We live in BC, so all we had to do was drive to the Port of Vancouver.  We arrived around 10:30 am.  It was chaos.  I am ashamed to say the Port of Vancouver runs the worst port I've come across.  There were no signs to tell anyone where to go, people were in the wrong lineups - we had to ask three people for more and more specific directions to find the correct door to drop off our luggage.  With the new electronic documents you now pick up your baggage tags from the baggage handlers at the Pier; we didn't know that as all Holland had said prior to departing was they would be "at the Pier".  Hint:  Bring your own pen - I had brought one and was instantly popular with other cruisers who didn't have one.  We turned over our luggage to the baggage handlers and then entered a "Disneyland style" lineup to go through security; then another line up to go through customs; at this point it is 11:30 am.  We were then ushered into rows of seats where we waited for the Holland reservation agents to be ready for us; we were called row by row to get our cruise cards etc.; then we sat down in rows again as the ship was not ready to take us;  We finally boarded at 12:15 pm.  Cabins were not ready so we went to the Lido for lunch; as this is the first Holland cruise, I was used to Princess and being able to access cabins right away;  we did not get access to our cabins until 2:30 pm.We had met some people in line and so had lunch together.  The Lido cafe is very confusing to me (but maybe I'm easily confused); some stations were open, some were not; I ended up in the Deli line as it seemed short and was made a rather dry sandwich; no butter; only mustard; wouldn't have mayo for another 10 minutes.  There were so many people, it was crowded and with the food stations poorly organized it wasn't the best start.  Again, in comparison to Princess their Horizon Court isn't as large, can be crowded, but somehow was more orderly and well organized.When we did gain access to our cabin we found it spacious and well equipped.  Holland has provided wireless access throughout the ship and we did bring a laptop with us.  The internet packages are the same price as Princess - same service provider, but having email in the cabin was a very nice touch!  There was plenty of storage space; drawers and cupboards, but not much closet space for two adults.  The bathroom was nicely equipped with two sinks, a full size jetted bathtub and separate shower.  The bed was lovely - very comfortable and three pillows each.  There was no duvet - just a sheet, think blanket and then cover that looked like another sheet - disappointing there was no duvet.  The fridge was stocked as a mini-bar, but no price list until the morning we checked out.  There were wine glasses on the shelf above the fridge, but no corkscrew.  We tried several times to obtain a corkscrew to keep in the cabin, but to no avail. They would only send a wine steward with corkscrew to open a bottle for us and the second time they took an hour to get to the cabin, needless to say he arrived as we were leaving for dinner so we bought a corkscrew on our first stop.We had a nice sized balcony with two arm chairs and a table and two chairs with footstools and another small table in between.  The towel animals arrived around day three and were very well done each evening after that.The Zuiderdam itself is in need of a refit;  the carpets are old, stained and showing the worse for wear; the colors and decor are quite dark and nondescript.  Everyday crew members were vaccuming in the halls, around the elevator foyers, outside the Lido - it seemed there was a vaccum cleaner being used no matter where you went;  I found this a bit disconcerting - nice they keep it clean - but the noise and stepping over cords wasn't what I had anticipated.The weather was perfect for this trip - sunny every day and the seas were calm as glass.  The Inside Passage route is wonderfully scenic.  I have also done the Seattle route and it pales in comparison to the inside passage - definitely worth a few more dollars to sail out of Vancouver!  Our first glacier cruising was in Tracy Arm.  It was spectacular - gorgeous scenery, gorgeous weather and the ship travelled so slowly it was easy to watch wildlife.  We saw a few whales on the way in.The first stop was Juneau.  Disembarkation was a bit of a zoo - we used the gangway on A deck (the lowest deck) and it was very crowded and confused; people were coming off the stair cases, out of the elevators and it was quite the traffic jam as four rows of people narrowed down to one.  Fortunately for each port afterwards they did a much better job.We did the Roberts Tram - very scenic, but you couldn't use the trails as they were still covered in snow and the snowpack was not stable.  Nonetheless we enjoyed the trip.  We then wandered through the town - trying to avoid the cruiseline sponsored plethora of jewellry stores and found some locally owned, locally operated shops with very friendly and helpful staff and some lovely works of art to see.The next day was Skagway.  Having been there in 2008 we had already done the WhitePass Railway so used the same tour operator we used last year "Chilkoot Tours" and went fishing.  It was a wonderful 4 hours on the water - no fish as it was early in the season and we knew that before we booked - but decided to give it a try anyway.  