Embarkation was a breeze, probably due to our arrival time. Our plane landed at 2:00 pm and we were in our cabin at 2:30 pm. Luggage arrived shortly thereafter and we were unpacked and stowed away before the 4:15 pm lifeboat drill. Debarkation took longer and some people missed their flights because it took an hour longer than expected for us to clear customs.

Our cabin was a Veranda Suite. We had a small balcony with 1 chair, 1 lounger, and 1 small table. Unfortunately, the cool temperatures limited my balcony usage, but it was still nice to have and I probably spent a total of 8 hours there during the cruise. The bed was unbelievably comfortable, and we had 6 pillows to choose from, so I didn't miss mine from home at all. The bathroom was large for a cruise ship, with a whirlpool tub/shower combination and giant fluffy bath towels. We had a couch, a chair and a good sized table in the seating area, a mini-bar and a refrigerator. The refrigerator was stocked with an assortment of beverages, but there was still room for the wine we brought on board with us. We brought lots of clothes and there was more than adequate space in the closets and drawers with hangers to spare. We also had a TV and DVD player and we had access to free DVD's from the library, but I didn't go on the cruise to watch TV. I got to see one of the Deluxe Veranda Suites, and I want one of those next time. It was huge, with a balcony 4 times the size of mine.

The food failed to meet my expectations. Breakfast in the Lido restaurant was always excellent, but I was disappointed in the one trip to the main dining room for breakfast. The Eggs Benedict was lukewarm and the sauce bland. Lunch choices in the Lido restaurant were rarely appealing and usually suffered from sitting in the steam trays too long. On the other hand, the food served outside on the Lido deck, especially the taco bar, was too cold. We had the 8:00 pm main seating for dinner in the Rotterdam dining room. Portions were small, and that was good. I never left hungry, but I also never left the dining room miserably stuffed, and there was less food wasted that way. Soups were usually of the pureed fruit variety and, while imaginative, they did not really suit my taste. Salads were the most disappointing with hard green tomatoes and no ranch dressing on the menu. There were a few entrees that were memorable. I really enjoyed the turkey dinner, the lobster, and the salmon, which is available every night. There were some nights that none of the desserts appealed to me, and some nights when I wanted to try 2 or 3 of them. People like different things and, due to my love for cooking, I am hard to please, but I heard lots of complaints about the food. On the other hand, the waiters were wonderful. If someone didn't like what they ordered it was immediately replaced. My husband decided he didn't like any of the salads offered, so he requested a regular salad with lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and onions and the waiter brought him one every night thereafter. We brought lots of wine on board with us, and gladly paid the $18 corkage fees to have it served in the dining room. Wine prices in the dining room were about 3 times the price of purchasing the wine off the ship. They kept the white wines chilled and what wasn't finished one night was brought out for us the next. Read more