My review of the Veendam

[penguinscott]

New York to Bermuda, Sept 18, 2011

 

 

The reason I love to cruise is the feeling I have that I’m wealthy. For one week I’m dining in a fancy restaurant enjoying great service in 5 courses. I get to dress up and use my best manners, which I enjoy. It’s nice going to breakfast and returning to my room to find my bed made. And after dinner I can find my bed turned down with a chocolate on my pillow and tomorrow’s schedule waiting for me. And I enjoy the staff greeting me as I pass by as if I were royalty.

 

Sea days are my favorite; feeling the ship sway and finding a spot in the shade on deck and looking out to sea. There is a special energy on board when at sea. There are a lot of things to do, or one can ignore the games and lectures and dance classes and simply find serenity in a book.

 

The past few years I’m finding that my best perks from my job is access to really affordable cruise vacations. I’m hooked and get more so after each time I go on board a ship. The deals are so great. I can’t seem to pass them up, even if I must pay double to go alone.

 

That’s just what I did when I found a Holland America Line cruise from New York to Bermuda. Following are some of my experiences on board.

 

I sailed on the HAL Veendam, my first experience with this company. I would rate their web site a 7 on a ten scale; good info and fairly easy to use. Difficult to use the deck plans. I found better ones by searching on line. Lots of useful info and it was easy to check in and print docs.

 

Check-in: An 8. I arrived early after my red-eye flight to New York from San Francisco. At 9am, I was about the 10th person and was allowed to sit in an area roped off for early arrivers. They checked my bag immediately, so I didn’t have to worry about that. The wait was painless and staff came by to have us fill out medical paperwork and make sure we were ready to check in once they opened up. Time passed quickly and the check-in process was simple and quick. I never did see the line get very long, but I was early and among the first dozen to actually board. After checking in and receiving our room cards, we were led to another sitting area to await our entry onto the ship. I found myself wishing they had music playing, or even a TV with ship information. When we did board, I appreciated being able to get into my room immediately, as opposed to being let on board and having to wait. After about an hour, I found my bag waiting inside my room, not just sitting outside my door. This was fantastic!

 

Room Attendants: TEN! Very friendly and professional. Knew my name as soon as they knew which room I was heading towards! Always called me by name during the week, always smiling and great eye contact. Both were very eager to please. They anticipated my needs and honored all requests promptly. They quickly recognized my personal habits and adapted to match (I like things arranged a certain way and they kept things the way I like them.)

 

My room was large, I think the largest I’ve encountered so far. There was plenty of storage and even a couch, which was nice to nap on in the afternoons. There was plenty of counter space on the desk and a nice flat-screen TV, which I kept tuned to the station showing the forward-facing camera, so my inside cabin felt as if I had a view over the bow, even tho I was the very last room at the stern. The bathroom was nice and not crowded.

 

Food: An 8. First big letdown was onions in the tuna in the buffet. It was very odd, that in the sandwich area, one of the toppings for sandwiches was onions, so why contaminate the tuna with them when anyone could simply add onions to their sandwich? My request for tuna without onions was denied. I was told if they made it without onions, it wouldn’t be salad, as in tuna salad. However, I was always pleasantly impressed by the quality of food at dinner in the main dining room. There was one night that I found the appetizers not properly chilled. The service was a little slow and often requests seemed to go unheard, such as asking for more bread. Night three took over two hours for dinner and made us late for the show. This was a bit upsetting at first, but the shows weren’t always great. The burgers were great by the pool and the pizza was much less than impressive. I loved the daily tea service and always met wonderful people there. Enjoyed the kitchen tour immensely, but it was done during the first day at sea, which was a bit rough and therefore was cut short.

 

The ship: A 9. I loved the smaller sized ship as it was very easy to meet other people. On a large ship one tends to get lost in the crowd. You may only see someone once during the week. I felt like I saw everyone on board often. It felt like family. I made numerous friends during the week, mostly just from passing some of the same people more than once and striking up a conversation. The ship was very modern and clean and it was easy to get around. The art on board was pleasant and tasteful. The ship had nice amenities and I loved the lounge seating in the showroom. The Veendam must have the best library at sea, lots of books, games and plenty of seating with a great view. It was a perfect place to bring my laptop to do some writing.

