So many upcoming trips !!!!!!

The joys of planning and what I have been up to…..

I have been so busy planning lately and am excited about our next three vacation and the reviews I will be doing of them after. I wish I could speed up time and whisk my family away but unfortunately vacation will not pay the bills (a girl can dream )

This is my upcoming list all have been booked with deposits but can change if I find better deals or itineraries that excite me ! All of these trips are 6 months from each other that way they are not too close but also not so far, we have had a year since our last trip by the time we get on our Alaska cruise and that was just too long.

Alaska Celebrity Solstice

August 26,2016-August 3,2016: Cruise to Alaska aboard the Celebrity Solstice in a Celebrity Suite this trip will only be the 4 of us for 7 days. The suite comes with Lumiere dining (I can not wait to try this restaurant out) This cruise leaves from Seattle so there is no need for flight or hotel all of which I spent on the upgraded rooms. We have been wanting to try Celebrity for a while and I hope it lives up to our idea.

Ports:  2 Sea days

Seattle, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria

MSC Divinia Caribbean Cruise

August 26, 2017-August 2, 2017- we are doing a 7 day girls cruise so excited there will only be four of us my daughter, myself, and my grandmother and while I have never tried MSC I am looking forward to this cruise and reviewing a new cruise line I just wish it was sooner! Decided on the Yacht Club Family Suite.

MSC Meraviglia Spain 

December 22nd,2017-Decmeber 29th,2017- We will be taking the 7 day cruise out of Barcelona on this trip will be four of us my husband son and grandmother. My daughter decided the 14 hour plane ride was to much for her and is staying home. 

I can not wait to bring all new reviews and update some of my past trips with new information, as they get closer I will be adding post about what I want to see and do aboard these ships.

Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas Review

Day 1 Getting there and sailing away......

Quick Rating 

Food Main Dining room- 3 out of 5
Food Buffet- 2 out of 5
Drinks- 5 out of 5
Drink of the Days- 1 out of five
Production Entertainment - 3 out of 5
Meet and Greets - 4.5 out of 5
Additional Entertainment (Bingo, Trivia, etc) 2 out of 5
Embark/Disembark - 2 out of 5

         

   This cruise was not one I will soon forget we lost a stateroom and a kid and almost needed to call the coast guard needless to say it is one we will not forget for a long time to come. The ports for this seven-day cruise where Coco Cay the private island for Royal, St. Thomas and St. Maarten with three sea days the cruise left from Port Canaveral Florida we have sailed from this port before but not for this line.

 For this trip, we were a group of seven people myself 33, my husband 41, grandmother 74, mother 56, my little brother 25, and both of my children 10 and 15. We decided to take the Freedom of the Seas for the DreamWorks experience we are suckers for the meet and greets with all the charterers. Three adults had the unlimited drink package the kids, and my brother had the ultimate soda and more package since they love smoothies and mocktails and my mother had no package. We stayed in a veranda room and a suite originally we were supposed to be in two suites, but an issue between Royal and my travel agent resulted in a mess of our rooms and leading to them giving one of our suites away.

We got in the day we were to sail. Usually, we arrive a day before hand, but we decided to take a red-eye and get in around 6 am needless to say there is nothing open at 6 am at the Orlando airport outside of a coffee stand. We did personal transportation instead of using a ship transport mostly due to being here so early in the morning and wanting to save a little on the cost unfortunately the driver was giving the wrong phone number and was unable to reach us and being a Sunday the AAA travel agency was closed so we spent a few hours sitting in the airport trying to work out our options to get to the port. Finally, our driver was able to contact us after I found a stray email with his correct number and left a voicemail.

The bad part of coming in the day of the ship leaving is we were at the port early really early we had to wait in the parking area with a lot of other people who arrived early this was totally on us being so early and nothing to do with the cruise line. I do not like the outside area of this terminal I think there need to be some benches and sitting areas in front of the terminal for nothing more than the older people who also arrived early. I understand this is a terminal Royal was using, but I was not impressed the line to get in it was long and overrun with people trying cut in. There was no help outside to direct anyone where they need to go it was a mess even though we had suite it was a pain to get through security and to check in.

