Concerned about Veendam... Seeking opinions!

[sail7seas]

 

 

<snip>

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.

 

<snip>

 

 

Lisa,

This is a little generalized and certainly not true for many of us.

 

We have cruised 14 of HAL's 15 ships, most of them multiple times.

We LOVE the "S" class ships and have sailed Maasdam over 30 cruises. :) We've sailed all of the Vista ships and most of them muiltiple times..... same for the Signature ships. It goes without saying how much we love Noordam, I've written the wonderful time we've had on Oosterdam, we sailed Zuiderdam five cruises her first year in the fleet. Five cruises on Eurodam and two on Nieuw Amsterdam. :) We certainly are well familiar with the 'larger' (for HAL) ships. ;)

 

We had not sailed Veendam until this August for probably 7 or so years but had sailed her a number of times in the past.

 

My biggest complaint on Veendam is the mess they made of what Was Aft Pool. It's a disgrace the way they ruined what was such a lovely, enjoyable outdoor pool. Those hot tubs are awful and the blocking of the view very disappointing.

 

I think it useful to point out to OP and others that those of us who enjoyed Veendam do not ONLY sail the smaller ships and that we know what each class of ships offer. We 'know'what we are missing' when on a smaller ship, so to speak. ;)

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa,

This is a little generalized and certainly not true for many of us.

 

We have cruised 14 of HAL's 15 ships, most of them multiple times.

We LOVE the "S" class ships and have sailed Maasdam over 30 cruises. :) We've sailed all of the Vista ships and most of them muiltiple times..... same for the Signature ships. It goes without saying how much we love Noordam, I've written the wonderful time we've had on Oosterdam, we sailed Zuiderdam five cruises her first year in the fleet. Five cruises on Eurodam and two on Nieuw Amsterdam. :) We certainly are well familiar with the 'larger' (for HAL) ships. ;)

 

We had not sailed Veendam until this August for probably 7 or so years but had sailed her a number of times in the past.

 

My biggest complaint on Veendam is the mess they made of what Was Aft Pool. It's a disgrace the way they ruined what was such a lovely, enjoyable outdoor pool. Those hot tubs are awful and the blocking of the view very disappointing.

 

I think it useful to point out to OP and others that those of us who enjoyed Veendam do not ONLY sail the smaller ships and that we know what each class of ships offer. We 'know'what we are missing' when on a smaller ship, so to speak. ;)

 

Well I was being a bit general in my speaking, I met several that were first time cruisers on the New Years cruise and they were having a wonderful time and thought the ship was amazing. And I met several that have cruised a lot who were not impressed. Then there are those that love any cruise as long as it is on HAL and can find no fault....just saying.

[dobiemom]

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

The jazz group is the one of the reasons we decided NOT to go in January. Don, take a peek at the 18-day RT Hawaii in March 2015. ;)

[loma linda ca a & j]

The jazz group is the one of the reasons we decided NOT to go in January. Don, take a peek at the 18-day RT Hawaii in March 2015. ;)

watta coinkidink !!

 

was just going to go on the jan thread and tell don

we decided to go on march 2015 instead -

did not see a thread for it yet

 

dobiemom, do you think the sea won't be as turbulent in mar april

as it was in the recent january cruises to hawaii where some ports

were missed - one missed maui

 

jim has been to maui & oahu but i have never been to any hawaiian port - so def want to spend 2 days in honolulu and go to maui

 

of course, we can not control or predict the weather or sea conditions

but some seasons/months are better than others

[sail7seas]

Well I was being a bit general in my speaking, I met several that were first time cruisers on the New Years cruise and they were having a wonderful time and thought the ship was amazing. And I met several that have cruised a lot who were not impressed. Then there are those that love any cruise as long as it is on HAL and can find no fault....just saying.

 

 

That is surely true and it is also true there are those of us who have sailed HAl a great many cruises and know they are not perfect...... and say so here on this forum. ;) :)

 

But, I'm not perfect and actually there isn't a whole lot in the world these days most of us would call 'perfect'. Sigh..... :D

 

Edited February 6, 2014 by sail7seas

[cbr663]

We had a really long chat with a HAL employee and she told us that the cruise to Hawaii tends to attract an older clientele and should we go, to be prepared for lots of wheelchairs and walkers. I am just passing this on, it is not my intention to offend anyone.

[KNOT2L82SAIL]

... 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.

