We booked this cruise 2 weeks before sailing. The itinerary and price was too good to pass up. Leaving from San Diego was the perfect start of this 17 day cruise. Embarkation was a bit chaotic as a Disney ship was embarking at the same time. This caused an hour or more of standing in line and wait time. This was the perfect way to visit Hawaii. The 5 days on the Pacific crossing were warm and beautiful. Visiting the Hawaiian ports and being able to live and eat on the ship made it an economical vacation. Tenders were required for 2 ports and at Maui there was a 3 hour delay for disembarking. The food was wonderful and we had the same table in the dining room every night for anytime dining. The ship was a bit "tired" but the staff was exceptional. The first two nights there was loud pounding noises which prevented our sleep. We and others in nearby cabins called to complain. We discovered the noises stopped when someone placed rags in the balcony dividers below us. Some of the treadmills in the gym were non functioning. There was rust on the balcony and some of the carpets were needing updated. Even with all of this, we felt this was one of our favorite cruises. We saw dolphins and whales and lots of blue sky. We would definitely recommend this itinerary to anyone. Read Less

The first time around, it was our first cruise together. We sailed on the Eurodam in January, same itinerary, and had a wonderful time. We felt like it wasn't long enough, though, so we decided to book the same itinerary on a different boat. The Nieuw Amsterdam is not quite as nice as the Eurodam. Of course, it hasn't been updated as recently, so that stands to reason. For the most part, they are almost the same-- same restaurants, same staterooms, same places to spend money. But there are subtle differences. The Nieuw Amsterdam has an identity problem in its decor. Here a little Art Deco, there a little quirky, and over there-- well, the main dining room, it looks like the twin of a fancy Chinese restaurant, all in red and mirrors. It is just missing lazy susans on the tables and a gigantic fish tank. No shark tale soup on any menu, though. So, let's talk entertainment. The blues club-- can't beat it. Fun, great music, great entertainers. The classical musicians-- same same. The pianists, well, I guess others liked them, but they didn't do it for me. Mainstage entertainment-- well, were it not for the parents who decided to allow their children to climb over me (literally) and then sit, screaming, it was pretty good. The first show, all dancing, was creative-- the lights became both a character and a prop, with them dancing with the dancers. It was something I haven't seen before. The second dancing show was okay-- one dancer was significantly better than the others. She was good, she wasn't great. But entertaining enough. The magician played to a packed house. I coudn't see it because there was no where to sit. The few minutes I did, it looked like fun. Dining was hit and miss, but mostly hit. Whoever was in charge of cooking the meat hit a home run each time. Whoever was making the sandwiches needs to learn how to spread butter. Other than that, it was the usual high-quality food we have come to expect from HAL. The main issue we had with the cruise was the behavior of the children. I like kids. In fact, I have spent a lifetime teaching other people's kids. When they are well-behaved, they add a great deal to a social occasion. When they are badly behave, they ruin it. Besides the children climbing on me, then screaming, there were packs of young and pre-teens running around (yes, running,) leaving pool towels in the elevators, using the adult pool, several times, complete with floatees to jump onto, splashing the guests, shouting and jumping into the whirlpools. Our complaints seem to fall on deaf ears. And then there is the cell phone issue. Ours were on airplane mode the whole time. And yet we were charged for their service. So, we enjoyed ourselves. But we do feel like HAL has a few wrinkles to iron out. Read Less

We were two adults traveling without children that stayed in an inside stateroom on deck 7 midship of the Disney Wonder. We had an amazing experience with superior service and I cannot wait for my next Disney cruise! -The main dining food was superb- many options on the menu! -Our servers in main dining were wonderful- best I’ve ever had on a cruise. They were personable, and very efficient. -Our inside cabin was very comfortable and clean. -Entertainment is high quality. The main stage shows are of a high caliber with Frozen the musical stage show being a highlight. - We enjoyed all the adult entertainment options on the ship! We liked trivia, bingo, crafts, adult only game shows, adult only pool area and the adult only restaurant, Palo. Cruise entertainment staff were very upbeat and personable! - Ports of call were Cabo and Ensenada. -In Cabo we took an excursion to the Breathless all inclusive resort! It was gorgeous and staff were wonderful. -Port of Ensenada we took a wine tasting tour that was fabulous! We LOVED our guide and the countryside was beautiful. This was an amazing cruise and you cannot beat the Disney experience. I have previously sailed on Holland America and Disney beats out Holland in the service and entertainment categories! Read Less

Did this cruise before twice, and really liked the ports. So much more to see in each area. The excursions were really great, on board a different story. The EXC events were lacking in quality speakers, related to the itinerary. There was one naturalist that was great but only gave 3 lectures. The Mexican Ambassadors gave a great performance on deck. On the down side, the usual lectures on culture, history or the region were lacking. The speakers seemed to talk down to the audience and read from brochures. They were not experts in the field. The EXC person talked to the audience as if they were kinder-gardeners. The food was outstanding as was the in stateroom staff. The service was great and the ship was well organized and on time. The culinary classes did not emphasize health promotion. There was heavy emphasis on taste drawn from fats and salts, hardly appropriate for the middle aged audience or above. The last time we did this same cruise there were more on board activities, lectures and enrichment programming. Considering the number of fabulous ports offering rich history, art, culture and welcoming people, it is too bad there was such a lack of enrichment opportunities. Read Less