Check in was a mess I honestly felt sorry for the lady checking us in since we had two bookings we had to check in with separate people usually we can check in together. Not checking in together lead to the confusion of our booking my daughter was in one room with my grandmother, mother, and brother they keep asking them for a form saying she was allowed to travel without her parents. I keep running between the mess with our stateroom at our check in desk and their check in desk explaining that we are her parents and she is traveling with us, so there is no need for a form, but they were insistent I had to prove she was my daughter. I felt this was due to her being African American while my husband and myself are not even though she had our last name and said these are my parents finally it was worked out but I thought this was a ridiculous amount of additional wasted time.
When we checked in we found that we had not been upgraded to our suite as we were supposed to be apparently between the travel agency and Royal the booking for our suite was lost and we were put into a veranda last minute. I was not pleased that we were moved due to their mistake but by that point, there was nothing we could do since they had already booked someone in our suite we took the veranda. I was not happy about the fact we were moved without my knowledge, and now our parties were on different floors I had never heard of something like that happening before we made the best of it.

As part of our booking, we got free soda and more packages for both kids it was all in all my paperwork that we were to receive this so when we got our room keys and found out that instead of Royal Replenish package they were given the soda only package I was surprised. Within 15 minutes on the ship, I was stuck at customer service to iron out all the messes that were made of our reservations. I showed them all the paperwork so they could see that were supposed to get the other package. I was told they needed to go through corporate because they did not handle that on the ship so they charged me to upgrade from the Royal Refreshment that only covers soda to the Royal Replenish until they could work it. I was not happy about especially when she told me they were not sure if they would be able to fix the charge by the end of the cruise and it may have to be refunded after I got home this was a significant extra expense I was not expecting. I was not pleased, and the mistakes had already taken up so much time I decided to wait it out and leave some messages with my TA I would check back in with customer service in a few days and push it.

I was hungry and just wanted to get some food and relax since I was supposed to be on vacation. Finally found my family and got some food at the buffet sat down ordered a drink and gave them my card the one with the unlimited drink package by this point I felt I needed a stiff drink. You can imagine my surprise when the waiter came back, and I was charged for my drink apparently when they were upgrading the kid's packages they somehow took my unlimited out. I signed and tipped the poor guy who I think saw the darkness creeping into my eyes at the thought of another trip to customer service. I ate, had my drink, and back I went back to customer service this time I took my daughter so I could use the suite access since they gave mine away I was unable to use this line unless I had her with me.

I got the same lady that helped me before "helped" is a loosely used word for the mess that was this trip so far. I was told that my paperwork only showed only the kids getting the Replenish package and not my husband and I getting the unlimited drink package this was wrong since we paid a tidy sum 1106.84 to buy our packages, and it was not a perk. 10 minutes of her telling me she would have to charge us for the unlimited packages that we already paid for months ago was the final straw I was not going to be charged an extra 1000 plus dollars that I have already paid once.

 I hit my point with this cruise line and asked for the next officer above her by this stage I was about to demand the captain. The kind man she got me started to say the same thing as the girl until I finally raised my voice a little something I never have in all my trips had to do to get the point across. I told them that I have my confirmation paper, proof that my credit card was charged the amount of the packages and that they needed to call the corporate office with me there and fix this mess now and that if they charged me for another drink package I was going to complain about every part of Royal Caribbean and every online review site I could find.

I was unhappy about the way my reservation had been handled to this point it was one thing after another even though I had all my paperwork to back me up from the suite that I originally paid for to the drink packages. Finally, they added my drink packages back on. I will say I have never threatened or raised my voice in all my travels this is not the first trip I have every had that had issues, and usually I simply go with it and make the best out of the situations but the fact that in the span of two hours they messed up by room, my kids drinks packages, and mine I had reached the end my sanity.

Finally, back to our vacation drink packages and rooms as worked out as they were going to get I decided it was time for another drink the remainder of the day was spent exploring the ship and seeing the sail away. We took care of kid’s club registration and walked my son around the ship, and to the suite, his sister and grandmothers were in so he knew how to get back from each. A little talk about ship rules with the kid’s speech by this point I was exhausted and after dinner decided to go to bed early and hope for the best on the next day.

