Statendam Cruise Review

Dennis Margel
dmargel@attglobal.net

Age: 51
Occupation: Management
Number of Cruises: 25
Cruise Line: Holland America Line
Ship: Statendam
Sailing Date August 13th, 2000
Itinerary: Alaska

Background

We are experienced cruisers having sailed on HAL, NCCL, and Princess (over 20 cruises on HAL). We are fifty-ish and cruise with another couple of similar age. The four of us are truely "addicted" to cruising and enjoy the whole cruise experience. The only way we get to see/tour anything is by taking a cruise. If the cruise ship doesn't stop there, we'll never get to see it. Normally, we take warm weather cruises but my wife set a goal to see Alaska for her Fiftieth birthday. We decided to do it a year early because it fit with our schedules this summer. We don't like cruising less than 10 days so we booked two 7-day cruises back to back. No land tour for us -- as I said, "if a cruise ship doesn't stop there, we'll never get to see it".

The Cruise

To see Alaska, we decided on the HAL Alaska Glacier Discovery 2000 Cruise Northbound and Southbound, aboard the ms Statendam. We have sailed on the ms Statendam on three previous occasions. The northbound itinerary called for departure from Vancouver, stopping in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, and Valdez, with scenic cruising of the Inside Passage, Hubbard Glacier and College Fjords. The final destination was Seward. The southbound itinerary called for departure from Seward, stopping in Sitka, Juneau, and Ketchikan, with scenic cruising of College Fjords, Glacier Bay, and the Inside Passage, terminating in Vancouver.

Packing

The biggest challenge in preparing for this cruise was deciding what clothes to take. We researched the weather patterns for this time of year and found that it was usually chilly and rainy. We decided to buy 3 in 1 Jackets -- a waterproof jacket with a zip-in fleece jacket. Each could be worn separately or zipped together. It turned out to be one of the best ideas we ever had. My wife took gloves (I wish I had listened to her!). She also had a hooded sweatshirt which she found to be indispensible. You needed something to protect your ears from the cold wind. We packed short sleeve shirts with sweaters and sweatshirts. Our plan was to layer clothing to meet the need based on temperature. We only took one or two pair of shorts, just in case -- we never used them. We took plenty of slacks, jeans, and sweatpants. It was a lot bulkier packing than what we were used to but we made it using the same suitcases we always use for a two week cruise.

Pre-Cruise

We always like to leave a day early for our cruises. It reduces the stress of traveling to the cruise and has us well-rested for cruising from the moment we board the ship. We try to select a nice hotel that is near the dock. The flight from Pennsylvania to Vancouver (via Chicago) went smoothly and we arrived in the early afternoon. Canadian customs was very speedy and, after some delay in finding a taxi, we were on our way to the hotel. The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel took 30-40 minutes through heavy traffic. Our hotel reservations were at the Pan Pacific Hotel. We came across literature on this hotel when planning our cruise. The web site showed pictures of the cruise ships docking right at the hotel and we couldn't resist it. We were a little concerned that the sales literature overstated how close the ships dock but we took our chances and booked it. It is a very expensive hotel, especially when you get a room that overlooks the harbor. When the taxi pulled up to the hotel, we could see the front end of a cruise ship parked (docked) right up against the hotel. We immediately knew that this was going to be special and was worth every penny. It turned out that the ms Westerdam was docked there and sailing that afternoon. We have been on the Westerdam numerous times and it is one of our favorite ships for cruising the Carribean. We quickly checked in and went to our room hoping that the room was everything that we expected. We were not disappointed! We walked through the door into a very spacious room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the harbor, and... the top deck of the ms Westerdam. What a spectacular view!! We ran down to the lower levels of the hotel where there was a walkway alongside the ship. We took plenty of pictures and video of the Westerdam and longed to be onboard. We watched her sail away and vowed to be onboard the Westerdam in the near future (we just booked the Westerdam for February 2001). We had dinner at the hotel. Both the food and the service were excellent. I would highly recommend the Pan Pacific to anyone as long as you are not price-sensitive. The accommodations are immaculate and the service is outstanding. Having travelled from the East Coast to the West Coast, we tired early (in case you're wondering, the four of us shared the room to control the cost) and wanted to be up in time to see the Statendam dock. We all had trouble sleeping. The harbor at night was a pretty sight and, every time someone would get out of bed, someone else would ask, "Is the Statendam docked yet?". Finally, our body clocks rang the alarm and we were all awake around 6:30 am. It wasn't long and we saw the Statendam in the distance sailing into the harbor. Talk about excitement! After taking numerous pictures of the Statendam docking, we ate breakfast and goofed off the rest of the morning. The bellman came for our luggage and informed us that he would deliver them directly to the docks for loading onto the ship -- Wow, what convenience! There was a bit of a line for the hotel check-out but it wasn't long before we were on our way to the ship.

