Review of the Veendam, 08 Apr 06 - 15 Apr 06

[friedshrimp]

A very long review of the ms Veendam, Cruise date 08 Apr 06 to 15 Apr 06. Port of calls: Tampa (departure), Key West, Guatemala, Belize, and Costa Maya. Hope it provides some information you are looking for.

Let me start this by saying this was a good cruise. Not great, but good. As I write this, my family and I disembarked from the ms Veendam 8 hours ago. The weather was wonderful for the entire voyage and the seas were very mild. There were no major problems but many little irritations that would keep me from going on Holland America again. I know many people will disagree with me, but to each his own. I will just try to provide information as to how the cruise went and what happened on it as viewed from my eyes. If anyone has any specific questions, I will be happy to try and answer them as best as I can.

Day 1: We arrived at the Port of Tampa at 1030 (being retired military, I will use military time through out this review) with DW, DS, DD, my father and his wife (2 cabins). Parking was a breeze as not many people had started to show up yet. Cost to park the vehicle for 1 week is $ 84 ($12/day). The Veendam is in terminal #6 and there is no covered parking there. You can drive around the parking area, stop at the terminal and drop off your luggage, then drive back into the parking area and walk about 50 ft to the terminal. $ 5 to the porter and he takes our bags. We step inside and meet some very friendly HAL folks, ready to help us check in. They give us some additional forms to fill out (our TA forgot to send them), took our pictures, and gave us our Sign & Sail card. There was no wait as we had arrived early. If you have children 12 and under, they will have a wristband put onto them that must stay there until you disembark. My father in 579 received an embarkation number of 5, but we received (cabin 529) number 8. We told them we were traveling together, so they just took our number back and we became number 5 (yea). We sat down and at about 1130, our number was called for boarding. Through the security line (I was able to carry my Leatherman & Swiss Army knife aboard) and we were on the ship.

Once we board, we head off to the Lido Restaurant to grab a table and some lunch and wait for the rooms to be ready (originally we were told the cabins would be ready about 1500 but in actuality, we were able to go to our rooms at about 1330!). We found that they have 2 serving lines and all food (except dessert and rolls) is served to you, no self-service. Now some folks may consider this great service but I find it inconvenient as you have to wait for eggs to be made, sandwiches to be made, people to decide what they want as they ponder in line, servers trying to understand you, etc. What’s worse is that many people feel like you are breaking in line if you just want to get a package of syrup or an extra slice of bacon. Forget trying to get seconds unless you want to stand in line again. This delay was not because of it being embarkation day, this happened every day, every meal. I prefer the Mariner of the Seas (RCCL) way of having little stations around where you can get what you want quickly and easily without bothering too many people (with the exception of the omelet station, they still man that with cooks). I also found the service on the Lido Restaurant and the Terrace Grill to be slow and several of the cook/servers to be indifferent and many times there were condiment & utensil shortages through out the entire meal. This could be partly due to they seemed undermanned at all times and just could not handle the orders while also restocking items that had been depleted. Service was also unpredictable as some mornings I would ask for bacon and get half a plate and other mornings, I would get 1 slice.

At 1330, we went to the room (529/Quad) and found it to be wonderful! It was slightly larger than our other rooms had been and the bathroom gave us some much extra needed space. Our son slept in the bunk that came down from the ceiling and our daughter slept on the couch that was changed into a bed. We never felt crowded (except when trying to change at the same time but you know how that goes). There were 3.5 closets, 6 drawers, and 2 nightstands. One thing missing though was a micro fridge. I thought they had one in every room but found out it’s not in the inside cabins. Make sure to take a small cooler (luckily we had) and find the icemaker soon (cabin steward was very good but would never bring enough ice). Our luggage was guaranteed to be in the room by 2000 but we received it about 1700.

At 1615, we had muster, and then off to the Crows Nest to meet many of the Cruise Critics I had chatted with the previous 8 months. It was a pleasure to meet Barbara (obbober) who I meet many more times during the cruise and shared pictures and laughs with during the Art Auctions (the little ones are cute Tag1215, good luck and God bless), Bob Connors (roberteconnors) who was the defacto bouncer during our Name That Tune contest in the Piano Bar, Mark & Gretchen (mark1), Connie & Peter (grest), Lee & DW & Robert & Caroline (Vaca2006). There were others that I just can’t remember the names of right now because I didn’t see them as much during the cruise.