Day Two Coco Cay

I love when we get a ship's private island usually it is a stress-free relaxation where we cannot get lost a bonus in my opinion. My daughter had signed up for the group teen excursion in this port, and she had to be off the ship early. I had spoken with her the night before made sure she had everything. I was not prepared for the early morning wake-up call from her saying they would not let her off the ship. She was less than thrilling she almost missed the excursion, and I had to take her off the ship by tender and then go back to get dressed and ready for the day. No one could really explain why they would not let to explain to me why I had to take her to the island when she was of age to get off the ship and the concierge said it would not be an issue the night before.

My daughter loved the excursion outside of when she went to buy an underwater camera to take photos with that they sell at the island they would not let her, even though she had no charging restrictions on her sea pass. She is at the age to be able to charge what she feels she needs and I have never had issues with my kids charging both of them are able to shop as they see fit. She was really upset. Apparently, some other children bought the cameras without issue, and when I talked to customer service, they said that there should not have been a problem with her also making the purchase. They teens had a blast regardless snorkeling, kayaking, and all around beach fun my daughter highly recommends this excursion.

We had reserved one of the private cabanas on the island before we left for the cruise. The cabanas included an excellent lunch buffet with light foods perfect for the beach, bottled water, sparkling wine, and a fruit plate inside the cabana waiting. It was beautiful and worth the price to relax with a fantastic view I would definitely purchase one of these again it was nice to have a shaded area with comfy seating to relax and towels at the ready.

My brother and I decided to do the parasailing excursion it was running late by 40 minutes. It was a terrifying blast. The other people on the boat are happy to take photos for you sadly the nice man who made ours had his finger in most the shots, but I was able to chop it out a bit, so the photos were usable. I hung on for dear life and am dearly afraid of heights that it was worth the experience. I would suggest this excursion to anyone it was fun and something that I never thought I would do but I am so happy I did it is something I will remember for a long time.

All in all, this is a lovely little island it is not as nice as some of the others, but it was relaxing. They really need to work out a way to make the bars more varied and cleaner. I had to stick to the drink of the day that they serve out of big coolers because they had no other options. Such a limited selection of choices and not the cleanest looking set ups. I understand that it is a private island, but I feel that they really need to address this and make changes. I see no reason they cannot have the same standards as the other ships islands.

Water and Sparking Wine 

Up Up and away 

The remainder of this day was filled with drinks, reading, and looking for some of the photo opportunities with the DreamWorks experience. We did some light looking in the shops however there really is not much that I felt I needed to get or to choose from. I am a big fan of Michael Kores so having this store on board was nice to see what was offered however I decided that I did not need a new bag maybe next time however my grandmother bought a nice small bag she loved.

This was also the formal night we did get dressed up and saw the show of the night “Marquee” it was a nice show dedicated to Broadway shows with the singers and dancers of the ship. It was not especially memorable it was not a bad show it was just not as exciting as shows on other lines. I think they should scrap this one and try something new.

Day three Sea Day

Honestly, the only thing I did was drink, relax and eat. I did look around a bit and try out a few of the bars. The kids were at their respected clubs, and they had a blast. We had to pay a few extra hours for our son after 10 pm because he was enjoying it so much I believe it was $7.00 an hour after the 10 pm cut off. My daughter was gone most of the time also with the friends she had made in her club. I believe both had ice skating with their clubs on this day something that makes this cruise worth it, they loved the chance to ice skate and had so much fun and made memories they will not forget come on ice skating on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean you cannot beat that. The best thing about vacation is that there is nothing to do on a sea day if you do not want to and I did not want to.

We also went to the ice show on this day we had sitting in the suite area, so we were able to find a sweet spot. I really enjoyed this show and am amazed at how well they perform on the ice with the ship moving. I was highly entertained the skaters were exquisite at their performance, and this is something everyone should see if they are on a ship with the show I am so glad we made the time to see it so much we saw it twice. This a not to miss item on the Freedom you will regret it if you miss it !!!!!!

