Veendam

[salin]

Booked on the Veendam for Oct. 7 in Montreal to FLL, starting to get cold feet after reading some of the reviews. Have been on at least 35 cruises and really haven't had a bad one, a few problems here and there but nothing that on the last day would make me want to stop cruising.We really like the itinerary for this cruise but the reviews are a little scary. Anyone have any words of wisdom to help us get over this fear before final payment in July.:confused:

[St Pete Cruiser]

I think I posted similar comments before, but:

I sailed Veendam back in Feb on the 48 day South American Explorer which was RT from Ft Lauderdale. It was delightful! The old girl kept us cool in the heat of Brazil, the dining room food was 5 stars, and our bathroom worked fine. Oh yes, the stopper in the tub would not work well so we removed it as we only took showers. The water was shut off twice between midnight and 6 am for servicing. There was continual painting and varnishing work being performed outside. It was so awful, I booked the Veendam next month from Montreal, 14 days, and I'm looking forward to it!!! Please know the crew will do whatever they can if you do have issues.

[RuthC]

Anyone have any words of wisdom to help us get over this fear before final payment in July.:confused:

Plenty of words (whether or not "of wisdom" to be determined) on this current thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2498094

[Crazy For Cats]

I read similar reviews before our first sailing on the Veendam. We are now booked on our third Veendam cruise and I'm not worried one bit. Both previous cruises were wonderful. We did not experience the major issues I read about.

 

 

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[pjules]

I was on the Veendam earlier this year, 24 days. It was one of the oldest cruise ships I've been on. Perhaps it wasn't so shiny, but we still had an excellent trip and I have no regrets. The entertainment was average, and the food was excellent.

 

 

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[Tatka]

We had terrific cruise on Veendam last September from Boston to Montreal.

Cozy ship with everything within short walk. Nice food, interesting shows and lectures about ports. Loved aft areas. Nicely appointed staterooms.

Cons:

Ship shows age. You can see scratches and peeled paint in aft Jacuzzis.

Our deck had problems with plumbing. Also water pressure wasn't great in showers.

Nightly buffet had weird hours 5-8:30 and then 10:30- up.

 

Aside from a couple of babies and their parents we in our mid 40s were the youngest. Enjoyed people from basically every state.

In Québec City our ship was docked in prime location.

[richwmn]

Booked on the Veendam for Oct. 7 in Montreal to FLL, starting to get cold feet after reading some of the reviews. Have been on at least 35 cruises and really haven't had a bad one, a few problems here and there but nothing that on the last day would make me want to stop cruising.We really like the itinerary for this cruise but the reviews are a little scary. Anyone have any words of wisdom to help us get over this fear before final payment in July.:confused:

I checked and you have joined the roll call. There are 9 people on the roll call that were on Veendam last April (FLL to Montreal) and liked it so much that we decided prior to leaving the ship that we would like to do the reverse and start in Montreal and end in Fort Lauderdale.

[easyboy]

We always take negative reviews with a grain of salt. Expectations may differ from one another. Yours may be different from the negative review. Try to weigh in carefully. Good luck on your decision!

 

 

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[Zooguy]

We were on the Veendam for a RT Boston/ Quebec sailing. The best things were the food and the cabin steward. We had a large aft window cabin. Much to my surprise, there was no mini bar or frig. The entertainment was very limited with the same staff every night. The guest performers were very good including a fiddle/guitar duo. One of our favorites was a bagpipe player from the Fort in Halifax.

This is one old boat with very dated fixtures. I was reminded of an old Twilight Zone episode I watched where the passengers got on but never got off.

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

Booked on the Veendam for Oct. 7 in Montreal to FLL, starting to get cold feet after reading some of the reviews. Have been on at least 35 cruises and really haven't had a bad one, a few problems here and there but nothing that on the last day would make me want to stop cruising.We really like the itinerary for this cruise but the reviews are a little scary. Anyone have any words of wisdom to help us get over this fear before final payment in July.:confused:

 

All you had to do was read the on-going threads about the Veendam that are going on right now. How did you miss them and only choose the most negative comments, assuming you in fact were "doing your homework"?