 

Lisa, I know in another post, you quickly mentioned the diesel smell. From this post, it sounds like it is way worse. Could you please tell me how often and how bad it was in your cabin? You said sometimes... I am concerned because I have booked the same cabin and really worried because my daughter has asthma.

Thanks for your help.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

... 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.

 

Lisa, I know in another post, you quickly mentioned the diesel smell. From this post, it sounds like it is way worse. Could you please tell me how often and how bad it was in your cabin? You said sometimes... I am concerned because I have booked the same cabin and really worried because my daughter has asthma.

Thanks for your help.

It occurred daily yet never at the same time and would go away after about 15 minutes. The worse was really near both the forward and aft elevators and it really did not matter what floor you were on. The majority of the time was evenings but we did smell it during the day on sea days.The other thing was that sadly the crew were just different on the Veendam, kind of a defeated attitude like they knew there was nothing that could be done with some of the problems on the Veendam. Definitely not normal HAL hard working crew which also came as a big shock to us :(

[Copper10-8]

That is surely true and it is also true there are those of us who have sailed HAl a great many cruises and know they are not perfect...... and say so here on this forum. ;) :)

 

But, I'm not perfect and actually there isn't a whole lot in the world these days most of us would call 'perfect'. Sigh..... :D

 

 

No one's perfect! ;)

[Linda&Vern]

We had a really long chat with a HAL employee and she told us that the cruise to Hawaii tends to attract an older clientele and should we go, to be prepared for lots of wheelchairs and walkers. I am just passing this on, it is not my intention to offend anyone.

:( I am offended by any HAL employee who would say this.

[castellina]

We were on the Veendam Hawaii cruise in December. The "S" class ships are definitely our favorite and would never consider one of those mammoth 3,000 and up ships. Not interested in cattle cars. The crew on our cruise were fantastic and upbeat and always greeted us often by name. The captain was the best we ever had. Oh and by the way we love longer cruises and are neither in walkers nor wheel chairs. Although some day that might happen. It is appalling to me how disdainful this Board is of older cruisers.

[redhot1]

We did the Veendam for New Years and we were in cabin 117 Verandah deck. We didn't have any problems at all. We had reservations because of all the past post last year about the many problems. The crew in my opinion was one of the very best we've had and we've been on close to 40 cruises. The food was excellent and the hamburgers and french fries on the pool deck station were outstanding and a daily must.. The Captian sets the tone and I think he does an excellent job in making sure his crew was ever accomdating and available. We were very happy and booked them again for next New Years also. Its my understanding they are going in for dry dock and refurb in April so it should be in good shape, I thought that the interior of the ship was in excellent shape it was in need of some paint on the outside but not horriibly bad. I think you will have a good experience and will enjoy your cruise.:):)

[nana51]

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 there are certainly other cruise lines that are more expensive and may be more to your liking.:)

[localady]

:( I am offended by any HAL employee who would say this.

 

I'm not sure there is a reason to be offended. The demographics for a cruise like a 15 day Hawaii cruise do tend to run on the older side. The employee was just stating a fact. The average age on our Hawaii run on the Oosterdam a couple of years ago was 76 years old. :eek:

 

I think it is totally appropriate that the HAL employee shared the normal demographics for the Hawaii-California run. It was shared with us by the hotel manager on our cruise as common knowledge.

Edited February 7, 2014 by localady

[sail7seas]

I'm not sure there is a reason to be offended. The demographics for a cruise like a 15 day Hawaii cruise do tend to run on the older side. The employee was just stating a fact. The average age on our Hawaii run on the Oosterdam a couple of years ago was 76 years old. :eek:

 

I think it is totally appropriate that the HAL employee shared the normal demographics for the Hawaii-California run. It was shared with us by the hotel manager on our cruise as common knowledge.

 

 

 

This is likely one of those circumstances that depends upon tone of voice, facial expressio, body language and the like. If stated strictly as 'fact', I wouldn't take offense.

 

If it was spoken with some sort of sarcasm or offensive face/body language, I might think it an inappropriate comment.

 

Guess we had to 'be there' in order to know the intention of the comment. :)

 

[rafinmd]

We had a really long chat with a HAL employee and she told us that the cruise to Hawaii tends to attract an older clientele and should we go, to be prepared for lots of wheelchairs and walkers. I am just passing this on, it is not my intention to offend anyone.

 

:( I am offended by any HAL employee who would say this.

