Travel Blogging I

A day’s cruise east of Fort Lauderdale:  The DrsC are on the briny deep once again, aboard Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam. We’re headed for the Azores, Normandy, the Norwegian fjords, and ending up in Amsterdam.

This is HA’s newest and largest ship, though not large by absolute cruise ship standards where some ships carry 5-6000 pax. The interior decorating esthetic aboard this ship is severely modern, feels Finnish or Swedish. I don’t care for Scandinavian styling, I find it cold and unfriendly. 

There are things each cruise line does well, and others they do poorly. HA does the most unpleasant first-day passenger safety drills of the lines we’ve traveled (Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Hurtigruten and Holland America), Royal Caribbean does these best. On the other hand HA’s room service breakfasts are the best.

More comparisons as the three week cruise continues.