holland America whom we've had success cruising with previously.

We like Holland America for a number of reasons. With the older crowd aboard (though this time the average seemed younger than usual..or is it us getting older? We're in our 50's) life onboard is not so frantic. There always seem to be loungers available on the ship- not too crowded for the most part. We like the wide promenade deck and the loungers there - a wonderful place to sit, read and watch the ocean go by.

The BB Kings Blues band was as fantastic as we've come to expect. The mainstage productions from the Hal singers and dancers were quite good. The comedian and the magician as well. The only disappointing production was the small orchestra performing music to go with a BBC planet Earth movie which I thought was like filler. (The musicians were very good, just the whole idea wasn't working for us). Read more