This was our first time sailing on Holland and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised. I had expected the demographics to skew much higher in age. I don’t know whether or not it was because it was Easter that were far more children aboard than expected. It seemed as though there were many family groups and not nearly as many older people on this trip.
Despite being platinum on Carnival, I was not happy with how the dining experienced has been cheapened on that line. I love the white tablecloths, charger plates, extra services etc and that does not happen on Carnival any longer. I was feeling like I was eating at Chili’s or someplace similar. That is not the experience I want on my vacation. I want that ‘extra’.
Carnival has also increased the number of cabins a steward has to clean and the last cruise we were on, we were asked to choose either morning or evening cabin service and Ice is now a special request.
So, we were searching for a line that still provides the level of service we want on our vacation.
Cabins:
We had two inside cabins, aft on Deck 6. I would highly recommend this location. Three floors up to the Lido and three down for dinner. I didn’t notice excessive movement in this area but then I don’t notice it unless it’s really bad.
The cabins themselves were nicely appointed. Large bed, 2 nightstands, a desk/dressing area with chair, the mini bar to the right of the desk area—built in and a small table. Closet space was ample and I loved the fold-down shelves in the closets!
I also loved that there were USB ports on either side of the beds! No need to fight over outlets on the desk.
The bathroom was a standard cruise ship design—our rooms had a shower and no tub. The shower was equipped with Spa shampoo, conditioner and body wash and also had 2 grab bars. The sink was wide and had glass shelves on the right side.
One thing I noticed in all the hallways were the bars on one side of the hallways to the cabins. These would come in handy for those not so steady on their feet.
One of the pieces of art in my cabin!
The Lido Market
We ate here many times and enjoyed the variety of food that was served. The thing I liked the most is EVERYTHING was served by employees. That appeals greatly to my germophobic personality and has got to cut down on the spread of Noro-Virus. There are also hand sanitizer placed in the entrances.
Back to the food though. We loved the cooked to order eggs station. It was very organized and the line moved quickly. You could also get bacon, turkey bacon, sausages, hash browns, bagels and toast here. Depending on the day, they also served pancakes or French Toast too.
There were self-serve plated items on chill trays such as Yogurt, fresh fruit, cereals & milk.
Lunch
In my opinion, lunch was the best meal. Again the Lido deck had such variety. They had one station completed devoted to fresh fruit and another making these huge fresh salads to order. They had sandwiches made up and wrapped with varied ingredients too.
They had a made to order Thai food area as well as made to order pasta. The Thai food was wonderful and I ate there twice. The pasta bar should have been wonderful as well, but I found the sauces very bland despite having them add lots of garlic and some other seasoning. I think that was really the only “miss” we had.
We ate at the Burger Joint and the Pizza place a few times and enjoyed the food. The French Fries were a huge hit.
Dive-In Hotdog and Fries
The Ice Cream station was also a huge hit (and this is also where you can find Bread Pudding!) They serve regular ice cream and soft serve in waffle cones or bowls. Toppings can also be added. They did have varying flavors or regular ice cream too.
Made to Order Pasta
Thai Chicken and Noodles
Late Night Snacks
The Lido also provided a surprising amount of food between 10:30pm and 11:30pm. You could get an entire meal if you wanted to. Mostly my companions hit it up for the French fries!
Dinner-Main Dining Room- late seating
We ate in the main dining room 5 of the 7 days and most everything we ordered was good—but nothing over the top. We did not go hungry by any means, but I felt most of the food was just average. The only below average item I had was the French Onion Soup. The broth tasted like dishwater. On another night, all the croutons in the Caesar Salad were soft. Blah. The group at the table next to ours did mention this to their water and one of the Chefs came out to apologize.
The one standout for me was the Lobster Tail. It was cooked perfectly and very tasty. The steak that was served with it was “meh”. I think I just prefer things a bit more seasoned.
Regarding desserts—the items we chose were good, but I have to say I miss the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake on Carnival’s dessert menu every night!
Surf and Turf
Dessert
Pinnacle
We ate here the last night and the food was amazing. Between the 3 of us we got: Filet Mignon, King Crab Legs and Halibut with Shrimp Scampi. Each main dish was excellent. The portion of Crab legs was enormous—far more than one person could eat. The sides were very good, beginning with a Caesar Salad mixed at the table. Shareable sides included mashed potatoes and asparagus. I ordered a baked potato.
For dessert, the Molten Lava Chocolate cake with a side of ice cream and raspberry cheesecake. Both were delicious but we couldn’t finish them—we were too full.
I felt it was worth the money and normally would tip here. However, our waiter was not the caliber we expected. Not once, did he notice our water glasses needed to be filled. And we had to ask him more than once for more water. He did not check back with us regarding our entries to see if everything was good. He just acted like he didn’t want to be there and that we were disturbing him with our requests. We did not let that stop us from enjoying the meal—we all loved it and would go back there again.