Check-In

Check in for the cruise occurred right below the hotel. There was an elevator in the hotel that took us to the dock area. The check in was rather confusing because you had to walk through most of the terminal to get to the check in area. Then, after checking in, you had to again walk back through most of the terminal to get to the waiting area for boarding. We were in the waiting area by Noon; the ship began boarding about 1:20 pm. The boarding was very smooth and we were on board by 1:40 pm.

The Statendam

Onboard.. . Our luggage wasn't aboard yet so we headed out to find old friends on board the Statendam. We sailed on the Statendam two times in the past 18 months and made a lot of friends among the crew. We quickly found that almost all of our friends were no longer on the Statendam or home on vacation. So, we immediately began to make new friends. The bars were open, the buffet restaurant was serving a large buffet, the hamburgers were cooking on the grill... we dove right in! Life boat drill was held shortly before sail away. It is always a hassle but I respect the importance of the event and how seriously HAL conducts it. Before you knew it, we were sailing away from Vancouver, leaving the Pan Pacific Hotel behind (but keeping the wonderful memories forever).

Facilities... Our cabins were on Main Deck, Category E (Large Outside). The two lower beds were put together to form a Queen Size bed and there was plenty of room to store all of our clothes . The ship was very clean and well-decorated -- typical HAL ship. Our favorite places on the ship... the Crow's Nest - on the top deck at the front of the ship - a great view during the day, dancing and munchies before dinner, and the disco at night. the Casino and Casino Bar - all the gambling opportunities you can stand (we're not big gamblers, just contributors) and it's fun sitting at the Bar watching others lose their money. the Explorers Lounge - fancy coffees, chocolates, and a string quartet - very relaxing. The Internet Cafe - Internet access via satellite - it was fun sending e-mails to our kids at home. The side deck - the walk-around deck on Lower Promenade with the wooden deck chairs (and woolen blankets to keep warm - if that's at all possible!). The Lido Pool area for enclosed swimming and hot tubbing. The Fitness Center - not usually a place where we spend any time - but I was stuck spending time there to keep up my therapy on a shoulder problem. We never got to the Movie Theater this trip nor the Ocean Lounge, and only made a brief stop in the Piano Bar.

