Concerned about Veendam... Seeking opinions!

[Don_In_AZ]

Greetings fellow CC’ers,

I have recently booked an 18 day roundtrip Hawaii cruise on MS Veendam for January 2015. I did so despite the discomfort I felt after reading many of the recent reviews of this ship describing chronic A/C and plumbing issues in many of the cabins. Several recent passengers have also stated that the food and service on this ship is not up to the typical HAL standard. There was even one entire thread dedicated to making fun of the her as the “armpit of the HAL fleet”!

 

The reason I booked the trip despite all the bad press was because the itinerary is perfect for me; roundtrip from my hometown of San Diego, 5 sea days each way, an overnight in Honolulu (which no other HAL ship is doing) and it doesn’t skip Kona (unlike Princess and Carnival). No other ship or cruise line even came close as far as itinerary. It was also my hope that if the general consensus was that there were quality problems associated with a certain ship, certainly HAL would do something to address them.

 

But I will admit the negative reviews have me concerned. Is HAL hearing these complaints? Are they making any serious efforts to fix any of these issues? It seems like something as serious as plumbing would be addressed immediately. And A/C is pretty important in the heat and humidity of the South Pacific!

 

Assuming nothing gets fixed, what are the cabins to avoid? I'm currently booked on A-Deck, aft on the port side but it's early enough that I'm sure I could change it if need be.

 

And lastly, is there any good news on the horizon for the poor old Veendam? Drydocks? Planned repairs? Crew training?

 

Thanks,

Don

Edited February 5, 2014 by Don_In_AZ

[mamaofami]

I don't think there are any specific cabins to avoid. People have reported issues in different cabins and other people have had no problems. IMHO they're not able to fix these problems. Should you go? Only you can make that decision.I was on Veendam two years ago to Bermuda and no problems, but as I left the ship, I saw water dripping down from a floor above us.My neighbor had water issues. It's the luck of the draw.

[puppycanducruise]

I too am interested in the Veendam, as we are thinking of booking a Panama Canal cruise on her.

I see she is scheduled for a dry dock this April - maybe that will fix some of these issues.

Looking forward to hearing what others know.

[CJcruzer]

Greetings fellow CC’ers,

I have recently booked an 18 day roundtrip Hawaii cruise on MS Veendam for January 2015. I did so despite the discomfort I felt after reading many of the recent reviews of this ship describing chronic A/C and plumbing issues in many of the cabins. Several recent passengers have also stated that the food and service on this ship is not up to the typical HAL standard. There was even one entire thread dedicated to making fun of the her as the “armpit of the HAL fleet”!

 

The reason I booked the trip despite all the bad press was because the itinerary is perfect for me; roundtrip from my hometown of San Diego, 5 sea days each way, an overnight in Honolulu (which no other HAL ship is doing) and it doesn’t skip Kona (unlike Princess and Carnival). No other ship or cruise line even came close as far as itinerary. It was also my hope that if the general consensus was that there were quality problems associated with a certain ship, certainly HAL would do something to address them.

 

But I will admit the negative reviews have me concerned. Is HAL hearing these complaints? Are they making any serious efforts to fix any of these issues? It seems like something as serious as plumbing would be addressed immediately. And A/C is pretty important in the heat and humidity of the South Pacific!

 

Assuming nothing gets fixed, what are the cabins to avoid? I'm currently booked on A-Deck, aft on the port side but it's early enough that I'm sure I could change it if need be.

 

And lastly, is there any good news on the horizon for the poor old Veendam? Drydocks? Planned repairs? Crew training?

 

Thanks,

Don

 

April 14-21/2014 is a scheduled drydock in Freeport, Bahamas.

 

As far as crew training - crew on all the ships would be trained in the same manner -

 

Our first HAL cruise was on the Veendam - and again around the Horn 5 years later...

Both times we had EXCELLENT service, food - despite the current criticisms, our experience on the Veendam ranks fairly high up on the leaderboard.

 

Carol

[sail7seas]

DH and I along with another couple with whom we were traveling had the exact circumstance you relate. We loved the itinerary, August 2013, no other ship does it that interested us but we were concerned about the reviews and comments we read here and elsewhere.

 

It was a very pricey per diem but if the cruise would be good (we had done it before on her sister ship, Maasdam), it would be well worth it to us. Like in your circumstance, we were sailing from our home port. No travel required.

