Waterfalls and an angel in white: Review of Veendam 8/19/2012 NYC to Bermuda

[kazu]

So sorry to hear about your experience on the Veendam. Not a ship that we have been on - and I think it won't be one will be on for a while.

 

Personally, I prefer the smaller ships - but I haven't had an experience like you did on the Veendam:rolleyes:

[mamaofami]

Sorry about your bad experience on Veendam, but I'm not surprised. I hope you won't let it keep you from trying a different HAL ship. Veendam has had bad press for a long time, so you really should give one of the other ships a try.

[hapzfl]

We are Elite on Princess' date=' and really are comfortable with that line. [/size']

 

It is really sad to hear all about the individual problems with the Veendam, especially since we have booked a long trip with her.

 

On the other hand, nothing I have read so far points to a ship that is worse than many others. We experienced 2 Princess ships a short while ago and I can tell you, based on our experience my better half refuses to book a Princess ship again. The Dawn Princess was in a bad shape, not properly maintained at all, in all respects. That reflected on the captain and many of his officers. Really bad indeed.

 

Personally I would not go as far as to never sail Princess again; we select our cruises based on itinerary.

 

We have been on cruises we found excellent only to meet passengers at the very end complaining and happy to finally get off the ship.

 

I take reviews, positive as well as negative ones, always with a grain of salt. :)

[Alpha84]

I'm glad your wife is OK, sppunk.

 

I was on the same cruise and I didn't experience any of the problems anyone else did. We had an outside cabin on the port side on A deck. The AC and plumbing worked great and I thought the ship looked fine (both inside and out), not the tired old, rusted out hulk everyone said it was. I was very pleasantly surprised. Fortunately, I didn't encounter any of the rude people others did. Everyone I met was very pleasant. The staff was wonderful, and I thought the food in the MDR was very good. My only complaint was that dinner usually took about 2 hours. But that appeared typical, and I thought that was just the normal pace of the ship. If I could change anything, it would be a quicker dinner. Overall it was a great cruise. I'm sorry others experienced problems to make it a less than enjoyable trip.

[Goulaigan]

We were on the ferry with you sppunk and glad to hear all is well. I am volunteer fire and thought I was quick to respond but by the time I got from the starboard to the port side your wife was already in good hands.

What you may not know was after dropping you and your wife off and picking up the 12:00 the captain made the crossing in 12 minutes. Impressive!

 

Very well written review!

 

I would like to possess your positive confidence in HAL management but am afraid I don't.

 

The embarkation issue was unfortunate but has HAL created a contingency plan should this sort of delay occur again? I doubt it.

I found myself trying to understand why HAL would manage a ship the way this one is managed.

 

Look up during a walk around the Promenade and you will see rubber tape and Tye wraps everywhere trying to hold the plumbing together(unsuccessfully). There is a gapping hole in the ventilation ductwork in the Promenade aft. This did not occur overnight. If this is representative of the condition of the ventilation system it is a wonder that any AC works.

 

The muster drill was bewildering. Spoke to a gentleman in a wheel chair that had to pass several life boats to get to his assignment.

 

The dining room experience was OK but painfully slow.

 

The rest of the venues have crazy schedules and are very poorly organized / managed.

 

We made a special effort to eat at the Martini bar. Carefully read the menu the night before and showed up at the appointed time. After 30 minutes of no service (I mean no one there even to ignore us) my wife sought out the neighboring bartender who suggested we go to the Lido bar. Unbelievable.

 

I found it hilarious that an attendant keeps glasses full of ice tea at the Lido but keeps his back turned to the tray of empty glasses. People would drop off empty glasses there and others would scoop them up to refill with water.

Let that be a lesson to you!

 

I watched restraint managers admire their setup while customers could not locate a spoon or bowl. Crazy.

 

Their setup would piling salads including seafood in between other salads effectively preventing people with allergies from eating anything. Not impressed!

 

I just reread and apologize for the ranting. This was not my intention....

 

Time for a funny.

 

We also had a very wet carpet. It went from the Patio door (Lanai) to the edge of the bed, under the sofa etc. I called the Office to advise and they immediately set up the dehumidifier and fan set up as you had.

