My wife and I booked a 12 day cruise through an internet agency. The internet agency provided a fair price for an outside cabin and gave us a free bottle of champagne with canapes on our departure, as well as a complementary dinner on the ship's Pinnacle Grill. The Pinnacle specializes in 11 oz filet mignon (done perfectly). It was a very pleasant dining experience.
Pre-cruise we stayed at the Hotel Canaletto, in Venice; is is centrally located between the Rialto and San Marco; obtained through Accommodations On Line (accomonline.com). Be warned the hotel is bare-bones, its main advantages are its location and it is quiet. This cruise originated in Venice with the ship (Zuiderdam of HAL departing from the Marittima cruise terminal). Some travelers may want to stay closer to the Marittima terminal, but be advised there is a special Alilaguna boat service that departs from San Marco (Giardinetti stop, near the information building) and shuttles between the Marittima and San Marco daily (last return shuttle to Marittima is at 4:10 PM); cost is 6E pp and 3E per suitcase. In addition the Alilaguna runs from the airport to Venice for 12E pp (Blu, Red and orange lines, or 24 E for the non-stop Oro line - a waste in our opinion as it is not significantly faster). Go to europeforvisitors.com for detailed instructions as to how to find the Alilaguna at the airport. If you need euros at the airport, do not use the currency exchange places located at the baggage retrieval carousel; just outside the exit from the carousel area - to your right at the far end is a cash machine that will dispense up to 250E from your bank account with a bank card. Do not stand on line inside the terminal to buy your Alilaguna ticket, go down to the dock and buy it there; there is no line at the dock; you can also buy it on the boat but will have to pay 1E more.
The Zuiderdam is a modern, well maintained ship. We are experienced cruisers, having travelled on NCL, Princess and Celebrity. We agreed this line was the best so far. The crowd is somewhat older (55-65 range is in majority) but it is family friendly (and there were plenty of children of all ages who were well mannered and not intrusive).