I joined the Rotterdam in Rome, sailed the Mediterranean and crossed the Atlantic from the Madeira Islands to Ft. Lauderdale. (This was a 46 day cruise that originated in Montreal and ended in Ft. Lauderdale. The Rotterdam crew payed extra attention to maintaining the ship. The carpets in the halls and common areas were vacuumed at least twice daily and the exterior deck areas were cleaned and painted frequently.. A crew member used a disinfectant to wipe down all the hand rails on the stairways and along the hallways and elevator areas. Transport from the Rome airport and boarding in Civitavecchia was easy. Holland America, unlike some other cruise lines, stations a crew member at the boarding area and each deck to greet and direct passengers to their stateroom. The cabin attendants are very attentive to the passenger's needs and keep the cabin very clean. The food in the dining room seemed to be of better quality than in the Ledo. The entertainment was very good. In general, the Holland America sponsored excursions were very good. The only issue I had was during the excursion in Casablanca where we were hustled to a "local" department store (souvenir shop) by the tour guide (who obviously was given a cut of the sales) and given @ 20 minutes to shop. I was supersized at the number of passengers who used scooters, walkers and canes. There was only one family with school age children on board when I boarded in Rome, (they must have disembarked before we reached Morocco) and only two under @6 years old when we reached Florida. I would definitely recommend this cruise.