We booked this cruise on the Veendam since we wanted to see Canada/New England and these cruise dates worked best with our schedule and vacation time off. My overall cruise experience was low because of the ship's extreme need for repairs and updating and lack of activities. The bad just outweighed the good.

THE GOOD: The food was very good. We ate in the specialty restaurants 4 out of the 7 nights. The Pinnacle Grille was food and service was excellent! The Dining room was good/well above average. Le Cirque was a little overrated and overpriced. The Italian restaurant was very good also. We booked a Neptune suite having the perks of the concierge and Neptune Lounge. It was worth it to me to pay for a suite. The food provided in the lounge throughout the day was very good, always fresh and replenished often. There is a great self-serve coffee/espresso machine in the lounge, along with ice water and juice dispensers. Everything was kept clean and neat. The concierge was extremely helpful. Need anything? Just ask! Wonderful! The breakfast buffet was very good also.The Explorations Café and surrounding area was nice with plenty of windows and comfy chairs for relaxing, reading, etc. Pool area was ok. Bar service was very good.

THE BAD: In a nutshell, the ship is falling apart. In the cabin alone, the phone cord was frayed down to the bare wires and almost not connected at all, screws kept falling out of the door handle assembly onto the bathroom floor, A/C was dicey at best with a black powdery substance falling out of the A/C vents onto the bed on occasion (they didn't know what it could be) The bed itself was nice. Stay clear of the fold out couch and 3 inch mattress if at all possible. The public area are showing plenty of age with duck tape on some elevator hand rails (really?) Read more