This was our 10th cruise and we usually choose our ship for the itinerary. The last cruise was on Celebrity, 6 years ago. We chose HAL this time because we were traveling with friends who had never been to Bermuda and we liked the fact that we had an extra day there, although in the end, all aboard was for 12 noon on the last day so unless you are going on a ship excursion, there was not much time for more than walking around Hamilton. Had celebrity been there the same amount of time, it would have been our first choice. Docking in Hamilton, we felt, was another plus.

Our friends had traveled strictly on HAL cruises for their first 4 with another group who were firm HAL believers. The 4 of us together have been on 2 RCI cruises more recently. Our only other experience with Holland America was the Eurodam last summer in the Baltic and all around the ship and itinerary were wonderful, probably our most favorite cruise overall, so we felt the Veendam was a good choice.

We had a wonderful time, despite the "bumps in the road". Read more