This was our first cruise with Holland America and we would go with them again. Since I am a positive person I will start with the good which falls into two categories. The entertainment falls into Bad and the plumbing was downright Ugly.

Service - We have cruised many times before and have never experienced the level of service we received in both the dining room and the buffet. Our waiters, Edi and Andres, on the 3rd floor Vista were excellent. We ordered kosher and vegetarian which led to a lot of extra work on their part which they did graciously and efficiently. In the buffet we were fortunate to meet a waiter Ametz who always insisted on getting us our food and bringing it to us with coffee. One day I got a phone call that I needed to take while in the buffet and Ametz happened to be standing there and he watched our things so I could go out on deck and take the call. The buffet is actually a mix of served from the counter and self-serve food which I thought worked very well. We loved the poached egg counter in the morning and especially Tessa whose smile and greeting warmed our day. The room steward, Koko was fabulous - we joked that two more weeks and he finally would have had us organized.

Itinerary - We enjoyed all the ports though weren't particularly impressed with Aruba. In Curacao we went to the Synagogue which was very interesting since we happened to be there on the Sabbath. The highlight was the Panama Canal day. I highly recommend getting up early and going out on the bow to witness the approach and the transit through the locks. We then took the excursion that transferred us to a ferry to go through the locks to the Pacific. There were logistical issues including a bus breakdown but I highly recommend that excursion to get the feel of the Canal and I mean that literally since we actually have pictures touching the walls. In Costa Rica we went with the ship to the Tyutec Hacienda and thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the lunch. They demonstrated processing macadamia nuts, coffee and sugar cane. Again a highly recommended excursion. Read more