This was our first ocean cruise; we did the Danube River cruise last year. At first we booked an outside with $100 credit. Then 6 months later, I noticed a balcony sale on the same ship, the Oosterdam. We were upgraded to a balcony for $300 Canadian less and got $400 U.S. onboard credit! I wonder if this is normal or were we just lucky?

The cabin was adequate with a two-seat sitting area, a large bed, and a small balcony with 2 chairs and a small round table. We spent a total of 1.5 hours on the balcony for a trip of 12 days, and the weather was warm with no rain. This amounted to less than 8 minutes per day! (One doesn't really need a balcony.)

The food was usually very good, although sometimes it was not warm enough. Sometimes the food was overcooked like the salmon and duck. Read more