Day Four St. Thomas

We booked a sightseeing tour through the ship. Our excursion was two hours of sightseeing followed by two hours at a beach with a trip to the mountain top to see the place where the banana daiquiris were made according to the shop. We loved the island there was so much to see, and honestly, I love the islands the chickens running around, terracotta looks and fresh food and drinks. We did some light shopping in this port, and the kids had a blast at the beach. Get a banana daiquiri at the Mountain top and take a beautiful photo view here you can see the ship and the ocean and trees you cannot beat the photo op. The tour guild was so helpful and showed us little thing also like the cashew trees he asked if anyone knew what they were and not one of us could tell him but my daughter I still think she googled it! The guide treated us like family and truly shows you how the islands love the people that support them.

We did go to the open air market and look at the trinkets and shirts we bought a few small things, but honestly they are the same on each island you notice after item we still try to buy a few things to help support the vendors, but we try and find unique to the area items when we can. They also have the diamond and Jewry stores that are at every port and no matter what they say not really worth the time and cost when you can explore the lovely island and beaches instead.

The remaining day was on the ship and putting dents in those drink packages. We saw the illusion show starring Drew Thomas it was a good show and fun to watch much better than the show they had the night before with the singers. Later in the evening, we went to see the love and marriage game show so much fun this was a blast to watch. I recommend seeing it nothing is as fun as watching people do foolish things I was surprised that a few people brought younger kids I really think this is more of an adult thing but to each’s own I say. Do not miss this show on your trip.

Local Food

Day 5 St.Maarten

Instead of using a ship tour like we originally planned in the end after reading some review we decided to book a tour with Bernard's Tours. This company was fantastic, and I would strongly recommend them I will provide a link at the end of this review in my highlight section. We did a private tour this included a van with AC and drinks of island punch and boy did it have a punch, water, and sodas were also provided. Our guide greeted us and off we went to see the island the driver was excellent and informative he made sure we saw all the site and got the best photos the wildlife. He stopped, and we saw the iguanas they were so much fun to see and feed.

We went to the airport beach and saw the planes take off while we had a drink it’s amazing how the sound and feel of the aircraft going over you while you sit at the bar. We strolled the open air market and bought some trinkets and then stopped for some island food and drinks. Orient beach was beautiful and relaxing we had drinks, and people watched we decided not to do much swimming since we had done so much swimming over the last few days we decided just to enjoy the sites. We bought a bunch of rum for people back home. 

We were able to get a lot of photo ops in this island having our own guide helped a lot and allowed us to see both the French and Dutch side. We loved this island and cannot wait to go back to it the beaches where amazing the drinks were just right and really we got to be in the Dutch nations and the French nations so fun.

Day Six and Seven Sea Days

We did what we normally do on sea days not much of anything. We walked around and made more of a dent in our drink package and ate all the food we cannot eat at home. My kid's husband and brother did flow riding classes, and we watched it was a fun thing to watch none of them ended up being splendid. The flow rider lessons were $99.00 per person, but they were fun and while a bit pricey it was worth it to see them all have so much fun. We did early morning so many people would not be around for a more private feel it was nice to have an hour of the flow rider for them to play on and learn.

We saw the show Once upon a time it was different not as good as some of the shows we have seen before on other lines but it was still a pretty decent show to watch. We finished up a lot of meets and greets we wanted to do Alex the lion anyone! The last day started working out our photos we decided to get the disc with all of our photos on it. We saw the DreamWorks parade it was cute but it filled up quick and was fast a parade at sea is a unique was to end a cruise. We did not do the departure talk since we have been on many cruises before and knew how to get off in an orderly fashion.

The last day we also had to go back to customer service and deal with some things we prepaid our tips, yet we were charged again for them this took some time to work out. I believe it is necessary to tip. However, I do not like being charged twice for them on top of the cash we like to give at the end of a trip after some time we were able to get this worked out and they adjusted our bill. I checked any other last minute charges on our bill with the kids and husband. I finished up our drink packages and final day relaxation.

As for the lost kid, this was also the last night caused a ship-wide search and announcements at 3am in the morning. When my daughter did not return to the stateroom by curfew, my husband and I started looking when we were unable to find her we contacted the front desk to find that my daughter was not the only teen missing. My daughter and her friends were in a stateroom after apparently losing track of time at a party in another teens stateroom. This was a mess and embarrassing not to mention the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me on a trip. The captain along with the head of security scared the kids and the parents of the kids who held the party in their stateroom and rightfully so. Luckily they were found before they had to start a stateroom by stateroom search and disrupt the other passengers or contact the coast guard.

