Arrived in Seattle the day before embarking on the Rotterdam for our seven-day cruise to Alaska, via the inside passage. This was my 5th cruise to Alaska on as many cruise lines. Embarkation was a breeze. Absolutely smooth as glass. We were directed to our room and our luggage arrived about 2 hours later which was no problem. We enjoyed a cocktail on deck while waiting for the ship to sale. The first night of the trip was rather rough so I popped a couple Dramamine......oops! I was out like a light for about 13 hours. Be sure to check the milligrams on the label. The beds on the Rotterdam and very comfortable, much better than the beds on RCC. The service was excellent in every area of the ship. The Pinnacle Dining room was absolutely amazing. Literally the best steak I've ever had in my life. This is no joke. Here's where it gets a little dicey! The food in the Lido is mediocre to good, depending on what time you get there. I think the main problem is the way they have it set up. You don't just stand in line and go through and select what you want. They have various stations from which you get different courses. For instance, they have a line for "starters", a line for "Entrees", etc. It's inconvenient and everyone is crawling all over each other. One night we had dinner in the Italian restaurant, the Cannelloni, I think it's called. It was the pits! Service, as usual, was beyond excellent. Food was awful. Really the worst! It was truly the polar opposite of the Pinnacle Grill. The ports of call.......typically beautiful. The presentation at Hubbard Glacier was excellent, the gentlemen who boarded the ship to give history of the glacier, etc., were quite good and the whole glacier experience was wonderful. Our excursion in Sitka was the best of the best. Overall, the cruise on Holland America's Rotterdam was adequate. The service was top drawer, the food overall was very average (with the marked exception of the Pinnacle Grill which was great). The main disappointment on this cruise was the entertainment. It was by far the worst on any line I've experienced. The cruise director was a nice guy and did the best he could with what he had to work with. The other entertainers and emcees were just awful. They were condescending and disinterested. We made it through two shows and gave up!! Really bad. Getting off the ship was easy, no problem. Royal Caribbean has Holland America beat hands down in the entertainment area. Now on mattresses, they could take a lesson from HAL. Service on HAL was probably better than RCC. HAL beats Carnival, NCL and Celebrity and Princess without even trying.

Overall, good. Not exceptional. Will go RCC next time.