This was our 6th cruise with Holland, and we have only sailed with them. It was our first time on the Eurodam. This was a great cruise for us as it came at time when needed it most. For the most part Holland again came through with flying colours. Special thumbs up for the the dining room food quality, which was as good or better than any of our previous cruises. We are puzzled by some recent reviews that claim substandard food quality on the Eurodam. Service was top notch ( with a couple of exceptions hardly worth noting ) as always. ..but alas, there were a few niggly things that we feel worth noting: Internet service - it used to be that Holland had pay-as-go internet which was perfect for us because we only check our e-mails and send the odd one. Now that simple act costs $189 for 7 day trip. Decided to forgo internet and do it ashore for free...which leaves sea days as a dead zone. Reading lights - this admittedly a minor point, but the LED spot lights they installed in the cabins in place of the warm lamps they used to have, is an irritating step backward. Live music - on our first cruise back in 2008, there was a live band that played in various venues, including the Crownest, where there was a small dance floor. Holland has moved away from that...now they have the BB King Club and band, which while good, is in a dark venue that could be anywhere, and music gets repetitious after a few days. Used to be they also had a trio playing the Ocean Bar for dancing. Live music has definitely been on the downward trend over the years. Happy Hour - it used to be that most of the bars had happy hour from 4-5...including the Crownest. Back in 2008 when we started with Holland, you could go to the Crowsnest for 2for1 drinks, with a live band and watch sailaway! Now only the Ocean Bar has it from 4-5..it is crowded and noisy and we had to take our drinks elsewhere. That said, we will be sailing with Holland again without question! Read Less

Don't understand why some many poor reviews of the Eurodam. I know everyone has their own opinion, so I will just leave it at that. We thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of our Mexican cruise on Eurodam. Embarkation took a little time, but HAL waits until all cabins are ready onboard and then lets it's guest onboard. Did not bother us in the least bit. We were on the ship by noon. This ship was updated in 2016 and it shows. We have been aboard two other times and were very happy with all of the changes. Our cabin (8121) was a very nice veranda cabin. Plenty of storage space ( and plenty of hangers). Bed and pillows were very comfortable. Our room attendants, DaNang and Nia, did an outstanding job of making sure our cabin was kept fresh everyday. Dining is a very personal thing with all guests. We felt all of the food service was exceptional. DR service was unpretentious and all food presentations were excellent. Food seasoned properly and, for the most part, served hot. As we had Select dining, we dined at several different tables with very wonderful conversational guests. Our server for a couple of the nights was Hondo. He and Evelyn, the wine steward were gracious and accomodating to all. Personally, I appreciated the fact that HAL has introduced some regional cuisine into the menus, so there were some very nice Mexican dishes. The buffet on most ships ( and we travel frequently ) has been suffering with quality levels lately. We did NOT find this aboard the Eurodam. Some people do not like that HAL serves you your food, but it doesn't bother us. The bread products on the ship were outstanding ( not good for my waistline ). Dive In serves one of the best Burgers at sea; The NY Pizza outlet serves baked to order pizzas. Again, some people are put off that the food takes time, but you get a much better product than on most other ships of this caliber. Enjoyed the production shows ( which we have seen before, but still enjoy). All of the Music walk entertainment including BB King Blues, Billboard on Board and Lincoln Center. helped make our evening very enjoyable. Actually prefer the smaller club feeling of BB King on Eurodam, as compared to the ballroom style on Koningsdam. The ports were all great. We have visited them many times in the past and are "excursioned " out. We now leave the ship, enjoy an leisurely walk and wonderful Mexican lunch, and then back on board. Highly recommend the three ports on this cruise. I will state that we love cruising from San Diego. There is so much to do here and I highly recommend that you come in at least two days early or stay after the cruise to enjoy all this city has to offer. Debarkation was very fast, with ample time to get to the airport. Thanks to the entire crew and staff of the Eurodam. We continue to enjoy our HAL cruises and look forward to being on Neiuw Statendam and Koningsdam again this next year! Read Less

This was our 41st cruise and 10th on HAL. The ship is only about 10 years old and is very nice and well kept-up being quite clean comfortable and smooth sailing. Our only disappointment was the food in the main dining room... the selections left much to be desired, food arrived barely warm and the meat (steak and prime rib) was never cooked as ordered (either too rare or too done), Service in the dining was spotty and ranged from poor to good, but never exceptional. Actually the Lido had a much better selection, food was always hot and was better prepared. Dive-In and Pizza were not worth waiting for. All in all we did have a very nice cruise except for the above and we hope that HAL will do better in the future. I think that Master Chef Rudi wold not be too pleased with the lowering of HAL's food over the past several cruises. However I feel that we will still sail with HAL as we prefer sailing from San Diego and not Los Angeles (we live in Arizona and do not fly any more). Read Less

