When starting to research cruiselines for my 55th birthday trip to Alaska, I went first to a trusted friend and travel agent for advice. She told me "Holland America does Alaska well....try them." I had been on Azamara, Princess and RC previously, but never HAL. So, I turned here to CC to research them. To be honest, some of the reviews on the Westerdam sort of concerned me, but in the end, I booked with them on the Westerdam, and I am happy to say that I was glad I did.
My 30-something daughter accompanied me on my birthday trip, and we both really enjoyed the ship and the ports. We laughed because she was probably only of about 10% of the ship in her age group, but she likes the pace we "older" crowd enjoy.....in bed early, up early, etc. etc., so it was never a problem for her. That being said, if you want a cruise with a lot of "action", this one is probably not your first choice. Clearly 2/3 of the ship was my age or older, but that was what I was looking for.
We started by flying to Seattle, staying at the Hampton near Sea-tac, and it was perfect. They even arranged a shuttle for us to the ship the next day for a really reasonable price...around 15.00 each. That worked out great...we were picked up on time and dropped right at the cruise port pronto.