A couple of Veendam ?s (not a/c related ;)....m

[ekmmom]

last year we went on NCL and in addition to our NCL card, we needed photo ID to get back on board. Dh and I had our licenses and they accepted copies of the kids' passports. What do we need to get back onto the Veendam.

 

How does the casino work? Again, last year, we had a separate casino card where we either put cash on it or had cash charged against our shipboard acct. How does the Veendam work, I remember reading something about surcharges associated with the casino??

 

Has the ship been leaving Bermuda early on the past couple of trips? The paperwork says it is scheuled to leave at 2pm, but again, I thought I read that it was leaving at 12:30 ish.

 

Thanks for any and all help!!

 

 

 

RCL Nordic Prince to Bermuda 6/91

RCL Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda 6/06

Disney Wonder 8/08

NCL Dawn to Bermuda 7/09

and..... 7 more days until the Veendam to Bermuda!! :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Can only help you a little.

 

All you need to leave the ship and get back on is your ID card and a drivers license.

 

Since HAL changed the casinos we have not used them.

[Jade13]

Can only help you a little.

 

All you need to leave the ship and get back on is your ID card and a drivers license.

 

 

Is that something new, or has a second ID been required? On our last 4 cruises (not HAL) we just needed the ships card as our photos came up on the monitor. Our last HAL cruise was to Nowhere, so not an issue. Prior to that perhaps I already had my passport onhand since we were doing private tours.

 

So, is HAL encouraging people to carry passports?

[sapper1]

Is that something new, or has a second ID been required? On our last 4 cruises (not HAL) we just needed the ships card as our photos came up on the monitor. Our last HAL cruise was to Nowhere, so not an issue. Prior to that perhaps I already had my passport onhand since we were doing private tours.

 

So, is HAL encouraging people to carry passports?

 

You need gov't issued picture ID to show to port security and your ship's card to show ship security. We have had to do this on our last three cruises.

[mexico5]

KK you mentioned that HAL casinos have changed...from what to what? I am hoping that they still take money in the machines? I don't want to have anything put on my cruise card...I like to keep my casino expenses private from my DH:D

[Jade13]

You need gov't issued picture ID to show to port security and your ship's card to show ship security. We have had to do this on our last three cruises.

 

 

I guess it depends on the port, amd question specific to Bermuda and NYC.

 

We will carry our passports for ID. Azamara kept them btw except when we left the ship in Cambodia and met back up in Bangkok (we needed them to fly). And then they took them right away from us as we made our way back up the gangway. No port authority in Asia ever asked us for ID. Our tour guide in Vietnam needed all of our passport numbers to get the permits to pick us up in the port. No ID needed in the Arctic or Antarctica.

[jtl513]

I am hoping that they still take money in the machines? I don't want to have anything put on my cruise card...I like to keep my casino expenses private from my DH:D

You can put cash into the slot machines, but you don't get coins or tokens out. Instead you must save your credits onto your key-card when leaving a machine, and when you are ready to cash out you take that card to the cashier's cage.

[3rdGenCunarder]

You have to show your ship card and your photo ID to Bermudian officials as you go into the terminal buildings, both in St Georges and in Hamilton.

 

Getting on the ship, you just have to show your ship card so that the computer knows you're on board.

 

I think the captain likes to make an early exit from Bermuda in order to get into NYC first and get everything unloaded and get pax off the ship before the other ships unload. The pier in NYC can get crowded with two or three ships in port. We were among the last pax off Veendam and only the first few pax were coming off the NCL ship with which we shared a pier.

[SeaDays]

Regarding the casino...

 

We always enjoyed having fun donating to HAL's welfare, but when they went to a silent, card-based (pin number required) system, it took all the spontaneity away from our "pass through the casino and play" regimen.

 

Haven't played since.

[suzeqvhf]

My Mom just got off the Veendam today. They were scheduled to leave Bermuda at 2:00 and they were on their way before 1:30.

They needed their passports and their ship ID every time they got on the ship-Bermuda officials would look at their passports and ID.

Also, as an aside, she did not hear anyone complain about the temperature of their cabin. She had gotten an upgrade from Main Deck outside to a Veranda Suite. Only issue she talked about was a problem getting back on the ship the day they tendered at Saint Georges. Waited 2.5 hours with many frustrated people!

[ekmmom]

Thank you all for the help as I try to tie everything together before Sunday!

[Jay Kay]

My Mom just got off the Veendam today.

snip

Only issue she talked about was a problem getting back on the ship the day they tendered at Saint Georges. Waited 2.5 hours with many frustrated people!

 

 

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone else comment on this event. Hundreds of passengers were stranded in St George.

 

Apparently a Bermuda security person saw a suspicious object (possibly a gun) on the x-ray but didn't stop the person from getting on the ferry back to the ship (at St George they used a Bermudan ferry rather than the ship's tenders). He just told his supervisor. The passengers on the ferry were made to get off and everyone had to go through security again. When they didn't find anything, they searched the ferry.

 

While this was going on, ferry service was halted. No one could leave and the officials stopped tenders from the ship from landing. Afterwards, the captain said he tried to send water and food to the stranded passengers, but the officials wouldn't let the tender land. Finally they just allowed fresh water and a nurse to be brought ashore.

 

The passengers that were trying to take the 2:30 ferry back to the ship ended up in the hot sun for up to 4 hours before things got straightened out.

[IRL_Joanie]

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone else comment on this event. Hundreds of passengers were stranded in St George.

 

Apparently a Bermuda security person saw a suspicious object (possibly a gun) on the x-ray but didn't stop the person from getting on the ferry back to the ship (at St George they used a Bermudan ferry rather than the ship's tenders). He just told his supervisor. The passengers on the ferry were made to get off and everyone had to go through security again. When they didn't find anything, they searched the ferry.

 

While this was going on, ferry service was halted. No one could leave and the officials stopped tenders from the ship from landing. Afterwards, the captain said he tried to send water and food to the stranded passengers, but the officials wouldn't let the tender land. Finally they just allowed fresh water and a nurse to be brought ashore.

 

The passengers that were trying to take the 2:30 ferry back to the ship ended up in the hot sun for up to 4 hours before things got straightened out.

 

Oh Wow!! Thank you Jay for this info!! I hope everyone was able to make it back on board safely AND in good health!!

 

Joanie