new name for the veendam?

[Jade13]

just a bit of fun: what would be a better name for the armpit of hal's fleet?

 

i nominate the hasbeendam

 

Can you please tell us when you were on ms Veendam? Actually, when were you last on any HAL ship? I thought you no longer cruised with HAL.

[CtheW0rld]

Can you please tell us when you were on ms Veendam? Actually, when were you last on any HAL ship? I thought you no longer cruised with HAL.

 

is this how one gets 13,000 posts? off topic and irrelevant.

[Avril]

just a bit of fun: what would be a better name for the armpit of hal's fleet?

 

i nominate the hasbeendam

 

Of all the ones that I've heard over the years, my favourite is the Veendoom!!!! :D :D Of course, I haven't sailed on her so I can't say wether it fits or not, I just have always thought it was cute!!!! :D :D

[Cqis]

Come on, is it that bad.

 

I am sailing on her in Dec. No matter what the problem, I can handle. Just went through a hurrican with no power for four days, could not flush the toilet. I was prepared, but , no gasolione, store shelves empty, garbage all over the place, Still cash only stores because of power messing up computers, and 100 degree temp. Do you think that anything the ship brings will affect me . Can food last long enough that we did not have to eat the MRI's. If it is meatloaf, and I don't have to cook, serve, or wash dishes so be it .

 

Nothing will ruin my vacation. VEENDAM HERE I COME.

[Jade13]

is this how one gets 13,000 posts? off topic and irrelevant.

 

It is not irrelevant if someone starts multiple threads on a specific ship, yet they no longer even cruise on HAL. It would be helpful (especially to those new to the board) to know the last time anyone posting about a specific ship was actually on that ship.

 

Regarding post count, I wasn't even aware they were being tracked, and it has no relevance to me regarding anyones count.

[Cindy]

[quote name='sail7seas'][B] As I read this thread, I think back to the numerous complaints and dissatsifaction with Zuiderdam within the last six months. There seemed to be lots of problems on that ship for a while but lately those complaints have ceased. [/B]

[B]I think it might be different for Veendam because of the aft mess they made and perhaps the conditions make it likely Veendam's issues won't be solved completely....... maybe ever? No one wants to go to a ship knowing the kind of things that continue to happen to a number of cabins.[/B]
[B]How to know if it will happen to 'your' cabin? Sigh....[/B]

[B]It isn't okay. It isn't defensible. It shouldn't continue to happen. IMO[/B]
[B]I am very sure these sort of comments are making me no friends but it is how I see it.[/B]

[/quote]

[SIZE=3]I actually think you are right on target...it isn't OK, and it isn't defensible. I maintain that any cruiseline has an obligation to provide properly functioning sanitation and comfort services regardless of the age of a ship. Will isolated problems crop up from time to time on a ship? Of course! Is it fine to keep putting passengers in cabins where it is known that the A/C or plumbing are malfunctioning? Of course not! When the temperature and the humidity are both in the 90's, a fan does little more than turn the stagnant hot air into a hot, sticky breeze.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I think it's interesting that the complaints about the Zuiderdam's air conditioning completely stopped once the ship reached the cooler climate of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. We'll see what happens when she gets back to the tropics.[/SIZE]

[Cindy]

[quote name='Cqis']Come on, is it that bad.

I am sailing on her in Dec. No matter what the problem, I can handle. Just went through a hurrican with no power for four days, could not flush the toilet. I was prepared, but , no gasolione, store shelves empty, garbage all over the place, Still cash only stores because of power messing up computers, and 100 degree temp. Do you think that anything the ship brings will affect me . Can food last long enough that we did not have to eat the MRI's. If it is meatloaf, and I don't have to cook, serve, or wash dishes so be it .

Nothing will ruin my vacation. VEENDAM HERE I COME.[/quote]

[SIZE=3]I respectfully disagree. We were without power for 9 days after Hurricane Ike. The difference was I wasn't paying thousands of dollars and using vacation time for the privilege of roughing it![/SIZE]

[CtheW0rld]

[quote name='Jade13']It is not irrelevant if someone starts multiple threads on a specific ship, yet they no longer even cruise on HAL. It would be helpful (especially to those new to the board) to know the last time anyone posting about a specific ship was actually on that ship.