 

I really appreciated the smoking policy on board. The Crow’s Nest, the night club we went to nightly, allowed smoking on the port side only. The other side was non-smoking and I never really noticed the smoke until I had to use the restroom, which was on the port side. No smoking at the pool; only at the aft part of the ship on the top deck, called the Retreat. The Retreat was a nice area, but the fake palms looked awful and really needed attention!

 

I also enjoyed seeing the dress code enforced at the dining room. I know some people don’t like to dress up for dinner on vacation. This IS a cruise, however. It should be expected that if you want to enjoy the dining experience in the main dining room that one dress in attire appropriate to the occasion. I saw a man wearing a ball cap being asked to remove it when he entered. Fantastic! If you need a ball cap for dinner, eat in the buffet! I never saw anyone in jeans or tees in the MDR.

 

There was so much to do on board, that I often had a difficult time squeezing it all in. It was great that one can tear off a portion of the well-organized daily program to take with you to help you organize the day. They had a great LGBT happy hour attended by a fun group of not just LGBT people. I suggest attending one of these happy hours if you would like to meet the more fun and energetic people on board! (No matter if you’re LGBT or not).

 

Entertainment: Merely a 5. Let me say that the entertainers were a talented and fun group of people. Great dancers and voices and a nice stage. I was really under impressed with the shows provided to HAL by their entertainment provider (an LA-based company called Stiletto Entertainment). HAL should either fire this company or demand that they provide better shows. When I see a show at sea, I want to say, “Wow!” The “street singing” show was such a bore that I walked out, a first for me! Watching a talented group of people singing show tunes and medley’s is not great entertainment, unless there is actually a show or are sung by the artists that made them popular! There was really only one night were the show made me say wow; the night of opera with accompaniment from various band members seen around the ship (there was string quartet who were phenomenal who every night kept the room spellbound and silent with standing room only.) The night when the performers got to wear Bob Mackey outfits was a decent show as well.

 

Carlos, the cruise director, was fun and energetic. It was his first stint in this position, and as good as he was, I could sort of tell. Don’t get me wrong, he was quick-witted but seemed to lack a bit of the spontaneity and charm of someone who has been a cruise director for years. I know that he will get there, however, and I give him great praise for the job he did. He was very professional, even when confronted with situations that could have turned a little sour.

 

There was a party planner on board. I’ve forgotten her name. She led such things as classes on how to garnish drinks and was in the bar each evening. She was friendly and energetic and quite fun, full of smiles and very positive. She made us feel like friends and always waved and smiled at us when seeing us.

 

There were great bands in the various bars, but the singer in one was much too loud. He was on a microphone and really didn’t need to be. We asked if he could be unplugged for future nights shows, but he never was. Made it nearly impossible to have a group conversation and we were in the bar next door.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. I slept in and ate leisurely. I took my own bags off, so I left late; almost feeling as if I were one of the last people off. I had signed up for transportation to JFK on board before the deadline, but it fell through the cracks, so when I got off the ship, I was on my own. It was such a nice day that I wound up just walking to the bus stop a mile away where I got a direct ride to the airport.

 

Post trip: No thank you notes, but I do receive lots of snail mail about future cruises. I loved this ship and the people on board her. It was easy to meet others as a solo passenger and it was large enough to be comfortable for the week at sea. It was nice that my cruise with Carnival, the mother company, had me recognized as a repeat cruiser. So far, hands down, this has been my favorite cruise/line. I do want to experience others, but am comforted in knowing that I could always choose another HAL vacation. Over all, I would rate my time on the Veendam as a solid 9!

[kneadsdough2cruise]

Looking into booking Veendam for May and the more I search, the more I find. Your review came at the perfect time and I appreciate your indepth review. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Sincerely,

[KirkNC]

Glad to here you had a good cruise. The Veendam was our first HAL SHIP.

[Indycal]

Great review! Glad you had a wonderful cruise!

[penguinscott]

Kneeds, glad to help out. There was actually a lot left out. Great cooking demonstrations, even got to watch the captain make pizza! So many good things about the Veendam! I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to actually post it. I've been very busy the past few months and my upcoming cruise sort of pushed me to finally put all my notes down in one review. Happy sailing!

[RuthC]

Thank you for your report! I love a report that focuses on the ship, and yours did just that. And I really appreciate that you talked about the entertainment.

