My husband and I have sailed with Holland America nine times including Statendam, Maasdam, Prinsendam, and Amsterdam. Eight of these cruises have been to Alaska and one to Hawaii (yes, were in a rut, but its a nice rut to be in!)

We just returned from a cruise to Alaska aboard the Westerdam, sailing out of Seattle roundtrip to Alaska. We traveled with another couple and we had side-by-side cabins in the veranda category (VB) on the Upper Promenade deck. This was our first experience with the Vista class ships and we noted several differences over our past sailings on the smaller ships.

We live in the Portland, Oregon area so we drove to Seattle and parked in a nearby lot. It was very convenient and space was not an issue. Read more