I travelled on the Statendam with my Dad and brother (our ages: 75, 53, 49) July 29-August 7, 2007 with a few days' land package after the cruise (Cruise Tour #11). We traveled northbound, from Vancouver to Seward, then spent time in Anchorage, Denali National Park, and Fairbanks before heading home. This was our first experience with HAL--all previous cruises were with Royal Caribbean.

The smaller size of the Statendam worked well for my father, who has hip trouble and cannot walk far or for long periods. The ship does seem to be showing her age a bit, but it always seemed clean and our suite was very nice and comfortable. The sofa bed was not good, however, and I ended up sleeping across it as if it had not been opened up--like sleeping on the couch. Our cabin steward was very nice but not completely fluent in English. Sometimes communication wasn't smooth. The concierge was helpful and friendly.

On RCCL, you can purchase a thermal mug for soft drinks and they place a sticker on your key/card showing you have the soda package--unlimited number of refills. With HAL, you purchase a punch card and have to carry it with you when you want a drink--just one more thing to carry around and fish out of your bag when you're thirsty. Also, the bar staff rarely smiled, and pretty much ignored you when they realized you had a punch card--no tips, I guess. They do add 15% to the cost of the punch card ($18 before surcharge for 20 punches) They didn't go out of their way to be friendly. Read more