Just Home form Bermuda on Veendam.

My friend and I enjoyed the ship and I a m happy I made this first HALcruise since losing my DH> It was wonderful of my friend to offer to sail with me and it made such a difference to sail with her especially given she and her DH sailed Veendam with us the last cruise DH

and I had together.

I thought the ship looks good, has wonderrful,, veryffrfiendly crew.

Terrific concierges, and we apprecited how beruitfufly kep both of our cab ins were all week. being taken care of by excellent, so nice stewards. Hugs aast night with our dining stewards. I m grateful to all who were so good to us as they made it posib le fo r me to think about sailing alone again.

Bermuda was welcoming, safe, pretty bu t wow was it humid. I never encountered such sticky weather there, bu, of course,, b eing semi-tropical. I found the food to be very goodd ( to my taste but maybe my waist line would b etter off had it not been so good

Among the treats I ate this week was an old favorite I had not enjoyed in years. A favorite desert was offered in MDR......... Cappucino bomb. I gtried hard to get the name of the company from which HAL gets them. Igt would make me so happy go order a dozen or so for my frfezer. Howev er, I did nogt gegt the name or wesite from which I could orfder.. ANyone KNOW:? i'D B INDEBTED IF SOMEONEONE has a webiste/name, suggestion where to get them. :)

In the interest of honesty and balance....... This was gthe worst Pinnacle I ever encountereed a HAL ship.The young women serving were delightful ugt tgghe Manager needs a bit more training, iMO. I came to learn, he is new to the thisship/ aand to cruising. On top of that, I did not even like my steak and left most of it. In t the scheme of our whole cuise, it is insignificant and doesn't rate high in importance. but, my point is only to say what I really liked and did not..

I m very happy I sailed in Veendam and thank my friend and the wonderrful Veen dam crew.

It was oh so good to be back aboard a blue hulled HAL beauty.

Cappucino bomb.. :D Please help.

Welcome back. :)

Glad you had a (mostly) wonderful cruise.

I'd be interested in that cappucino bombe too.

Thanks so much for the good review. Very glad it was enjoyable for you...truly a big adjustment after losing a spouse.

We booked the ship this week for next April - last sailed Veendam in 2007 - so it was great to have your input.

Glad you enjoyed the Veendam and Bermuda.

We were on the week before you and also enjoyed it very much but had the same problems with the Pinnacle Grill Manager. Whether or not he is new to HAL or new to cruising does not excuse his arrogance and his blaming everyone else (even the Manager who was on the week before him) for anything we pointed out to him. The girls were trying hard but they had no leadership or example from him.

Wonderful to read your post Sail. So glad you and your friend seemed to cope well together.

I don't think I've ever noticed a Cappuccino bomb-will have to watch for it & try it!!

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Thanks for your report. Glad you had a nice cruise back on HAL. :)

Thank you for sharing that you, too, had a mostt unfotrunate expeience with that Pinnacle Manager . While I am sorry you could not fully enjoy your evening there, he was unwilling, unable to communiacte smoothly, professionally with his guests.He has quite a b it to learn, IMO> Even breakfast there was unpleasant,

Welcome home S7S! :) Good to hear you had a mostly (minus the PG experience) time on Veendam and in beautiful Bermuda. Did you happen to meet up with Stephen Card there?

Thank you for your review. I am so glad you enjoyed your cruise!

Thanks for reviewing your cruise and I'm so glad it was a pleasant cruise for you. I don't deal well with heat and humidity.....is there a less humid month to visit Bermuda?

Just home from Bermuda I think.:cool:

Welcome back. :)

Glad you had a (mostly) wonderful cruise.

I'd be interested in that cappucino bombe too.

Th ank you. :)

Welcome home S7S! :) Good to hear you had a mostly (minus the PG experience) time on Veendam and in beautiful Bermuda. Did you happen to meet up with Stephen Card there?

I did not see him this visit but didget together last time I was there which was summer 2014. I sure did enjoy his art on ghe ship though. :)and soon after boarding but soughgt his Veendam painting in companionway by Ocean Bar. I suspecty he had a busy time what with Bermuda hostingAmerica's Cup this year.

My friend and I enjoyed the ship and I a m happy I made this first HALcruise since losing my DH> It was wonderful of my friend to offer to sail with me and it made such a difference to sail with her especially given she and her DH sailed Veendam with us the last cruise DH

and I had together.

 

I thought the ship looks good, has wonderrful,, veryffrfiendly crew.

 

Terrific concierges, and we apprecited how beruitfufly kep both of our cab ins were all week. being taken care of by excellent, so nice stewards. Hugs aast night with our dining stewards. I m grateful to all who were so good to us as they made it posib le fo r me to think about sailing alone again.

 

Bermuda was welcoming, safe, pretty bu t wow was it humid. I never encountered such sticky weather there, bu, of course,, b eing semi-tropical. I found the food to be very goodd ( to my taste but maybe my waist line would b etter off had it not been so good

 

Among the treats I ate this week was an old favorite I had not enjoyed in years. A favorite desert was offered in MDR......... Cappucino bomb. I gtried hard to get the name of the company from which HAL gets them. Igt would make me so happy go order a dozen or so for my frfezer. Howev er, I did nogt gegt the name or wesite from which I could orfder.. ANyone KNOW:? i'D B INDEBTED IF SOMEONEONE has a webiste/name, suggestion where to get them. :)

 

In the interest of honesty and balance....... This was gthe worst Pinnacle I ever encountereed a HAL ship.The young women serving were delightful ugt tgghe Manager needs a bit more training, iMO. I came to learn, he is new to the thisship/ aand to cruising. On top of that, I did not even like my steak and left most of it. In t the scheme of our whole cuise, it is insignificant and doesn't rate high in importance. but, my point is only to say what I really liked and did not..