Regarding post count, I wasn't even aware they were being tracked, and it has no relevance to me regarding anyones count.[/quote]

that is your opinion and your are certainly entitled to it. bless your heart.

[Salacia]

[quote name='Jade13']Most of these issues are exaggerated. We were on ms Veendam for 22 nights in April, and have plans to be back on this ship next year. We actually were in a stateroom with an air conditioning issue (only an issue when we hit Panama). A great deal of the ship has been refurbished and is in great condition, and looks just like Maasdam (except for the aft pool).

I thought someone had started a thread to point out specific cabin numbers with issues (along with dates). Maybe someone can find it.

I think that thread would be a lot more helpful than some of these posts because it would point out specific issues to management, and let others know which staterooms they might want to try to avoid.

If others know your cabin number they may be able to assist with more specific information.[/quote]

Jade, my husband and I were on the Veendam/Bermuda cruise May 27-June 3. We had a pleasant, relaxing vacation despite a few problems on board. Accepting that nothing in this life is perfect, we decided to book the August 19-26 Veendam voyage.

I can tell you that there was a world of difference between the two voyages on the Veendam just three months apart - and not for the better. While I don't expect perfection, I did not expect that amount of deterioration in the condition of the ship or level of service, which I found unacceptable. I've already related a few of the problems we encountered last month on various threads so there's little sense in repeating the issues again - besides it just makes me steam to contemplate our waste of of vacation time and several thousand dollars. However, I wish to assure you that based on my recent experience, you are wrong in writing that "most of these issues are exaggerated".

It is my hope that just as conditions changed dramatically for the worst in the three months between my voyages on the Veendam, so can conditons rapidly improve on board. But turning a blind eye to first hand reports of the many currently existing problems will not solve anything, in my opinion.

Regards,
Salacia

[iancal]

I always find it interesting when someone who was not on the same trip, or in the same cabin comes forward and claims that a poster's issues were exagerated. Not really certain about the motivation for this. It is one thing to say that you did not experience these issues, quite another to claim that the poster is well....posting less than factual information.

It is almost as though there is a personal connection with the ship or the cruise line..a son or a daughter etc and they feel that they need to defend the family honor.

This is a ship, a floating hotel. HAL is a company, like GM, Chrysler, Hp, Marriot etc. Simply a corporate body organized to maximize revenue, profit, and share value for it shareholders. To pretend something different is dilusional.

Consumers have a duty to protect themselves and most people appreciate a 'heads up' from a poster who truly does not want another unsuspecting traveller to fall victim to, or have the same bad experience, with the product.

[Jade13]

[quote name='iancal']I always find it interesting when someone who was not on the same trip, or in the same cabin comes forward and claims that a poster's issues were exagerated. Not really certain about the motivation for this. It is one thing to say that you did not experience these issues, quite another to claim that the poster is well....posting less than factual information.

It is almost as though there is a personal connection with the ship or the cruise line..a son or a daughter etc and they feel that they need to defend the family honor.
quote]

If this is directed at me, yes, I think it is exagerated that the ship is falling apart and should be junked.

In this case I was on the ship for 3 weeks this year and was in a stateroom with an air conditioning issue.

My post was directed at the OP who has stated time and time again they will never cruise on HAL again because they can no longer smoke in their cabin. It is not clear they have ever been on Veendam let alone any HAL ship in the past few years. Unlike the OP I was actually on ms Veendam for a 22 night cruise this year.

[Jade13]

[quote name='Salacia']Jade, my husband and I were on the Veendam/Bermuda cruise May 27-June 3. We had a pleasant, relaxing vacation despite a few problems on board. Accepting that nothing in this life is perfect, we decided to book the August 19-26 Veendam voyage.

