My review of the Veendam

[V'sGirl]

Thank you for your review! The Veendam and Ryndam are our favorite HAL ships so far because we like the smaller size. Couldn't agree more about the entertainment. We have seen some good magicians and comics, but we usually skip the shows and spend our evenings in the Ocean Bar dancing, watching the couples who dance much better than we do, and enjoying the music from the trio.

[Seago2]

 

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.

 

NCL is the master of the "rock and roll through the decades" walk-out-worthy show.

 

You will definitely find people who dress up at dinner. The majority of men will have on polo shirts on most nights, but I think on any TA it will be more formal. The food is fine. Just stay the H away from the desserts and you'll be ok;).

 

Oh- and the cabins are fine! I've had OV, interior and balcony and they've all been fine.

[sail7seas]

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.

 

 

If you have ever sailed on any of the Carnival Family of Ships (HAL, Carnival, Seabourn, Costa, Princess, Cunard), you will be considered a repeater/Mariner. You will be invited to Mariners Brunch.

 

Days earned on each individual cruise line only count on that cruise line. Any days you sailed on Carnival, for example, only accumulate on Carnival. Any days you sail HAL, count only toward HAL's Mariner Society.

etc

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

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.

<snip>

 

 

They don't advertise this, but you can order room service dinner off the dining room menu. You would have to have walked by earlier to see what's on it (unless you're in a deluxe suite, where you get a copy of the menu each morning), but anything on the MDR menu is available. You have to order fairly early in the evening, I forget what the cut-off time is. You can order it for a specific time, I think for any time while dinner is still being served. I'm not sure about specific times, so you would have to check on board.

[styles27]

If you have ever sailed on any of the Carnival Family of Ships (HAL, Carnival, Seabourn, Costa, Princess, Cunard), you will be considered a repeater/Mariner. You will be invited to Mariners Brunch.

 

Days earned on each individual cruise line only count on that cruise line. Any days you sailed on Carnival, for example, only accumulate on Carnival. Any days you sail HAL, count only toward HAL's Mariner Society.

etc

 

 

Thank you, that's exactly what they told me when I phoned them.

[lvz2cruz]

Enjoyed your very fair review.

 

We were on the same sailing and love Veendam.

 

For the poster who asked about weather--that time of year is a risk. Last year there was Hurricane Irene that hit NY about 3 weeks prior on a weekend and disrupted things. Some ships left Bermuda early to avoid a storm and some left NY a day late. NCL did not go to Bermuda 2 or 3 weeks at that time because of storms at sea even though they dock next to Veendam in NY and leave the same day. The weather was active for a few weeks, but our week was beautiful.

It seems every September at least one sailing is affected by bad weather.

[gelo7]

Excellent review.

[penguinscott]

Thanx again. Happy to announce that I'm about to book on the Rotterdam for a 2 week North Sea cruise on Aug 25, 2012. Can't wait. Hope she's as nice as the Veendam!

[Rgtouro]

A nice review with great details! Happy to hear that you had a great experience on HAL and you booked the Rotterdam!

[penguinscott]

Thanx. I'm very excited about being on the msRotterdam next month. I remember when I started looking into this next cruise and saw how similar the deck plans were, it made me very happy.

[kazu]

Thanx. I'm very excited about being on the msRotterdam next month. I remember when I started looking into this next cruise and saw how similar the deck plans were, it made me very happy.

 

Thanks very much for a wonderful review. Really well done and interesting:D

 

We have been on the Rotterdam and really enjoyed that ship - we hope you do. smooth seas:D:D

[penguinscott]

Jacqui, did you write a review? I'd love to know more. Thank you.