We choose this cruise for the itinerary. We were on the 12 day of a 19 day sailing. You do not see it available often. Sailing from Rome, we had several ports in Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. It gave us a chance to really see different areas of Europe and to see were we would like to come back for a longer visit. We have sailed Holland America before, but never on the Koningsdam. It is a newer ship and the public areas, bars, restaurants were decorated very nicely with interesting artwork. We had excellent service every time we visited the Explorations Cafe. Cruise staff was great and addressed all of our needs. For entertainment we enjoyed the BB King venue. The entertainment in the main theater is hit or miss, but we find that to be the case on all cruises. We prefer the guest entertainers over the ships singers and dancers. We did like the ports visited, and there was a variety of shore excursions to choose from. We booked half through the ship, and the other days set off on our own. We would definitely do this itinerary again. We had booked it with an air package which made it an excellent value.