I can tell you that there was a world of difference between the two voyages on the Veendam just three months apart - and not for the better. While I don't expect perfection, I did not expect that amount of deterioration in the condition of the ship or [COLOR="Red"][B]level of service, which I found unacceptable[/B][/COLOR]. I've already related a few of the problems we encountered last month on various threads so there's little sense in repeating the issues again - besides it just makes me steam to contemplate our waste of of vacation time and several thousand dollars. However, I wish to assure you that based on my recent experience, you are wrong in writing that "most of these issues are exaggerated".

It is my hope that just as conditions changed dramatically for the worst in the three months between my voyages on the Veendam, so can conditons rapidly improve on board. But turning a blind eye to first hand reports of the many currently existing problems will not solve anything, in my opinion.

Regards,
Salacia[/quote]

You are taking what I wrote out of context. I have not read your review/ comments (can you provide a link?), but now you are talking about "level of service" which has nothing to do with "junking a ship". If there is a service issue, the same issue may be onboard any HAL ship depending on who is onboard. I agree they need to be fixed, but I think stating that a specific ship needs to be "junked" is exaggerated (and by the OP who has not been on a HAL cruise in years) based on my experiance on the same ship in 2012.

[Salacia]

[quote name='Jade13']You are taking what I wrote out of context. I have not read your review/ comments (can you provide a link?), but now you are talking about "level of service" which has nothing to do with "junking a ship". If there is a service issue, the same issue may be onboard any HAL ship depending on who is onboard. I agree they need to be fixed, but I think stating that a specific ship needs to be "junked" is exaggerated (and by the OP who has not been on a HAL cruise in years) based on my experiance on the same ship in 2012.[/quote]

Jade, I quoted your comment in full and took nothing out of context in my response. I have never made any comment about "junking a ship" so I don't know why you would include that in connection with my mention of service problems (which you gave added emphasis to by highlighting in red).

Sorry, but I don't write reviews and I rarely read them. I prefer to read passengers comments on the forum where questions or rebuttal can be offered regarding a particular voyage or ship.

I understand your experience on the Veendam in April was very different from what is currently being described. I was trying to illustrate that I was very suprised by the difference in what I found between May (acceptable) and August (unacceptable). I suppose we simply disagree as to whether or not the recent descriptions of on-board conditions are exaggerated or not - and that's fine, people are free to disagree - hopefully without rancor :)

Regards,
Salacia

[Jade13]

[quote name='Salacia']Jade, I quoted your comment in full and took nothing out of context in my response. I have never made any comment about "junking a ship" so I don't know why you would include that in connection with my mention of service problems (which you gave added emphasis to by highlighting in red).

Sorry, but I don't write reviews and I rarely read them. I prefer to read passengers comments on the forum where questions or rebuttal can be offered regarding a particular voyage or ship.

I understand your experience on the Veendam in April was very different from what is currently being described. I was trying to illustrate that I was very suprised by the difference in what I found between May (acceptable) and August (unacceptable). I suppose we simply disagree as to whether or not the recent descriptions of on-board conditions are exaggerated or not - and that's fine, people are free to disagree - hopefully without rancor :)

Regards,
Salacia[/quote]

I was trying to reassure another poster, "we're sailing away" who is so upset by these comments that the are thinking of canceling their cruise, and typed "help". I also went on to mention the refurbishments since the last time that we were on the ship. "A great deal of the ship has been refurbished and is in great condition, and looks just like Maasdam (except for the aft pool)." I also went on to say I thought it would be helpful to post on one thread specific staterooms and the dates of a specific issue. A comment can be out of context if the rest of the post is not included.

[sail7seas]

[B]One other thing that bothers me about Veendam is the netting that apparently covers the MDR ceiling. When comparing Veendam as same as Maasdam, that is a signficant difference that I personally find bothersome.

I am happy to read your positive comments, Jade, as recent three weeks aboard, certainly gave you a good feel for the condition and conditions aboard.

[/B]

[sppunk]

The major Veendam issues are unseen though. The net and bungee chords holding piping together on the promenade are the visible issues, but the bursting and leaking pipes and non-functioning HVAC system isn't seen.

