Life is very suite on the Navigation Deck. The two Penthouse Suites, forward, make the idea of an around-the-world cruise tempting - along with several of our closest friends. There's room. Our staff would appreciate the stainless steel butler's pantry, complete with refrigerator and microwave. Our guests would enjoy their own powder room, the wet bar, a place at the dining table for eight, and sailing along on the balcony that looks almost as large as a standard stateroom. Just hanging around the cabin would have its pleasures. A curving, cushy couch that would seat the entire guest list and staff faces an entertainment center with an eye-popping display of electronic toys. THE bed (there's a queen-sized fold-out at the base of the entertainment center) is an oversized king set on a diagonal. The bedroom can be closed off with curtains. Folding doors would probably be better. The closets - very plural closets - have their own private room, next to a vanity and dressing area. At least two of our guests could sleep in the closet area.

Suite Life -- Balcony behind the curtains A Place for small meetings For even smaller meetings Family sized tub

Then, the OMIGAWD moment. The altar of the bathtub. So what if there are elegant double sinks? So what if there are both a commode and a bidet in the personal activities closet, so what if the shower is about the size of a soap-and-spin in the cheap cabins on some ships? There is THE BATHTUB.

The HAL logo is embroidered in deep blue on the towels, washcloths, and, of course, the robes.

The rest of the Navigation Deck is very suite, too. We counted 50 suites. The designers didn't waste any space. Six "I" cabins are squeezed in, too.

We wonder if the "I" passengers are permitted entry into the Navigator's Lounge, where magazines, books, and a constant supply of time-of-day-appropriate light snacks are proffered by a white-gloved steward. HAL's professional photographers are far more skilled than my personal Official Photographer so, check out the other cabin offerings onHolland America'sweb site.

In fairness, the photos are somewhat toned-down and the colors are brighter (especially those couches) than they appear to be.

We took a hard look at the most popular cabin class, Large Outside, which closely mirrors Large Inside, running from categories C-H. The casework is much lighter than in the suites. The head is good-sized with plenty of storage space under the sink counter. A corner-set mirrored cabinet is a plus for ladies messing with their makeup. All cabins on Amsterdam have tubs with Euro showers. No soap-and-spin.

Large Outside has two twin beds that can be put together, and two bedside tables with two drawers each. Linens are a pale ivory color and each bed has two regular pillows plus a throw pillow.

The upper drawers of the bedside tables can be locked. There's another case piece at the end of the couch. The couch is also a small fold-out bed. Once again, I contemplated just how the people in the regular beds could make way to the head in the middle of the night if the other "bed" were occupied. The desk/dressing table is well-lit with an upholstered chair. There's a hassock piece that makes no sense at all, except for additional seating. RCI's approach of designing hassocks that are also storage space is better. The table is height-changeable. We giggled as we remembered gluing our "ship" to a similar table onRyndam.

Good closet space, four "hanging lockers" in naval terms, with lots of shelves. One closet was puzzling. There was a rod with plenty of nice wooden hangers but it was less than two feet from rod to first shelf. Were they designing for the Seven Dwarves? The in-closet safe was of the keypad variety.

The TV is mounted high on the bulkhead above the desk. Good space-saving idea except for one thing. The decorative "curtains" that separate the sitting space from the bed space not only don't close all the way across so one person can be up reading while the other sleeps (something NCL has figured out) but the person on the TV side can't see the TV through the curtains.

Another curtain, which does close, separates the closet/bathroom area from the rest of the cabin.

Now and Then