Service... Service from all of the HAL crew was outstanding, as usual. Binton, our Dining Room Steward, was efficient and very pleasant. We really got to know him the second week. Binton didn't have an Assistant for some reason, so he had the Doorman, Dayat, helping him out occasionally. He tried very hard and was learning all the tricks of the trade. We always tip at the end of the first week and gave Dayat the tip normally expected for an Assistant Steward. He showed his appreciation the second week with even better service! Our Wine Steward turned out to be an acquaintence from a previous cruise on the Westerdam. He even remembered that we had our kids along with us on that cruise. He did a fine job in keeping the wine flowing. Ketut, Dining Room Supervisor, was the best we've had in years. He stopped by several times each night to help keep things moving smoothly and chat with us. Usually, those types of "chats" are very awkward and not very pleasant. That was far from the case with Ketut. He was always very interesting and, sometimes even entertaining. We are night people and spend time in the Bars/Lounges. In the Crow's Nest, Bartenders Edward and Richard took excellent care of us - good service, good drinks, good banter, and always a smile - great guys! In the Casino Bar, Bartenders Mario and Larry made sure we never went thirsty - again, good service, good drinks, good banter, and always a smile. In the Casino, Arlene made sure we didn't go thirsty while making our nightly contributions to the cause. She was very personable and showed us pictures of her cute 3 year old son. And the guy who rarely gets the recognition he deserves... the Cabin Steward. Agung was our Cabin Steward and he did the impossible - keeping our room neat and clean without ever getting in our way. Sorry to say, I can't give the same kind of high praise for service to the many services on board that are provided by outsource vendors. The Casino Staff is the one exception. For the first time in a long time, I got the impression that the Casino Staff was really working hard to provide a pleasant experience to the passengers. They were very creative in their events and how they conducted them. The slot machines didn't pay off any more than usual but I was impressed with the effort of the Casino Staff. Other services were not even close... The Photographer Shop amazes me with their lack of concern for customer service. They insist on taking the pictures the way they want to take them despite the fact that the passenger is the one that decides whether or not to buy them. At dinner, when the photographer approached I moved close to my wife only to be told, "Sorry, we are only taking singles tonight" and he took a picture of each of us alone. The Photo Shop seems to only be open when it is convenient for them. When we were sailing College Fjords in the morning, the Photo Shop was open. Who wants to miss the sights of College Fjords to shop for photos? Then, in the afternoon, after leaving College Fjords, the Photo Shop is closed! And the cost of the photos... $10.95 each. I guess they are selling less photos, so they need to raise the price. Maybe if the Photo Shop would be open 24 hours a day as in the past, they could sell more photos... and lower the prices! The wives tried to book a massage appointment upon boarding. They were told they couldn't book it because the appointment book was being used in the boarding area. When asked why we didn't see them booking in the boarding area, they explained that they didn't start booking in the boarding area until 2 pm because they were off until that time. Another example of customer service being second to the convenience of the service staff. The Shops Staff were friendly and efficient for the most part but they also suffered from blind spots when it comes to customer service. Don't misunderstand me, I don't let these things upset my cruise - I had a great time. But, I think it is only fair to praise those who work hard to provide service and pan those who don't.

The Food... It was a cruise - what more can I say! The food was excellent! The variety, the presentation, the taste - all excellent. We normally ate breakfast buffet style in the Lido Restaurant. They had everything you could imagine, including made-to-order omelets. And, for those who didn't like waiting in line, they had an express breakfast stand (scrambled eggs, bacon, & sausage) and a Continental Breakfast stand (fruit, pastries, and cereals). We always make at least one trip to the Dining Room for Breakfast to get Eggs Benedict. Guess who was the pastry man... Dayat! Oh, by the way, the Eggs Benedict were excellent. Lunch of some sort seems to run from about 11 am to around 5 pm. There are so many choices it is sometimes painful to decide. There's the buffet line with several hot entrees, the salad bar, the deli stand, the hamburger grill, the taco stand, the pizza stand, and don't forget the dessert bar and the ice cream stand! On two days of each week, they had a cookout. One day was hamburgers, chicken, ribs, and salmon; another day was steaks, chicken, ribs, and salmon - of course with an assortment of side dishes. Then, before dinner, cocktails, dancing, and hot munchies! Sometimes I ate so many Jalepeno Poppers, I don't know how I ever ate dinner. And we can't forget dinner... Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Entrees, Desserts... my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Almost every night's menu featured beef, fowl, seafood, and pork or lamb. A grilled chicken breast or salmon filet was available every night and there was always a vegetarian dish. And, if for some reason you can't get to where they are handing out food, you can always call room service! Do those chocolates on your pillow at night count as food??

The Entertainment. .. I was somewhat disappointed in the entertainment. Mainly because the cast shows were repeats of cast shows that I have already seen twice on the Statendam. In March 1999, we saw Personalities, Showstoppers, and The Copa Cabana. In November 1999, we saw Personalities, Showstoppers, and the Copa Cabana. Now, in August 2000, we go to the show and they are performing Personalities, Showstoppers, and the Copa Cabana. I would be interested if others have the same kind of experience on other cruise lines. If the cruise lines want people to come back often, they need to change their entertainment often. I think having the same cast shows for 18 months in a row is a bit too much. The other show lounge entertainers were excellent! Cool Sensations, the band in the Crow's Nest, seemed to be barely alive. They showed absolutely no enthusiasm for their performances. Impact, the band in the Ocean Lounge, apparently lost one of their members to a medical emergency. The remaining members did the best they could to hold it together. The Rosario Strings, who performed in the Explorer's Lounge, were excellent. They also entertained at second seating dinner for about 30 minutes each evening. Terry McCann was in the Piano Bar. They did a lot of special activites in there after dinner. The night we stopped in, they were doing a sing along. On several nights, they scheduled the Second Seating Show before dinner. I think this is very inconvenient for the passengers. I choose second seating so I don't have to cut my afternoon short to get ready for dinner. Then, they schedule the show before dinner, thus making me cut my afternoon short to get ready for dinner in time to see the show.