[EDLOS]

All you had to do was read the on-going threads about the Veendam that are going on right now. How did you miss them and only choose the most negative comments, assuming you in fact were "doing your homework"?

Hey OlsSalt,

Remember Marketing 101:

If you are Happy you tell three (3) people !

If you are Unhappy, you tell ten (10) people !

Unfortunately and I am guilty of it, when I am researching something, I tend to look for and focus on the Negative Reviews, even going so far as skipping over the good reviews looking for the 1 and 2 stars rather reading the 4 and 5 stars on Trip Advisor for example.

I don't think I am alone on this !

[Tatka]

We were on th

This is one old boat with very dated fixtures. I was reminded of an old Twilight Zone episode I watched where the passengers got on but never got off.

 

 

Hahaha... I agree, but I thought it was also cute.

Mirror inside of mirror was a bit spooky

 

We loved all paintings and other arts... Felt a bit like in museum which I enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

 

[Tatka]

Lovely aft

 

 

 

To enjoy sailaways in jacuzzi!

 

And sunsets

 

 

And who won't be enjoying swimming in the pool with Chateau de Frontenac view? ;)

 

 

By the way... we almost always had this pool to ourselves. Maybe the age of majority of pax was a reason.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Tatka

[Tatka]

Small and cozy theater

 

 

We actually enjoyed production shows. Dancers from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus were talented

 

 

As we are originally (20+) years from there we talked to them. They all had a strong ballet background and it showed.

[Tatka]

And we really enjoyed themed buffets, including clams cookout in PEI

 

 

Poutine bar in Québec city

 

 

I won't be adding photos of ports... you need to experience them for yourself. Just one word, they are amazing! I am not even talking about Montreal and Boston, where we don't spend any time.. But Quebec, PEI, both Nova Scotia ports.... are just amazing.

[sammiedawg]

All you had to do was read the on-going threads about the Veendam that are going on right now. How did you miss them and only choose the most negative comments, assuming you in fact were "doing your homework"?

 

The OP is doing their homework and is rightfully nervous. Negative Veendam reviews go back years and bad mechanical things happen routinely on this ship. This ship is buyer beware. Posters and reviewers are not making things up when they recount AC, plumbing, ventilation problems. These problems happen over and over and over again. Problems last for days, I've experienced it. They are not one time issues.

I don't agree with those who say these problems happen all the time on all ships and all Cruise lines. I beg to differ after sailing umpteen ships across eight lines.

Check out Berlitz ratings, Veendam and Maasdam are very, very low rated ships.

[Tatka]

We found that not all cabins are in the same good shape.

Our original inside was nice and seemed to be updated

 

 

Ocean view we were offered to move because of plumbing issues had really rusty window and old cracked bathtub. It was the very last cabin on fifth deck. We moved there, but didn't feel comfortable staying there because of mentioned issues. They were nice with helping us moving our stuff to and from. We didn't ask for anything, but help desk staff reported to Seattle and we got compensated with $100 for plumbing problems we experienced. Nice move...

 

Service was nice overall. Not as polished in MDR as on Celebrity, but nice. Much better than on our first Hal cruise on Zuiderdam. Same with cabin steward.

Edited May 14, 2017 by Tatka

[OlsSalt]

Hey OlsSalt,

Remember Marketing 101:

If you are Happy you tell three (3) people !

If you are Unhappy, you tell ten (10) people !

Unfortunately and I am guilty of it, when I am researching something, I tend to look for and focus on the Negative Reviews, even going so far as skipping over the good reviews looking for the 1 and 2 stars rather reading the 4 and 5 stars on Trip Advisor for example.

I don't think I am alone on this !

 

Why do you even bother continuing to research? What gives the positive comments any final credibility. Marketing 102 teachers if you complain enough you might get them to give you free stuff to shut you up. Because they also took Marketing 101.

