Veendam Questions

[RuthC]

- No one leaves a Lanai door open. You would be afraid of unwanted visitors.

If only that were true. :( When I sailed the Veendam to Bermuda last October, I sat out on Lower Promenade as often as possible---the first lounger next to the atrium doorway (which is the only unreserved lounger in that area). There was a couple a few loungers down who kept their door open. I did tell them about the effect on other cabins, but they were not interested in what happened to others. :mad:

I also made it a point to walk on the outside deck if I was heading aft. I did see several other doors open over the course of the cruise.

 

I would have liked to take the cabins numbers (they are conveniently noted by the outside door), and called each room about 4:00 AM, asking if their room temperature was comfortable. ;)

[Copper10-8]

.......................... The public areas such as Mix and the Lattitudes coffee bar were modern and up-to-date.

 

...............................

 

"Lattitudes coffee bar" = Explorations Cafe..........perhaps?;)

[luvcruisn']

I was on the Veendam in January 2011. The Lido was only open until 8:00pm on that cruise, but the Canaletto was open until 9:30pm. The Canaletto says - by reservation - but I had been sightseeing on the outer decks, and just asked if I could come in there, and it was no problem - this was about 9:15pm, and many of the tables were empty. The Lido buffet ran from 11:00pm to 12:00midnight.

[GeriatricNurse]

DW and I were on Veendam in June 2010 and June 2011 in Lanai cabins on the Bermuda run. Here's what I recall:

 

- Never had any a/c issues or plumbing issues. Our cabins were on the port side aft of mid-ship.

 

- The Lido stayed open until about 8:30. Half of it was closedpart of that time so that officers and senior crew could eat. Th staff took your cabin number

if you had dinner.

 

- The Lido was open at 11 P.M. for light snacks and desserts.

 

- The ship was not tired looking. It was clean and there was always a crew member polishing and cleaning. The public areas such as Mix and the Lattitudes coffee bar were modern and up-to-date.

 

- The Rotterdam Dining Room was in a word quite elegant.

 

- There was no problem finding your way around. The only road block was the deck where the theatre room and main galley roadblocked a direct path to the

aft portion of the ship.

 

- Accurately, there was 1 elevator that consistently gave an unsettling ride to its passengers and we knew to avoid it.

 

- In 2011 the Retreat Area was reworked and provided 3 hot tubs of varying degrees of hot-ness, a vast improvement over 2010. Not what the traditional HAL cheerleaders had hoped for but a lot more serviceable.

 

- DW made use of the Spa Weekly special on a daily basis. Happy wife = Happy

husband.

 

- When we would sit outside of our Lanai late in the afternoon there was hardly any one else out there so these complaints about not being able to find an unreserved chair are essentially bogus.

 

- No one leaves a Lanai door open. You would be afraid of unwanted visitors.

 

We are seasoned RCI cruisers and we very much like their modern and innovative ships. But we enjoy the Veendam for what it does offer: a more classic ship with a wrap-around promenade.

 

And you would know this how? :rolleyes:

[ikelmay]

 

- When we would sit outside of our Lanai late in the afternoon there was hardly any one else out there so these complaints about not being able to find an unreserved chair are essentially bogus.

 

 

Ummm no - I was the one who posted the comment about the lack of chairs and it certainly wasn't bogus. On several occasions we were hunting for spare loungers, and although there were plenty of unoccupied reserved loungers for the lanai cabins, there were very few available for other guests. As this is one of my favourite spots on any cruise I have taken, the idea of taking so many loungers on this deck out of general availability seems a step backwards to me.

[Ontario Cruiser]

I agree about the chairs. We went to the front desk and asked them to put out more and they did on the Amazon Cruise.

I wouldn't want to stay in an Lanai cabin and one of the reason's is that you can see into them at night if the curtains aren't closed. Lots of people also walking by so not much peace and quiet on the deck.

Ontario Cruiser

[lvz2cruz]

Ummm no - I was the one who posted the comment about the lack of chairs and it certainly wasn't bogus. On several occasions we were hunting for spare loungers, and although there were plenty of unoccupied reserved loungers for the lanai cabins, there were very few available for other guests. As this is one of my favourite spots on any cruise I have taken, the idea of taking so many loungers on this deck out of general availability seems a step backwards to me.

 

 

I agree. The only time I found available loungers there was on a rainy day.

They need more for people not in the lanai cabins.

[NordicPrince]

And you would know this how? :rolleyes:

 

Having stayed in a Lanai twice I can assure you that no one in their right mind would keep their Lanai door open at night.

 

In addition, the Lanai doors are designed so that they slide shut once they are opened. They have to be propped open to stay open. It was something you had to be aware of so that you did not leave the Lanai door key in the cabin forcing you to walk around and use your cabin key.

 

Now if people want to sit outside their cabin on the promenade with the door propped open that to me would be not in the majority of cases. I did not see this.

 

Of course if you want to nitpick feel free.

[NordicPrince]

"Lattitudes coffee bar" = Explorations Cafe..........perhaps?;)

 

If it makes you feel better to correct small errors go for it. Otherwise you get the idea.

