Here we go! With the sound of the horn in the background, a sound we will hear often in the coming days, we depart from Helsinki and set sail. Our fellow passengers, a pleasant mix of Americans, Brits, Dutch, and a select group from outside the region, are already fully immersed in the experience. “Are *we* the musicians boarding now?” And: “what show are we performing?” Okay, at our age (30 and 26), we stand out a little. But despite a ship with some 2.000 passengers, it is primarily the close-knit community culture that surprises us. This promises to be a good time.

Our trip is short, and we get just a glimpse of what a cruise can be like, but what a glimpse it is. We are catching the second half of the fourteen-day Baltic & Scandinavian Capitals: we board in Helsinki and disembark in Dover. In between, we tick off a real bucket list in just under a week: Helsinki, Stockholm, Visby, and Oslo, neatly interspersed with a few wonderfully lazy days at sea.

Food and drink are also a top priority. On the Nieuw Statendam, we can indulge ourselves in no fewer than eleven restaurants. And we do. For breakfast, we head to the Lido Market, a buffet-style restaurant, but of high quality. We find ourselves returning to the sweets section on repeat. Once during the cruise, there is even the Cake Me Away, a dessert feast with 20+ cakes. But there are tasty healthy choices too, mind you; we were big fans of the salad bar as well. And are we sailing into Sweden for the first time? Then there is a Swedish corner at the Lido Market featuring the country's specialties (yeah, Swedish meatballs!).

In between, we grab a burger from the Dive In, ice cream from Gelato, and fresh juices. During our time on this cruise, the World Cup was in full swing. Every evening, we could be found by the pool at the front with a cocktail and snacks from the New York Pizza & Deli. During the day, we returned there to create our own bagels. Furthermore, we queue several times a day for a good cappuccino from the Grand Dutch Café. One evening, we eat at The Dining Room: the main restaurant with a changing menu every night and a good selection of fish, meat, and vegetarian options in various styles. You can also have lunch here on sea days and breakfast without a reservation (a round of applause for the waffles!).

In the evening, head straight to the World Stage for a show or live music in the Rolling Stone Lounge. And those who want to let loose can go to Billboard Onboard, where two grand pianos blast out the hits all evening. In the Crow's Nest, right at the front on the top floor, we watch the sunset. It is a games paradise here, and creative workshops are organized, such as origami folding.

And then there's the Orange Party; Americans and Dutch people let loose in orange with bitterballen, go with the flow is the motto. And there is the casino, you can shop in one of the stores, there are movie nights, and the performers on board are excellent. You get the idea: completing the entire program on board is a high-performance activity.

And those who take sports and games seriously will be thrilled by the pickleball or basketball tournament on deck. Incidentally, there is no shortage of game options: we joined Deal or No Deal, and that was the most original thing we did on board. Unfortunately, no prize for us. But we quickly forgot about that during a salsa workshop. Well, you might think the muscle soreness would set in, and rightly so. That is why we treated ourselves to a spa day, on board; it was incredibly nice.

Back to those preconceptions. Huge? Yes. But also fully equipped! A tad grey? Well, let's just say we were among the youngest on board and we didn't mind for a second. We even firmly believe that we would enjoy ourselves here with friends or young children as well. You can tailor a trip entirely to your liking.

And if you get served up a handful of the most beautiful Nordic capitals in less than a week without having to repack your suitcase even once, then we are completely sold.

Next time we'll just book fourteen days.

Holland America Line