The Cruise Staff. .. Our Cruise Director was John Challenger. It seems that you rarely see the Cruise Director anymore except for some of the formal responsibilities, like introducing perfomers, announcing the Baked Alaska, etc. Our Assistant CD was "Give it away" Graham. In case you haven't guessed, he did the Bingo calling. It seemed like they had Bingo three times a day! It got a little annoying when they would come on the loudspeaker to announce that Bingo was about to begin. Overall, the Cruise Staff was very efficient but not overly friendly. They would come into a room, conduct their activity, then leave. We rarely saw them around the ship in the evenings. But, they did a good job on conducting their activities. One of my favorites is the Liars Club. The Hostess on the first week was Sarah; the Hostess the second week was Cindy. Cindy seemed to have trouble filling the time when hosting the Ice Carving Demonstration. I guess with all the new ships being launched it is tough to have enough experienced staff to go around. Two different Cruise Staff members acted as DJ in the Crows Nest. Both did a very good job of playing a mix of music. There were three children's program couselors onboard each week. There were more children on this cruise than I have ever seen on HAL in the past. The children were very well-behaved but they were children and they were noisy.

The Passengers.. . Cruising two different cruises back to back is always amazing. Each week is so different in terms of the passengers on board. On both weeks, the passengers were markedly younger than I expected. From what I've read about Alaska cruises, I expected a very old clientele. I would guess that the average age on these two cruises was substantially lower than other HAL cruises we've taken. The passengers on the first week had a way of disappearing. You never saw them. The buffet lines were rarely crowded. There were a fair number of late night folks who would show up every night in the disco and hang around until closing time. The second week was entirely different. The buffet lines seemed to always be crowded and people seemed to be everywhere. I began to believe that people just continued to cycle through the buffet line all day long. At night, the Casino emptied out pretty early and there was hardly anyone in the Disco (until the last two nights). By the way, the ship was fully booked both weeks.

Weather

Cold!! At least colder than I expected. The high temperature was usually about 57 degrees. When cruising near glaciers, the water temperature was around 40 degrees which has a definite affect on the air temperature. Then, when the ship is sailing at 18 knots, the resultant wind chill is... cold!. Sitting on the side deck was almost impossible - but we did it anyway! It was overcast most days and often with light rain. I think we had about 4 days of sunshine out of 14.

Itinerary & Excursions

Ketchikan ... We stopped here both weeks and it was my favorite Alaska town. It just looked like what an Alaska town should look like. Both weeks, we just walked around town and did a little shopping. Our favorite spot was Creek Street. The Salmon were running while we were there. The creek was absolutely packed with Salmon. Several people were there fishing, pulling Salmon out one after another. Most were just throwing them back in. You could purchase a fishing license and rent equipment about a block away from the creek. Creek Street was lined with quaint little shops that had a nice variety of items. I'm not an avid shopper but I enjoyed Creek Street. Elsewhere in Ketchikan there are plenty of serious shops for tourists to spend money. I quickly tired of them and returned to the ship. The weather both weeks was chilly, damp, and rainy. It rains 300 days per year in Ketchikan. I don't know how people survive living there. We were in port three hours the first week and six hours the second week. There were a wide variety of shore excursions available... Lumber Jack Show, Walking Tours, Kayaking, Canoeing, Fishing, Hiking, and Helicopter tours. There seemed to be ample availability.

