My wife and I took the 11-day cruise from Boston to Montreal on Veendam. We have been on about a dozen cruises in the past using Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity, and have enjoyed them all up to now. This was the first time we have used Holland America Line, and it will probably be the last time.

To start on a positive note, our cabin attendant was very nice, and tried to help as much as he could. Also, getting on the ship was smooth with no problems. It's all downhill from there.

The ship seemed to be in a constant state of maintenance throughout the cruise. Sections of the ship had very strong (nauseating) smell of paint and/or varnish. This included the main dining room as well. A couple of times we were seated in a section of the dining room with heavy chemical smells that made eating impossible. When we complained about the smell and asked for a table in a different section of the dining room, staff acted like we were making a big deal out of nothing. Read more