My daughter was grounded for the remainder of our trip and for a few weeks upon returning home along with having to write a "I am sorry" to note to the crew for disrupting their evening and causing extra work for the crew. I am thankful for the talk the captain had with my daughter and believe she truly was sorry for all the trouble she caused in her part of the evening, however, I was very disappointed in her and her actions. The crew handled the issue superb they were quick to start looking at video footage to see the last time they could spot the kids, and they began a search in a discrete way that did not upset or interrupt other passengers.

Disembarking was a mess line that was up, and down the hallways, I have never had such a bad time getting off a ship this along with the suite, drink packages and gratuities have put me off this cruise line. If there is a good deal I may give them another try, but it honestly was not worth the trouble, but there are times when bad luck just happens, and there is no saying another trip would not be better. Was this the worse vacation in history no was it the best not at all I will try other lines before going to this one again.

Food oh how I love Food

Overall, I thought the food was good not the best I have ever had, but it was not bad there were some really good options and menu items. We only did one specialty dining in the Mexican restaurant they were pretty good again not the best I have ever had, but I also understand that this is a cruise ship. If you go to the Mexican place on the ship the guacamole is good, and they made some for us to take back up to our room really nice of them. We did not feel the need to go to the other options because the food was enough to keep us satisfied. The food in ports was just as fantastic as you can get fresh and flavorful.

 I was not impressed with the buffet at all not only was it disorganized it had little choices there was no real variety. For some reason, I do not understand they really had no basic food items for kids like chicken nuggets. I love cruises to try new foods I was a little sad that there were so many bland things plain rice, pasta, or over seasoned, spiced meats nothing that was plain simple food. They need to add some tasty food that kids and teen would really like. There is a pizza place on the ship, and the pizza was ok it was not as good as the pizza on some other lines, but the anti-pasta set up was a welcome thing my husband really enjoyed this. The fresh OJ was amazing, and we had it every morning this is something that you must try it was so good and the right thing to start the day right.

Drinks

The drinks were good on the ship my favorite drink was the triple coconut mojito I drank so many of these they are made in the bar next to the main dining area next to the staircase. I also got a drink in a real coconut this was not included in the package, but it was fun to get and something that really says island cruise. It is a good thing I had that package because it paid for itself in no time I had drink's all day long.

The drink package was not cheap, and I felt I drank way more than I would normally since I had this package for myself and my husband it was worth the cost. It was so nice to not have to worry about a bill later or worry about what we drank and when. I was not impressed with the drink of the days on this cruise they seemed unimaginative, and honestly, we're not very good. I like blended drinks, and most of them were made well and strong there was no drink that I sent back. Taking the package is a personal choice, and really it is up to each person to decide if it is worth it I plan on getting them on the cruises I go on in the future.

Entertainment

I was not impressed with the entertainment on this cruise. I did not find a lot of fun things to do there were a few fun things like the battle of the sexes a must see and the love and marriage game. The shows were not bad they just were not wow the way I was hoping they would be I think they need to revamp their night shows and add in some more fun games like the battle of the sexes or other options. Bingo was also lackluster I would have liked some more lively bingo we pay a lot of money to play let’s make it exciting make me want to keep playing and make me keep buying those 30 buck cards, we only did one game usually I would try to do a few more games, but I want to have fun when losing my money and there was no fun in the Bingo on this ship.

One thing that was well done was the character meet and greets we were able to see them all my big disappointment was that the Penguins were not a part of the meets and greets I think that many kids and adults would have loved them. We also did the meet and greet breakfast this was fun early you need to be there by 7 am, but it was fun, and my kids are getting past the age for this, so I am happy we did it. They serve the same food as the dining room normally would for breakfast with some extras like chocolate pancakes and food the kiddies would like. It was fun we got to take photos, and each came by the table I would suggest doing this if you have younger kids my 15-year-old still loved it but she is nuts for the meet and greets my son also enjoyed it but I think in the next year, or so they will be beyond the fun of it.

