We chose this trip for the itinerary--Cornwall in England, especially (Fowey)--small Irish ports and then crossing to Belgium and Amsterdam. Our porthole cabin, 421, was smaller than we expected (hard to walk past the foot of the bed) but comfortable and we liked the bathroom--we had a bathtub, although all porthole cabins do not, so check if you prefer a shower or bath.
The service onboard was consistently excellent and the food was pretty delicious! For anytime dining in the dining room we always got a table for two immediately. We enjoyed the pretty touches, such as flowers, especially orchids, in all the public rooms.
We celebrated my husband's birthday and our anniversary in Canaletto, the Italian restaurant, and enjoyed it. For his birthday, he got a large piece of cake and they sang to him. For our anniversary the hotel director, who had talked to us in one of the bars, sent a bottle of champagne to our table. Much appreciated surprise!
See above
This was substituted for Bristol/Bath about 2 weeks before the cruise. We traveled to the Jameson Distillery in Midleton and were also able to catch a glimpse of the Choctaw sculpture of 13 stainless steel feathers just as we got off the main road. We had been to Blarney Castle previously, so we only took one excursion and didn't walk in to Cobh this time.
We bought timed tickets online to the Anne Frank House 2 months prior to our trip. It was extremely moving. The Movenpick Hotel used by Holland America was good--you can buy HOHO tickets for boat/bus there and there is a canal boat stop nearby. After walking and riding the canal boat all day we ate dinner in the Silk Restaurant at the hotel and it was quite good.