 

 

I m very happy I sailed in Veendam and thank my friend and the wonderrful Veen dam crew.

 

It was oh so good to be back aboard a blue hulled HAL beauty.

 

 

Cappucino bomb.. :D Please help.

Like you, I will be doing my first cruise without DH (who died in September) in December - also on Veendam.

Veendam was one of his favourite ships and I have arranged to scatter his ashes at sea.

I know he would want me to continue cruising and, although it will not be the same without him, I intend to enjoy my cruise.

Like you, I will be doing my first cruise without DH (who died in September) in December - also on Veendam.

 

Veendam was one of his favourite ships and I have arranged to scatter his ashes at sea.

 

I know he would want me to continue cruising and, although it will not be the same without him, I intend to enjoy my cruise.

I',m happy for you that a cruise is in your near future. You don't need me to tell you it won't be easy boarding without your DH but there c omes a time, it feels right to try. I had my moments but for the most part, I woldl say I succeeeded with this first attempt and hope you do as well. It was wonderful to encounter some crew we knew from previous cruises. It helped me to be able to speak of him.

Good to hear you put on a brave face and took the cruise.

We were on the June 7th Veendam Bermuda cruise and like you must say our experience in the Pinnacle was the worst we have ever experienced. The manager was not welcoming and we felt we were just a big inconvenience by being there. The servers made several basic mistakes ie reaching across the table to serve. We thought the food was only so-so. All in all we would have been better by going elsewhere.

Thank you for reviewing your Veendam cruise, wonderful to have a good friend to cruise with you.

Sorry to read of the Pinnacle Grill problems, hope you mentioned that on your survey.

You mentioned the Americas Cup held in Bermuda, we were fortunate to see the beautiful shiny cup held aloft by the winners during a victory parade here in our city the week before last.

Congratulations on your cruise! Glad you had a good time.

I so love you Sails!!!I I remember when you wrote all of us about your dear husbands passing and it was his anniversary and how the out pouring from everyone who cared for you as I. I remember when you went with friends on a cruise maybe a couple of years ago and it was hard for you! You have always been so kind and caring to all and this time I am sooooo happy that your friend encouraged you to take this wonderful Voyage!!! You as well as Jacqui, Ruth, Copper, and of course POA1 are the best!

Sincerely,

Denise:)

Thanks for the review.

Wonderful to hear you enjoyed your HAL cruise Sail, good for you! Seems like it was time!

Wondering if anyone has an idea of how long the PG manager will be there? We will be on Veendam Oct 20th until Dec 8th and want to celebrate DH's 75th birthday and our 25th anniversary in the PG. We are not frequenters of the PG so we want it to be something very special.... but it sounds like this might not be the case. Any thoughts on how the PG Manager is assigned? And for how long? Thanks, m--

Glad you enjoyed you cruise! Thanks for the feedback!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience.

There seems to be two threads running from Sail. I commented on the shorter one. Maybe the monitors can combine the threads.

We were also on this cruise - first time in Bermuda and totally enjoyed it. Food and service overall were excellent although I cannot comment on the Pinnacle.

We had table 18 in the Rotterdam dining room - table for four right next to the windows. Our cabin was down in steerage on the starboard side with a view of Hamilton - would definitely book it again.

Although subjective, I found the entertainment - other than piano guy Stryker to be a weak link. Also, onboard activities were lacking. There was no sail away party on deck from either Hamilton or Boston. Cruise director was an enigma - heard her on the announcements but never saw her. One thing I would have liked to see was destination focused lectures such as: history of Bermuda, the Bermuda Triangle, Bermuda and the Civil War, Pirates and Shipwrecks, etc. Also Stephen Card - the painter of so many HAL ship paintings lives in Bermuda. I would have liked to hear him speak. Given the elderly demographic on board I think these types of speakers would have gone over well.

Inside the ship was spotless. Outside not so much. The first morning the Midships Lido pool was littered with dried out limes, straws, and other refuse including a massive ball of hair. The lady next to us was so disgusted she went and found an officer to get someone to clean up.

Ah the Retreat Deck - not a retreat but what a disaster. That big blob takes up so much space and ruins views. In choppy seas the water runs out of the tubs and all over the decks. I had a pair of Sperrys under my deck chair and they have yet to dry. Drainage does not exist. During the torrential downpours the water was at least two inches deep by the doors leading into the Lido buffet.

Perhaps most disappointing was when you looked up towards the Loft area - entire panels and railings missing. It is as if HAL has just given up on the rear decks and doesn't want to spend a dime on maintenance.

Don't get me wrong - despite my complaints this did not affect our enjoyment of the cruise. I would have gladly spent the next seven days going to Montreal. She is a great little ship - just in need of a little TLC. I look forward to doing this cruise again next year.

The fact that the ship docks in Hamilton was perfect. If you are on a Bermuda cruise - the Harbour Nights street party was a bonus. Much better to see the local Gombey dancers in their natural environment up close and personal than in the ship's theatre.