First Time Holland America

Having been on. 21 previous cruises since 2002 we were led to believe that Holland America was a class above the likes of Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, NCL, and P&O. All of which we have cruised with.
We expected to pay more for this extra class. Imagine our disappointment in a number of issues.
Firstly, on sea days there a great shortage of sun beds. Deck 10 was a wide expanse of space with only 15 sun beds on the aft part of the part of the starboard side. In fact there were numerous passengers lying on the actual deck on their towels. You don’t expect to come on cruise ship and sunbathe lying on the actual deck.
The food in the main dining room has been of very good quality. However the portions for ladies were adequate but way too little for the men. In a number of cases the food arrived cool. One night in particular our soup course didn’t arrive until 8.30. Don’t get me wrong we have been happy with the service. But comparing this to other cruises we believe there is a shortage of waiters.
On the final night, the service was so slow the starter course only arrived at 8.30. Finishing with the coffee at 9.45pm and that was only Luke warm. What was even more annoying was the fact the ladies in our party wanted to see the show. That was out because the show had started at 9.30.
Another example of shortage of waiters was on New Year’s Eve. One of our travelling companions (there were six of us in total) summed it up by stating ‘it was hard to spend your money on drinks’.
The night of New Year’s Day we arrived at our table for dinner to find crushed food on the carpet by the table. There was even a New Year’s hat still under the table from the night before.
On the positive side, our cabin steward has been excellent and our cabins have been spotless. Also credit must be given to Edwin in the Observation bar who has been a terrific waiter with a great sense of humour.
Our first experience of sailing with Holland America (and I speak for all six of the travelling companions) has been very disappointing having spent a great deal of money.