Veendam --- need real assessment

I did not add the comment about cabins along the sides of “S” ships. My point was there are no Neptune aft cabins on the Veendam and 008 on the Veendam is forward on the ship

 

 

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You made no comment a bout t he side of the ship cab ins, I Did. :)

YOUr post is outlined in blue and follows the "ogiinally posted by " notation. same as all posts that are quoted

Thanks OlsSalt...you are not only a Germ Guru, but a Cabin Amenity Guru as well! :D Good info to know...I sure need a magnifying mirror also....or who knows where my eye makeup will end up on my face! Blind as a bat without glasses. Another advantage to getting older.

 

I laughed about the "back-lighted ghoul" comment....isn't that the truth? Some lighting in hotels stinks.

The plug in bathrrom is designated f for razors.

The plug in bathrrom is designated f for razors.

As long as there is a plug for that curling iron somewhere in that stateroom I am good to go! I don't want to wear a hat the whole cruise!;) I guess that is why folks are saying there is no longer a plug for a night light in the bathroom.

Thanks Sails.

2012, I think it was around August or September, IIRC.

The CDC report documented several items of concern involving pipes in the galley, and lack of appropriate response on the part of employees.

 

Our RollCall followed the story as we boarded in January. We had a great cruise. There were some limited leak and plumbing issues that were addressed. (someone flushed a depends.*)

 

 

* Stupidity is an equal opportunity passenger and doesn’t care which ship he or she is on.

The 2012 Veendam report when they suddenly dropped to a 77 score- after years of scores in the 90's and recently several 100's. Same ship - one real clinker - 6 years ago: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionDetailReport.aspx?ColI=MTgwMDAxMjE%3d-xo0EkEPOm%2bU%3d

In the past 15 years or so I have cruised about 20 times on various mass market cruise lines: HAL, Celebrity, Princess, RCI and once on Oceania. NEVER on another ship have I experienced the sewage-smelling odors that permeated through the public areas and corridors of the Veendam. And no, I didn't "love hating it." It was my hard-earned vacation. Ship happens" is when you miss a port. It's not when your cabin corridor smells like "ship."

 

 

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The only time I ever experienced a sewage smell throughout the ship was on the Disney Magic. Go figure. I nearly cancelled my Veendam cruise a couple of years ago because some reviews had me convinced it was a decrepit rustbucket that should be sold for scrap...out of 6 cruises between HAL, Princess, Royal and Disney the Veendam is my favourite ship. So everyone's experience is different I guess.

The 2012 Veendam report when they suddenly dropped to a 77 score- after years of scores in the 90's and recently several 100's. Same ship - one real clinker - 6 years ago: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionDetailReport.aspx?ColI=MTgwMDAxMjE%3d-xo0EkEPOm%2bU%3d

August 19, 2012.

Thank you OlSalt

any thoughts on the NE/Canadian ports and ship activities on those routes? Have only sailed the Caribbean...

Sharing a few more random pictures of the Veendam in my recent trip.

also, how is the Neptune Lounge on the Veendam compared to the newer ships? Thanks again!

Great pics, Friend100. Our first cruise was on the Veendam to Bermuda last May. We enjoyed it tremendously.

In the past 15 years or so I have cruised about 20 times on various mass market cruise lines: HAL, Celebrity, Princess, RCI and once on Oceania. NEVER on another ship have I experienced the sewage-smelling odors that permeated through the public areas and corridors of the Veendam. And no, I didn't "love hating it." It was my hard-earned vacation. Ship happens" is when you miss a port. It's not when your cabin corridor smells like "ship."

I was on the NCL Sun in April 2016. Not the Panama Canal cruise that was just in the news. There was a stench in the rear of the ship that smelled of rotting flesh, all decks including the main dining room. After returning from a port stop we found our water in the sink and shower was tinted blue. When we saw our steward he told us not to drink the water "It's Blue!". It turned some passengers hair blue. Construction going on that only got worse as the cruise went on. Ceiling panels down, insulation falling down, wires hanging down. Rude staff. I thought it should have a viking death, set ablaze and pushed out to sea.

my aunt and uncle were on Veendam last year, August 2017 for a Boston to Montreal cruise, and they did enjoy it very much. They have cruised often before, on Celebrity, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and other European brands (Aida, and Hurtigruten). They enjoyed their cruise very much. They did note some wear and tear on the ship, however, said it was clean, and there were no issues that were bothersome. Their stateroom was clean and steward was very attentive.

In 7 days, thay had dinner in the dining room 3 times and the buffet 4 times, and said the food was very good in both venues. ( I think the dining room issue was not the food, but the table they were at, not sure what the problem there was, but was not the serving staff, probably the folks at the table, and they were all speaking same language..(not English).

sorry,,going on and on, but the ship was fine in their opinion, older ship not the bells and whistles of Celebrity, but still a fine ship and they cruised for the destinations mostly. Also, they knew a bit what to expect going into their cruise from doing some research.