Juneau ... We stopped here both weeks. We had already booked tours for each week on our own. The first week, we booked a Helicopter Tour of the Glaciers. The second week, we booked a Whale Watching Tour. We had to pay the full price for both of these in advance. Week one, we had some time before our tour so we took the Mt Roberts Tramway up the mountain. Once up the mountain, we took the loop hiking trail and made the side excursion to Father Brown's Cross. The scenery and views were breathtaking (not to mention the hiking)! Shortly before Noon, we caught our ride to Temsco Helicopters for our Pilot's Choice Tour. This turned out to be a mixed experience. We were scheduled to fly at 1 pm. We arrived at their terminal and filled out the weight list. Then we were shown the safety video. As we were donning our glacier boots, we were called to the side and told that our aircraft had been diverted for med evac and we would need to reschedule. A large number of cruise ship passengers were in the same room with us watching the safety video and donning boots. It was awfully suspicious that we were being bumped but no cruise passengers were being bumped. Especially considering that they try to put 6 passengers in each helicopter and there were only 4 of us. They offered to put us on a Mendenhall Glacier tour (where would they get the helicopter for that) or book us for a Pilot's Choice Tour at 6:30 pm. The ship was departing at 9:00 pm - the tour was 90 minutes long. We felt that it was cutting it too close. The people at Temsco assured us it was okay and that they had a Statendam shore excursion booked at the same time. Given that info, we decided to take the 6:30 pm. It turned out that the Temsco people told a little white lie. There were other people from the Statendam on the 6:30 tour but it was not one of the Statendam's Shore Excursions. Those people were on their own (like us). This really messed us up because we lost a couple hours being bumped and then had to miss dinner to do the 6:30 tour. When we returned for the 6:30 tour, I noticed that the flight board showed a full complement of flights for the entire day with a full load of passengers for each flight. As we thought about it, we remembered some people complaining during the safety video that there weren't enough seats for everyone in the room. We came to the conclusion that Temsco overbooked their flights and bumped us because we were on our own and not part of a ship's excursion. I guess that is one of the dangers of going on your own. But, we took the Pilot's Choice Tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. We landed and walked around on two different glaciers, Gilkey Glacier and Herbert Glacier. Seeing a glacier first hand while walking on it was awesome. There were two helicopters that travelled together. Both pilots were good tour guides. At the second glacier, the pilot passed around champagne and chocolates. Imagine that... walking around on a glacier 400 feet deep while drinking champagne and eating fudge!! We also flew over numerous other glaciers. Luckily, we reminded the pilots that we needed to be back on board by 8:30 pm and they hurriedly got us back to the airport on time. Temsco didn't seem very organized but the tour was outstanding. I would certainly recommend it. The second week, we took the Orca Whale Watching Tour. We were taken pretty far north of Juneau to board a jet boat. There were about 25 people on the boat and there was just enough seating inside the boat for everyone. This wasn't a problem because most of us were outside watching the whales. The boat had a back deck and a top deck (limited to 6 people at a time when the boat is not changing location). We only saw one Humpback Whale and he kept running away from us. We saw a group of Sea Otters laying on a channel marker. Then we saw a number of Killer Whales (Orcas). The one Killer Whale began swimming parallel to our boat and our captain kept us in sync with it. It repeatedly came up out of the water and showed it huge dorsal fin. I shot up about a roll of film on that one whale. It was a great tour. I was very pleased with the boat and the limited number of people on the tour. Some of those tours have these big boats where they pack as many people as possible on board to the point where you can't move around and get a good view of anything. On this tour, everyone got to move around and get a good view of the whales. Back in Juneau, there is plenty of shopping right across the street from where the ships dock. We did some shopping the first week. You can actually buy a fur-lined Jock Strap there. No, I didn't get one but I was tempted. Again, the ship had a complete assortment of shore excursions at Juneau and there appeared to be ample availability. The tours aren't cheap... helicopter tours run from a low of $180 per person to $340 per person.

Sitka ... The ship stopped here both weeks. The first week, we were anchored off shore and had to tender in to Sitka. It is a quaint little town with a couple of scenic spots -- a Russian Orthodox Church and Baranof's Castle. The church was interesting but there wasn't much left of the castle. The castle did provide a nice picture taking opportunity with the Statendam sitting offshore. There is some shopping but we didn't do much. The second week, the ship anchored off shore and we didn't bother getting off. The ship had a variety of shore excursions ranging in price from $19 to $159. There were land tours, boat tours, biking, and fishing trips.