[OlsSalt]

This is one old boat with very dated fixtures. I was reminded of an old Twilight Zone episode I watched where the passengers got on but never got off.

 

 

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The Veendam is an older ship. Easy to research that one upfront. Reasonably she would have therefore "dated" fixtures. Yes, some people do love the Veendam so much they never do want to get off. HAL is a mid-level mass market cruise line offering excellent itineraries for value prices. What did you expect to get?

 

Being older and smaller means she can dock closer than the larger ships, which in Bermuda is a 5 star advantage for a mass market cruise ship.

 

You made the wrong choice for your own sensibilities. I hope you can move on.

[OlsSalt]

The OP is doing their homework and is rightfully nervous. Negative Veendam reviews go back years and bad mechanical things happen routinely on this ship. This ship is buyer beware. Posters and reviewers are not making things up when they recount AC, plumbing, ventilation problems. These problems happen over and over and over again. Problems last for days, I've experienced it. They are not one time issues.

I don't agree with those who say these problems happen all the time on all ships and all Cruise lines. I beg to differ after sailing umpteen ships across eight lines.

Check out Berlitz ratings, Veendam and Maasdam are very, very low rated ships.

 

We have already established Berlitz has posted numerous and material inaccuracies about other HAL ships. This is not an authority guide but geared for its own purposes, whatever those might be. No one is hiding or pretending both the Maasdam and the Veendam are the oldest and smallest ships in the HAL inventory. This is not a deep dark corporate secret.

 

And that means exactly what it means - they will be "dated", their internal systems are not going to work with 100% efficiencies and their design and space limitations will also limit what range and depth of activities they can offer. This is a given. Pays your money and takes your chances.

 

But the overwhelming positive reports about the total Veendam experience means she is still a worthy choice and one chooses her with their eyes wide open knowing that it may not always be a 100% perfect experience, particularly when weighed against personal and subjective demands. This is not an unreasonable expectation to expect less than 100% when cruising on any ship. The customer has to weigh and balance the odds and their own priorities.

 

We had a wretched balcony smell the entire time on a 52 day Tales of the South Pacific on the HAL flagship Amsterdam. Happened. They did what they could to correct, it but could not. Did that ruin our trip or did we malign the entire ship or company or cruise - no. It just got filed under ship happens. And we also realized we personally never use our balcony all that much anyway. (Yes, they did offer a small compensation too for the loss of use)

 

The whole reason I kept a temperature diary on our last Veendam cruise was to get some objective measurements in context to add some data evidence into what you claim are constant complaints about this ship. On our trip we learned what HAL company guidelines are for cabin temperatures and some people may never be happy with that range.

 

When our cabin exceeded that range for one day a technician fixed the system and we were back within their acceptable range which did reach 75 degrees in the tropics. This may still be "too warm" for some. And the HM admitted it would never be super-chilled to 68 degrees because that is not what the system was designed to handle. These become very relative perceptions.

 

But when one simply complains about "heating and cooling" with no reference to actual temperatures, location, or HAL internal guidelines the complaint then becomes a personal pique and of no value to a prospective passenger.

[iflyrc5]

Booked on the Veendam for Oct. 7 in Montreal to FLL, starting to get cold feet after reading some of the reviews. Have been on at least 35 cruises and really haven't had a bad one, a few problems here and there but nothing that on the last day would make me want to stop cruising.We really like the itinerary for this cruise but the reviews are a little scary. Anyone have any words of wisdom to help us get over this fear before final payment in July.:confused:

We were on the Veendam for 35 days for the Voyage of the Viking in Jul/Aug 2015 and had an outstanding time. We are now booked on this Oct 7th cruise and anticipating another outstanding time on a DAM ship. Yes there may be a plumbing problem or a temperature issue but hey, that happens on occasion in our 28 year old home too so no big deal. We are going for the ports and the outstanding service provided by the crew on HAL ships. Hope to see you on the cruise and come join in on our Roll Call - appears to be a very active and fun group. As the song says - "Don't worry, be happy". :D

[JimnKaren]

Just off Veendam (15-days, Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal). Really, really enjoy this ship size, having been on Statendam, Maasdam and Ryndam. It is 'comfortable' for us.

