I chose this cruise because of the wonderful ports offered and because I had previously cruised with Holland and been quite pleased. It was a mistake. . .. a horrible mistake, The ship is in great disrepair aesthetically. From chipped and peeling paint, to dirty mats and peeling closet rods. The Oosterdam needs to be placed in service and cleaned. Other cruisers were similarly complaining about the food, the dirt, the lack of service etc. . . I learned that the cruise director was leaving the ship at the end of our cruise which may have accounted for her lack of involvement ( unless it was hanging out drinking with other cruise line personnel), but must comment about the lack of activities ( or rote nature of same). While the Oosterdam " strives to offer activities for every age range and nationality," there were very few choices and the entertainment quality was bad. The exception was the BB King band, which was quite good.

In addition to the state of the ship, the food offered was poor ( except the one excellent meal enjoyed at the specialty restaurant). Otherwise, the stations close at 9pm, and have old ( as in expired cream cheese, old (smelly) seafood, etc) food options . Pizza however is available pretty much 24/7. Positives: The cabin stewards work tirelessly. The assistant cruise director was great, my spa appointments were reasonably priced and quite good.

One concern to note was that we had an overnight in Malta. We docked at Valletta and were due to depart from Gozo the following day. My son and I notified the ship ( and filled out paperwork and provided contact information) to inform them that we would exit the ship from Valletta and meet the ship in Gozo. Because of weather, the Captain decided not to go to Gozo and changed the aboard time in Valletta. WE WERE NEVER CONTACTED, Had it not been for a fellow passenger texting me about the change, we would never have known and missed the ship's departing from Valletta. I tried to let the ship know of this error and my other concerns. The only response I received was when the manager of the Lido deck hunted me down at the fine dining establishment were I had reserved the following night to inquire about my comments about the curdled milk offered for coffee drinkers on the Lido in the mornings. No one from HA addressed the issue of failing to inform us of the port change. Scary. I will never ever cruise HA again and the biggest reason for that decision is that they did not address my concerns. There are numerous fellow passengers who felt the same way. All told, this cruise cost over $10,000.00. I expected a lot more. Don't waste your money on poor service, poor food, and dirty accommodations.