Veendam vs Summit

[ekmmom]

Hi, I posted this on the Celebrity site too to get some input. We were on the Veendam last summer and had a great time. We are a family of 6 and the kids are 18, 16, 13 and 8. We did have a slight issue with the AC in one of our cabins, but thanks to this board, knew to ask for a fan right away and it did help.

 

We are debating returning to the Veendam or trying the Summit. The kids had more than enough to do on HAL, our mail goal for the trip is relaxation and time together, which we totally accomplished last year. My main worry with the Summit is while I am open to trying something new, I am concerned about the transportation issues at their port.

 

Has anyone been on both that can offer a comparison? Any and all input is appreciated!! Thanks!

[Unclerocky]

Our family of 4 enjoyed our trip on the Veendam very much. We were forward, aft and had no problems with the AC. We had friends who went on the Summit the very same week and we compared notes. My friend said the service was the best he'd had and they went to relax and connect as you would like to do. They dock at King's Wharf with another ship and this makes for somewhat crowded conditions. The Veendam tenders at St. George and then is docked at Hamilton which is a more centralized location. Our friends took the ferry to St. George and to Hamilton with no difficulty right from King's Wharf. The Summit was also a beautiful ship that they enjoyed as well. Also the embarkation at Bayonne was a bit confused and hectic. They were not fond of the procedures which took a long while. Our embarkation in Manhattan was smooth and quick. These are things we noticed, hope you can make a well informed decision.

[lvz2cruz]

Celebrity is probably our favorite line--the one that is home to us. We are in the top tier of past passengers and give up a lot of benefits when we cruise HAL.

We debated long and posted on both boards as you have as to which ship to choose.

In the end we chose Veendam because docking in Hamilton is central, convenient, and much less congested. We will be one ship of 1300 versus 2 ships of maybe 4500 at Dockyard.

A bonus that put us over the top is we will have one extra day in Bermuda as opposed to at sea.

We have been on Celebrity's M-class ships and they are very nice.

I think you will enjoy either.

[GeriatricNurse]

Hi, I posted this on the Celebrity site too to get some input. We were on the Veendam last summer and had a great time. We are a family of 6 and the kids are 18, 16, 13 and 8. We did have a slight issue with the AC in one of our cabins, but thanks to this board, knew to ask for a fan right away and it did help.

 

We are debating returning to the Veendam or trying the Summit. The kids had more than enough to do on HAL, our mail goal for the trip is relaxation and time together, which we totally accomplished last year. My main worry with the Summit is while I am open to trying something new, I am concerned about the transportation issues at their port.

 

Has anyone been on both that can offer a comparison? Any and all input is appreciated!! Thanks!

 

Definately, without question or further hesitation, book the Summit with X! :)

[RalphWiggum]

OP: If you mean transportation issues at the Bermuda ports (not the nj port), I haven't been on the Summitt but I was on the Dawn last year, which also stays in the Dockyard. The Veendam has a better itinerary with the extra day in Bermuda and docking in Hamilton (you feel like your ship is a land-based hotel in downtown Hamilton), but docking in Kings Wharf is really not bad at all. The ferries are very convenient and a very nice way to see more of the island. The buses were fine last year too but I think Bermuda may be thinking about cutting back on Dockyard stops to encourage ferry use by tourists. Plus there are lots of cabs. There is some nightlife at the dockyard bars and the nearby beach turn into a nightclub plus there's shopping there too. It was very easy to get around the island, and I actually saw more of the other towns on the island and less of Hamilton on that cruise, which was really nice.

 

Again, the only reason you hear negative things about docking in the Dockyard is because it's not as nice as docking at St George and Hamilton, which the older ships used to do up until recently, and most Bermuda cruisers have very fond memories of this itinerary. That said, the dockyard is a much nicer facility than those in most Caribbean ports, so people shouldl keep that in mind. The Bermuda authorities have expanded it recently to be ad cruiser-friendly as possible and it is well-run.

[Ray in NH]

We have not cruised to Bermuda aboard the Veendam yet; we will do so on 05 June. We cruised to Bermuda aboard the Summit in May of 2010. We chose the Veendam this time based on amount of time in Bermuda, before we learned about the tendering at St. George :(.

 

We have cruised to Bermuda about 6-7 times and have docked in Hamilton, St. George and at the Dockyard. All have advantages. Our first dockings at the Dockyard (early 90's) were not the greatest, but Bermuda has greatly improved the facilities and, also, there are now many more commercial activities there. With a 2-3 day transit pass, the whole series of islands are available to you.

We really enjoyed our time on the Summit (we have also enjoyed cruising on other Celebrity ships). We have not cruised on the Veendam , but have enjoyed the Maasdm and Ryndam and a number of other HAL ships.

The two ships have very different "feels" and only you can decide which might be a better "fit" for you, or if there is really any difference (to you).

I am not a fan of the disembarkation procedures at Cape Liberty (Bayonne) -- embarkation does not seem as chaotic. It has been a few years since we have cruised from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

OP, interesting (and thought-provoking) thread, Thank You for starting it.

Ray in NH -- for ONLY five more "Wake-Ups" :cool:

[hypercafe]

It seems like all the important things have been said. We have sailed each ship and both are very nice. I like the Summit best but that is just me. We have been in Bermuda many times at all 3 ports and all are great. The dockyard is just fine and the ferry is lots of fun. We live in NY right by the Bayone terminal so it is great for us. I don,t know where you are comeing from but it is very close to Newark airport and easier to drive to and park than NY as it is right off the NJ Turnpike. The only drawback is you must take a short bus ride to the ship from the terminal so the on and off is a little longer. Have a great trip