Glad you had a good time on the Veendam, and that you would come back to HAL. I know there will be a lovely ship, with the familiar atmosphere, just waiting for you. And don't be surprised if a steward from the Veendam remembers you by name! They do remember us somehow.

[jimbri]

Thank you for the review. We are going to Bermuda in July and this wll be our first cruise with HAL. Looking forward to it!

[boze9999]

"The reason I love to cruise is the feeling I have that I’m wealthy. For one week I’m dining in a fancy restaurant enjoying great service in 5 courses. I get to dress up and use my best manners, which I enjoy. It’s nice going to breakfast and returning to my room to find my bed made. And after dinner I can find my bed turned down with a chocolate on my pillow and tomorrow’s schedule waiting for me. And I enjoy the staff greeting me as I pass by as if I were royalty."

 

PenguinScott - you hit the nail on the head!!!!

[PathfinderEss]

Thank you for your nice review. Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[mudscraper]

You didn`t mention the perfect weather we had on this cruise. Cruising to BDA in Sept. can be risky but weatherwise it was perfect.

 

Did you notice the three women smoking the three foot tall hookah (sp) in the aft missing pool area?

[erewhon]

Thank you for your great review.

The libraries on the HAL ships are excellent.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. I liked your system of using numbers to assess the differrent aspects of cruising on Veendam.

[cruisenanny]

Penguinscott, many thanks for the great review! May I ask if you used room service at all? If so, your impression?

[mudscraper]

Penguinscott, many thanks for the great review! May I ask if you used room service at all? If so, your impression?

 

We have used room service many times on HAL. No complaints. Good service.

[portofrome]

Glad you had a wonderful cruise. Thanks for your review.

[penguinscott]

Cruisenanny, sorry, but I didn't have a need for the room service. It was a limited menu from what I remember. Best of luck.

 

I had no idea I'd get so many responses. I'm happy my review is well received.

 

I didn't review the ports or the weather. I find that when I'm researching a ship, I am not interested in reading people's reviews of ports. I can find out about ports in other ways. I was only reviewing the ship and my time on it. Yes, the weather was great, but it had no bearing on the experience of the Veendam.

 

I didn't see the hooka! That would have been neat to see.

 

Rich, do I remember you? I'm bad at names and it's been a long time. Refresh my memory!

[jpver]

Nice to read your story.

Will always remember the Veendam in december 2010 Buenos Aires - Valparaiso. At that time the excellent Capt Rik Krombeen was in charge

( Fyi: Sept. 7, 2011 —Holland America Line has promoted Capt. Rik Krombeen to director, nautical operations. In this role, he will be responsible for the safe operation and nautical oversight of the premium cruise line’s 15 ships.)

During the cruise between Falklands and Ushuaia we faced a storm of 12 beaufort (hurricane force). Well the Veendam passed very well and the Capt was close to his passengers. Never felt any form of insecurity.

Was impressive to watch from the Crows Nest!!

 

Since I'm convinced of the quality and vessel structure of the HAL ships.

[sue117]

Very nice review. I thought you did a good job of discussing the things that weren't so good, without "slamming" the ship or the crew. It was honest and your excitement in the whole trip came through strongly. Thanks again!

[hypercafe]

Glad you had such a nice trip. We live in NYC so see this ship all summer. have been on and am going on other HAL Ships and have always had a good trip. I noticed you are going on NCL Spirit. This ship sailed out of NY for years and we took her often. She is our favorate out of 30plus. You will have a great trip on her. She started life in Asia so her decor is such.

[styles27]

It was nice that my cruise with Carnival, the mother company, had me recognized as a repeat cruiser.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review on the Veendam. I'm sailing on her to Bermuda May 6th with my husband and your review answered a lot of my questions. This will be our 11th cruise but first with HAL

 

I've read a few remarks/comments on FB from people saying that they felt the Veendam is in need of a "facelift" or "freshening up", but your review doesn't mention that.

 

 

It's interesting how people see things differently. I like to keep a positive attitude while on vacation, I don't look for things to complain about. After all it's a vacation.

 

It sounds like that's the way you think as well.

