Our embarkment day and the first full day at sea were very rainy, foggy, and COLD. As a result, we could not really use the outdoor areas. This made the inside of the ship feel CROWDED. The crew did their best to keep everybody happy, but with so many people packed in there, it was difficult.
My main criticisms were 1) The walkways into the dining room are very congested. 2) The swimming pool was tiny. Seriously, the swimming pool in our backyard is bigger. It is like people soup. 3) I hate that they make you walk through the smoke-filled casino to get around on Deck 5.
Both ports, St John and Halifax, were lovely. The weather was beautiful. The towns were very quaint and I did not feel like a tourist at all. I love the Canadian people for their genuine warmth.
As this was my first cruise, I did not know what to expect for my cabin. I was surprised at the amount of storage they were able to fit into such a small space. My cabin steward was a very pleasant man who made up our beds twice daily and was very attentive to our needs.