At 1815, we went for our first meal in the Rotterdam dining. A lot of red carpet and brass make this dining room look very elegant. We were seated at table 174 (even numbers to the right and odd to the left as you walk into the room from the front of the ship) which gave a good view of the stern and port side of the ship. Plenty of light at this table which was good, as some tables seemed to suffer from a lack of light. Service was good, my only problem here is that I like to drink water with my meals and I would always run out and would stay out for 5-10 minutes. Now, I’m not one to shout at the waiter every time I need/want something because I know he has a lot going on, but if they are going to bill themselves as a 5 star cruise lines, I believe I shouldn’t have to ask, they should see the glass is half empty and just refill it. The only other problem in the dining room was that it was always too hot. The dining steward told us on the third night it was being worked on, but I guess they never got it fixed because it always felt hot, especially on formal nights with long sleeve shirts and coats and ties. The meal itself was very good, good size portions, and I never felt like I was being a bother or that they thought I was being a hog if I asked for seconds.

The SOE upgrades for bedding made this the best place to lay my head down other than at home, ever!

Day 2: We arrived at Key West as scheduled and had no problems getting off the ship (all ports except for Belize were docked). We wondered around the Mel Fischer museum and walked around town for a few hours. If you are looking for Tortuga Rum cakes or Del Sol items, this is the only port that carries them. Went to DI looking for Ammolite to match DW’s earrings that she picked up in GCI last year and found the matching ring in white gold! With a VIP card from Tracy (shopping coordinator form the ship), we only paid $ 450 for a ring that had a tag price of $ 650! DW was very happy! No problems reboarding (make sure to take a government photo ID with your Sign & Sail card, not a Sam’s card or library card). Bruce and Skippy the rabbit were the show for the evening and they were hilarious (Zoom Zoom). Wish they were on every night. Afterwards, went to see Randall in the Piano Bar. If you do nothing else on this ship, go see him. He would have different Name That Tune evenings (70’s (out group one that evening), 50’s & 60’s, and Movies). He also had a couple of sing-along nights. He would dress up in costumes for each of the periods that night was. He is an excellent piano player, a good singer, and could work up the crowd in a heartbeat.

Day 3: Today was a sea day. I found that if you like seawater, go to the Navigation pool (also it is unheated, so cooler). If you prefer fresh water, use the Lido Pool. The Navigation pool is supposed to be adult only, but there were always kids back there. They have two hot tubs by the Lido pool. For some reason, the right hot tub was extremely hot (108 degrees) whereas the left hot tub was about normal (104 degrees). This was the day I got really ticked off when after my DW and I had finished lunch by the pool and WHILE WE WERE KISSING (not a mouth slobbering 2 minute kiss, but a more normal 5-10 second kiss), a server asked us if it was okay to take our plates and trays! He could have just waited a second or have just taken the obviously empty dishes, but no, he felt it was better to interrupt us! The rest of the day was the normal bask in the sun, get sunburned, then go to dinner to see who got more sunburned than you. I did go to the first of 3 art auctions (Monday, Tuesday, & Friday). I had never been to one before and wanted to see what it was like. I have to say that even I, as not being a lover of art (I only buy what I like, not looking for investments) learned quite a bit here. I was also looking for a Thomas Kinkade for my dining room at home. I received 4 free prints for attending all of the art shows and learned quite a bit. I only drank champagne once (and only got 3 sips before some lady knocked it into my lap!). They also have raffles and raffle off massages, spa treatments, and large prints. I won one of the large prints on the very last raffle on Friday and bought 2 Kinkades via Mystery Auctions. These are very unique. The auctioneer shows the back of a piece of art and sets a price and them anyone who wants a chance at it holds up their bid card. Then the auctioneer turns the piece around and shows what it is. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy it. Both of my Kinkades were purchased this was and the girl (Rachael) that was helping the auctioneer knew I was looking for Kinkades, so she told me when to put my card up (thanks Rachael).

I did not go to any of the Broadway shows during this cruise, only the special shows. DW went to all of them and stated that they were only fair and that that blond girl couldn’t sing worth a hoot (and DW is tone deaf, so the blond must have been pretty bad).