 

We chose to go and are so happy we did.

Veendam so exceeded our expectations and despite some personal limitations we had to cope with, the ship and her crew were wonderful. We had no plumbing or a/c problems, food was about the best we have had on recent HAL cruises (good, to our taste--someone else may have a different 'palate'") and the crew was outstanding. They went out of their way to take the best care of us.

 

We had great concierge in Neptune Lounge and our cabin and dining stewards were professional and wonderful.

The ship is not brand new and does not look it but it is clean and maintained and we were very comfortable.

 

Given the experience we enjoyed, we would sail Veendam again for the right itinerary, right date etc

Edited February 5, 2014 by sail7seas

[lazey1]

We did the 18 day r/t Hawaii cruise in Dec. 2013. Our only problem was our lanai sliding door stuck several times and we had to call maintence. The problem was salt water corrosion that could not be permanently repaired until drydock which is scheduled for 04/15.

 

There were no plumbing or air conditioning issues.

 

We felt the food was very good, the entertainment was the best of any HAL cruise we have been on and the daily talks by location guide Kainoa were outstanding.

 

You have made an excellent choice;)

[whogo]

I had concerns about added cabins, lack of an aft pool, reserved promenade chairs, mega screen TV, air conditioning, and staffing levels before our February 2011 Cape Horn cruise. It turned out to be our best cruise ever, in spite of the pool and reserved deck chairs. Service was fine and our cabin's A/C and plumbing worked.

 

Holland America seems unable to send out a ship with working A/C and plumbing in all cabins. The vast majority of customers are not affected. The unlucky few suffer. I do not know if your odds are any worse on the Veendam than other Holland America ships.

[WisRiver]

We were on the Veendam for 34 days from Buenos Aires to Boston in April and May, 2013. We experienced none of the issues that others have complained about. We have been cruising with HAL for five years on three different ships We know nothing of the "good old days". We found the food to be very good, and exceptional in a couple of cases. We usually ate dinner in the Lido and enjoyed it. The only food that the HAL cooks could not get right was pizza. We only had one dinner in the PG, and it was great. We had no problems with our cabin. Since the first 10 days were in Patagonia in the early fall, we were more concerned about being warm. By late April we were transiting the Panama Canal and had no problems with staying cool. It the cruise went to right places, I would not hesitate to go on the Veendam again.

[Rotterdam]

we were on Veendam a couple of years ago & the plumbing/sewage issues were disgusting....

 

HAL / Carnivore has cut maintainence & crew & it shows...the staff is excellent despite reduction - food is a matter of ones taste so I won't comment...but I would not sail that class of ship again...HAL had older ships pre carnivore buyout & were much better maintained..we noticed after Carnivore bought HAL & refuse to be subkected to sewage smells anywhere!

[Shmoo here]

We did a 21 night Panama Canal cruise on the Veendam last year.

 

IMO, the food onboard was the best food we've had on HAL to date. Granted we've had limited HAL cruise food exposure, but it's been the best thus far.

 

Service was great.

 

We had some AC issues in our room, but the other way. We had the temperature control set all the way to the warmest setting, and it was continually too cold. But for that cruise (Panama Canal is hot and sticky), I'd rather be a bit cold than hot.

[rafinmd]

we were on Veendam a couple of years ago & the plumbing/sewage issues were disgusting....

 

HAL / Carnivore has cut maintainence & crew & it shows...the staff is excellent despite reduction - food is a matter of ones taste so I won't comment...but I would not sail that class of ship again...HAL had older ships pre carnivore buyout & were much better maintained..we noticed after Carnivore bought HAL & refuse to be subkected to sewage smells anywhere!

 

How did you come up with "Every ship a certain life span and Veendam is beyond that!"? You were on the Veendam 2 years ago and several people who were on her in the last few months (including me) have very different reports. The Veendam did not get younger in the last 2 years but it definitely has gotten better.

