If you're looking for an extra special way to spend NYE don't book this cruise. You pay a premium to fly & cruise at this time of year so you expect the ship would really go the extra mile. Holland America has a reputation for catering to an older crowd but this trip made me feel like I was on a Disney ship and all the problems that travelling with "little darlings" entails.( ie ice cream fights in the Lido buffet, throwing objects during the Main stage shows, and you can imagine what the diapers in the pool caused.) Don't worry about dressing up for Gala Nights. People came in wearing raggy cut-off, well worn logo T-shirts, flip flops, etc.

New Year's Eve itself was just a regular cruise event - nothing special set up. A band was setting up by the pool but didn't start till 11:30 if you wanted to sit around and wait. Certainly not a dancing area. On New Year's day, there was no evening show and even OnBoard Billboard (one of the more popular events) did not have a show.

I realize it was a good time for families to travel, but you could easily pick out the ones that trained their children on proper behaviour or manners and the ones that assign that responsibility to others - in this case, cruise ship workers.