I have taken more cruises with Holland America than with any other cruise line. In fact, my first cruise was with Holland America, and I have wonderful memories of it, even though our ship (Ryndam) broke down less than forty five minutes after setting sail.

My concerns are with the decisions that are being made at the corporate level. Holland America's leadership seems to be on a self-destruct mission in many ways, and I will explain why I think this is so.

The Rotterdam is a ship I had long wanted to experience. The crew, in almost every single case, did a wonderful job. I was amazed, as always, at how well the cabin stewards and waitstaff perform their duties, especially given what Holland America demands of them. The Rotterdam itself, however, looked rather seedy and frayed around the edges, though I have no doubt that it was incredibly clean. I noticed long ago that Holland America's management seems to let their ships fall into rather sorry states of repair. This is beyond me, as I have no idea why they seem to think that this does not matter. Read more