Intro: We took this cruise primarily because of the itinerary. We wanted to see New England and Northeastern Canada and thought this would be a great way to do it-the cruise line and ship were secondary considerations. We had a wonderful experience and would take this cruise again, hopefully with an newer or refurbished ship. We spent the night before embarkation at the Hyatt Place in Fort Lauderdale-a great hotel room at a very reasonable price and a free shuttle to the port. Embarkation was a breeze. Overall the weather was cooperative, a little light rain in a couple of the ports and only one day of fairly rough seas between Bar Harbor and Halifax. Ship- The Maasdam is a smaller, older ship that is aging gracefully, but it has some problems. This was our 11th cruise, but our first on Holland American. Several of the other guests told us to not judge HA on this ship, which I understand will be overhauled soon. There are just a lot of little things around the ship that need repair. In the fitness center half of the treadmills were broken to one degree or another as was the water fountain. Some ares of the ship were just plain dirty, particularly in the pool area. Cabin-our cabin was a little larger than most we have had in the past and the bed was comfortable. There was only one electrical outlet in the entire cabin, none in the bathroom. There was rust around the window. Electrical switches were broken. There was noticeable noise from the hallway because of the air vent in the door. It was very nice to have a self-service laundry on a cruise of this length-I wish more ships had this available. Public rooms- showing some wear, but otherwise in pretty good condition. The main entertainment room is a lounge rather than a theater and the sight lines are not very good. Crew- Very nice crew, courteous and helpful without exception. One thing I appreciated was the relaxed atmosphere and that the crew didn't constantly try to take your picture or sell you something. Entertainment- The acts on board varied as on most cruises from ho-hum to good. The ships singers and dancers were OK, and being a small ship, the production numbers were quite limited-the back up music and vocals was recorded rather than a live band. The live band that supported other entertainers was quite good, there just wasn't room for them on stage for the production numbers. The other entertainment around the ship, piano bar, string quartet, and dance band were all good to very good. The best of all was the string quartet which played every evening. Activities-In addition to the regular bingo, casino, trivia, etc, my wife really liked the culinary activities and the cooking classes. I was also impressed that the ship had a series of computer classes taught by Microsoft instructors that were free to anyone who wanted to attend. Food-the food on board ranged from bad to excellent. ***Rotterdam Dining Room-4 stars. This is the main dining room. Good selections, well prepared and good service. About two-thirds of the passengers, including my wife and me, dined on their own without a fixed, early or late dining time and it seemed to work very well after the first night or two on board. We made a reservation for some nights, but for others just walked up and never had to wait more than a few minutes to be seated. Some nights we had requested a table for two and other nights were had dinner with two or three other couples. We enjoyed having the option depending on time in port and other activities. ***Lido Dining Room-2-3 stars. This was the buffet dining area for the ship where we usually ate breakfast and some lunches. Like any buffet, the food was not prepared as well nor were they as fresh as in an individual dining room and at times it showed. The hours were not particularly convenient. ***Ocean Grill-1 to 2 stars. Just bad, both food and service. On most ships, if there is nothing at one of the other dining rooms, at least you can always grab a burger or a pizza. If you can't get it right for pizza and burgers, then you are in trouble and this place never worked. This eatery also tried to have some other options on an outside self service stand, like Mexican food and salads, but they were never fresh and the quality and presentation were poor. ***Pinnacle Grille-5 stars. This is the ship's specialty restaurant and it could not have been better in quality of food, preparation, presentation and service. Itinerary-We had only been to one of the ports before and were looking forward to seeing the northeast US and Canada, especially Bar Harbor, Halifax and Quebec. We weren't expecting much at some of the smaller ports so we weren't disappointed. We did like Charlottestown, Prince Edward Island and Sagueney, where the whole town turned out to greet us at the dock. The only tour that didn't live up to expectations was in Bar Harbor where we took a tour of Acadia NP and Cadillac Mountain scenic vista. We began at 8:00 and instead of going to Cadillac Mountain at the end as planned, we went there first and the fog had not cleared so we couldn't see anything. The tour guide (Jan) and driver (Bill) just laughed it off and said "You can't do anything about the weather." But if we had gone there last, the view would have cleared—as it was for some others who began the tour on other busses at the same time we did. My other complaint about this tour was it never stopped at any of the other sites to let people out to view the scenery or take pictures and we got back to Bar Harbor 30 minutes early, so there was no reason to rush. Overall not recommended and certainly not worth the money. Quebec was one of the most beautiful ports we have ever visited and it lived up to everything we had heard or read about it. As with our prior experiences in Canada, the Canadian people were really friendly and courteous.