In the end, it was not bad, there were good drinks and decent main dining room food that keep us coming each night our waiters were nice, but the drink service at dinner was slow we would only get a drink in one sitting sometimes. Like I said before I would not book again on this line right now maybe after my next few cruises I will give it a shot again if it’s the right literary and cost. We booked this to try out the flow rider and meet the DreamWorks characters, and we accomplished that. For what we paid it could have been worse I suppose, but the 1st-day mix-ups really ruined the overall cruise for us and hopefully if we give them another shot it will have better results. If you go make sure to try the triple coconut mojito it’s worth the trip just for that drink !!!!!!!

Link to Bernard’s Tours They were amazing and worth every penny they made sure we saw everything and that we had fun and learned about the island as we did the tour.

http://bernardstours.shoreadventures.net/

Link to the Royal Caribbean Drink Package Information

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/beverage_packages.pdf

Holland America Alaska Cruise on Westerdam

Review of the Holland America ms Westerdam to Alaska in May 2014

Holly's Rating 3 out of 5

This trip it was for my husband and I to celebrate our twelve year anniversary we decided on Alaska because it leaves from our home port in Seattle so no flying score!! We were in a Verandah signature suite #8083 we both had the unlimited drink package and one dinner in their specialty restaurant the Pinnacle Grill from our TA.

Ship Port 4 out of 5- The new Seattle port is nice but if you are from out of town there is nothing near it no real shopping or food in close walking distance . Getting to port was a snap we pay for parking in Seattle already so we just parked for the seven days we were gone in our secure parking garage from here we simply ordered an Uber to transport us to the port. We were able to be dropped right outside the port and get right into the security line there were a lot of people so this line was pretty long it took maybe twenty minutes to get through security and checked in at the desk. We were able to walk right on the ship after taking our boarding photo.

Stateroom 5 out of 5- Our room was ready as soon as we got on this was a nice thing about the cruise line and our room was nice it was large and had a nice bathtub with jets and more than enough room for the both of us my husband would be spending a lot of time in it. There were the basic TV channels mostly focused on the Alaska team gold panning shows and deadliest cache along with the shopping and movie channels. You were able to get DVDs from a menu in room. If we would have brought our children this room would have felt cramped but still have the room to function with all four of us. The best thing was the veranda this is a Alaska cruise so that was so important to us I enjoyed sitting outside with a blanket and hot coffee and looking at the ocean my husband would spend most of the trip sick so this was a blessing to keep him from going stir crazy. If you can do it get a veranda it is worth the price to see the Alaska land float by.

Food I am going to just breaking dining into where we ate I would Give the food a 3 out of 5 due to a few special dishes we enjoyed.I found the food to be lacking from what I was hoping for they really need more fresh seafood choices for this itinerary.

Room Service -We also ordered room service nearly every morning and some lunch and snack items our service was good and the food was as good as room service food is. I enjoyed their club sandwich a lot and this is a good option for people just relaxing in their verandas for the day or those who are less happy with the dining options. One of the evening formal night we were able to order the same dinner from the main dining to our room instead of doing formal night we got the lobster and beef options and they were OK. You can order the MDR menu to your room each night if you choose this was a nice option on Holland. 

Main Dining Room- we ate here twice for dinner I ate lunch here a few time though the week lunches were fine nothing too over the top I usually had salads and soups. We were not impressed  with the food in the main dining room it took too long from when ordered to the time it was delivered I  understand that there are so many people all wanting to eat at the same time however our food was never totally right it would be cooked wrong or cold when we finally received it. On one dinner it took almost three hours for the two of us we did the latest dinning time. 

 We also thought that the menu choices were lacking for a cruise to Alaska we expected more options to follow that itinerary then they offered. There were few desserts that sounded appealing and I love desert .My go to dessert will always be crème brulee when I am unable to find something to interest me and I usually only eat the top. This trip on two nights I ordered this outside the specialty restaurant  on the first night there was just cream no sugary burnt top that I love, the second was so thick that it stuck to my teeth it was so chewy this was a big disappointment and a painful one as it pulled on a crown I have. On the one formal night I attended they had crab that was surprisingly good that they pre-crack this was a nice way to eat without the mess I love crab so this was the kind of menu I was expecting on an Alaska and Seattle cruise we are known in the north for our seafood.

