We selected the Seattle to Alaska cruise for a special birthday. Four of us traveled together -- my husband and I and my parents. Holland America was not the cheapest, but had reasonably good reviews and a great route -- Sitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria. We arrived late in the boarding window, so embarkation was easy. But, that's where the positive part of the experience ended. Our room was a nightmare. Although we paid a substantial amount to upgrade our room (to veranda, high floor, quiet location), our room was directly below the buffet. We had a ridiculous and stressful amount of noise -- pounding, rolling carts, etc -- from 6 am to midnight. We were finally moved after FOUR nights into a beautiful suite room but the thermostat was broken and we had cold air blowing on the bed for two nights. My parents' room was adjacent to another room where they were doing construction. The buffet food was mediocre. The dining room food was worse -- so bad that we stopped eating in there after two nights. We purchased one excursion but it was incredibly overpriced for the experience. We worked with the guest services staff during and after our stay. They were impatient, rude (and maybe overwhelmed since there seemed to be many unhappy customers on board) and clearly not interested in working to make us want to ever try Holland America again. For 6 really bad nights in our room, we received a $300 credit, and nothing more. My parents also received a credit but should have been offered a new cruise. We don't recommend Holland America and will not sail with any ship under the Carnival Cruise Lines umbrella.