This is my review of my seven-day cruise on the Veendam, which left Manhattan on Sunday, April 25th for a three and a half day stay in Bermuda.

Background. I picked this cruise as a mother-daughter vacation. My mom is 56 and I'm 35. We both live in Connecticut and like cruising out of NYC. We had previously cruised to Bermuda twice on the Celebrity Horizon. We were debating among the Celebrity Summit out of Bayonne, the Norwegian Dawn and the Veendam, all leaving on the same day. We love Bermuda and felt the additional day in Bermuda as well as the convenience and awesomeness (not sure if that's a word) of being docked in Hamilton justified the significantly higher price of a cruise on the Veendam over the other two ships.

Embarkation. My dad dropped my mom off at the MetroNorth station in Bridgeport, Connecticut and I boarded the same train in Stamford. Within 50 minutes, we were in a taxi heading for the pier. This is why I love cruising out of Manhattan. We arrived at the pier around noon. NCL Dawn was also in port but there was little traffic at the piers. We breezed through the first line for security but the second line, where you show your passport and credit card and receive your room cards, moved at a snail's pace. We finally were on board by 1, and our cabins were ready. Read more