Holland America provided the very worst guest experience of any cruise line we have sailed with (Carnival, Celebrity and Princess). There is something strange going on with the Eurodam's management. We can't quite put our fingers on it, but the onboard staff are indifferent and disconnected. They are mostly flat and expressionless. With rare exception (the lovely married couple on the Ocean level), the Eurodam team appears to be largely unconcerned for guest comfort and satisfaction. Why is this not PRIORITY #1? And why are the staff so miserable?? Many told us they couldn't wait to get off the ship! We realize the ship is older and doesn't have all the bells and whistles that more modern ships have. However, we feel this can be overcome with creative programming and bright smiles. The Bon Voyage party, for example, was nothing more than a fruity drink. No live music, no streamers, no attempt to excite and impress incoming guests. Our first dinner took almost 3-hours. Breakfast in the dining room was blah and the service veeerrry slow. Eventually, we gave up on the dining room and opted for the Lido buffet but the offerings were repetitive and predictable with no pride in presentation or service. The seared Ahi salad was especially awful, bits of fishy, over-cooked, cold, brown chunks of chewy yuckiness. But most importantly, where are the smiles Eurodam?? We learned that the front desk and room service phones are automatically routed to an answering system/recording. Many times we were on hold for ages or received no answer at all. Requests for ice service in the cabin went unaswered multiple times. A quesadilla and chicken soup arrived cold, greasy and over salted to the point of being inedible. Similarly, we sat on the Lido Deck one afternoon for over an hour before anyone approached us to ask if we needed anything. And we gave plenty of indication that we DID want assistance - by making eye contact, waving a hand in the air, etc. Disembarkation was terribly disappointing. How about a thank you? A kind word or gesture? You know a vacation has been a total failure when you can't wait for it to be over. Instead of dying to travel with Holland America again, we feel ripped off, used and in need of a true getaway experience. The guests are so bored out of their minds with nothing to do for 3-days at sea besides drink and gamble. This makes for a rather poor cruise. Get creative with programming - poolside games, guest competitions, more interactive education programming that's not a constant pounding of buy this. And buy this. And buy this too. Same goes for the daily publications. They read more like an obituary than a daily schedule of offerings. But with no fun going on, lack of creativity and failure to focus on THE GUEST EXPERIENCE, it is hard to make the onslaught of sales flyers exciting too. Will not return. And we got overcharged for several items that we now get to spend the next few days on the phone correcting. Extremely unhappy are we! We have already shared our experience with our travel agent and fully intend to post these same comments across multiple online media outlets. Yes, that's how strongly we feel about the whole Holland America cruise experience. Very, very bad indeed. Read Less

Chose this cruise as part of our Uncommon Journeys trip and easy sailing out of San Diego. Like the small ship of 1400. Liked the entertainment brought onboard. Liked upgrade. However, meals were hit or miss! Thai lunch was great; lobster tails on Gala night were excellent; however, last meal on last night was inedible....lamb chops! Gluten free bread was horrible white bread they put in microwave when I asked for it toasted. Finally, on our disembarkation day we were all told we could stay in our room until they called out number/color. Staff asked to come into rooms at 7:00 and 8:00 am before we were called and it was kinda rude. Service is going downhill and so is food....getting too much like Carnival. Both we and another couple who have cruised many, many days and are 3-star mariners, do not think we will ever go HA again! Very sad! Read Less