Day 4: We docked in Guatemala this morning. We were advised ahead of time that if you only take one tour the entire trip, this is where you should take it, as it is unsafe to go outside of the tourist shopping by yourself. We didn’t know prior to boarding and booked our tour prior to the cruise so our only tour was in Belize. We got off the ship with no difficulties and went through the shopping area in less than an hour. There are no preferred vendors in the shopping area. We went back onboard and spent the rest of the day in the pool area. BTW, while the Navigation Pool is cool, the Lido Pool is heated and usually about 84 degrees. Again dinner was very good (except for water refills). The evening’s show was with Adam, the juggler. He was wonderful and scared the mess out of a gentleman from the audience who was helping him with the show. Again Randall was great in the Piano Bar (even when we didn’t win)!

Day 5: Today we were in Belize. This was our only land tour, the Caves & Jungles of Belize tour. While this tour was probably the highlight of our trip, it is a very strenuous tour that my father would not have been able to make. When we made reservations online prior to the cruise, the website stated this was a medium level tour so my father was going to go along. When we got to the ship and read their brochure, we found that it had been upgraded to a hard level tour. My father went to the Shore Excursion desk and they changed his tour on the spot, no questions asked, and refunded the difference to the room account. We left the ship on an open boat, headed about 5 miles to the coast (this is the only tendered port), and then about 15 miles up the Sibun River. It’s a great ride and you see alligators, bats, iguanas, different bird and plant species. On reaching the farm, they have bathrooms and free soda for you. Then you get into one of 9 Land Rovers for a bumpy, fast, slow, slippery drive on dirt roads, major highway, and rain forest paths to get to the caves. My kids thought this was the best part of the trip! You MUST have your valid drivers license and know how to drive stick shift. If there are more than 9 who want to drive, they stop halfway through and switch drivers. Once you reach the cave area, you stop again for soda and bathrooms. Then comes the hard part of the trip. You can probably opt out of this portion if necessary, but then why take this tour if you can’t fully enjoy it. You cross a swinging bridge, walk the trails while getting a full narration of the area and plants in it, then traverse through 3 caves. There are many times that you duck, crawl, and climb over obstacles. Also the ventilation is non-existent so you will be sweating when you are finished. Once back to the swinging bridge, more soda, rum punch, and a fruit buffet await. Then you get onto the party bus (as they have rum punch for you all the way back to Belize City). Once in Belize City, you can shop or head back to the ship.

Day 6: This was probably my best day as it was my 44th birthday! We got off the ship in Costa Maya and walked the pier to the shopping area. We got on a bus that took us to the fishing village of Mahahual. It is about 2km as the crow flies or 4km via the road. If you want to walk it, you can (more on that). The bus/shuttle costs $ 3 per person. It takes you to the start of the village. Along each side of the village there are people trying to sell you things and small cafes. The cafes are on the non-beach side of the street and then they have tents on the beach side of the street with tables. Different color tables for different cafes. The one we went to on the recommendation of Randall was Tapas. There we meet Carlos, who was an excellent waiter. We met Carlos on the way in and told him we’d stop by on the way out. While there we found many bargains, but you have to barter for any good bargains and you must be ready to walk away. Sometimes that didn’t even work but usually it did. You will find better bargains at the far end of the street as not all tourists walk all the way through town (it’s only about 6 blocks long). Some people will pester you to sell you something or give you a massage on the beach or braid your hair, but for most, a polite but firm no was fine. At the very end of the street on the beach side is Omia. He paints using spray paint cans and his work is unbelievable. On the way back, we stopped at Tapas and went to see Carlos when another waiter tried to get us instead. Wasn’t sure if we were going to see a fight, but when we told waiter # 2 that we had spoke to Carlos first, he backed off. The view of the sea was beautiful and the water warm. We got to walk in the water and play in the sand with our feet while enjoying the warm Caribbean breeze. This was life! It is a great place to take little ones into the water too. We had an excellent Chicken Quesadilla and good Tortilla chips with Pico De Gallo (the difference to me is that salsa has a lot of liquid and is squished, Pico de Gallo is chopped with almost no liquid). DW and my dad’s wife had these great Pina Coladas that come in plastic glasses shaped like a palm tree that you can keep. The only thing we didn’t see prices for were the drinks and we found out they are $ 10 each! We also found out, ask if they take plastic before ordering. Tapas does NOT take plastic. Because of this slight error, we did not have enough cash to get back to the port so we decided to walk the 4km. It was a very easy but slightly dusty walk that even my 71 year old, somewhat fit father took with no problem. You can’t get lost because all you have to do is follow the taxis back to town. Got a little sunburned on my legs because I didn’t know I would be out that long, but it was a beautiful, breezy walk that I was glad I took!