 

I am ok with the statement up to "older clientele", that's pretty much a statement of fact, but find the judgemental conclusions that follow offensive and unprofessional. It sounds to me like she considers the customers she talks about as an inferior burden not belonging on the ship.

 

Roy

Edited February 7, 2014 by rafinmd

[KNOT2L82SAIL]

It occurred daily yet never at the same time and would go away after about 15 minutes. The worse was really near both the forward and aft elevators and it really did not matter what floor you were on. The majority of the time was evenings but we did smell it during the day on sea days.The other thing was that sadly the crew were just different on the Veendam, kind of a defeated attitude like they knew there was nothing that could be done with some of the problems on the Veendam. Definitely not normal HAL hard working crew which also came as a big shock to us :(

 

Lisa, I just want to say thank you for the additional info. I think we will be okay. She always has her puffer with her. Plus, your cabin...and soon to be ours...is only a few feet from outside air. Hopefully it will be fresh air, not with diesel fumes.

[Sir PMP]

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.

 

Did the Veendam last year 35 days Boston-Amsterdam and back, the ship is in great shape, and got a 97 point rating!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

 

Lisa, I just want to say thank you for the additional info. I think we will be okay. She always has her puffer with her. Plus, your cabin...and soon to be ours...is only a few feet from outside air. Hopefully it will be fresh air, not with diesel fumes.

Actually it was odd that when our cabin filled up with the smell I poked my head out side the door and the air was fresh with no smell, yet there would be times the area around the elevators had the smell then when we got to our cabin it was fine. There were a couple of people I saw that would keep a handkerchief with them to place over their nose when they went to the elevators which probably was not a bad idea.

[Topsham]

Lisa,

 

Just some infomation re that oil smell...

 

There was a problem and there was a repair and the oil fuel problem was FIXED.

 

Nothing problem to concern any more.:)

 

Stephen

[silvercruiser]

Maybe we should all pack a small jar of Vicks so that if there's an unpleasant odor we can just dab some right under our nose and won't notice the odor. It works.

[igraf]

No surprise here. Younger working people are unlikely to expend a week+ of work vacation on sea days, and probably also unlikely to be satisfied with short port stops in Hawaii. We always fly to Hawaii even though we live in San Diego where it is super-convenient to hop on a HAL ship.

 

The age demographic on a Hawaii cruise has little to do with the ship.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure there is a reason to be offended. The demographics for a cruise like a 15 day Hawaii cruise do tend to run on the older side. The employee was just stating a fact. The average age on our Hawaii run on the Oosterdam a couple of years ago was 76 years old. :eek:

 

I think it is totally appropriate that the HAL employee shared the normal demographics for the Hawaii-California run. It was shared with us by the hotel manager on our cruise as common knowledge.

[puppycanducruise]

Did the Veendam last year 35 days Boston-Amsterdam and back, the ship is in great shape, and got a 97 point rating!

 

We need to ensure DH can arrange the allotted time off from work, and then we hope to book Veendam for next spring (San Diego to Boston). Thanks for the vote of confidence in the ship.

[cbr663]

I am ok with the statement up to "older clientele", that's pretty much a statement of fact, but find the judgemental conclusions that follow offensive and unprofessional. It sounds to me like she considers the customers she talks about as an inferior burden not belonging on the ship.

 

Roy

 

Actually, the employee was sharing with us some of the plans and changes that need to be made on board when their is a larger than normal number of passengers with walkers and wheel chairs.

 

On our recent Caribbean cruise, I was amazed at the impact this can make to the ship's operations. We were ordered back to the ship early from HMQ due to an incoming storm. We had to endure rough seas on the tender back and it was really difficult for the crew to maintain the gang plank from the tender boat to the ship. Folks with walkers and wheelchairs had great difficulty returning to the ship and the crew had to plan for this. This is but one example. Another example would be that the crew must plan for the unlikely event of a complete ship evacuation and make the necessary plans to get folks safely into the life boats. These plans need to change when there is a larger number of mobility restricted passengers onboard.

[cbr663]

We were on the Veendam Hawaii cruise in December. The "S" class ships are definitely our favorite and would never consider one of those mammoth 3,000 and up ships. Not interested in cattle cars. The crew on our cruise were fantastic and upbeat and always greeted us often by name. The captain was the best we ever had. Oh and by the way we love longer cruises and are neither in walkers nor wheel chairs. Although some day that might happen. It is appalling to me how disdainful this Board is of older cruisers.

 

It is appalling to me when people who chose to cruise on larger ships are compared to cattle.