The Panama Canal has always been a bucket list item for my wife and I. When two couples, we often cruise with called to say they had booked it we were in. The itinerary included Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama (of course) and Colombia, all places we'd never seen so we couldn't wait. The ship sailed from San Diego, a town I've always enjoyed so we decided to go out 3 nights ahead of our sail date to get a start on relaxing. There is so much to do out there I'd definitely recommend going out early. We stayed at the Hilton in the Gaslamp District. Its close to entertainment but still only a short walk or ride to the waterfront. Something I'd never seen before are rental bikes and scooters. An app put on your phone allows you to "unlock" electric scooters or bicycles that are scattered all over the place. You're only charged for the time you use them. When you're done you just park them and end your ride. It's a lot cheaper than cabs or Uber. One little note, watch out for curbs or you'll end up with road rash and seven stitches in your head like I did...but that another story. Embarkation: The Infinity had just come out of a dry dock repair of propulsion systems and arrived in San Diego without passengers. Infinity arrived later than expected and had to do some clearances that delayed boarding. Since the boarding times were compressed, everyone had to board in a shorter time. It was pretty bad. They ran out of boarding cards at some point and people with priority boarding times did not get the smooth boarding they expected. Some folks were pretty upset about it. Frankly it didn't affect us much because part of that time I was in an ER getting stitched up from my scooter mishap and as we don't have status on Celebrity we were pretty much stuck with the masses anyhow. I do think this was more of a circumstantial situation than a problem with the processes at the San Diego terminal. The Ship: I'd read many comments about the Infinity looking worn. In some places that is an understatement. In other parts of the ship it was not visible at all. Parts of the pool deck are definitely in need of some overhaul. Restaurants, lounges and much of the inside spaces are clean and in pretty good shape. Everybody has different expectations in this regard but I can honestly say while some of the appearance of the Infinity was noticeable and a little surprising, it did not detract from our cruise experience in the least. Our Cabin: We were in 8124, a Concierge class cabin on the starboard side pretty close to mid ship. It was nice, but frankly nothing any more special than a balcony cabin on Carnival. Bed comfort is of course very subjective but my wife thought the beds were a little hard. Our steward brought a foam topper the second day and it was fine from there. Storage was plentiful even for two people who tend to over pack. There's not much more detail I can really provide. Food: The food was probably among the best we've had at sea in a long time. Ok, a cruise on Oceania a couple years ago might have been better and our first cruise on Celebrity was at least as good. I didn't have a bad meal or even a so-so meal our entire 15 nights. We bought a specialty package of 6 meals. We did 4 meals in The Tuscan Grill and 2 in QSine. All were good. QSine was an interesting experience. It ended up being way to much food, but here were so many foods that we wanted to try. We learned later that they are really good about giving smaller portions if you just ask. taste was great, presentation inventive and fun. The staff was very helpful in navigating the menu and arranging your selections. Food in the Main Dining Room was great, service was excellent. Frankly, had I known the food in the MDR would be so good I'd have bought fewer specialty meals. Service and Staff: Outstanding! Did I mention we had an outbreak of Noro on this cruise? The staff busted their butts with smiles on their faces to help do their part to keep things under control with out detracting from our cruise experience. I really can't say enough good things about the staff. Everyone was always smiling, greeting guests, often by name. We always pick a pool area bar as out daily "go to" and the guys at the Mast Bar were an absolute joy. By the second afternoon they knew our names and our drinks of choice. Entertainment and Activities: There were plenty I'm sure. Sorry, but we are pretty shallow in those regards. Pool bar, relaxing, reading and visiting with other guests is all we do. One couple we were traveling with went to daily lectures and said they were good. We did catch part of one show. It seemed much better than any of the shows we've peeked into on Carnival ships. Shore Excursions: Not a great experience all in all. Again, its pretty subjective and depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Some of it was probably our choices and our expectations. Cartegena, Colombia is probably the one city I'd like to go back to. We did a beach excursion (relaxing on a beach with drinks is our thing) but there was history and culture in Cartegena that we'd have enjoyed too. All I can say is do lots of research before booking your excursions. I wasn't too impressed with the staff at the Excursions Desk. They either didn't know or left out details about excursions like hour and a half bus rides to destinations that might have been good to know. Again, maybe some of the blame is ours. To Sum it Up; Despite the Noro outbreak and some less than fantastic excursions we had a wonderful time on the Celebrity Infinity. The staff was superb, the food great and it was an interesting itinerary. Not sure we'd repeat that trip. The Canal was fascinating but after 8 hours of locks I've probably seen all I need to. This was our friends 3rd transit. Everyone is different. Read Less

We chose the cruise because of the itinerary and price. This is the longest we have ever cruised. The crew were fantastic.From the cabin stewards to the dining room staff, they were all courteous, respectful and bent over backward to see we were happy. The food almost always was outstanding. The dining room is where we ate mostly but occasionally we had a hamburger on the pool deck. They were hand made and delicious. If I had any complaints it was all the activities we wanted happened at the same time of day so we had to choose. We took advantage of the bridge lessons, the bar hop (that was fun!), all the trivia games, the pools, the casino tournaments, the guest lectures and the library. I would have attended more of the computer skills classes but they were a little early for me or else they conflicted with something else I wanted to do.. Andrew in the piano bar was amazing and we saw some movies in the little theater. We were sad to leave them. Read Less

Just recently sailed on the Azamara Quest from San Diego to Miami through the Panama Canal. We have previously cruised on Oceania and Princess several times, Viking once and we are elite level on Celebrity. The pros for Azamara Quest were the White Night and Azamazing Evening in Cabo San Lucas. The wait staff in the restaurants and bars were excellent. The crew was very friendly and approachable. The food in the specialty restaurants was very good. The buffet had various ethic food nights. I thought that for a ship this size that the entertainment was very good. The cons, we had a verandah cabin on deck 8 and in the middle of the ship, lots of vibration especially at night. My wife got seasick one day and this was the first time this happened after 18 cruises. The bathroom. Is very small and the shower is too small for most humans. Disembarkation was at least 2 hours late getting off the ship due to congestion in the Miami harbor according to the captain. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the Panama Canal experience and the size of the ship. Embarkation was quicker than anticipated as we hit a lull in the arrival of passengers. The disembarkation did not go as well due to an unavoidable delay in tying up. Also, there seemed to be no urgency in getting the luggage off the ship by the longshoremen; there was a lack of signage directing us to the airport transport and once we were loaded onto the coaches, there seemed to be no concern in getting us to the airport quickly although we were running +/- 1 1/2 hour late, with the result that we almost missed our departure. We have completed 10 cruises to date. This is the first cruise that I felt we should book another trip on this ship due to the friendliness and personalities of the crew we encountered. We felt that the night-time entertainment was only a 5/10. Pianist Sasha and Russ were the exceptions. Give them top marks. We have never encountered a ship's master like Captain Jose. Very personable and likeable. We'd gladly cruise with him again. We felt that the ports of call were too close together. It would have been nicer to have a sea day between a few of them. Read Less

