Overall, a very enjoyable last-minute cruise. We weren't sure what to expect. Up front, I thought there were too many at sea days and too few ports. I had ideas about the ports and in the end was surprised that I really enjoyed relaxing during the at sea days and really enjoyed the ports I wasn't expecting to like. Would definitely do this cruise over. Holland America is still recovering from the pandemic and under the circumstances, they did a great job. Will cruise with them again.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Faster and smoother than past embarkations. Other passengers were the biggest obstacles.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Hit or miss in the dining room and the buffet wasn't quite as good as in the past. Plenty of selection, so we could always find something satisfying. All the fresh fruit was a highlight. Service for large tables in the dining room was awful.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Loved the trivia and there was lots of it. The gym was good. Outdoor sports equipment was worn out and needed replacing. Organized outdoor sporting contests were spotty. Good selection of crafting classes. Port talks were very helpful and we appreciated the information.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Loved the rock band, not so much the dueling pianos or the blues band. The stage shows were ok. The best was the comedian. The magician was annoying. The dancers were good. I've lived in NY and had access to Broadway, so I'm a tough sell.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Our room steward was excellent. Service for large tables in the dining room was abysmal, for smaller tables it was good to excellent most of the time. Personnel were friendly and helpful for the most part.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
This is the best maintained cruise ship I have ever been on. Ship was clean and kept clean. The layout was good and everything was easy to find once we were oriented.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Size was slightly smaller than past ships, but the cabin was well designed and comfortable. There was a urine smell in the hallway and cabin when we boarded. We notified housekeeping and they recleaned and disinfected the bath and hallway immediately. Problem was resolved with no reoccurrence.
Ship tip
Get a cabin in the middle of the ship unless you like to walk a LOT. It's a big ship.
We boarded in Copenhagen and arrived a few days early. Beautiful city and wonderful people. Lots to do. We recommend the hop on hop off bus with the river tour. Great way to orient and decide where to spend more time.
Pretty views from the port. We did the Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral tour. Glad we did it, but not what I was expecting. I think I would have preferred to explore Dover if I had it to do over again.
We did a tuk tuk tour of Porto and didn't realize we would have no time to explore before returning to the ship. I had to sit backwards, which I hated because I get car sick. Port is quite far from the city. My husband is a runner and he went back out. He liked it better than I did.
We did a walking tour which was good. Lisbon is beautiful and the port is right at the base of the old city. The city is hilly, so you have to climb hills to see anything really. We didn't mind and it was worth it. Would love to go back there.
By far my favorite port. Absolutely beautiful and small, so everything is easily walkable. We started with a hop on hop off bus tour, which gave us a chance to see where we wanted to go and then we walked through all of the gardens and back to the ship. Short stay, so no chance to go to Seville. Will definitely return here to visit Seville and see Cadiz again.
It started off hot and then poured rain for hours. We booked a hop on hop off bus and regretted it. Traffic was terrible and it took forever to get anywhere. Booked admission to La Sagrada Familia and it is a MUST see. The rain prevented taking pictures of the outside unfortunately, but glad we did it. Barcelona is a beautiful, architectural wonderland and can't be seen in a day or two. The Gaudi properties are a highlight and all worth seeing.
We disembarked here and getting to Rome was a hassle. Civitavecchia is a pretty little town and we enjoyed our walk to the train station. Buying tickets, waiting for and boarding the train and then getting to our hotel was an ordeal.
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