We sailed the Statendam June 28 from Seward to Vancouver. When deciding on this cruise we were torn between a larger newer ship and this 55,000 ton 1993 ship. This is our 12th cruise but had never cruised Holland before so decided to give it a try. We are so glad we did. We had sailed the Coral Princess two weeks earlier and Carnival 3 months earlier so had fresh experiences to compare. Holland made this our most enjoyable cruise yet. The embarkation and debarkation processes were the smoothest we've ever encountered. Even though we did not get upgraded as we had hoped, when we got to our standard outside stateroom we were thrilled. It was spacious, had a loveseat in addition to the king size bed, plenty of storage and hangers, and had a bathtub! Within an hour of walking around the ship my wife and I were convinced this was just a little higher class ship than any of the megaships we had sailed with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, or Celebrity.  The classy dEcor showed off nice sculptures and art without all the brass and glass flash and glitz of the newer ships. Its' smaller size made everything accessible without getting worn out walking to the next destination. The library/computer center was superb in size and offering. Of course the internet fees were out of reach as always but the area provided a very relaxing venue for reading, making puzzles, or just watching the scenery go by. One minor opportunity would have been to have water running in the main atrium fountain. The ship showed a tiny bit of wear if we looked very close but nothing was objectionable and was well cleaned. The food quality, variety, and presentation were superb. Having servers at the Lido buffet removed the feeding frenzy feel we've gotten at other ship buffets. The chocolate extravaganza was four times larger than Princess. The mid-ship theater is comfortable and offered free popcorn - something Princess and Carnival do not offer. There was one minor layout distraction. Guests cannot walk from dinner to the show on deck 7. We had to go up or down and then back down or up. The flat bottom floor of the show lounge and the balcony railing are not ideal for watching productions but it was much easier to enter and especially exit after shows to have exits on both decks - unlike the Coral Princess where we had to wait up to ten minutes to exit the theater if we sat down front. We decided we do not need the climbing walls and ice skating rinks but we did miss the large open promenade we enjoyed on the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas.

The opening night welcome show was a little hokey but the feature show singers, dancers, and comedians were as good as we've ever seen. The average age was a little more mature and that offered a more relaxed atmosphere without tons of kids and teens running around making noise.

Room steward made towel animals which Princess did not do.