We enjoy San Diego and had not done the Mexican Riviera before. We enjoyed the cruise but would likely not choose to do this particular one again - once was sufficient. We only did one excursion, choosing otherwise just to explore on our own. Of the 3 ports visited Puerto Vallarta was our favorite. Cabo was just too touristy, and we didn't really get a chance to see the place as we did an excursion there so there was no time to see the city. We are now rather spoiled and always choose a Neptune Suite when possible for the roominess and perks that go with them. I would say that the food is consistently good, and the portions are a sensible size. (You can always order more if you like.) We like the fixed seating option so you get to know some new friends and the wait staff get to know you. However, fixed seating seems to be becoming less and less popular. This time we requested a table for 6 (our usual choice) but there were only 4 at the table, and more often than not there were just the 2 of us there. Read Less

This 7 day HAL cruise from San Diego seemed a great way to get some sunshine and warmer weather. We enjoyed all three ports. As we had visited and taken tours on a past cruise, this trip we opted for taxis and trips to the beach which worked out well and cost a lot less. The service on the ship was excellent but that’s what we have come to expect from HAL. We enjoyed the food in the Lido and main dining room and had great service with one exception where the waiter mixed up and forgot some orders. Oh well, 6/7 is pretty good. We had open dining this cruise and chose to sit at larger tables where we met a variety of interesting people. The entertainment was great and we really enjoyed the cooking shows in America’s Test Kitchen. The Oosterdam is an older ship and could do with some refurbishment but our ocean view cabin was in pretty good shape, tub and tv looked new and our cabin steward was very efficient. We were very happy with our trip and paid a deposit on a future cruise as we are definitely sailing with HAL again. Read Less

This is our 20th cruise, first (last) on Azamara. While the line definitely has its fans (groopies?) its just not for us. Many seem thrilled with the "personal attention" they perceive, it's available on most ships if you seek it out. The ship's appearance was good. Some failed decorative embellishments coming off the closet doors, and what has to be the smallest shower i've come across. What others considered "special" events (White Night, Azamazing Evening) we saw as just another way to foist a buffet on guests, instead of providing dinner in the main dining room. I'm not a fan of standing on lines each time I want to get something to eat. Again, I will emphasize that many passengers (a large % being repeaters) felt they were happy with the evenings. The biggest failure centered around the attempt at entertainment. First, since this is a small ship, there was just one entertainment venue at a time. Unlike other ships where there was a choice of piano bar, soloist, combo, etc., here is was just one. AND often it was a failure. The first evening, our Cruise Director (who was great) let us know how we were in for some special entertainment nights, all NEW. (That should have been the first alert.) One of the great, new shows was in conjunction with 54 BELOW, a cabaret located below Studio 54 in Manhattan. Great write-ups and fabulous performers appeared in the past. That's great but what we go was a singer who was promoted as singing in over 1000 performances of "Jersey Boys" He appeared two nights. We, along with everyone in the venue, was expecting songs that must be from ... "Jersey Boys"...right? Wrong, Although a very good singer, he chose to relate his life story, and sang a collection of music from the 40's. I will tell you I love this music and play it often, but like others we were confused. On his next performance night all were waiting for the "Jersey Boys" experience. Again...disappointment. He sang some of HIS favorite songs from the era. The final song was from Jersey Boys (and there might have been one buried in the middle) but none of the songs seemed to be the "show stoppers/top of the charts" songs we expected. BUT, this was not the biggest disappointment in the entertainment. We were also treated to another completely new experience...SHORTS AT SEA" This was an evening of three 10 minute plays (A rage in Miami since the mid 90's) I'm guessing the target audience does not have the ability to focus for more than 10 minutes at a time, hence the idea. Overall, the performances were mediocre to bad. How do I (not a theater critic) know? Well on the first night of performances (yes, there were more to come) I noticed some empty seats after the first act, and many more after the second. The next morning I hear one couple asking if another saw the show, and what did she think. I'm close to exact here, so I will use quotes..."I've never seen anything so terrible." We tried the second performance (again, nothing else to do on the ship) and the venue started out about 3/4 full. After the first play, 1/2 full, and we left with others after the second act. Thankfully, the ship did provide an excellent alternative for the third night's performance, having a very talented piano/arranger, Sasha, and keyboardist George try to put together some impromptu entertainment. Unfortunately, an alternative was not planned for the fourth (yes, FOURTH) night of this fodder on a 12 night cruise. However, apparently a higher authority was displease and the seas got rough enough that our actors from Miami could not perform! I say no more. The house band of five very talented musicians excelled when they were given the main stage, and even small grouped at the pool. On one night the Cruise Director did a great performance (he was on stage in Mama Mia) and brought that excitement with him. Oh, back to that last night....small ship equals rocking ship on rough seas and many cruisers had a rough evening that would have been much less upsetting on a larger ship. I know that the Azamarites who read this may not agree since they seem to feel everything Azamara is superior, but trust me, it ain't so. Read Less

