Holland America does an okay job. Pretty vanilla experience with normal ups and downs. The main deal with this cruise is that, although southeast Asia is a great place to visit, it is a poor place to visit via cruising. Most of the places of interest are 1 1/2 to 4 hours away from the port, which is usually an industrial container port. That means that any ship tour spends at least half the time fighting traffic.

Our 13 hour trip to Hanoi involved over four hours each way. Better to do the tour portion as a land tour and then go on a short cruise after or before to relax! It would be worthwhile exploring if any of the cruise lines using smaller ships can dock much closer to the points of interest.

We had a suite on this ship. It was fine, although the decor was downright depressing. Loved the dedicated suite lounge with the excellent concierge who could do anything the crowded front desk area could do. Fix nonworking keys, tour reservations, dining reservations, anything. Read more