Holland America has created a great fusion of color and fine art throughout the vessel and the result is a wonderfully vibrant spirit throughout.

The main lobby is on the first floor of a cozy three-story atrium, topped by a graceful Waterford crystal globe (miniature replicas are sold in the gift shop).

Ship layout is relatively easy to follow. Most of the public rooms are on decks two and three. Of these, highlights include the Sports Bar; we love the leather couches, which make it a comfy place to watch games on TV. The Casino is airy and spacious with 11 table games and 130 slots. A staff of 25 dealers and technicians keep the pace going quickly. At sea, the casino's slots begin their singing at 9 a.m. and table games about 10 a.m. and there's no definitive closing hour (the casino shuts down when the last player leaves).

The Vista Lounge, the ship's main show room, is a large room and features comfortable seating but beware of 10 poles, which provide terrible sight lines (the result is that everyone bunches together in the better-viewing areas, which leaves the pole areas vastly empty). We can't understand why HAL can come up with all the latest audio-video high-tech features which are terrific but still not provide better sight lines.

Another favorite is the Ocean Bar, which has wonderfully cozy little nooks that look out over the sea. For night owls, the Northern Lights nightclub features intriguing lighting and black banquettes covered with what resembles diamond dust.

Our favorite room of all is The Crow's Nest, a HAL classic. Located atop the ship, it's got a fabulous bank of 10 recliner chairs in front of floor to ceiling windows offers a real bird's eye view of the sea. The room is used once a week for a luncheon for suite guests, for dance classes and for bingo. It is also a great lounge for a pre-dinner drink.

The ship has, of course, the obligatory shops. On Oosterdam, the merchandise moves around daily and it all gets a bit confusing, like an on-sea flea market. Everything from liquor to diamonds and Russian dolls are displayed at some time during the week (but the bottle of rum you spotted on Sunday night and decided to buy a few days later may never show up again).

An Internet Cafe, with 18 stations keeps travelers connected to home and loved ones. Prices are competitive with other lines and package prices are offered.

Entertainment

Oosterdam's entertainment is varied: from big production features two nights during the week to individual performers ranging from comics to illusionists. We loved an unusual act five a cappela singers from Canada, and also enjoyed the usual Crew Show, with its Indonesian performers.

Disco night and country line dancing is offered in Northern Lights and movies complete with freshly made popcorn are shown each evening after dinner in the Queen's Lounge.

A video arcade and intimate piano bar are additional entertainment venues.

Daily programs list cooking and dance classes, the ever-present bingo and art auctions, ping pong, team trivia, volleyball and basketball, aerobics, and spa and salon demonstrations. Shore excursion and port-shopping talks are offered live and in-cabin.

Wine tasting and cooking courses are popular.

The ship has a state-of-the-art Internet facility. The rate is 75 cents per minute and various plans are available (such as 100 minutes for $55). There is a $3.95 start-up fee. Oosterdam even has a wireless program; Wi-Fi is $10 per day plus per minute charges. Laptops can be rented.

Fitness and Recreation

Two pools and literally hundreds of deck chairs attract sun worshippers by the boatload and even on sea days there seems to be sufficient space. The main pool, with its retractable ceiling, features a sculpture of four frolicking penguins at one end and a trio of lighted plane trees at the other. The second pool, located aft, is quieter.

The ship features a promenade deck, which is quite popular (three times around is a mile).

The Greenhouse Spa and Salon offers a variety of hair and nail treatments as well as massages and facials. The Frangipani scalp massage is a favorite and the hydrotherapy pool (at $15 per person per day) a popular addition. This indoor pool (check out the gorgeous hand painted wall murals and the lovely tile work) is designed to reduce aches and pains and offer tranquility. There is a fee for sauna and steam.

The Gymnasium offers a blood pressure station, scale, six television sets, free weights with a 50-pound maximum, lots of Indian balls for aerobics, four step machines, two cross-country ski machines, 17 exercyles of all types, 11 treadmills, 11 weight machines, attendants on duty, plenty of fresh water and towels and disinfectant wipes.

A golf simulator is available, featuring well known courses, with fees starting at $30 per person for an hour of golf in a group of three or four. Private lessons are also available.

Activities

Family

Club HAL is for kids and the number of kids aged 5-17 on the manifest dictates the number of supervised programs for youngsters offered on any given cruise. On holiday cruises and during school vacations, the children's programs are very active. The program varies, depending on numbers of kids traveling; on school holiday season sailings, it divides kids into specific age categories (and aims its programming at age-appropriate levels). When there are few participants, they are all pretty much lumped together. The ship has a specially-dedicated teen area called Wave Runner, which features a dance floor and big-screen movie corner.

Fellow passengers

These are folks who have traveled before often on HAL but they've all pretty much been around the block. While skewing younger than earlier ships in the fleet, Oosterdam will never overwhelm with young families, though it's clear there's an effort to create a variety of programming geared to attract passengers of all ages and keep them happy. Where once all you saw on HAL ships were retirees, a decidedly younger group appears to be choosing the venerable line and programming has risen to the occasion. Wine tasting and cooking courses are popular and increased Greenhouse Spa and fitness programs the hydrotherapy suites and pool, for example are geared to younger cruisers. Latte lovers enjoy the Windstar Cafe with its blue and light wood decor and the sometimes frantic Northern Lights club attracts a younger crowd.

Dress

A seven-day cruise involves two formal nights, three informal nights and four casual nights. Casual doesn't mean shorts or jeans; it means slacks and a shirt. Informal requires a jacket, but ties are optional. Formalwear, for both men and women, can be rented onboard. On formal nights, about a third of the men wear tuxedos.

Gratuity

For years and years, Holland America Line distinguished itself with its "no tipping required" policy, the objective of which was to prove that the cheerful and accommodating staff worked for the love of serving their guests, not for tips. Unfortunately, many passengers took this to mean "tips are included," or "tipping not allowed," so as Holland America hopes to attract a more diverse clientele and more first-time cruisers, the tipping policy has been specifically addressed.

According to a statement from Holland America president Stein Kruse, the tipping policy fleetwide is as follows:

"For your convenience, a gratuity of $10 per guest per day, for dining and stateroom service, will be automatically posted to your shipboard account. We are confident you will find the service on board exemplary and, should you wish to make adjustments, you may do so at the end of the cruise by visiting the Front Office. Also, a 15 percent service charge will be automatically added to your bar and beverage purchases."