Hubbard Glacier ... We cruised by this glacier the first week. We sailed into Yakutat Bay around 8:30 am - a little early in the morning for our tastes. As we sailed toward the glacier, numerous icebergs floated by (I guess technically they aren't icebergs because of their size). One large iceberg hit the side of the ship and made a lot of noise -- not to mention excitement. We came near the glacier and came to a standstill. It seemed like we were really close to the glacier. Then, the on-board expert spoke on the PA System about the glacier and informed us that the glacier was about 400 feet high above the water line. Well, it seemed to us, standing on the top deck of the ship, that we were as high up as the top of the glacier. Obviously, we weren't as close to the glacier as it seemed. Then, the glacier began "calving" (chunks of ice falling from the glacier into the water). We could see the chunks falling into the water but it took about 3 seconds for us to hear the sound of it. That is when we realized that we were about 3 miles away from the glacier. As we were leaving the glacier, a Princess Cruise Ship pulled in to take our place. When we looked back at the glacier, we noticed how small the cruise ship was in comparison to the glacier. That is when we really came to realize how immense the scenery was, and how far away we were. It seems like you are close enough to the shore to see bears walking up to the shoreline with the naked eye. In reality, with 10 x 50 binoculars, I had difficulty determining that the moving lifeform I was seeing was actually a human being with a kayak - not a small bear. The Hubbard Glacier was truly impressive and there was plenty of "calving" while we were there.

Valdez ... We only stopped here the first week. The great attraction here is the Trans Alaska Oil Pipeline Terminal. There were several souvenir stands set up right on the dock. We got off the ship and took a look around, then got back aboard. The ship had a number of excursions ranging in price from $29 to $199. It ran the gamut from tours to the Oil terminal to Helicopter sightseeing.

College Fjord ... We cruised here both weeks. The first week we were here in the afternoon; the second week we were here early in the morning. There were plenty of glaciers to see here. The ultimate destination was two glaciers named, Harvard and (you guessed it) Yale. Once again, the scenery was so immense and so awesome.

Seward ... This was the turnaround city. The passengers from our first week's cruise disembarked here and a new set of passengers for our second week's cruise came aboard. Apparently, passengers are bussed to/from Anchorage to the ship which is about a 2-hour ride. Doesn't sound like fun to me. We were allowed to get off the ship during the layover but we didn't bother. We stayed aboard, checked out the Verandah Cabins (that we'd like to book in the future), and layed on the side deck resting and reading.

Glacier Bay ... This was the only new place we saw on the second week. When we entered Glacier Bay National Park, two Park Rangers boarded the ship to provide commentary. This was certainly one of the highlights of the trip. We saw a number of small glaciers and two really large ones. We pulled into a little inlet and rounded a bend called, Jaw Point. The Park Ranger liked to call it, "Jaw Drop Point" because of the awesome sight when you round the bend. To be honest with you, it wasn't as awesome as some of the sights we already saw. So, our jaws didn't drop -- but it was very scenic. We spent the entire day in Glacier Bay and we were outside on the front deck the entire time. Needless to say, by 5:30 pm (as we were departing) we were really beat. The Park Ranger mentioned that we would probably see whales around 6:00 pm as we were leaving the National Park. Being exhausted at 5:30 pm, we went inside to the Crow's Nest Lounge (Top Deck overlooking the front of the ship). And, just like clockwork, at 6:00 pm we began sighting numerous hump back whales. They put on a great show for us, jumping way out of the water. It put an excellent ending on an excellent day!

Disembarkation

Disembarkation was very smooth. For those that used Holland America transfers to the airport (which we did), the luggage was taken directly to the airport. When your disembarkation number was called, you walked off the ship and onto a waiting bus. At the airport, they had an area marked off with all the luggage lined up. You just walked in and claimed your luggage. Then you went to the gate and checked it in. US Customs was performed before leaving Canada to avoid problems upon arriving in the US with connections. The Customs process was pretty smooth. Vancouver airport was charging a special tax (for renovations?) and that process was very awkward. You had to wait in line to pay the tax and get a receipt. Then, you had to wait in line to have someone check your receipt. Very strange!! We flew Air Canada from Vancouver to Chicago. Our departure was late and we arrived in Chicago with little time to make our connection (which was leaving from a different terminal). We ran to the terminal only to find that our connection was delayed. Then, once on board, we had equipment problems and returned to the gate. The final result: we arrived home in Harrisburg, PA a little after 2:00 am (2 hours late). But, our luggage made it so who can complain!

Bottom Line:

It was another great cruise. Certainly different than cruising the Carribean but, variety is the spice of life!! Despite the minor annoyances, Holland America delivers a first rate cruising experience and I'll certainly go back again -- in February in fact!