After many years sailing with Carnival, we tried Holland America for our cruise to Alaska. My traveling party (all individuals under the age of 35) wanted a smaller boat and so we sailed on the Westerdam. What a mistake!
Firstly, one hour after our ship sailed away, the boiler room caught fire. We were notified on this by the captian getting on the loudspeaker and asking crew members to get to their stations. We received little information until the fire was put out. Then, the fire reignited. The boat was turned around and we were sent back to Seattle. Then, no information was given for HOURS. We didn't know if we were going to sail at all; or if the itenerary would be revised; or when we would leave Seattle. Finally, at approximately 11 pm that evening, the CEO of Holland got on the loudspeaker (saying, "Well, I live here, so this wasn't a long trip for me"--thanks for that) saying we would miss the Sitka port and be compensated a measly $250 per cabin for our troubles.
Frankly, this ruined our cruise. We were on the boat way too much. Instead of 1 day at sea, then a port, and then scenic cruising in Glacier Bay, we spent 2 full days at sea and then Glacier Bay, so we were on the boat for almost 4 days straight (counting when we got on at 1 pm on Saturday). It would have been okay if it were a nicer boat. But the decor was unbelievably outdated.