First time ever cruisers so have only anecdotes from friends who are more seasoned cruisers and our own expectations to base our comments on. Staff and service were excellent, definitely a strong point for HAL. Entertainment was plentiful and enjoyable. Food was very good. The Veendam itself is showing it's age. Perhaps mechanically as well.
Problem 1. Late departure. We were held in a large hall for a few hours before being allowed on board. HAL had arranged transport to a shopping center for those who wished to take advantage of it. Supposedly the delay was due to wind and currents on the inbound journey. Bah! Sea conditions are well known to every cruise line and captain.
Problem 2. Late arrival in Columbia, again supposedly due to weather. Shouldn't the weather that delayed arrival in Fort Lauderdale have been pushing on faster in the other direction? Not such a big deal, but as a result our call in Ixtapa, Mexico was cancelled.
Very good except for the absolutely terrible shower/bath controls. They must have been designed by the Spanish Inquisition! The slightest temperature adjustment, less than 1 mm would go from cool to scalding. Also the water would run rusty for a bit upon occasion. Where is this corrosion occurring? At least we had water--my wife overheard a conversation at the desk where one cabin didn't have any the previous night.
Because of our late departure, the fact we had turned our car in (which we might not have done had we known of the delay), we made a choice not to take the shopping bus that HAL had kindly put on to occupy passengers as we waited. Not that much interest in shopping in the US.
Cancelled due to ship problems, a major disappointment as it was one of the tours we had been most looking forward to and had pre-booked months before.
Another port cancelled due to ship problems and another huge disappointment. Cabo had been touted the entire cruise as one of the pre-eminent shopping stops and even I, not a huge shopper, was disappointed to lose that opportunity.