Honeymoon, holland america, first cruise, some feedback please?

Question

Hey, just preparing for our honeymoon, and was hoping to get some feedback.

Our plan for our dream honeymoon is to head out on april 12 (the day after our wedding), from salt lake to CA and take a cruise on the Holland America Oosterdam, 7 day, mexican riviera. We managed to find a deal for a veranda room, which we are really excited about, for about 699$ (before taxes, tips, fuel charge, etc.) and flights for about 210$ (before taxes etc.)(don't worry we've added it all up, taxi too).

One travel agent (younger lady) expressed the concern that we wouldn't like holland america because it had too old a crowd, and stuffy. Another (older lady) said we would love it.

As for us, we aren't huge party people. We don't drink, our preferred dance is swing & ballroom, the library & culinary arts center's, & the art are a lot more attractive to us. We don't mind dressing nice, and we love older people. The cruise got dinged for lack of kids entertainment & shore excursions, but what do we care?

Answer 1

Okay i know you say you got a good deal but there's a HUGE promo deal going on at http://www.ticketsavvy.com for Holland America Cruise line  

go to http://www.ticketsavvy.com to book your cruise

and for more info on the promo go to:

http://www.yourtravelbiz.com/rta/misc/Ho...

Answer 2

Check out cruisecritic.com.  This is THE place to get information like this.

Answer 3

We took our first cruise (14 days in the Caribbean) with Holland America, and loved it. The crowd might be a bit older than say, Carnival, but definitely not "stuffy".  More refined perhaps. One major plus, there are fewer noisy kids running around the pool(s) and dining rooms! We enjoyed our trip so much we're going on another cruise (HAL) in March. I'd say "have fun", but you can't help but do so!

Answer 4

My husband and I love Holland America Line, and we're younger working professionals.  Oosterdam was actually the first cruise ship we were on together, and it was perfect for us. We loved the Culinary Arts Center, the fine dining, and the generally more refined atmosphere on HAL.

Like a lot of people, your travel agent associates "young" with "party" and I think you're right to recognize that that's not always right.

I think you'll have a great time.

Three resources I'd recommend:

- Savvy Guide to Holland America Line, which will give you a bit more information into "what it's like"

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/ho...

- A Sept 2007 Cruise Report from Oosterdam's sister ship, Noordam, which may give you a sense of the atmosphere onboard.

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/journals/pj/2...

-The "know before you go" guide.  It's not specific to HAL, but it has packing suggestions, onboard cell phone information, etc:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/kn...