They would regularly call the room and leave a message asking about the status. This would be good practice if they answered the return calls.

I had to make 5 trips to the office by their request. The third trip was the best. The attendant asked if we planned on staying in the room that night. I could not believe my ears and asked her to repeat! I told her that we intended to stay on the ship to which she answered " If you change your mind let us know so we can leave the fan in the room overnight."

OMG they need a manager!

 

OK one more.

 

Leaving the ship on Thursday we got wet in spite of clear sky's. The geniuses on the top deck were cleaning gutters with a hose paying absolutely no attention to the end of hose that was randomly spraying water off the ships edge. We watched this for 30 minutes from Front St. till my neck got sore for shaking my head.

 

That was the better entertainment than the ship offered all week!

We walked out of every performance except for the comedians. He was good. (Also to be fair the lounge entertainers seemed to be pleasing their crowds)

 

I believe the itinerary that enticed us is also part of the problem. Staying in port so long must make it difficult for the ship to generate any income from the casinos , bars etc.

I even felt sorry for the photographers (honestly) since they had little opportunity to take pictures of guests.

 

We did notice some grumpy passengers but was more bothered by the incompetent management.

 

We did have a great time in Bermuda. The ships location was awesome but the on board experience was more discount hotel than cruise ship.

[sppunk]

We were on the ferry with you sppunk and glad to hear all is well. I am volunteer fire and thought I was quick to respond but by the time I got from the starboard to the port side your wife was already in good hands.

What you may not know was after dropping you and your wife off and picking up the 12:00 the captain made the crossing in 12 minutes. Impressive!

 

Goulaigan, words can't express my gratitude for your rush to assistance. Even if you weren't "needed" by that point my wife and I want you to know how much you mean to us. We were truly blessed to have several passengers like yourself rush to her aide. We're you by chance the one who was asking my wife's age? I remember a blur of that behind me ...

 

Sorry you too had water troubles. They sad ours was fixed but it was just as soaked when we left Sunday. We too noticed the exposed ties to piping.

[mamaofami]

 

I would like to possess your positive confidence in HAL management but am afraid I don't.

 

The embarkation issue was unfortunate but has HAL created a contingency plan should this sort of delay occur again? I doubt it.

I found myself trying to understand why HAL would manage a ship the way this one is managed.

 

Look up during a walk around the Promenade and you will see rubber tape and Tye wraps everywhere trying to hold the plumbing together(unsuccessfully). There is a gapping hole in the ventilation ductwork in the Promenade aft. This did not occur overnight. If this is representative of the condition of the ventilation system it is a wonder that any AC works.

 

The muster drill was bewildering. Spoke to a gentleman in a wheel chair that had to pass several life boats to get to his assignment.

 

The dining room experience was OK but painfully slow.

 

The rest of the venues have crazy schedules and are very poorly organized / managed.

 

We made a special effort to eat at the Martini bar. Carefully read the menu the night before and showed up at the appointed time. After 30 minutes of no service (I mean no one there even to ignore us) my wife sought out the neighboring bartender who suggested we go to the Lido bar. Unbelievable.

 

I found it hilarious that an attendant keeps glasses full of ice tea at the Lido but keeps his back turned to the tray of empty glasses. People would drop off empty glasses there and others would scoop them up to refill with water.

Let that be a lesson to you!

 

I watched restraint managers admire their setup while customers could not locate a spoon or bowl. Crazy.

 

Their setup would piling salads including seafood in between other salads effectively preventing people with allergies from eating anything. Not impressed!

 

I just reread and apologize for the ranting. This was not my intention....

 

Time for a funny.

 

We also had a very wet carpet. It went from the Patio door (Lanai) to the edge of the bed, under the sofa etc. I called the Office to advise and they immediately set up the dehumidifier and fan set up as you had.

They would regularly call the room and leave a message asking about the status. This would be good practice if they answered the return calls.

I had to make 5 trips to the office by their request. The third trip was the best. The attendant asked if we planned on staying in the room that night. I could not believe my ears and asked her to repeat! I told her that we intended to stay on the ship to which she answered " If you change your mind let us know so we can leave the fan in the room overnight."

