MS VEENDAM

[cfiiai]

My wife and I are novice cruisers .... less than 5 in 56 yrs. The ship was operating for the second week with a propulsion system that was not up to par and this caused continued delays and shortening of shore visits. The Captain, Frans Cosen, in my estimation was not truthful about the severity of the propulsion problem and certainly did not presict arrival times with any accuracy. Even the "on-boatrd" display (room TV) showed the time of arrival at the final destination as 7:30 am after Capt. Cosen had anounced it would be 10: am and even after we did dock in Vancouver at 9: am. The late arrival at Vancouver caused many passengers to miss connections for travel home. In our case, we were a group of 14 family memners from various locations. Four (4) were delayed 1 day in Vancouver, another four (4) were delayed 2 days in Vancouver and my wife and I missed our bus to Victoria, BC.Many of the passengers were furious and Holland America did not do enough to satisfy them. The hotel staff on the ship were exemplary . cabin stewards, dining stewards, etc. did an outstanding job during the cruise. For his inability to maintain a schedule, I believe the Captain should be relived of his command. I would not sail on the Veendam again and certainly not with Captain Cosen

J.L.M.

[Plut0]

CFiiai,
Did you just get off the Veendam yesterday or last Sunday, May 30. There are a number of us anxious to hear how the May 30-Jun 6 trip went as we were told that the ship was fixed when docked on the 30th.
Please let us know.
Thank you.
Mary

[TravlnMom]

He's probably talking about the May 30 arrival, since his arrival was in Vancouver. The Veendam was in Seward yesterday, and is now headed back to Vancouver for its second southbound trip since HAL broke it in dry dock.

I'll x-ref this to the other threads.

Mary, although HAL told me today that the problem was fixed, we need other folks to call to confirm.

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=077097554&m=173106922"]Veendam Repairs thread on HAL Board[/url]

[Plut0]

Travlnmom,
I am not sure what I was thinking as I was looking at the ship yesterday in Seward on the webcam. The waiting game continues....

I spoke to a few people at HAL today and am waiting a call back from someone from HAL.

I don't mind if they have to alter the route, but I would like to know in advance so I can adjust my shore plans.

Mary