It was glorious - we went almost to Haines and saw mountain goats, eagles, sea lions and other birds even if we didn't catch any fish.  The sun was warm the sea was like glass and crystal clear (probably why we didn't catch any fish), and it was perfect - even got a sunburn.The next day was cruising Glacier Bay - it was again, hate to overuse the word - spectacular.  They have two park rangers on board who do an excellent job; had a lovely drink called the snowplow which was malibu rum, baileys and hot chocolate - YUM! (unfortunately not too many bar staff around so it was a bit of a challenge to actually get one, but......) We saw calving - sounded like either thunder or a gun shot depending upon your view, but just mesmerizing - spent most of the day just gazing all around; saw a brown bear, mountain goats and lots of sea birds.  The color of the glacier was stunning - very blue and the mountain ranges all around just took your breath away.  A fabulous destination.Our next stop was Ketchikan; we wandered the town in the morning then did a misty fjords flightseeing trip with Island Wings - a full two hours with a 20 minute stop to go ashore.  Michelle Madsen, the pilot has a beautifully kept six passenger beaver - what a lovely plane.  The day was so clear she said it was a 9.5 out of 10 and we were even able to do some ridge running along the tops of some of the peaks it was unforgettable.That finished our port stops so just a few more comments about the ship and life aboard; some of the staff were very good, some not very friendly.  On Princess crew and staff must speak english when in public areas and whenever passengers are around; Holland obviously does not require this as there was alot of speaking in native languages and very little english.  The dining room staff basically did their jobs and that was it - not very friendly - none of the banter with the guests that we have come to enjoy.  We had the As You Wish Dining and it worked out well - there were many line ups, but we always went by 6:00 pm and didn't have a problem.  We also always agreed to a shared table which we enjoyed.We tried the Pinnacle Grill once and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The wait staff were excellent, the food sublime - it was more like what we were used to in the regular Princess dining room.The food overall was quite good.  The breads were basically brown or white; one night we had one with walnuts in it but whole grains or multi grains were never to be found.  We did like the rye bread - it was quite good.  Some nights had a good selection of entrees, others not so much; the appetizers were uninspired, altho' it didn't seem to stop us from eating (LOL).We did notice that throughout several areas on the ship there was a noticeable smell of cigarette smoke.  In the sports bar, the atrium bar, the casino (that's a given), when we were outside on our balcony and in some hallways and out on the viewing decks - people were even smoking cigars out there.  The only place Holland doesn't permit smoking is in the restaurants, the theatres and some bars.  I am not one to get into the smoking debate, but I must confess the less smoking around the better IMHO.  I think some folks must have complained because at the end of the cruise there was a brief survey circulated to the cabins that asked 1.  Will you cruise with Holland again; 2. Do you smoke; 3. Would you cruise with Holland if smoking was not permitted in cabins; and 4. Would you cruise with Holland if smoking was not permitted on board the ship.  Don't know what the results will be, if any, but it was interesting to have it show up on the last day.The entertainment was okay.  The singers and dancers were reasonably good and certainly worked very hard to put on a good show.  The best of the entertainment was comedian Lee Bayliss - he was excellent.  There was a magician that we didn't go to see, but a couple of days later he did what was supposed to be a "magic workshop", we talked to people who went and they said it was just a sales pitch for an $85.00 magic kit.One final note - the coffee on Holland is no better than anyone else's - even in the dining room and the "extra" coffee shop.  Still can't get a decent cup.Disembarkation was much better organized than embarkation.  We chose a late time as we just walked off to pick up a ride home and it went seamlessly - although they stopped serving breakfast at 8:00 am - and we only found that out through general discussion at dinner the night before.  We didn't get off until after 9:00 and would have just gone for breakfast at 8:30 if we hadn't heard otherwise.  On Princess they serve breakfast until 9:00 am and I really don't see why Holland can't do the same.On the whole it was a wonderful cruise thanks to perfect weather, great scenery, lovely ports of call, calm seas and some very lovely people we met along the way.  As for the on board experience I still prefer Princess.  I think the two products are very similar; it just comes down to a few small things and your personal preferences.  We have booked another Holland cruise, because of the itinerary, so the things I felt weren't quite up to snuff weren't enough to keep me off their ships, but if there were two equivalent itineraries, my vote would go to Princess.