As a first time cruiser I was not prepared for the ordeal of embarkation. We sat for what seemed hours, marshalled onto lines of cheap plastic chairs. American security didn'timprove the experience either! First impressions of stateroom were not bad, just much smaller than the Holland America website led us to believe. We were told that lunch was being served in the Lido Restaurant. What a bunfight!! There was nowhere to sit and the place had been completely taken over by two large tour parties who had clearly been given early embarkation and were not moving anywhere.... we demanded a member of staff find us a table which you daren't leave to get food because it wouldn't be there when you got back. One of us had to go to the salad bar and choose enough for two of us. The restaurant was crowded, noisy and chaotic. We never ate there again apart from one night when we got back late from an excurion. Most food stations were closed and I was treated to cold lasagne.

We quickly became aware that the ship was dominated by two enormous parties, one of which was a group of hundreds of Harley Davidson afficiendos. I have written to Holland America and asked them to justify this booking. They took their "up yours" philosophy around the ship with them, dominating bars and paying no heed to any dress code. On formal night they were to be seen in the Pinnacle Bar in biking leathers and all manner of inappropriate gear. At least the ship segregated them at dinner to the upper level of the Vista dining room.

The Vista dining room was an altogether better experience with a friendly and winning staff, especially the supervisors. We had booked the Pinnacle Grill for 3 dinners during our stay and were not let down until our last night there when some bright spark thought it would be a good idea to allow a large party to hold a birthday party for an 8 year old. How that child avoided a mass beating from the other customers I do not know! We requested a change of table, but our evening (and our food) were ruined. We were not the only party to make a formal complaint about this as the evening was supposed to be "Le Cirque" with "intimate and sophisticated" dining. Read more