Past HAL customer (4 cruises) looking at a New England itinerary and reading some really bad things on the Veendam. Would be sailing in a Neptune suite with husband and child. Need to know the true condition of this ship--lots of reviews citing smells, black soot, vibration, yikes... How is the food, service, everything? We love HAL but we have been on the newer ships. Thank you!

HAL had been our favorite cruise line . We were on the Veendam and it was bad ,however,it did not deter us from another cruise on the Veendam .That was our last.

Sailed Veendam to Bermuda last May. I did notice a faint toilety smell in the hallway at embarkation so having read the bad stuff here on Cruise Critic I was a bit worried. Several days in, our toilet (and apparently those in our whole section) did not work briefly--problem was addressed in an hour or so. Undoubtedly caused by someone flushing something they shouldn't have. Otherwise it was a great trip, nice ship, great food and service. I would sail her again no problem.

Just got off the ship today. It is the first time I am on this class of ship. No problem at all! She is beautiful and the best crew is taking care of the ship well![ATTACH]419848[/ATTACH][ATTACH]419849[/ATTACH][ATTACH]419850[/ATTACH][ATTACH]419851[/ATTACH][ATTACH]419852[/ATTACH]

Great pictures. Thanks.

Great pictures. Thanks.

I guess everyone know by now how much we loved the promenade deck.

just checking - there are promenade loungers for those not in the special Lanai cabins? Looks like these are for anyone just checking? Can't wait to try the Veendam in August!

just checking - there are promenade loungers for those not in the special Lanai cabins? Looks like these are for anyone just checking? Can't wait to try the Veendam in August!

There are fewer than on sister ship Maasdam, and very few in the areas with a view. The first lounger next to the doorway is open seating (at one time there were two; another time only one).

As you get to the areas with solid structure in front of you, there are open loungers.

First picture taken on embarkation day. The nearest 2 loungers didn't have a label are open seating.

Second picture: someone move the loungers all the way to the aft.

thank you all...it's hard to know what to think! Where was the horrible ship smell? How/when did the ship fail inspection? Thank you for the feedback-both good and bad!

So sorry ... I didn't read all the comments before posting this, but we sailed on the Veendam for the first time last month. Had a Lanai room and only have this to say:

Loved everything about the ship and our room and the food and the crew and the public areas and everything. NO NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES whatsoever. We are 4* Mariners and sail mainly on the N/A and Eurodam (although we have been on Oosterdam, Noordam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam and Konigsdam). Would sail on the Veendam again in a heartbeat!

just checking - there are promenade loungers for those not in the special Lanai cabins? Looks like these are for anyone just checking? Can't wait to try the Veendam in August!

There were a few open loungers but we had to ask people to vacate our loungers about four times over the week. They always said they didn't know they were reserved for the occupants of the cabin, but one of each pair is clearly marked "Reserved for ___".

There were a few open loungers but we had to ask people to vacate our loungers about four times over the week. They always said they didn't know they were reserved for the occupants of the cabin, but one of each pair is clearly marked "Reserved for ___".

My first time on the Veendam even I did not know that some of the loungers were reserved for the lanai cabins. I did not read the small tag on top of the chair and thought it was for any passenger. :o I saw the tag, but did not read it, thinking it must be some tag saying "In memory of so and so" like on community park benches. Very embarrassed when it was pointed out to me.

So sorry ... I didn't read all the comments before posting this, but we sailed on the Veendam for the first time last month. Had a Lanai room and only have this to say:

 

Loved everything about the ship and our room and the food and the crew and the public areas and everything. NO NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES whatsoever. We are 4* Mariners and sail mainly on the N/A and Eurodam (although we have been on Oosterdam, Noordam, Westerdam, Zuiderdam and Konigsdam). Would sail on the Veendam again in a heartbeat!

Happy to hear. I currently have a cruise on hold(22 day Adriatic Dream and Greek Odyssey) and will probably finalize next week.

There were a few open loungers but we had to ask people to vacate our loungers about four times over the week. They always said they didn't know they were reserved for the occupants of the cabin, but one of each pair is clearly marked "Reserved for ___".

Thanks I will be sure not to sit in a reserved lounger but will look for the open ones

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any thoughts on the NE/Canadian ports and ship activities on those routes? Have only sailed the Caribbean...

We have done the NE Canada route several times. Since we have done this a couple of times, we had seen the "usual" sights and decided on something different. The last time (14 day B2B) we rented a car in each port. Prior to the cruise we scoped out what we wanted to do, had maps for each port, info on where we were going and as soon as we were in port, picked up our car and we were off. It was a really different and wonderful trip.