My first task on boarding the Veendam in New York on Sunday was to check out the new stuff Holland America Line added to the ship last year as part of its latest Signature of Excellence package of upgrades.
Veendam was the first to get the $40 million package, which is now being rolled out across the line's other older ships.
There's the adult-only Retreat, a shallow pool that comes complete with loungers - it's a little cramped for my liking but they have been very popular on this cruise to Bermuda - and Mix, which comprises three different bars, one for Martini, one for Champagne and one for Spirits and Ales.
The Martini bar houses HAL's signature piano man - I say signature because the piano bar has been one of the most popular evening venues on every Holland America ship I've been on. Until now. Romeo is a perfectly good player but lacks charisma so the area has no people and no atmosphere.
Instead of trying to get a seat at the piano, my daughter and I have been hanging around to grab one of these great tables with built-in games. You just touch the table to move the pieces around.
There's chess, checkers and all sorts of other games that we haven't worked out yet (mainly because we can't be bothered to read the rules!).
Veendam has a Canaletto Italian restaurant like the one that debuted first on Eurodam - like the Eurodam one it's actually part of the buffet turned into a waiter service eatery in the evening with no charge to eat there.
We tried it last night and were very tempted to book a table there for the rest of the cruise as the service was friendly and the food tasty.
Not that there's anything wrong with the dining room food or service. It's just that we haven't actually managed to get in there yet. We are on open seating and want to turn up and dine, which surely is the whole point of it, but other open-seating diners make reservations because they don't want to take a chance. Upshot? You can get a table before 6.30pm or after 9pm if you want to eat then. Which we don't.
But the really big change has been the addition of this new grade cabin called Lanai. These have floor-to-ceiling doors that open out to the Lower Promenade Deck, making them something between an oceanview and a balcony cabin, albeit your balcony is a little communal.
You can come in and out of the promenade-side doors and they are very handy for the lifeboat drill you'll notice. No prizes for guessing who'll be first in the boats if there's an emergency!
On the down side, you have to put up with passengers taking their morning constitutional past your door (the deck is also the walking track).
And apparently you do have to watch out at night as passers-by can see inside when the lights are on! But then that's what curtains are for.
Jane Archer
