Holland America Cruise Lines ... Any Good?

just go on royal caribbean . it's the BEST .

We cruised the Eurodam last December to the Caribbean; ports of call St Thomas, Grand Turks, San Juan, PR and then a private island. The ship is brand new so things look great. It has a nice two-level dining room, a nice casino, a sports bar, a really nice lounge on the top front of the ship, a good buffet. There is a pool on the back of the ship and also a covered pool area.

We had a balcony cabin and it was nice also, very roomy with a 19 inch flat screen TV, a vanity area with a mini-refrig, and our bathroom had a tub (which was too small for us to use ...LOL). But the room was nice. The showroom was good and didn't have any seats that were blocked by columns. WE have been on so many cruises that we generally don't do all of the shows every night, maybe 2 or 3 out of the 7 days. Those that we saw were good.

The one problem we had was a passenger had a heart attack the first night out and so the ship stopped at a private island to take that passenger to shore to be picked up by helicopter. But that didn't really delay our cruise. The first port stop was Grand Turks and there's a nice beach there right next to the pier. We did a tour but there is not much else on that island to see. Just enjoy the beach, its nice and its free. There's also a pool in the shopping center at the pier that you can also use for free.

The next stop was San Juan and we had been there before but we took the rain forest tour; and it did rain there but we enjoyed it. The ship docks right downtown so you can walk to the main attractions, the fort and the old city. The final stop was St Thomas and that's a great stop for the beach and for shopping. When we got back to the private island the weather was bad, windy and raining so we didn't even have that stop.

All in all the cruise was OK. The service and amenities were great. I booked this cruise because that particular week had a very low price and the ship was new. The one thing you have to consider with Holland America is the average age of passengers is 65 to 70 and up. There was hardly a kid on the ship. So if you don't mind being with a lot of senior citizens and not many young people you'll be OK on this cruise

I enjoy Holland America very much! It is clearly more upscale than Carnival, and seems to attract a crowd that is a bit older. There are good activities for children, and fewer crowds and long lines. The food is very good, and the personnel very helpful. Holland America's ships are not "party boats" at all, and it's likely you will NOT run into party-hearty drunks. Enjoy!