First Holland America Cruise

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 16

Review summary

I really don't want to be over critical of Holland America. We were on one of their older ships. In general, the cruise was enjoyable and a decent value for the price. However, I honestly didn't feel the experience was as enjoyable as out two previous cruises on Royal Caribbean. There did not seem to be adequate staff on board to provide the excellent service they claim. We had open seating and several nights the service was extremely slow. On one occasion we waited over 45 minutes for a table and then spent over an hour and a half getting our meal. There were plenty of open tables but no waiters. Another problem was the toilet in out stateroom. Much of the last 5 days it would not flush. The cabin steward kept having people try to repair it and it would work for a short time and they stop working again. I was also very unhappy with the smoking policy with basically allowed smoking in most public spaces (including the casino) and in staterooms. Walking down the hallway you could smell the smoke. The last area was the entertainment which in most cases was slightly better than a good high school musical. On the other hand the ship was clean, the service people were very friendly and helpful and we basically enjoyed the cruise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Bridgetown, Barbados

Basseterre, St. Kitts

Soufriere, St. Lucia

San Juan, Puerto Rico