We took a 10-day family cruise aboard the Holland America Zuiderdam over Christmas. We had 8 adults and 3 children. This was the 23rd cruise for my wife and me and all of the participants had been on at least 2 cruises.
In a word, the cruise was outstanding with one major exception. Let me cover that first. HAL needs considerable work on their "As You Wish" dining. Since we were a large group with 3 children, I wanted to ensure that "As You Wish" dining was exactly that. I was told by my travel agent AND Holland America headquarters that I would be able to reserve a standing time (at 6:30 PM). I even had a Cruise Critic staff member who was on the same cruise immediately before us tell us that she was sure we "would have no problem with a standing reservation".
When we attempted to obtain this reservation, we were not only turned down flat, BUT we could not get any reservation between 5 PM and 9 PM on any day. THE ENTIRE DINING ROOM WAS HELD FOR WALK-UPS BETWEEN 5 AND 9 !!
Cabin outstanding, great hanging and storage space, largest balcony we've ever had in 23 cruises.