Pinnacle Grill- was amazing we had appetizers of Lobster Bisque and Dungeness Crab Cakes both were delicious for our main course  my husband had the Cedar Planked Halibut with Shrimp Scampi and asparagus for the both of us along with mushrooms I had the West Coast-Style Seafood Cioppino it was also delicious. The staff was quick and checked in on us often but not so much that we felt rushed. For dessert I had the crème brulee as did my husband it was very good and I wish we would have chosen to eat here the rest of the trip.

 Lido Buffet- After boarding we decided to check out the Lido buffet. In short it was busy and since we are not allowed to serve ourselves until two days into the trip just getting water took an exorbitantly long time. As far as buffets go this one was less than impressive for its choices I understand this cruise is set for an older crowd but the flavor was missing from most dishes like they picked to not use salt and other spices in the food. This was basic food that you expect from a buffet it was not the worst ever but I have seen better on cruise ships. We would go here late at night for a snack to tide us over as we usually do on trips and the late night offerings were so limited that we usually just got pastries or some kind of pasta. We also believe this is where my husband’s food poisoning came from unfortunately.

Canaletto- was a nice little restaurant that they portion off some of lido for we enjoyed our food we had the sausage penne and the clams. I thought the clams were amazing and I was so sad not eat them one more time before we left they were out of this world and would be the only thing to get me back on this ship. This Restaurant is a share plate so we got large portions of what was ordered outside the appetizer to share with each other family style. We ordered a few extra things to try but the pasta and the clams did it for us. This was another place I wish we would have gone to more than once.

Pool Side Dinning -We also ate burgers by the pool they were good but so busy that you had to wait up to 30 min to order then wait for the food to be made we only ate once. The pizza was pretty standard to all ships not to bad really. We also hit the cafe many times for coffee and pastries they also were in line with what we normally would get on other cruise ships. Outside of the specialty eating there was nothing that impressed us food wise and this was upsetting since we like to try all the options. If we decided to do this trip on this ship again we would book specialty throughout the trip and skip the other options. On the day we toured Glacier Park they serve split pea soup my husband said it was good I do not like split pea so I did not partake but it is one of his favorite soups.

Service 3 out of 5- I am mixed about the service it was not bad in general our steward was alight he cleaned our room and did what they are supposed to do he was not too friendly a theme I found though the ship. Coming off a Disney Cruise a few months before this one this service was a surprise and I understand that they are not the same but there was really no personal interaction with our steward or other ship crew.

Our dining staff was hit and miss also the order time took so long and they never checked in during our meal perhaps because of the drink package there was no check in to see if we wanted another drink or how our meal was.We saw them for our order and then when the food was brought again no personal interaction or warmth. We only did the dining room twice for dinner so perhaps the service would have improved.

 The staff though the ship was not bad not good much like the steward and waitstaff. There was one waiter I saw and he was amazing he always asked if I needed more drinks and was just in generally happy and helpful. I would see this man all over the ship and he was always nice and smiling to the passengers and asking how the trip was I gave him an huge additional tip at the end of the cruise because he was so nice not just to me but to all the people I saw him interact with I wish the rest of the staff was more like him. There just was not the friendliness I was hoping for it was not bad service it just was not great service.

Entertainment 3 out of 5 - The entertainment was lacking on this ship perhaps because it was supposed to be relaxing but still there was not much going on after 9pm. The show Recycled Percussion was amazing and I enjoyed the shows so much I looked into going to their show in Las Vegas this show was fun, loud, and entertaining if it is on your ship you will not want to miss it. I wish the rest of the entertainment keep up with this show it was the only reason I gave a 3 if they did not have the show it would have been a 2. I also saw the magic/comedy show in the theater it was good there were some funny part this was something that kids could go to and you would feel fine about what they would hear. The production show about the fairy tales was interesting however I found my mind wondering though it that they really need to add more spice to the show it was pretty boring but cute in some ways.

Bingo was good it and not just because I won but they tried to keep the crowd entertained and there were a lot of people so that was good. Bingo is no fun when there are ten people you miss the energy of lots of people. Bingo is Bingo it was pricey like all ships but if like me you enjoy a game when you cruise this ship did it well.