The crew know there are deep-seated issues and they can't fix them, which upsets many of them. The look on my steward's face (and another high-ranking officer) said it all when asked about the five floods that happened on my one-week sailing in late August. I felt awful fmthey have to deal with this day-in and day-out.

I've said this before, but many crewmenbers are awaiting their contract to end and file for transfer. This is the significant problem IMO. HAL's lack of response hurts crew more than guests and that is greatly troubling to me.

[Jade13]

[quote name='sppunk']The major Veendam issues are unseen though. The net and bungee chords holding piping together on the promenade are the visible issues, but the bursting and leaking pipes and non-functioning HVAC system isn't seen.

The crew know there are deep-seated issues and they can't fix them, which upsets many of them. The look on my steward's face (and another high-ranking officer) said it all when asked about the five floods that happened on my one-week sailing in late August. I felt awful fmthey have to deal with this day-in and day-out.

I've said this before, but many crewmenbers are awaiting their contract to end and file for transfer. This is the significant problem IMO. HAL's lack of response hurts crew more than guests and that is greatly troubling to me.[/quote]

Then it will be interesting to see if they really follow through with having Veendam do VOV in 2013. Has anyone looked at the current pricing on that voyage? That's a long voyage with some rough weather through Iceland and Greenland.

[sail7seas]

[B]Pricing is the same as they charged for Maasdam.

There is less call or need for an aft pool for VOV so Veendam's not having one isn't a real negative for that cruise. Also, it's popular and sells well each year. HAL seems to give good itineraries to ships with problems to encourage people to book. Or maybe that's just my imagination. :o

Pricing for the seven day Boston to Boston Canada/NE is very high for "S" suites. VERY high.[/B]

[Jade13]

[quote name='sail7seas']

[B]Pricing for the seven day Boston to Boston Canada/NE is very high for "S" suites. VERY high.

There is less call or need for an aft pool for VOV so Veendam's not having one isn't a real negative for that cruise. Also, it's popular and sells well each year. HAL seems to give good itineraries to ships with problems to encourage people to book. Or maybe that's just my imagination. [/B][/quote]

$3,999.00 per person (before port fees and taxes) for 7 nights is VERY high. The Lanai's for $1,599.00 per person (before port fees and taxes) for 7 nights is high for that category. All the cabins are higher on the Canada New England runs.

You know that itinerary will sell out. Of course if it doesn't right away the prices will go down.

As far as our interests, Veendam has the best itineraries.

[CtheW0rld]

[quote name='Jade13'][COLOR=red]$3,999.00 per person (before port fees and taxes) for 7 nights is VERY high. [/COLOR]The Lanai's for $1,599.00 per person (before port fees and taxes) for 7 nights is high for that category. All the cabins are higher on the Canada New England runs.

You know that itinerary will sell out. Of course if it doesn't right away the prices will go down.

As far as our interests, Veendam has the best itineraries.[/quote]

must be the 'net' surcharge. i don't know of any other ships where you can sit under a beautiful piece of art covered by netting so it doesn't fall on your head.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

[quote name='CtheW0rld']must be the 'net' surcharge. i don't know of any other ships where you can sit under a beautiful piece of art covered by netting so it doesn't fall on your head.[/quote]
Thank you, I will ask for a different table if that happens ..

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It's a shame that Hal management has allowed the Veendam to deteriorate to the point .

[Stelladoro]

We were so excited when we came across Veendam's South America/Panama Canal itinerary next March...until I read so many negative comments about the ship's A/C, Plumbing problems. I usually take the odd negative comment with a grain of salt. However, in this case, there seem to be too many such comments to ignore.
Can't see ourselves spending thousands of dollars and 34 days on a ship with major issues, which do not seem to be addressed by HAL. That's too bad, because this is our favourite itinerary, but we'll have to give it a pass.
Wonder if a lot of folks are choosing to book with the other lines for the South America cruises, as the Grand Princess has been sold out for some time and Celebrity Infinity is also sold out for one of the legs.

[jimdalva]

Boy -O -Boy. I remember when this used to be fun, just making up silly names like 'HoverDam'( yeah I know it doesnt make much sense) But people get mean:mad: Cant we all just,,, get along!:)