For you lobster lovers, this was lobster night! Actually, it is Filet Mignon & Lobster (Surf & Turf), but the steak was a little on the puny side. The lobster though, perfect! And I ate 3 to just make sure it was. Actually, my waiter offered me a 4th, but I declined (I don’t know why, just thought it would be wrong L). Paul was the singer in the lounge tonight. He was an imitator singer. He was okay but I thought he went way over the top and was not impressed with his renditions. So again, Randall before bed and then lights out.

Day 7: This was our last day and it was a sea day. We did all of the standard sea day things; go swimming, catch some sun, walk around the ship, last minute shopping, eating the last of your favorite things (my 11 year old DS ate 50 servings of ice cream during this cruise!), check out bingo, etc. We had requested to have the same departure time as my father and were surprised that they had departure #4 while we had #3. Went to the Front Desk and they advised that all was okay; both of those numbers depart at the same time. The dining room had a crew farewell song that was very good, and in the lounge they had a variety show of Bruce, Adam, Paul, and the Special Olympic folks that were on the cruise and it was an excellent show. Went to go see Randall one last time but he had come down sick that day and was unable to perform. So we went to the casino and DW won $ 9 in slots (better than losing!). One last walk on the Lower Promenade deck, watch a beautiful moon glisten on the water and then off the cram everything we brought & bought into out luggage. Put it outside for an 0100 pickup and then off to bed.

Day 8: We had to be in the Wajang Theatre at 0630 this morning because DW is still a German with a green card. It was very painless and if you actually go at 0630, no one else is there. Off to breakfast one last time to try and get something to eat without waiting in line forever. The back to the cabin until our number was called. It’s very nice now that you can wait in the cabin until you leave instead of the public areas. We were told that we would probably be called at 0830 and were pleasantly surprised to be called at 0800. Less than 5 minutes to pick up luggage and go through customs and by 0815 we were on the road. A 3-hour drive home ended a good vacation and leaving me to wait until June 2008 to satisfy my next cruise craving, an Alaska cruise for 2 for our 20th Wedding Anniversary.

I hope this review has been of some service to all who are thinking of travelling on the ms Veendam. Again, any questions I can answer for you I will.

[Grumpy1]

Just a counterpoint to your observations about the Lido... I prefer to have my eggs prepared to order, whether fried, omelette, or scrambled. Stuff that is prepared in bulk and setting there for who knows how long just doesn't cut it with me. The same with sandwiches... fresh prepared the way I want it. Yes, it slows down the line, but I'll put up with a bit of a wait to get better food than what I've found on other cruises.

 

Most of the dining room stewards are observant and learn your beverage preference pretty quick. For the few that do not, I would just tell him that I drink lots of water and please see that the glass is filled. You shouldn't have to do that, I know, but to me it's a better solution than sitting in silence and fuming about it. If you did mention it and nothing was done, then mention it to the area captain or the maitre d.

 

Are you really sure that those few annoyances were enough to offset the good food and those fantastic beds to the point that you won't sail HAL again? Having cruised on 5 different lines, I remember annoyances with all of them, but nothing that would keep me from sailing on any of them again, if the itinerary was to my liking.

[friedshrimp]

I agree too that I want to have my eggs made to order and sandwiches too. I just don't think I should have to wait behind 5 other people getting their eggs made just to get a slice of bacon or a package of syrup or to have to put up with their stares when I try to ask the guy making eggs to hand me a couple of slices of bacon (cut in line :eek: ). Things like bacon, ham, rolls, potatoes, syrup, butter, jelly, sausage, bagels, cream cheese, etc can be put onto a different station so that people who want fresh cooked eggs are the only ones standing in the fresh cooked eggs line.

 

As for the water, I did ask several times to have my water refilled and after awhile, found no need to ask anymore. I think it was more a point of being understaffed (so it seemed to me) than by unattentiveness by my waiter. Still, there is no reason for it to be that way.

 

Granted, time may heal all wounds and I may travel HAL again, but it will be quite a while before that happens. As with people we meet and other things we do in life, first impressions mean a lot, and this is where HAL stumbled. It's true, I have only travelled on 3 cruise lines, so as I see it, there are others to try that haven't disappointed me yet or I can also go back to favorite so far, RCCL. As I said before, I know many people will disagree with me, but this is how I feel.