 

I had one quick question. You said that your sail with Carnival had you recognized as a repeat cruiser. Does this give you Mariner status? We've cruised many times with Carnival in the past but HAL didn't ask us that when we booked. I was wondering if I should have my reservation noted.

[penguinscott]

Hypercafe: yes, Spirit is upcoming. I've done a lot of research on her and I'm looking forward to sailing on her for 2 weeks! I think she's quite pretty!;)

 

Styles: I read people saying that they thought Veendam needed a facelift or whatever. I think these people must be used to the newer huge ultra-shiny neon infused megaships. They are much like sailing a slot machine. Veendam is not this. She is a stately vessel with a lot of charm. She's not overstated. She dresses up well. If you think in terms of people, she's not "New Money" and in need of getting attention. She's classic, old school money. She knows what she's doing and doesn't need attention. If you like to cruise for the boat and not the locations, if you like pampering and not so much the gimmicks and games, you'll like Veendam.

 

I didn't realized that HAL was Carnival until after we set sail. It was then that I realized that had to be why the guy asked me if I had sailed on HAL before. I said no, and he said, "Well, they gave you a card that says otherwise." I was invited to the Mariner's luncheon and received a nice HAL tile. The only way I can conceive this happening was carrying over from my Carnival cruise. You could ask on the boards or call the line. It'd be great if all the Carnival lines could pool their "points" sort of like the airlines do.

 

Thanks again for all the great comments. It's neat to know that my review means a lot to so many! It also encourages me to make mention of other's reviews that say a lot to me!:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Glad that you had a wonderful cruise.

[styles27]

Thank you! I think I'll phone reservations today and ask them about the Carnival sea days.

 

We've tried the shiny new megaships and while they were awesome vessels, we found that they're not really "our thing". I didn't find cruising with 4000 other guests to be very relaxing, and of course waiting in line for everything got a little old.

 

That's what makes cruise vacations so wonderful...if we don't care for one style, there are so many others to choose from.

[Seago2]

Just booked the Veendam today, then read a few reviews.... Not so good. Maybe that's because I only click on one star reviews?:rolleyes: I read about AC probs and some overall shabbiness- the only thing that would bother me there is an AC issue in July.

 

I was LOL'ing at your Stiletto reference- we just took the behind the scenes tour on Westerdam and the grand poobah of Stiletto was there. The people showing us the backstage must have used the words "Stiletto Entertainment" 20 times, very reverentially, "they represent BARRY MANILOW!":eek:

 

Have a good time on the Spirit! She is the leader in class with no bells and whistles in my book. Love that ship. NCL is a huge comedown from HAL but sensing from your review it will probably give you more of a chuckle than anything else.

[penguinscott]

Just booked the Veendam today, then read a few reviews.... Not so good. Maybe that's because I only click on one star reviews?:rolleyes: I read about AC probs and some overall shabbiness- the only thing that would bother me there is an AC issue in July.

 

I was LOL'ing at your Stiletto reference- we just took the behind the scenes tour on Westerdam and the grand poobah of Stiletto was there. The people showing us the backstage must have used the words "Stiletto Entertainment" 20 times, very reverentially, "they represent BARRY MANILOW!":eek:

 

Have a good time on the Spirit! She is the leader in class with no bells and whistles in my book. Love that ship. NCL is a huge comedown from HAL but sensing from your review it will probably give you more of a chuckle than anything else.

 

Thank you. A chuckle isn't a bad thing, I guess.

 

I read those reviews on Veendam as well and none of them rang true for me. I think every ship is going to have it's issues; look at the Princess ship that just canceled the next two cruises in Pueto Rico! And you know people are more vocal about the negatives.

 

I look forward to the Spirit. I can see her as being the Veendam of the NCL ships. I'm not looking forward to the small cabins and the dress-down dinners. I have a certain amount of class, and I enjoy classy meals when in the MDR and not seeing jeans and polo shirts! I know I'll have a good time, and will go into this next NCL cruise knowing I won't be able to be surrounded by high class. But I know where to find high class for my next trip!

 

And I don't care who an entertainment company may represent. When a show is such that I, who appreciates what it takes to put on a show, decides to walk out, that's not a good show. :mad: Like I said, I want to see a show that has me say WOW!, not just, well, they can sing and dance, can't they. Culling together a medley of songs, adding some costumes and choreographing some moves is phoning it in, if you ask me.