 

Our weather made it difficult to maintain a decent temperature throughout all the public spaces. I was especially chilly in the MDR second seating. Other public spaces were great, temperature wise.

 

I did have a problem with the sink stopper in our cabin. I left a note and it was fixed when we returned from dinner. Other than that, our verandah cabin was great.

 

One of the other threads mentioned something about not having ballroom dancing on Eurodam. Veendam does have a nice Ocean Bar and the trio that was playing was good, although the timing of their sets was sort of goofy.

 

Sure, the ship is older, but so have been some of my automobiles. They got me where I wanted to go when I wanted to go. I feel the same about Veendam. There were a couple of mechanical issues, but they were repaired and not repeated, sort of like the A/C in my house in Florida. Sometimes, it just ain't makin' it! It is old, what does one expect!

 

Sail on the Veendam and enjoy yourself. Good ports and a dedicated staff.

 

Jim

[salin]

Thanks for all the replies, I feel a little better now and realize that it is better to go with lower expectations and be pleasantly pleased. Have been on many other cruises with little issues and have dealt with them. The ports look great and the company we will be with is great also. Look forward to a good cruise!!!!

[Tatka]

This is exactly the best way to enjoy Veendam. We went on her right after we sailed on two huge and modern ships (Allure and Anthem, RCCL) with open mind. We found some weak points, but many great things and overall it was very enjoyable, relaxing and memorable trip.

[sammiedawg]

We have already established Berlitz has posted numerous and material inaccuracies about other HAL ships. This is not an authority guide but geared for its own purposes, whatever those might be. No one is hiding or pretending both the Maasdam and the Veendam are the oldest and smallest ships in the HAL inventory. This is not a deep dark corporate secret.

 

And that means exactly what it means - they will be "dated", their internal systems are not going to work with 100% efficiencies and their design and space limitations will also limit what range and depth of activities they can offer. This is a given. Pays your money and takes your chances.

 

But the overwhelming positive reports about the total Veendam experience means she is still a worthy choice and one chooses her with their eyes wide open knowing that it may not always be a 100% perfect experience, particularly when weighed against personal and subjective demands. This is not an unreasonable expectation to expect less than 100% when cruising on any ship. The customer has to weigh and balance the odds and their own priorities.

 

We had a wretched balcony smell the entire time on a 52 day Tales of the South Pacific on the HAL flagship Amsterdam. Happened. They did what they could to correct, it but could not. Did that ruin our trip or did we malign the entire ship or company or cruise - no. It just got filed under ship happens. And we also realized we personally never use our balcony all that much anyway. (Yes, they did offer a small compensation too for the loss of use)

 

The whole reason I kept a temperature diary on our last Veendam cruise was to get some objective measurements in context to add some data evidence into what you claim are constant complaints about this ship. On our trip we learned what HAL company guidelines are for cabin temperatures and some people may never be happy with that range.

 

When our cabin exceeded that range for one day a technician fixed the system and we were back within their acceptable range which did reach 75 degrees in the tropics. This may still be "too warm" for some. And the HM admitted it would never be super-chilled to 68 degrees because that is not what the system was designed to handle. These become very relative perceptions.

 

But when one simply complains about "heating and cooling" with no reference to actual temperatures, location, or HAL internal guidelines the complaint then becomes a personal pique and of no value to a prospective passenger.

 

In a previous thread someone pointed out Prinsendam no longer has a golf simulator that Berlitz gave them credit for. This resulted in a higher score, not a lower score.

Berlitz is the Consumer reports of the cruise industry, I've read them for at least fifteen years and find their assessments consistent with what we've experienced. The same team rates all cruise ships and cruise lines. An individual score is meaningless unless you review how it rates against other ships. Veendam, Maasdam and Prinsendam are the three lowest rated for Holland America.

 

There is no product I cheer vociferously enough to warrant carrying thermometers to record temperatures.