We are loyal Celebrity cruisers and wanted to try something more upscale and on a smaller ship. The Azamara Quest was truly a wonderful experience. The cabins were a bit smaller but had very efficient storage space and decorated with lovely cool gray colors. The closets light up when the door is opened. The food was wonderful in the Main dining room. We enjoyed breakfast, some lunches and some dinners there. We also ate in the specialty restaurants which were a cut above the main dining room in service and ambiance. Overall possibly the best food we have had on any of our many cruises. There were two wonderful evenings you can read about on the web site “White Night” and the “Azamazing Evening”. Both events are so well organized and enjoyable. A must not miss for sure. The entertainment is more subdued than on a ship like Celebtrity but still several beautifully appointed spaces to relax and enjoy a drink before or after dinner. Overall, it was a more sophisticated atmosphere. The decor and ambiance was relaxing and classic. There were no photographers hounding us for photos. There was no pressure to keep spending more money on extra things. The fare is all-inclusive for basic spirits and wines etc. This was wonderful and no need to upgrade unless you are very picky. Highly recommend this ship! Read Less

We have made multiple cruises with Azamara and have never been disappointed. The friendly crew and officers keep bringing us back for more. We have always been treated as welcome and important guests. Incredible experience. We have repeatedly cruised on the Journey and this was our first time on the Quest. Never once did we feel out of place. The atmosphere on board was identical to what we would have expected on the Journey. We even met 5 or 6 crew members who recognized us from our previous cruises on the Journey. How wonderful is that?. The only negative we experienced was their decision to change the entertainment offered. They have dropped the production shows and substituted a formula combining comedy theater and vocalists which needs considerable work. Hopefully the company will recognize the error that they have made and correct it quickly. We have every faith that they will bring their entertainment offerings back to the previous levels. Read Less

The itinerary. We have traveled a lot & truly enjoy venturing to different countries. We like to engage with the locals wherever we visit to find out what the heartbeat of the community is & what makes it tick, On this particular trip we met people who were aghast at some of the ports & extremely poor communities we visited. We found the mindset of these people had expectations that it was just like home & could not believe that Oceania would take them to such places. The reason to travel is to broaden ones horizons & see how the rest of the world lives & copes with their lot in life. Everyone has a story & it is so important to listen??? The naysayers complaints were 1st. world country & I truly hope that when they returned to their homes that they would take a few minutes to reflect on the hardships of others. The Sirena crew were wonderful---they would do anything to please their guests & from the captain right down to a deck hand they fostered a wonderful ambience that felt like one big family. My hat is of to each & everyone who were part of our wonderful journey---thank you from the bottom of our hearts & we look forward to joining you again in the near future. The only thing that we would fault Oceania on were our flights. Read Less

Embarkation was perhaps a clue of what was to come after we were checked in as we joined several hundred fellow cruisers to wait and wait and wait while a problem was resolved so we could actually board. We chose this for our annual December cruise to enjoy the voyage to and from the Hawaiian Island destinations. It was a much smaller ship that we have been traveling in the past few years but had some very nice entertaining and learning opportunities that compensated somewhat the frustrations of getting used to poor dining room organization, and indoor temperatures that were so very cold it required most passengers to wear coats throughout the days and evening onboard --- even the men were wearing jackets! From the first evening the dining room experience was chaos and remained so for 3 days. We had requested a table for two, and that seemed to be a real problem for some reason. We were shifted from one section to another, unlike all past cruises where we had the same waiter, same table, and our wine bottles were waiting for us when we arrived. Not so on the Oosterdam. The dining room manager was a very unpleasant man to work with. We nicknamed him Mr. Smiley face since he never was seen without a scowl. On the 3rd day we finally had a regular table and waiter. However, we felt very sorry for the wait staff as they were terribly overworked and understaffed for the number of people being served at the same seating. The top 3 things on the ship included: 1) An amazing string quartet that played 3-4 times most days. They packed the room for all performances and each member was outstanding! 2) The Microsoft Workshop was hosted by Frank Barcelona who presented 3-5 sessions daily about using Outlook and Cortana. He was outstanding, patient, and provided good solid support for computer and phone users to sync their instruments to the Outlook utilities. 3) The America's Test Kitchen presentations were great! The presentation room was well designed with overhead monitors for everyone to see the chef as she demonstrated wonderful recipes in a very entertaining way. The port stops were enjoyable, especially Lahaina and Kauai. Read Less