 

Roy

[loma linda ca a & j]

don, don't pay too much attention to the negative reviews -

we have found negative people a few times on some of our

best cruises and stay away from them cuz there are tooooooooo

many great people and things to enjoy on each cruise ;)

 

there is one issue i read about and that is that there might be

a huge group of jazz s o m e t h i n g or other - 250 ? -

who try to dominate the lounges and they might be on our sailing -

cannot remember where i read it - might have been on the holland

general thread - has anyone else heard about them ??:confused:

Edited February 5, 2014 by loma linda ca a & j

[puppycanducruise]

don, don't pay too much attention to the negative reviews -

we have found negative people a few times on some of our

best cruises and stay away from them cuz there are tooooooooo

many great people and things to enjoy on each cruise ;)

 

there is one issue i read about and that is that there might be

a huge group of jazz s o m e t h i n g or other - 250 ? -

who try to dominate the lounges and they might be on our sailing -

cannot remember where i read it - might have been on the holland

general thread - has anyone else heard about them ??:confused:

 

Check out the thread about groups and charters (further down the list).

I believe there is a group sailing on the Veendam to Hawaii that someone warned about.

[rafinmd]

don, don't pay too much attention to the negative reviews -

we have found negative people a few times on some of our

best cruises and stay away from them cuz there are tooooooooo

many great people and things to enjoy on each cruise ;)

 

there is one issue i read about and that is that there might be

a huge group of jazz s o m e t h i n g or other - 250 ? -

who try to dominate the lounges and they might be on our sailing -

cannot remember where i read it - might have been on the holland

general thread - has anyone else heard about them ??:confused:

 

You may want to reschedule. Have a look at this post:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41008065&postcount=17

 

Melodie (PathfinderEss), are you following this thread?

 

It looks like the group will be on the Zaandam 17-30 March. You should be on the lookout for reports from that cruise.

 

Roy

Edited February 5, 2014 by rafinmd

[Alpha84]

Don't believe all the negative comments about the Veendam. Trashing the Veendam seems to be a favorite sport by some on these discussion boards. I read a lot of negative reviews and comments about her before my cruise to Bermuda in 2012 and I expected to see a rusted bucket of bolts barely able to float. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice ship.

 

My cabin was very nice and the plumbing and air conditioning worked fine. I didn't speak with anyone who had those problems. The service was very good and the food in the main dining room and buffet was also very good. My only complaint was the length of the dinners in the MDR. It seemed to take a couple of hours every night. But I just think that was the pace of the ship.

 

In general my cruise on the Veendam was a very nice experience. I was fortunate I didn't experience the problems some have complained about. I was lucky to get a good cabin, I guess. Go with a positive attitude and hopefully, you will have a great time.

[dfish]

I've been on the Veendam twice and had great experiences both times. The first was South America/Antarctica in January of 2011 and the second was this past August on a round trip out of Boston.

 

In both cases, I found the food to be just fine and the service to be excellent. I had no problems with my cabins (228 in 2011 and NN703 last August).

 

I would not hesitate to book the Veendam for a future cruise if the price and itinerary were to my liking.

 

Deb

[Rotterdam]

Anyone that sailed HAL pre Carnivore knew the quality of the product for it and paid for it...afterwards the staff,food & maintainence was cut for corporate reasons along w/ the rates.

 

Many years ago we paid much more for a cruise but were assured 1st rate quality from start to finish much akin to staying in a Four Seasons Hotel - not the Howard Johnsons product now being sold...

 

Yes everyone has a right to an opinion - including me....after 50 + cruises we have nothing booked....I miss the sea but so long HAL / Carnivore Corp!

 

 

 

 

 

How did you come up with "Every ship a certain life span and Veendam is beyond that!"? You were on the Veendam 2 years ago and several people who were on her in the last few months (including me) have very different reports. The Veendam did not get younger in the last 2 years but it definitely has gotten better.

 

Roy

[Wakepatrol]

Check out the thread about groups and charters (further down the list).

I believe there is a group sailing on the Veendam to Hawaii that someone warned about.

 

Yes... it's a group of plumbers and A/C repairmen.

 

Op should be fine.

[silvercruiser]

I sailed on the Veendam for 35 days last summer on Voyage of the Vikings. Instead of complaining about thetwo decks of new cabins facing aft, go ahead and book one of them. I did and it was one of the greatest sailing experiences ever. The Veendam was in great shape, service was wonderful, the captain the best one ever.

[CruiseWhere]

We just did the 18 day Hawaiian Cruise on the Veendam in Dec 2013 and there was not a complaint to be had! As a matter of fact we will be back on her in March for a 15 day Panama Canal Cruise.

 

The staff was phenomenal. Food was great. If I have one issue it would only be the aft "Seaview" deck where there are only little shallow hot tubs. IMO it's a waste of space and ruins the view that might be had there.