[grest]

Hi Rob and Ursula, it was good to meet up with some of the cc's... glad you got your jewels!

I think your review is pretty accurate, though for me this would not eliminate HAL, and in fact I would go on this ship again in a heartbeat. I'll add to what you said a bit:

The waiting in the Lido did not annoy us at all...though you are right that sometimes you had to hunt down silverware and water. Except for the last morning, though, everyone was very attentive and helpful...in fairness this may be due to the fact that my husband uses a cane, and someone was always there to carry his tray and make sure we had what we needed. Also, we found that the hamburgers and fries on the terrace were delicious. The always ice cream was a bonus, and I don't think anyone is going to match your child in sheer numbers of servings:)

We had lunch just once in the dining room, and I ordered the pastrami sandwich, no mustard or mayo, just plain. They got it wrong, included lots of mustard, and the waiter told me it had to come that way...okay, I just asked him to take it away...he asked if I wanted something else, but already the people I was having lunch with were eating their food, so I said no...I'm not sure what happened behind the scenes after that, but boy did I get a lot of attention, until finally the maitre d' insisted they bring me a sandwich made the way I wanted...and they did..

The dining room was in fact quite warm most nights...finally it was fixed on the last night. The staff was wonderful, the food very good, and plenty of it. Cheesecake divine! What I didn't care for was the request on Thursday night by our waiter to complete our comment cards, encouraging us to rate him and his assistant well...we would have done so anyway, but this hadn't happened before on HAL and I didn't like it...They deserved the good rating, though.

Upon arrival, our cabin was not as clean as it should have been, with a couple of fingernail clippings and green spangles from the previous owner...just details that aren't right...but our cabin guy was great about handling whatever we requested. I agree with friedshrimp about the ice...the ice bucket is small and there is never enough, though Imat tried to keep it full. The beds are amazing. Good movies on the tv, and ESPN for the sports fans who must have their scores.

Entertainment...the piano bar was filled to capacity whenever the piano player was there! I love broadway type productions, but was disppointed with the singers, especially that blond...yikes..also didn't like the musical arrangements. Skippy, the magician's rabbit friend, was a huge hit! Skipped several shows and headed to the casino where I came out ahead at blackjack and learned to play craps..won there too! Mind you, I am not a high roller, but the small player was just as welcome. Casino staff very friendly and helpful.

On this cruise there was a rotary group who sponsored 50 special olympians and their family...very heartwarming, and they had a ball. Staff got involved, playing in a volleyball tournament with them...

Weather was perfect, and we accomplished what we wanted/needed on this cruise: just having a vacation, not doing much. Met some nice folks, got pampered. Love the size of this ship, as you frequently run into people you've seen before...Saw Lee's little Caroline several times, showing off her shoes, always smiling...good to see Barbara's Tracy's untrasound too.

Have never tried RCL, so cannot compare it to that, but I haven't been on a cruise I wouldn't repeat either...have been on the old Norway, a couple of Celebrity, Costa, and now 3 HAL...

Just an FYI...at the Mariners get together, the captain mentioned a repositioning cruise (last fall?) where out of 1250 guests, 1246 were repeat cruisers with HAL...wow.

Embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth for us too.

Glad to answer any questions if I can.

Connie

[imacrusing]

Guess thats why its good to have several cruise lines. RCCL couldnt get me to go on it with free penthouse..too many people seem to go missing from RCCL.

 

I love HAL, love the S Suites and wouldnt ever stray..never had to wait for food there..so maybe with all the new mega ships..its getting harder to get enough help.

 

Just my humble opinion...I love HAL...

[mark1]

This was my first cruise on HAL and my second cruise (Celebrity Galaxy last time). I will comment in parts, to cover my longwindedness. In summary, we thoroughly enjoyed HAL. Our table mates were wonderful, and long-time HAL vets. We also enjoyed the size of the ship and the ambiance was great.

 

EATING BREAKFAST

We tried all three venues. The dining room was fine, with great service. The Lido was fine for us. I enjoyed bringing over the smoked salmon to have it included in my omelet. What made this best (and the LIDO great in general) was the extra time spent in cooking right in front of us. Room service was great (as much hot food as we ordered).

 

EATING LUNCH

The LIDO was our choice. I especially loved the Asian choices freshly cooked, and the veggies.

 

EATING DINNER

We had wonderful table mates and ate in the dining room each night. I especially enjoyed the baked alaska parade. The service was fine at our table, although not up to Celebrity standard (but then, this is HAL standard).

