We chose ours instead of creating a vacation because when the expenses added up of flight, rental car, hotel, food and entertainment then the cruise came out a lot less while offering much more. Holland America was our line because my husband’s parents cruise extensively and felt confident we’d be happy with that level of service to cost. We never felt like cattle and getting off at the ports of call were seamless and fast.
What’s not to like about having a room cleaned twice a day, more food choices than you imagine, sleeping like a baby, live flowers everywhere you turn, gorgeous places to eat, drink and just enjoy the views. We weren’t sure we should’ve paid the extra for a balcony/veranda but being able to sit out and watch sunsets, sunrise and each port of call coming and going- it was worth it.
We’d like to book my mom on a cruise now as a gift and we already decided we’d book our yearly vacation/anniversary gift on cruises. I still want to take a luxury sail along the Nile in Egypt while he looks forward to Trinidad & Tobago. Next December we’re going back to the Eastern Caribbean to cover stuff we didn’t have time for this initial visit.