OMG they need a manager!

 

OK one more.

 

Leaving the ship on Thursday we got wet in spite of clear sky's. The geniuses on the top deck were cleaning gutters with a hose paying absolutely no attention to the end of hose that was randomly spraying water off the ships edge. We watched this for 30 minutes from Front St. till my neck got sore for shaking my head.

 

That was the better entertainment than the ship offered all week!

We walked out of every performance except for the comedians. He was good. (Also to be fair the lounge entertainers seemed to be pleasing their crowds)

 

I believe the itinerary that enticed us is also part of the problem. Staying in port so long must make it difficult for the ship to generate any income from the casinos , bars etc.

I even felt sorry for the photographers (honestly) since they had little opportunity to take pictures of guests.

 

We did notice some grumpy passengers but was more bothered by the incompetent management.

 

We did have a great time in Bermuda. The ships location was awesome but the on board experience was more discount hotel than cruise ship.

 

I'm told that someone from HAL reads all these threads. They're trying to entice people onto the Veendam by giving it very nice itineraries and I must admit that's why I sailed it to Bermuda in June. From your description of the tapes and pipes (which I must admit I never noticed) it really is clear that Veendam is in very bad shape and being held together by a wing and a prayer.This ship is getting terrible reviews and giving HAL bad press.

 

This was my first HAL ship, but i will never sail her again.

 

HAL, either do the necessary repairs or take this ship out of service.

Edited August 29, 2012 by mamaofami

[Goulaigan]

sppunk,

 

I cannot take credit for any of the assistance your wife received. I heard the commotion and noticed your wife convulse and go to the floor. I was on the opposite side and worked my way over best I could. Everything appeared to be under control and it appeared that my interference would have been just that, interference, so I never interacted with anyone involved in the incident. Everyone was very happy to see your wife walk off the ship under her own power!

 

A few positives for HAL.

 

Loved the potato chips. HAHA

Lanai idea is great and we really enjoyed the Promenade access.

Crew was very friendly.

Our cabin steward was awesome.

(I agree with your comment that the water should be handled by Maintenance)

Housekeeping was doing a good job under the circumstances.

 

Despite other posts the NY port is my new favorite!

Transportation to LaGuardia soooo easy.

 

Worst job on the ship....

 

There was a table in front of the pursers desk where front office staff discuss unresolved complaint's with passengers.

Very uncomfortable for all involved.

The staffer that had to handle those should be put on a suicide watch.

 

I observed one interaction with a passenger. The passenger was speaking calmly but was clearly unsatisfied.

You could read the helplessness on the staffer's face.

Can you imagine listening to those same complaints all day long and being powerless to make corrections!

I wanted to give the poor girl a hug.

 

Looking forward to your next cruise review.

I like the way you think!

[sammiedawg]

Although this is an old thread it is pertinent to current discussions on HAL ships physical plant problems. This thread is referenced in the current thread about the "rotting Rotterdam". I was on one of the Veendam South America cruises just prior to the 2012 NYC to Bermuda trip referenced here. Countless people on our sailing had AC and plumbing issues, many were told these problems were going to be fixed in Valparaiso, obviously the repairs did not take place. Many passengers were sailing all the way to NYC and a fair number were sailing on to Bermuda. I understand how upset passengers and crew must have been with nonworking AC and plumbing and I'm not surprised how angry some passengers were.

[shrimp56]

Luck of the draw has had us on Veendam three time since June 2013. Once before her drydocks and 2 times after. On the first cruise we had a cracked window, which was at least, taped. We ignored. We heard of some problems in the added aft area, but had a great cruise. The 2 since drydock have been great. She is spiffed up and the crew morale seems good. And... yup a 4th time. Bermuda for our 25th anniversary. Looking forward to seeing old friends in the crew. Captain Van der Wal is pretty amazing. The only issue on the last cruise was how clearly overworked the MDR staff was.

[PathfinderEss]

We had Captain Van der Wall on our 30 day Statendam cruise, nice Captain, great sense of humor and like his food. We also got to meet his wife on that cruise, very nice lady.:)