The design of this new ship reflects troubling trends. Public areas are small. The grand foyer is not very grand, the entertainment venues are limited, the pools are small, and the cabins are small, even in the upgrades. There were about 500 more passengers on this boat compared to older boats of similar size. One of our party was nearly 6’8” and had to duck under sprinklers in his cabin. (Can’t imagine the giant Dutch would fit very well.) Even the ceiling heights in the common areas are low. The level of finish is luxurious, the crew is good, the food is very good. The entertainment was not so good. Stage shows featured computer-generated scenery with a small company of dancers. A lone comedian and vocalist filled in on odd days. The blues and rock venues were good, but the bands repeated sets and had very little artistic freedom. They just played what they were told to play, and the choice of blues and rock seemed a little out of touch with the old clientele. There was a decent classical stage, however. Lectures were very limited and simply read by crew members not delivered by experts.

There were also several bait-and-switch deals that went beyond what one would expect to find on a quality line. Teeth whitening for $100 sounded reasonable until you found out midway in the procedure that you had to buy a $400 kit to maintain your teeth. Similarly, the photo studio offered a “free” session with packages ranging in excess of $1000 for a handful of photos.

One always sensed that someone had thought very hard about designing this new ship to maximize return per foot. The line spent a lot of money on brand tie-ins--Billboard, Lincoln Center, Oprah, Americas Test Kitchen --but they found ways to claw it back from the passengers, and all of those things felt kitschy and too pre-programed. Read more