[USN59-79]

Anyone that sailed HAL pre Carnivore knew the quality of the product for it and paid for it...afterwards the staff,food & maintainence was cut for corporate reasons along w/ the rates.

 

Many years ago we paid much more for a cruise but were assured 1st rate quality from start to finish much akin to staying in a Four Seasons Hotel - not the Howard Johnsons product now being sold...

 

Yes everyone has a right to an opinion - including me....after 50 + cruises we have nothing booked....I miss the sea but so long HAL / Carnivore Corp!

Well, guess I am one of the cheapskates. We enjoy HAL, cruised about 60 days on the Prinsendam last year and will be spending about 56 days on the Amsterdam next month. Never stayed in a Four Seasons Hotel, but did take a 49 day cruise around South America on Carnival and enjoyed every minute of it. Really sorry you have developed an attitude that doesn't allow you to enjoy your life.

[sedbandmom]

Yes... it's a group of plumbers and A/C repairmen.

 

Op should be fine.

 

I read your post with a mouthful of wine which I managed to not spit all over my laptop! Love your comment and love the Veendam.

Sandy

[Don_In_AZ]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. It sounds to me like some of these issues have been overblown and that there has also been some improvement. I'm sure I'll love every minute of it just as I did on the Zaandam.

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Forums mobile app

[Cruising Jedi]

Don't believe all the negative comments about the Veendam. Trashing the Veendam seems to be a favorite sport by some on these discussion boards. I read a lot of negative reviews and comments about her before my cruise to Bermuda in 2012 and I expected to see a rusted bucket of bolts barely able to float. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice ship.

 

My cabin was very nice and the plumbing and air conditioning worked fine. I didn't speak with anyone who had those problems. The service was very good and the food in the main dining room and buffet was also very good. My only complaint was the length of the dinners in the MDR. It seemed to take a couple of hours every night. But I just think that was the pace of the ship.

 

In general my cruise on the Veendam was a very nice experience. I was fortunate I didn't experience the problems some have complained about. I was lucky to get a good cabin, I guess. Go with a positive attitude and hopefully, you will have a great time.

 

I've got to echo this exactly. We went last May on the Veendam and like you, I made the mistake of reading some people's reviews and thinking I made a bad decision, like it was going to be a rusted tub, an out of date bottom of the barrel, scourge to the Holland America name lol.

 

Instead we discovered a very lovely cruise ship that felt as nice to be on as the Carribbean Princess or Mariner of the Seas or Disney Magic (our other cruising experiences). We loved it. My boys want to back on Veendam specifically because we had such a nice time and they have so many great memories.

 

My only complaint was slow wine service in the dining room, but hey, if that's the biggest problem of the week I'd say it was a pretty darn good week lol.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I was always taught that if you cannot say something nice best not to talk at all :o With that being said, I am going to be honest I was not at all impressed with the Veendam over New Years but then I am truly a Vista Class Girl at heart. I have never really been fond of the small S Class ships. My husband on the other hand likes the S Class Ships but then he really likes all ships :) The Veendam has one problem that did bother me a lot and that is a terrible Diesel Fuel smell that comes and goes through out the ship. I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I was choking because of the smell then it disappeared. It could often be smelled near both sets of elevators and at the back of the Lido. My understanding this is an on going problem that cannot be fixed. I spoke with a lady that had been on the Veendam in November to Hawaii and had also booked the New Years cruise she stated if she could have she would have canceled the New Years cruise the smell was just as bad on her Hawaii cruise. The unfortunate part is there are so few choices on the West Coast for all the cruise lines and especially going to Hawaii. You only really have Princess or HAL and HAL just does not go that often.

The other thing is it depends on how much cruise experience you have had, those that have not cruised much on larger new ships think the Veendam is the best thing since sliced bread :D What you don't know and cannot compare definitely makes it where the problems may not be a big issue.

 

When we got home from the Veendam the first of January we booked the Maasdam for Oct from Montreal to Ft Lauderdale I had this haunting terrible feeling that I just did not want to return to an S Class ship and a recent review of her confirmed my feelings. I canceled the Maasdam this morning and we are now doing a repo cruise on the Noordam of a lot less money and cruising two days longer in a much higher category.

 

In conclusion if your cruise is about getting to Hawaii and the date and itinerary is exactly what you want, then go for it, expecting there could be a problem here and there and it may not be perfection and if it is perfection then you will have an even better time. :)