Ports 4 out of five - The ports were fun we did not do ship excursions instead we got off and explored on our own looking at the shops and getting lunches. We liked the ports we went early June so the weather was hit and miss one port we got off simply to see my step sister and nephew in Sitka the town was quaint and cute and the sun was shining. In Juneau it poured cats and dogs but we still got off to see the shops and look around there were lots of shops within walking of the ship this was true in all the ports. Ketchikan was a blast mostly due to where we ate we had the best crab and clam strips ever and we cannot wait to back there again it was the Crab Cracker seafood bar. Victoria we got in late 6 pm not really anything open so we walked to the marina area then had dinner at a restaurant next to the ship.

We liked the Alaska water views and the cute shops we purchased some birch syrups and candies and I suggest picking these up in Alaska I Had never heard of it until then and the candy birch Carmel where chocolate covered caramel they had a slight root beer taste that was not bad at all the syrups were also a nice alternative to maple. You will be able to find the items all around the ports I always try to get one new thing when I go places that I just do not have at home and the candy was a hit with my kids also.

While we liked Glacier Bay that was a part of the cruise I was not too happy about simply that there really was not much information about activities. There one guide doing talks but he was saying the  the same things we heard him say over and over again on the TV.  I did not see any real interesting workshops or classes about the area most of it was about the sale on cheap cruise items. There was a presentation about people native to Alaska and their culture that was really good, but this was not widely showcased and I only found out about it because it was before bingo so I only heard the last part of it and there really were not many people I think due to there being no real advertisement they really need to add more to this day at the glacier park or at least let people know in a better way what is offered.

Drink package 3 out of five -  We got this as part of our cruise I was really the only one to try and take advantage of this due to my husband not feeling well I tried to order a variety of options to see what I liked and all of them were pretty good I liked mixed drinks and those are hard to mess up. There seemed to be an ample amount of liquor to the mixers this made good drinks.

 An issue however was that it took a long time to get that drink or to reorder I would hate to think that this was due to the package compared to buying per drink but it really felt like it was. I would stand at a bar and have two or more people served before I was when I was there first this was upsetting and only started after the first day or two when they knew who I was and the package I had. I loved not having to worry about the cost at the end of the trip. I think that if my husband had been feeling better I would have gotten more use from it. It covered everything I asked for and as long as you are not looking at twenty dollar drinks you should be covered in what you like to drink. We enjoyed the bar that overlooks the water we would go sit there on port days and enjoy a nice drink and they always had good drinks.

Shopping 2 out of 5- I like to look at the shopping on cruise ships and I like to buy but this ship was lacking a lot they did have the blowout sales were the cheap stuff is even cheaper however there was really nothing to inspire me to shop. The jewelry was lacking they should have focused more on Alaska items instead of the same jewelry you see every cruise. There was not a lot of draw you in items that make you want to shop. We bought some alcohol and a watch since I misplaced mine and I like my watch but usually I can find a few things to bring back but all my shopping was in port since there so few things outside unimpressive t-shirts and Holland Alaska items . I would like to see a little more customization on the shops a lot of ships now are get cute boutiques and that is something that would really help this ships shopping. They were constantly announcing the sales instead of the things to do around the ship this was annoying. We all know that there are sales but being reminded every twenty minutes was a bit much instead they should focus on promoting the shows and classes instead of the cheap Alaska T-shirts.

Kids Clubs- We did not bring our kids on this trip but I can say I would not bring my kids on this ship. I looked around and there was almost zero things in the cruise planner or around the ship to keep them from going crazy in fact I do not think I saw any kids at all. I do not know how the clubs for children where but I Would guess like the rest of the ship they would be lacking.

All in all it was nice to see Alaska’s and we plan on seeing Alaska again next summer but we will not be doing it on Holland America again. The age of the people was mid 50’s and up and that was kind of what we were looking for a nice laid back cruise to relax without our children, however even the older people were saying there seemed to be nothing to do. There were just too many negatives for me to spend the money to go again perhaps if it was an amazing deal but even then I would not guarantee it. We are not really party all night people but If you are under mid 50’s run to another line would be my advice in fact 50’s and up should run also this ship was just too quiet we wanted relaxing not drop dead boring. The service the food and the all around lack of entertainment is what brought me to a 2 out of five while they did thing ok I was expecting more I think Holland really needs to revamp some of their offerings for this itinerary to suite the more active people that are now coming to their ships.