We did a 12 day cruise out of Barcelona ending in Rome on the Westerdam in September, 2017 in celebration of a friend's retirement. We have sailed many times with other cruise lines (Oceania, Norwegian, Celebrity) but had never before sailed with Holland America. We booked a year and a half in advance and had booked veranda with balcony staterooms that were aft facing and adjoining our friends. We used a travel agent to make the reservation. About two weeks before we sailed, we were offered an upgrade, at $499/person, to a Neptune Suite. We accepted. It was the right decision resulting in a spacious cabin (king bed, large sofa, two chairs, coffee table and wide screen tv) with a ton of closet space, a big bathroom with two sinks, separate tub and shower, and all the suites were recently redone from top to bottom with the renovation of the ship earlier this year. Our friends were also upgraded to a Neptune Suite with a balcony that wrapped around the rear and side of the ship - perfect for 5:00 cocktail parties every afternoon. A concierge comes with Pinnacle and Neptune Suites which is really two wonderful individuals in the Neptune Lounge who cater to your ever need and solve all your on board problems (dinner reservations, printing boarding passes, arranging excursions, etc). The lounge has an extensive continental breakfast in the morning and food all day along with an honor bar that starts in the afternoon. It is very nice to have a nice quiet place away from the hectic Lido Dining room to get a bite to eat at breakfast or lunch. We used the snacks in the lounge for our daily cocktail parties as well. Laundry and dry cleaning services are free with suites. We had no idea how valuable this service is. We could have packed much lighter with the ability to wear things several times. So, if you can book a suite - I highly recommend it.

As for the ship, we loved both the Westerdam and Holland America. The ship is exceptionally quiet. Only one announcement in the morning with the basics of the day lasting a couple of minutes. When the ship is in motion, it is hard to tell she is moving. I have never been such a quiet ship even when docking or leaving port.

Staff service is excellent. Well beyond that provided by Norwegian and Celebrity and on par with Oceania, but with better processes for moving everyone on and off the ship - where Oceania has failed us in the past. Read more