The crew was excellent and service was stellar! We stayed extra days on either end of the trip (Toronto and Chicago), and this should be offered as an option. We appreciated the espresso machine with cookies in the lounge (minor complaint: coffee in the restaurant was pretty wimpy). The Grill should offer sandwich fixings and more salad (lighter stuff) at lunch rather than the same menu as below. However, the option outside of the main dining room (the Grill on topside) was mostly a repeat of main. Food was very good and quite varied, breakfast had a buffet as well as a cooked to order option. The ship was pleasant, cabins comfortable and adequate. The locations themselves were very interesting and worth it all. There were only two local experts giving talks on the ship we expected more. Unfortunately the outsource for the local tours was quite spotty and it seemed like some of the bus drivers hadn't been instructed on routes. The focus should be on seeing and learning.
We did not expect an 'entertainment' cruise - it shouldn't be. The contracted pier locations at the beginning and end of the cruise were pretty bad, especially the one in Chicago (pick-up cabs had difficulty accessing the facility). This was the first cruise of the season some initial food inconsistencies got fixed quickly. Knowing what we know now, yes we would still book this cruise.