[NordicPrince]

Ummm no - I was the one who posted the comment about the lack of chairs and it certainly wasn't bogus. On several occasions we were hunting for spare loungers, and although there were plenty of unoccupied reserved loungers for the lanai cabins, there were very few available for other guests. As this is one of my favourite spots on any cruise I have taken, the idea of taking so many loungers on this deck out of general availability seems a step backwards to me.

 

We had no problem allowing other cruisers to use our reserved loungers when it was not our intention to use them. Hopefully the majority would feel the same. In the instances when our chairs were occupied by someone else when we wanted to use them we would gently point out that the chairs were reserved for our cabin and no one ever gave us a problem in moving. Of course to be polite I would always offer a glass of wine or crackers/cheese with that request. It is supposed to be a communal happy experience for all.

 

If everyone worked in a communal spirit there would actually be no problems.

Of course if you want to be a chair hog of your unused chair...

[Copper10-8]

If it makes you feel better to correct small errors go for it. Otherwise you get the idea.

 

Awwwrighty then:)

[penguinscott]

I'm thinking of going on the 18th sailing to Bermuda solo, but if I do so I want to start writing my newest book, which means I'll need to plug in my laptop. Will I be stuck in my room to find power, or are there places to plug in around the ship? Thanx for any info you can give.

[penguinscott]

I'm thinking of going on the 18th sailing to Bermuda solo, but if I do so I want to start writing my newest book, which means I'll need to plug in my laptop. Will I be stuck in my room to find power, or are there places to plug in around the ship? Thanx for any info you can give.

[penguinscott]

I'm thinking of going on the 18th sailing to Bermuda solo, but if I do so I want to start writing my newest book, which means I'll need to plug in my laptop. Will I be stuck in my room to find power, or are there places to plug in around the ship? Thanx for any info you can give.

[penguinscott]

Sorry for the multi posts, weird puter issues and now I can't delete them.

[GeriatricNurse]

We had no problem allowing other cruisers to use our reserved loungers when it was not our intention to use them. Hopefully the majority would feel the same. In the instances when our chairs were occupied by someone else when we wanted to use them we would gently point out that the chairs were reserved for our cabin and no one ever gave us a problem in moving. Of course to be polite I would always offer a glass of wine or crackers/cheese with that request. It is supposed to be a communal happy experience for all.

 

If everyone worked in a communal spirit there would actually be no problems.

Of course if you want to be a chair hog of your unused chair...

 

Oh, so you would now consider those in Lanai staterooms, who have two deck loungers reserved for their exclusive use, a "chair hog" if they are not using their reserved deck loungers? :rolleyes:

[jtl513]

Will I be stuck in my room to find power, or are there places to plug in around the ship? Thanx for any info you can give.

In the Crow's Nest and other lounges you can usually find outlets down near the floor that the crew use for their vacuum cleaners. If you don't see one, ask.

[NancyJewel92]

I'm thinking of going on the 18th sailing to Bermuda solo, but if I do so I want to start writing my newest book, which means I'll need to plug in my laptop. Will I be stuck in my room to find power, or are there places to plug in around the ship? Thanx for any info you can give.

 

Hi Peguinscott -- I think you'll find some other place you'll be able to plug into an electrical outlet, such as the library. Recent Veendam sailers will be able to tell you more places, I'm sure.

[Jade13]

Where did you see that the Lido closes at 8? I found info that says 10:30. I would call HAL to confirm.

 

I was on Maasdam last month and the Lido closed at 8:00PM. I know because one night we did not feel like dressing for dinner so we went to the Lido at our assigned dining room time of 8:00PM, only to have to rush to our cabin to change to go to the dining room. It did not make sense to us, and we felt it should be open at least during the same times as the dining room.

[Happy Sailing]

What is the Internet service like onboard the Veendam and is there Wi Fi? Is it worth the money and can one depend on it, especially the Face Time and Text msgs and emails from the cabins.

TIA

Geri

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

What is the Internet service like onboard the Veendam and is there Wi Fi? Is it worth the money and can one depend on it, especially the Face Time and Text msgs and emails from the cabins.

TIA

Geri

 

I didn't use the internet, there are hot spots in different places on the ship, you may not be able to get service depending how far away you are. However, when I spent time in the library reading and there were people using the ship's computers, I kept hearing complaints about how slow it was.

[DeRon]

Not sure if I would like the lanai idea...hmmm

[DiploTraveler]

I was on the Veendam last week and loved it. The crew kept the ship very clean, but you could tell it is an older ship. I stayed in 720 (deck 4 port side) and the room was very cold.

[Langoustine]

My wife and I were also on the Veendam last week (9/11-18) in 653. A/C worked fine, no plumbing problems, etc. The ship was spotlessly clean and didn't look worn to me (it's only 15 years old, and I think if I'd been floating in salt water since 1996 I'd show a little wear and tear myself...)

[SeaShoreX2]

Our last cruise on the Veendam will probably be our last on that ship - poor air conditioning that was not fixed, not able to sit out on the deck due to the lanai cabins and the reserved chairs, retreat area was hot and only one person sat there in the blazing sun.

 

Entertainment was mostly repeats that we have seen before.

 

Food and service were good though - hardly any activities on sea days.

 

Too bad as we really liked that ship before the changes.