ken4556
December 17th, 2010, 09:03 AM
Returned on Monday from our third annual Christmas (or pre-Christmas) cruise with family. Our group including myself, my parents, brother and sister-in-law, and a close couple to our family. This was my twentieth cruise and fourth on Holland America.
We all had Superior Verandah Suites on deck 6. We enjoyed the cruise, food and service was excellent. As I mentioned on a different thread, the Captain and Senior office seem disconnected from each other. I also was disappointed that the Christmas decorations were not in place until the last night of the cruise.
At Half Moon Cay, I was on one of the first tenders and enjoyed the day with a long walk, reading, using my water float, and enjoying a nice lunch. In Aruba, we just walked around town and did some shopping. In Curacao, I rented a scooter and explored the Western side of the island. Interesting, but not sure I would explore the west side of the island again.
Since I have been through the complete canal already, I did not book an shore excursion in the Panama Canal. Due to the heavy rains, it did not matter anyway as all shore excursions were cancelled and we were very lucky in even making the partial Panama Canal transit. Thanks to the Captain for getting us through. In Costa Rica, we booked the Caribbean Train, Eco Cruise, and Countryside Tour. Our tour guide Mario was awesome. The tour was nice and we enjoyed it.
On the last day of the cruise, the four men in our group all took the behind the scenes tour. It was very well done and organized and well worth the expense.
While on board, we booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for the 8 day Christmas Cruise in 2011.
This was the first cruise after being on the Oasis of the Seas in March and we were interested to see what our thoughts were coming back to a smaller, more traditional cruise ship. I love the Vista class ships, but I have to admit that I missed many of the features and options on the Oasis. Yes, they are different and I know one is comparing apples and oranges. I am looking forward to going on the Allure this March.
Here is the picture link:
http://www.pbase.com/kenedmier/christmas_cruise_2010&page=all
We all had Superior Verandah Suites on deck 6. We enjoyed the cruise, food and service was excellent. As I mentioned on a different thread, the Captain and Senior office seem disconnected from each other. I also was disappointed that the Christmas decorations were not in place until the last night of the cruise.
At Half Moon Cay, I was on one of the first tenders and enjoyed the day with a long walk, reading, using my water float, and enjoying a nice lunch. In Aruba, we just walked around town and did some shopping. In Curacao, I rented a scooter and explored the Western side of the island. Interesting, but not sure I would explore the west side of the island again.
Since I have been through the complete canal already, I did not book an shore excursion in the Panama Canal. Due to the heavy rains, it did not matter anyway as all shore excursions were cancelled and we were very lucky in even making the partial Panama Canal transit. Thanks to the Captain for getting us through. In Costa Rica, we booked the Caribbean Train, Eco Cruise, and Countryside Tour. Our tour guide Mario was awesome. The tour was nice and we enjoyed it.
On the last day of the cruise, the four men in our group all took the behind the scenes tour. It was very well done and organized and well worth the expense.
While on board, we booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for the 8 day Christmas Cruise in 2011.
This was the first cruise after being on the Oasis of the Seas in March and we were interested to see what our thoughts were coming back to a smaller, more traditional cruise ship. I love the Vista class ships, but I have to admit that I missed many of the features and options on the Oasis. Yes, they are different and I know one is comparing apples and oranges. I am looking forward to going on the Allure this March.
Here is the picture link:
http://www.pbase.com/kenedmier/christmas_cruise_2010&page=all