Booked after final deposit deadlines on a reach out from Holland America on a Casino offer. Accepted the offer for a Verandah Suite, and then several weeks later received an upgrade offer for the Neptune Suite, which we took.

Embarkation: The Veendam arrived later than expected from the prior cruise, so when we arrived at 11:30am, most of the passengers were waiting in the hall, as boarding did not proceed until approx. noon or just after. It was not a long wait, but we had never experienced a wait in boarding in our 10 HAL cruises, so this was an exception.

Cabin: SA009 on Navigation Deck (Deck 10). A standard Neptune Suite on HALs smaller ships with 575 sq ft of space including a pull out sofa, dressing room, and large deck with table/4 chairs, and two loungers. The new "suite" look for HAL had not been completed, and instead of having two sinks in the bathroom, there was one and an additional in the dressing area. Unlike Vista class ships, there was not a separate shower and tub, but instead a combined shower/tub combo. The decor was from the last revision (I believe 2009, I think) with the Hawaiian style prints in orange and browns and leather brown couch. Read more