We had never been to San Diego-- arrived 2 days pre cruise and stayed at the Republic Hotel on State and B. Easy walking distances to Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter. Loved restaurant Ironsides--- delicious and great service. Enjoyed Seaport Village---- and walking along the waterfront Spend day at the San Diego Zoo--- thoroughly enjoyed it. We stayed in an aft cabin - 5184 with a huge balcony. Wish they would put loungers back there to enjoy instead of upright chairs. Quiet location. We also booked a cabana for the duration of the cruise--- enjoy not having to deal with crowds and looking for table to eat at. on Lido We love the service--- lunch, drinks and a dedicated space to come to. Walked around Cabo- but tired of all the pestering ......... reminds me of Nassau. We did not get off in Mazatlán. We travelled in P.V. to Old Vallarta. Have a friend who owns Galleria Dante- on Basillo Badillo. We truly enjoyed visiting her gallery and the surrounding area. Would go back there in a heartbeat. Dining- enjoyed 2 dinners in the Pinnacle Grille-- delicious as always. Service in the dining room was unpredictable -- did not always get after dinner coffee. Seemed to be disorganized. Had a lovely table for 2 overlooking the 2nd floor railing We enjoyed the renovated area on forward deck 10------- combined bar and coffee service area. We enjoyed sitting up there to read or play cards. Large interactive screens Enjoyed the smaller number of cruise passengers--- and the easy embarkation and disembarkation from San Diego----- Much less stress than Florida ports. We would definitely cruise from San Diego and on Westerdam again if given the opportunity Read Less

We chose this cruise mainly because it embarked from San Diego on a slightly smaller ship than we usually use. It's the first time that we have departed from a western cruise port and were curious about the recent refurbishment on the Westerdam. Embarkation was very impressive and surprising laid back compared to the process from Florida ports. It was well organized, quick and seemless. The ship was in great condition and most of the changes from the refurbishment were nicely done. The public areas were finely appointed and always clean. We had reserved an aft veranda cabin (5184). Refer to the cabin review below. A great addition is the illuminated panels at all of the elevator doors that show what floor everything is located on. That was a huge help. Elevators were quick to respond except when shut down to accommodate luggage transfer. (To be expected, of course.) Having the day posted on the floor carpeting inside the elevators is also a nice touch. We dined in the Vista Dining Room on 5 of the 7 nights with conflicting results. The food was very good although with somewhat limited menu choices on a few of the nights What was disappointing was the lack of service on certain occasions. On the first formal evening, our table attendant cleared the main course dishes and never returned with dessert menus or coffee. That was a first for us on Holland America. Another evening he did serve coffee with the dessert but did not return with a refill offer. It seemed to me that they wanted us in and out as quickly as they could , with as little interaction as possible. We had all of our breakfasts in the dining room and enjoyed those experiences very much. The other two nights were done in the Pinnacle Grille and those suppers were outstanding in every respect. The lido area was not used except to pick up the odd coffee or tea. We were the only couple to rent a Cabana for the entire week and it was a major disappointment compared to the other ship cabanas that we have rented. The excessive noise from the fans was very annoying. The sideboards in the cabana were useless to us and the inside seating was not comfortable at all. The wall clock was operational but was not set to the correct time. The entertainment on board was refreshingly better than any other Holland America ship, This edition of the All Star band at the BB King Blues club was the best of all the cruises so far. The Piano Bar was also very good and the classical musicians all through the ship were exceptional. The comedian and magician were well worth seeing as well. We did not partake in any excursions, either private or through the ship offers. We walked around the ports and were constantly badgered by vendors hawking various merchandise or boating excursions. Puerto Vallarta was the nicest port in our opinion. Disembarkation was fantastic. We elected to carry our luggage from the ship ourselves which simplified and expedited the process greatly. If you have read this far, it must seem that this review is full of complaints and that it was a dreadful cruise, but I assure you that the good heavily outweighed the not so good and we have already booked 2 more cruises through Holland America. Read Less

We came to San Diego for a Thanksgiving cruise and stayed at the Grand Horton Hotel for a great price. Nice historic hotel in Gas lamp district. Valet parking is $42. a night though. Glad a great dinner at Fleming's Steak House a short walk away. We have been on 18 cruises with Princess and about 12 on other lines but had never been on Holland America. We parked at Wyndham Bayside and walked across the street to the ship. This is a midsized ship. There were short lines and embarked in about 15 minutes. Debarking was even shorter and about 10 minutes in customs!! The entire ship looks refurbished. Our room had new bed linens, curtains, carpeting, sofa, sofa pillows etc in a nice blue color. We had a balcony room. This room is a bit smaller than we were used to but in great condition. Loved the on demand movies. Customer service was excellent on the entire ship. Food was great in main dining room and LOVED Caneletto's Italian and ate there twice. Also loved Pinacle Grill for great steak dinner. Really good room service and had the buffet a couple of times. They have great entertainment choices. We loved Billboard for the dueling pianos with a lot of variety. BB King was very good and Lincoln Center had classical music. Shows at the main stage were average or better. Most people dressed up for formal (Gala) nights - 2. Had a fun tour in Mazatlan - Shrimp Fest. Beautiful grounds, live music, pool to get into, margaritas and great food. Hardly any one at champagne art auction. Usually there are 200 - 300 people at these. Only about 25 people. Between us and our friends we won 3 bottle of good champagne!! All in all a great cruise that we will take again!!! Read Less

