I just finished the 7 day Bermuda cruise out of Boston with Holland America's Veendam. First let me start with the positives. The positive is that there is a DIY laudromat. It's cheap too. $2 for wash and $1 for drying. This is good because it is much cheaper than $25 per bag some other cruise line charges and there is a risk of losing your clothes as they mixed them up with other people's.

The bad thing about this cruise is long. Firstly, it is a small ship. Small ship means everything is smaller. The Gym can fill up really quickly because it is tiny. The LIDO buffett is small and to add to the frustration, a lot of time, the officers and entertainers also eat there which makes it even less space for the paying guests. It seems everywhere leaks. The buffett area has leaks. My stateroom obviously had leaks before because there is rust on the ceiling. There is very little in terms of things to do for the younger folks. No water slides, No walls to climb, No volleyball or basketball or dodgeballs tournaments. Everythng and a lot of people seems upset about something or another. There are arguments in the casino. Even someone caught the dealer trying to take money from a player when the player won the hand in black jack. The entertainment was weak. People walked out of it an grumble about how bad it was. And then there was the attires Nazi as the MDR. On the very first night i was rejected going into the MDR and made to change because i wasnt wearing a collared shirt. So i went downstairs to change. Only to find at least two other guys in the MDR wearing shorts and non- collared t-shirts. If you are going to nit pick over attire, at least kep it consistent. On a formal night, a family of 4 were trying to get in in front of me. Grandmother, mother, daughter, and the grandfather. They were all dressed casually.. and I mean casually. So they made the grandfather wear a suit - which they provided before letting them go in. But the other three females were casual anyways so if you think about it...does it really matter that MUCH? It seems that these people cannot think outside the box and relax a little. Even i was singled out. I was wearing dress shoes, pants, shirt and they gave me a tie to wear. Seriously. They just lost a customer. The food in the MDR was not that great. Most of the time, I'd order 3 or 4 apps because they are so good but on HAL, i just ordered one. The food are the same most days and you just didnt look forward to it. The buffett is no better. Everyday, it is the same stuff, and the pasta line grew longer and longer because there just wasnt much to choose from. The staff seems overworked and disinterested and even the staff who scoops ice cream does it so slowly, a line soon formed and usually 10-11 long. And she does it so slowly. It's just scooping ice cream. A lot of time, the stateroom is not cleaned when i go back and it makes me have to go back out and hang out somewhere and wait for it to be cleaned. The entertainment is weak except for the comedian and the variety show which was kind of weak too but good compared to everything else.

The pool was small. There were no water parks thing for kids. Signature shops.. they had one staff running three stores. Seriously? Read more