My husband and I are both fit 40 year olds with no children. We are early risers and can walk a lot. This is our 8th cruise and our 1st on Holland America. We stayed in an outside-unobstructed cabin. We felt it was roomier than other cabins we've stayed in including some suites. We had open seating and ate in the dining room 3 times. We didn't have a wait to be seated any of the times but service was slow. We ate the rest of the time in the Lido and found the food quite good up there with the same food served in the dining room. The staff in the Lido was exceptionally friendly too. The bars seemed lively with various types of music in each one. They have a happy hour from 4-5pm. We are not big on shows (we go to bed early) but we did see the comedian/juggler and enjoyed it. I liked that the captain updated us everyday and the cruise director was always walking around. The Maasdam was just refurbished so I would have expected whiter towels and better chairs up in Lido. Overall, I really enjoyed cruising with Holland America and this won't be my last cruise with them!

1 night pre-cruise at Embassy Suites

Montreal -We flew in a day early and took a taxi to our hotel in old Montreal at the Embassy Suites. The ride was a flat rate of $38 and took less than 20 min. The next day, we checked out of our room and had the hotel store our luggage as we ventured out to explore streets of Old Montreal. We toured the Basilique Notre-Dame, Place Jacques Cartier and walked Rue St. Paul. Overall the walk was about 2 miles and easy for us. We picked up our luggage and even walked to the port to check in. Read more