We found what we believed to be and should have been a once in a lifetime 18 day paradise cruise to the South Pacific. It was an anniversary so we went big and purchased a Vista Suite. Left from San Diego on Nov 1 for a wonderful 5 day cruise aboard the Regatta to Honolulu. Schedule was one day on Honolulu, then to Kauai for a day, Maui for most of a day, a 4 day cruise to Farakova then to Nuku Hiva, Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti. Problem is we left Honolulu at midnight and about 1 am the ship went totally dead in the water with zero power anywhere, i.e. no toilets, water, nothing. At 5 am the Captain announced that we all needed to muster in common areas as they were running out of battery power and would not be able to communicate to the passengers. This was done and I must say the crew was fantastic, keeping all calm and happy. Turns out one issue was the emergency generator did not work at first, thus no power for the ship. We do not know why it went dead in the water. Final result was a tow back to Honolulu where we were allowed to disembark after noon to spend another half day on Oahu (not the best of the islands). Next morning we were told we were not going to leave until probably after noon so we were off for another half day repeat and back by 1:30 to spend another half day on board in port, not leaving until 9 that evening. Instead of seeing Kauai, Maui and Farakova, we cruised for another 5 days directly to Nuku Hiva. The rest of the cruise went very well but for missing 3 important islands Oceania offered a free cocktail party and $500 toward a future cruise in the next two years. Oh, and the chartered flight from Papeete to LA was supposed to leave at 10 but even the day before they found out it would not leave until 1 am. Many of us, ourselves included, had to miss our connections and in our case it cost us another $750 to change and book another flight. Very unacceptable. Please do not get me wrong here. Oceania is a wonderful line, the crew always exceptional and the food spectacular. The Vista Suite on the bow was a great way to go and we did have a great time overall, but of course were very disappointed to miss three islands. Regatta is a terrific ship and our first in the smaller class. We found that for us, we probably prefer the larger version with more restaurants, boutiques and other amenities but hey, that is personal. Read Less

This cruise was to celebrate our 50th anniversary and we had always wanted to travel to Tahiti and French Polynesia, plus the stops in Hawaii were also of interest. We have been to Hawaii before and were looking forward to Maui as we have some favorite spots there we wanted to visit, plus had never been to Kauai. This was the unfortunate cruise that lost power and sat in Honolulu for three days. I won't go into details as others have stated at length the problems that guests were subjected to when they wrote their reviews. When the revised itinerary was given to us their letter said there would be "only minor adjustments to our itinerary". Imagine our surprise when we realized that minor adjustments meant we would lose 3 of the 8 ports, or nearly 40% of our cruise ports!!! Minor??? They referred to the loss of power as "Technical Issues". I agree with others that this is more than technical issues, these are major problems and this ship either needs to be totally overhauled, or retired. It was frightening to think of the outcome if loss of power had happened when we were hundreds of miles away from any assistance!! We spoke to the concierge on two occasions about compensation for the loss of such a big part of our cruise experience. On both occasions he told us to write to guest relations at the home office when we got home, to request compensation, implying that there would be something available, but not until the cruise was over. That was all fluff, he just wanted to get us away from his desk so he didn't have to listen to our frustrations. I believe he always knew Oceania would do nothing more than cruise credits. How dumb do you have to be to spend more money on a cruise line that fails to provide the trip that was promised the first time you traveled with them. Because this was a special trip for us, we pulled out all the stops and reserved a Penthouse stateroom, plus a deluxe dayroom at a resort in Papeete while we waited for our flight back to CA. Considering everything we spent, flights to and from California, excursions, tipping of staff, hotel stays at both ends of the trip, our cost was upward of $20,000. So we felt we had a legitimate argument for some kind of compensation, if nothing more than to refund the port charges and taxes for the 3 stops that were eliminated. NOPE! They just wanted to give us a few more dollars in cruise credits. It was insulting!! Our travel agent also intervened on our behalf to request a refund, but they didn't even acknowledge her email. As to what we received while on the ship, the food was OK but not the excellent cuisine that we had heard about with Oceania. They made a big deal about making reservations to the two specialty restaurants, but we did not find them to be exceptional at all. We actually preferred eating evening meals in the Grand Dining Room. We were very pleased with the staff, our butler was absolutely wonderful, as were all of the housekeeping crew, servers in the restaurants, attendants on the pool deck, etc. They all gave us wonderful service for which we tipped generously. Entertainment was mediocre most of the time, but we weren't expecting any broadway shows on a ship of this size with fewer than 600 passengers. We attended several of the evening shows, and also several of the daytime lectures, which were generally quite informative. Public areas of the ship were attractive, but showing their age. Our overall feeling after the cruise was relief to get home safely and sadly we felt we had spent alot of money for experiences we didn't receive. Instead of owning up to their responsibility to their guests, after the cruise was over, Oceania sent out letters with hollow platitudes and apologies, telling us our comments had been noted for Oceania's "reflection and future planning". How does that help the passenger who lost out on their trip? Lastly I would like to comment on the onslaught of brochures and publications that Oceania continues to send us with the beautiful pictures of faraway places we might want to cruise to. We receive at least one or two per week. If they devoted even a fraction of their promotional budget to delivering what we were promised, they wouldn't have to work so hard to get new guests. Their existing customers would be coming back for add'l cruises. Every time we receive another mailing from them it is like salt in the wound. We would just like the forget this cruise!!! Read Less