 

OTHER EATING

The best bread pudding!!!!

free ice cream and yoghurt!!

great coffee at $2 a large at the coffee bar (with free desserts and cookies)

the grill was fine (brackworst for me)

a somewhat downsized dessert extravanaganza (great carrot cake)

 

PINNACLE

I didn't partake, but the menu was indeed upscaled and others we talked to enjoyed it.

=============================

 

Did I mention that I enjoyed the food?

[mark1]

THE STAFF

I was expected an aloof bunch and perhaps a bit incompetent after the recent comments about the CD and others. I was happily surprised. The staff was friendly. The staff was available. The CD was everywhere and very friendly. Maybe comments helped.

 

PORTS

Thanks to advice from those here on cruisecritic, we greatly enjoyed our excursions: trolley tour in Key West (buy tickets at the pier and re-board at will), CBS/zoo combination in Belize with Nacho and Cynthia (actually a private tour with one their staff), and a runins tour with David (of David and Ivan fame).

 

MUSIC

The broadway group was a bit sub-par but enjoyable. All loved the comedian and the juggler. The Filipino crew show was wonderful as well as the Indonesian crew getaway song.

 

The music star for us was Randall at the piano bar. We closed the bar each night at about midnight, when others went up to the Crow's Nest to partyy and dance for a few more hours (I think they started at 11). Randall is will be off on tour in Hairspray in July.

 

There were several other bars and other set of musicians. I would mention the strings who were outstanding. They played in their own lounge and also at formal dinners.

 

OTHER ITEMS

We left our hotel near the airport at 11 and were eating bread pudding at noon. So much for embarkation issues.

 

With regard to service, a phone call would bring what we wanted. For example, we needed oversized robes (one size fits all means it doesn't fit me). We were accomodated with a smile. A $20 bill upfront tip probably helped service. We had a mini-suite with plently of drawer and closet space, and enough hangers for four.

 

The adults-only pool wasn't quite, but there wasn't too much of an issue. The only issue I found was adults thinking that the pool was a great place for football. The crew was not staffed for the 125 kids (250 this week) instead of the normal 30 or 40. They did their best, and a teenage game room helped.

 

As with any HAL cruise (apparently), there was no issue getting a lounge chair in the sun or near the pool.

 

All the games seemed well attended.

 

Dam mugs and dam dollars as prizes seemed chinzy.

 

It was nice to have CNN, a few other channels, and some HAL movie channels available for the couple of times we watched.

[Vaca2006]

Hi to Rob, Connie, Mark, and all other CCers who helped my family and me with lots of tips to make the most of our first cruise. I'll be posting my own reviews after I clear real life out of the way, but I'll take this opportunity to post some thoughts that I would have written later about the Lido restaurant.

 

I had read in a guidebook that the Lido on Ryndam had been converted to from a cafeteria line format to separate food stations. Since Ryndam was first in class to have the Signature of Excellence upgrades, I assumed that Veendam would also have a converted Lido after her SOE refit. No such luck. But there are ways to beat the lines, if you wish to do so. You have to break out of the cafeteria line format on your own since HAL didn't do it for you. Moreover, the lines always abate after a shiort while, so my strategy is to grab some things to tide me over until there's no wait at the counter I want. Below are some tips for Breakfast and Lunch (I never had dinner in Lido).

 

1. Bypass the greeter. There's no reason to stand in line waiting to get a tray. While it seems a shame to bypass Herry on the port side or Faizal on starboard as they are two of the nicest guys you'll ever meet (my kids would never bypass them), it is possible to get some food and take a seat without a tray. Moreover, if you find yourself in the middle of a pile of food needing a tray, you can easily flag down a staffer to fetch you one.

 

2. Skip to the end. While there are frequently crowds at the beginning of the cafeteria line (as waits at the hot food stations eventually back up to the greeter), there is almost never a significant wait to pick up items at the far end of the line. So at breakfast, if you find a line extending out of the Lido, bypass the tray fellows and the hot food stations and walk all the way to the area that is, during lunch and dinner, the desert bar. There, you'll find fruit, pastries, croissant, rolls, and box cereals [many of the same things that cause congestion at the begining of the line] and no wait at all. Juice and milk are nearby at the end of the main line. Make yourself a nice continental breakfast and have a seat within view of the main line while you wait for the crowd around the griddle or the omelets to abate. At lunch, if you can't bring yourself to eat desert first (I consider bread pudding an entree), you can certainly make yourself a salad and ladle some soup (located at the lonely end of the main line) to keep you from starving until the man making the Thai chicken wraps is lonesome.

