Overall it was a very nice cruise and I'd do it again. It was nice that there weren't a lot of kids, although it sounds like HAL is starting to target families more so this may change. Ports were good and we loved the food and room, so everything else was icing on the cake!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
It went well. We arrived early enough that there was no backup, just 1 continuous line that kept moving.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Buffet food was excellent with so many choices! I never even got to the taco bar or the Asian food. Pizza was delicious, but you need to ask for it to be "well-done" or the cheese is just melted and the crust soft, not crusty. We loved the dining room food--excellent choices and taste, and our waiter and assistant were so fun and personable. We did not try any of the specialty restaurants--we had more than enough to choose from with the buffet and dining room.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Fitness center was good--treadmills did fill up but turned over quickly. Decent number of machines and free weights. I wish we had free access to the spin room bikes but they charge for classes. We enjoyed the sports arena--played pickleball, basketball, and soccer. Wish we could have played pickleball more but that got booked up early. Evenings we had the court to ourselves, so next time we'll bring our own paddles. Shuffleboard and Ping-Pong were fun too. Pools were small and crowded on this ship. Deck chairs filled up quickly around the pool, so park yourself in one early.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We enjoyed the World stage performers, but not much variety. 3 dancing shows, 2 comedy, 1 pianist, and the first night was just the history of HAL. The dueling pianos were mediocre, but other bands/music sounded good as we walked through but didn't stop to listen. It was nice to have movies on the deck, and we were glad they televised the NCAA football championship. Wish they had other sports games playing on TVs in the bars--not as much fun watching alone in our room.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All of the staff were very polite and accommodating. They greeted you, smiled, asked how you were--very friendly. Our waiter Adrian and Assistant Mervin were excellent--we looked forward to seeing them at dinner every night and they quickly learned our quirks like needing extra butter and rolls and keeping our water glasses full. Room stewards Faisal and Aris did an excellent job tending to our room and keeping us informed about deadlines and activities.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
It took most of the trip, but we finally figured out the ship's layout; although we still sometimes mixed up what was in the front or the back. It was very clean--no garbage anywhere and they were constantly wiping and mopping everywhere. It was odd that there were no garbage cans to be found--if I had a tissue or wrapper the only place I could discard it would be in a restroom. And there more often than not was someone in there cleaning or restocking supplies. Very clean ship!
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were fortunate to have a slightly larger balcony due to the contour of the ship, but this did put us closer to the stairs which could be a little noisy. We liked having the couch (actually a pull-out bed) and desk space. Bathroom and shower were much larger than on Royal Caribbean. Lots of cupboards/closet space to store everything. Not cramped at all. We could certainly get by with a smaller room but appreciated having the space.
Ship tip
If you have any interest in doing excursions, book them as soon as you book your cruise--or monitor daily for when they open up. We didn't think of it until a FEW WEEKS before departure and all the snorkel and active excursions through the ship were booked. Luckily we were able to get one through Shipmate (cruiseline.com) but wish we could have done some more.
We did the waterfall/zipline excursion through Shipmate. There happened to be 5 or 6 ships in port that day, so there were hundreds of people doing the same excursion. Lines were very long--it is supposed to be a 3-4 hour excursion, but we barely made it back to the ship on time and we even skipped the shopping in town we were supposed to do at the end. The staff were very good, though, and we always felt safe.
We unfortunately did not get to dock at Old Town. Instead we docked at the airport and had to take shuttles to Old Town. When we saw it was going to be a 2-hour wait to get the shuttle, we actually walked the 3 miles into town. We felt safe doing so during the day, but it was very hot. We wish we had brought swimsuits as there was a beach we could have swam at. We took the shuttle back at night to do some shopping, but most people had already left and the town felt empty. We felt very safe, although I was told to avoid La Perla, especially at night. Definitely go to Calle de la Forteleza to see the umbrellas--unfortunately they switched them over to lighted balls for the holidays. They were very pretty, though, as were the lighted decorations in the town square.
We took a cab to Magen's Bay on our own. It was $12pp plus a $7pp fee to enter the "park". You could pay for chairs/umbrellas, but there are plenty of picnic benches in the shade if you get there early enough. The restrooms were good and they had showers for rinsing. The restaurant/bar was nice, but prices were same as the ship with the 20% service fee added in. Cabs are there to take you back, but be sure you say you are getting on Holland America. If you say Charlotte Amalie, they will take you downtown, which gives you a bit of a walk to get to the ship. Luckily we caught this before we left the park, but we literally got back with 1 minute to spare. Give yourself a good hour to deal with the cab ride back. I would have liked to have had time to shop a little before boarding the ship.
The beach is very nice but must be tendered. It was calm in the morning but fairly rough on return making it tenuous for anyone with mobility issues on the tender. The beach was very crowded, and the chairs are literally packed side to side with no space between. And no umbrellas or shade (unless you pay for it). We brought our own snorkel gear and were able to see some pretty fish and a sea turtle near the rocks by the dock. If you can walk 1/2 mile down the beach you can get away from the crowds. The lunch was very good, it was fun to have ice cream as well. There were lines for the food, but they moved pretty well.
We did not have luggage so we expected we would be able to just exit the ship when we wanted. Unfortunately, as we got to the gateway, they actually closed it, so all those people were heading to the 2nd gateway. Not sure why it was closed. 15min later it opened again, and we got off fairly quickly. I assume this normally goes smoother? We anticipated 15 minutes to disembark but it took about 40 minutes. Luckily our ride was able to wait for us.
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