One of the private tables at Pinnacle
The lighting
Shows
The only show we managed to see was the BB King Tribute. The performers were so talented and the show seemed to be full always. We enjoyed the set and at only about 45 minutes to an hour long, it was just the perfect length.
Piano Bar
They relocated the Piano bar and increased the space to allow more people to attend. For us, and others on the cruise, the fact that they moved it to an area directly across from the casino was rather painful. Had the dueling piano players been talented, I’m sure it would have been entertaining. However, I think I can speak for the majority of people on the cruise and report that they were AWFUL. The dealers were grimacing at the off-tone, voice cracking noises and we actually heard more than one person say they were leaving the casino because they couldn’t stand it any longer. Not good news for the casino.
Casino
The casino is quite small on the ship but does have a nice selection of slots. The table game area is small and they only had 1 3-Card Poker table. Most nights it was challenging to get a seat. They did not increase the number of tables yet Black Jack table were idle. Not sure about the purpose—but I did manage to spend some time at 3 Card Poker-with decent results I might add.
Seaview Pool and bar area
We spent most of our time in this area. The pool was a decent size and over seven feet deep. Plenty of loungers were set out each day but during peak hours you had to watch and wait for a chair. (The chair hogs were out in force as they are on every line) There was no policing by any staff that I saw despite the notice about the 30 minute rule.
The pool itself is supposed to be for adults only and, again, that was not being enforced. I know the Lido pool was closed one day for cleaning due to someone vomiting in the pool so all the kids were allowed. However, on days when the Lido pool was open, I still saw children in and out of the Seaview pool all day.
The starboard side of the bar area is the only place to smoke on the entire ship. (The info in the room stated the Casino would allow smoking on certain nights. However, they did not allow smoking there at all as far as I know.
There were quite a few smokers onboard and, at times, it was challenging to find a spot to sit. I understand the non-smoker’s point of view, but smoking is LEGAL and they should have more than one spot for smokers to congregate.
Shops
There was a small area of shops on the ship but the biggest surprise for me—and others: They did not have cartons of cigarettes for sale, and their liquor selection tended toward the very high end stuff and was quite small.
They did have a shop with all the cruise wear you expect, a perfume cosmetics area and several higher end jewelry stores.
Ship Décor
I absolutely loved how this ship was decorated. You could spend hours just wandering around looking at all the interesting art. The NYC skyline piece hanging in the atrium was gorgeous. The walls in the passenger cabin hallways were filled with black and white photos of people and places in NYC ‘back in the day’.
These were in all of the elevators. I hated "Friday" because that meant it was almost over....
Afternoon Tea served in Pinnacle!
There is no food on these plates--just glaze!
Easter Dessert in the main dining room
There were fresh flowers everywhere and on all the tables!
Easter decorations!
Looking down 3 levels
The seating area in the atrium was beautiful and unique.
Looking down into the Steakhouse.
There were comfy seating areas scattered all over the ship making it very easy to rest your tired self. The Crow’s nest area, we only visited once but it was also very nice and ‘user friendly’. There was a bar up there and lots of seating, including tables where folks could play cards or boards game or just sit and look at the ocean. Lovely area.
Bars/Drinks
We did not have a drink package but did indulge in 3-4 adult beverages most days. They had a nice variety of alcohol and I thought the drinks were very good. I heard people complaining about the prices, but I think $10 including a tip is about the norm on any ship.
There are an adequate number of bars on the ship for the size.
Service
The service was excellent (with the exception of Sterling!) Most of the staff went out of their way to make sure you were comfortable and had what you needed. For example, one morning I stumbled up to the Lido deck to wake up a bit before breakfast and right there was our favorite waiter, Noel, asking if he could bring me a coffee. Ice water, iced tea or lemonade was served to you in the Lido seating area. Our cabin stewards were like genies, popping in and out of our cabins and leaving them made up beautifully even if we were only gone for 15 minutes or so.
I would put this service on-par with what I experienced on the Pacific Princess 2 years ago.
Random Pictures:
The Seaview Pool/Bar area at night
Adorable Towel Animals awaited Us Every Evening. Here are a few
This guy was my favorite!
Sunset on our last day at Sea
Moonlight at Sea
I could watch this for days
Conclusion
The size of the ship is great. I think it’s about 2000 guests. Perfect size. The mega-ships are not for me and I’m glad Holland still has a variety of smaller ships to choose from.
Overall, I felt the ship is very elegant and one I am looking forward to sailing on again. Our vacation was perfect and just what we all needed. For details on the ports, please see the link in my signature to view my travel blog.