 

3. Sneak in. No, I don't mean cut in front of people who are moving slowly. I mean wherever you see an obvious opening - no one waiting at the egg station, the sandwich station, etc. - go ahead and fill the void if the void is serving what you want. Occasionally, the dining stewards (when they're not graciously offering to carry trays for people who may or may not need the help) will ask those waiting in line to skip ahead to their desired station if there are idle stations. So pax who skip ahead on their own initiative are doing everyone else a favor.

 

While Veendam passengers wait for HAL to fix the design flaws in the Lido restraurant, they can implement their own fixes with just a bit of observation and initiative.

 

Lee

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for writing such a wonderful review.

 

You will love Alaska.

[scuba diver]

Fried Shrimp:

 

We are set to sail on the Veendam on April 22 for 17 days. I noticed that your parents had room 579. We are booked in room 567 which is just a couple doors up. I have noticed on the deck plans that there are several rooms near there that are not cabins. Additionally it is near the escalator. The cruise is sold out so I could not change even if I wanted to, but do you have any idea what is housed in the white areas of the deck between cabins 567 and 577. I would also be interested in knowing if the escalators are very noisy.

[friedshrimp]

Fried Shrimp:

 

We are set to sail on the Veendam on April 22 for 17 days. I noticed that your parents had room 579. We are booked in room 567 which is just a couple doors up. I have noticed on the deck plans that there are several rooms near there that are not cabins. Additionally it is near the escalator. The cruise is sold out so I could not change even if I wanted to, but do you have any idea what is housed in the white areas of the deck between cabins 567 and 577. I would also be interested in knowing if the escalators are very noisy.

 

Sorry I didn't answer sooner, I just checked my email. As I recall, 567 is next to the room (just South of the escalator) that has the sink and ice machine in it. Escalator wasn't very noisy, in fact the Up escalator was out of service for 2 or 3 days. You may get noisy from the ice machine, but you are also close enough to get ice any time you want. Cabin stweards take all the trays from room delivery there. I found that I wasn't in my room that much anyway, usually on some part of the ship or on shore and just watched a little TV or slept so soundly on those wonderful sheets. Also, the robes there are only for using on the ship, but I found out you get to keep the 2 cloth shopping bags in the room. They work great for carrying things to shore and back.

[scuba diver]

Friedshrimp:

 

Thanks for the info. As they say, "If life gives you an ice maker, then make ice cubes." :)

[hugger]

We normally sail Princess - were booked on the Star for 4-2 - obvisouly we didn't get to go with the fire and all :(

 

I've been hearing from people in our local area (we live in Tampa Bay) about the Veendam. Would be great to cruise from a home port.

Can anyone tell me about the mini suites on the Veendam? What are the perk's, how are the balcony's, bathroom, storage, etc?

What is the group like in regards to age? We are 50's . . .

I'm wondering if anyone know's if there is any go between as far as the frequent cruiser program's. We are platinum on Princess . . .

Is there an upper and lower level in the dining room?

If so which is the best to ask for?

Being this is a smaller ship is there a lot of motion - my DH get's sea sick easily. We do love the feel of a smaller ship. However, this would be the smallest he's ever sailed on. I used to sail back in the day's when they were 20,000 ton's.

THANKS in advance for any and all help in regards to HAL and the Veendam.

[imacrusing]

Veendam..great size ship..never noticed movement on this size HAl ships

 

Age is older but we went when we were in our 50s and never felt old or young..its all about what you make it..

 

We always take S Suite which huge..the balcony alone is 20 x 10 and we live on it. SOrry never been in mini but know they DO NOT get to use Neptune lounge and they are about half size of S SUites.

 

SInce never cruised on princess..do not know how the frequent cruiser works for that vs HAL..but the VIP is supposed to give you the same discounts..

 

Dining room..we always take upper level because thats early seating for dinner..they have 5:45 upper seating

6:15 lower seating then 8 and 8 30 same..

 

 

Start taking BONINE or generic day before cruise...i also have motion sickness BUT never been sick because I start day before cruise to get it in my system and thus always had great time

[shipcafe]

In the interim I've posted a few of my personal cruise photos here.