Veendam 2/24/08

[Smoky]

We just got back from the 2/24 cruise on the Veendam. After 14 cruises with Holland America I can say I am terribly dissapointed. The physical condition of the ship is very marginal with carpeting separating at the seams, emergency floor lighting out of the track and tred upon and constant elevator problems. I actually had to wash down the wall by the thermostat in our room to remove food particles. We had to ask for towels and bathrobes on arrival. The most perplexing situation was the loss of air conditioning in the stateroom resulting in temperatures above 80F (their measurement, not mine) for about a week. They delivered a fan which also failed. I would advise anyone with room assignments around stateroom 640 and the corresponding starboard side area on the main deck and above on deck six to be ready for a possibly uncomfortable trip. They didn't seem to have a solution. I must say that they did offer a room credit of $75 to compensate, a paltry sum for many sweaty nights. You will no doubt notice that the general impression is cost cutting at every opportunity.

 

The problem with the overheating oil in one of the main motor bearing that was mentioned in prior posts persists. We arrived late in Tampa resulting in many blown airline reservations (including ours) right in the middle of spring break. We had to slow several times enroute due to this problem.

 

We found the crew to be non responsive and in several cases arrogant. A bridge officer (Victor) insisted on smoking anywhere he please and made it clear he didn't care what the passengers thought. The customer relations manager (Christianne ) was constantly unavailabe and never once responded to us. The crew in general seemed to lack the hospitality and graciousness that has kept us comming back. We tried to get a cooler place to sleep and were told nothing was available only to find out that that was not true.

 

The bright spot was the dining room staff. Excellent service. Tika, the upper manager was one of the best we have seen. Sadly he left the ship with us.

 

We sincerely hope that your cruise is much better than we experienced. Perhaps we must accept that the S class ships have run their lifespan.

[gizmo]

Smoky,

 

Thanks for posting. So sorry to hear you had all those problems. :(

The ship sounds like it is in poor conditon.

[allen.crawford]

Oh no!! We are heading out on that ship on Sunday!!

[doone]

Smokey, I was on the exact same cruise as you and will agree with the a/c problems. My parents had problems with their a/c in their cabin as well, but their's was corrected quickly. Fortunately, my a/c was fine.

 

Elevators were slow and one of them was out of service for a few days, but then was back in service. I think the elevator service was so slow due to the age of alot of the passengers onboard, they were all using the elevators and probably at popular times because I also noticed having to wait for elevators quite often. I found when I did get the elevators, they worked fine and didn't seem to be slow, other than waiting for them. I have to say, the average age on our cruise was quite old, older than I have experienced on my other HAL cruises, but then again, it was 14 days, I half expected it. Everyone was very nice and I had some nice converstions with lots of people onboard.

 

I didn't encounter the same problems as you did with your cabin, my cabin was clean and spotless at all times and I guess I missed the carpet problem. I will agree, its time the Veendam was dry docked and gone over with a fine tooth comb.

 

It was my understanding that the reason we were late getting into Tampa was because of the 18-foot swells we encountered on Saturday and Saturday night, the Captain explained that he had to slow the ship down to about 14 knots due to the pitching of the ship instead of the usual 19 knots that he should have been sailing at and with the strong head winds we encountered, I am sure we probably were traveling at 9 knots, that's why we were late getting into Tampa, had nothing to do with the engine problems in the past.

 

I just about made my flight as well, but when the Captain announced the night before that we were going to be late getting into Tampa, I went on-line to and checked my airline for later flights and found there weren't any available until Monday, I was ready to extend my vacation another night in Tampa, but I fortunately made my 11:45 a.m. flight.

 

I am sorry you ran into officers that didn't respond to your problems efficiently, that is very frustrating at best. We were lucky, we had good fortune with everyone we met.

 

Welcome home!!! I will write my review once I get my thoughts together.

[hammybee]

I am sorry that you had to spend your time in a sweltering cabin for the duration of your 14 day cruise. This is one of the few things that would drive me bonkers and impact my enjoyment.

 

A $5.36 per day credit does not seem adequate for your discomfort and I am not one pre-disposed towards compensation. Unfortunately, the onus is on you and your travel agent to make your case with HAL. Be persistent and I suspect they will do better for you.

[silvercruiser]

It would seem that there's no consistency on any one ship. We sailed the Veendam 2/3 -2/17 and thought it was one of our best cruises ever. Even though we usually book balconies, we were happy with our OV on Lower Promenade. For the first time in many cruises we didn't have one single complaint.

Who knows? Next time it could be awful. I know that we experienced what seemed like two totally different ships, only weeks apart. on the Emerald Princess. The Oct-Nov. transatlantic was perfect in every way, but the Dec. cruise was awful.

[doone]

I don't think our cruise was awful, but it was different.

[Smoky]

Hammybee

I would be interested in how others feel regarding dispute resolution with HAL. Personally I find it uncomfortable and degrading having to wimper and grovel to Holland America to address this kind of a problem. That is why they have professionals on board. I expect them to be honorable and do the right thing in the first place, not try a little and hope the problem goes away. Or force you to deal with faceless people in Seattle with a travel agent as middleman. They had a perfect opportunity to address me face to face but Christianne and others chose not to do it. I never asked for compensation but certainly feel it was due. The very fact that I am the one that must go on the offensive makes me inclined to simple find another alternative next time knowing that if another problem occurs I will face the same treatment.

[torpeedo]

Smoky, we were on the Veendam in November and had the exact situation as you. Evidently they are not at all interested in fixing the AC situation and the fan is their AC system now. It took many calls and waiting in our cabin for someone to come and fix the AC but it was never totally resolved after more than a weeks complaining. The condition of the ship is as you say, deteriorated. Needless to say, there are many great ships out there and we won't be on this one again.

[crowpro]

We were on the Veendam in January and had a wonderful time. The ship was in terrific shape and the crew was outstanding. We loved it so much, we booked the same cruise for 2009.

[hammybee]

It would seem that there's no consistency on any one ship.

 

No two passengers experience the same cruise, the same way. I am one of the most happy go lucky cruisers you will ever find and I have yet to have a bad cruise on any cruise line. At the same time, I have never been stuck in an 80 degree cabin, for 14 days, with no recourse.

 

I have said it before, I would be inclined to make a spectacle out of myself and build tent city out of blankets, at the front desk, if this happened to me.

[hammybee]

Hammybee

I would be interested in how others feel regarding dispute resolution with HAL. Personally I find it uncomfortable and degrading having to wimper and grovel to Holland America to address this kind of a problem. That is why they have professionals on board. I expect them to be honorable and do the right thing in the first place, not try a little and hope the problem goes away. Or force you to deal with faceless people in Seattle with a travel agent as middleman. They had a perfect opportunity to address me face to face but Christianne and others chose not to do it. I never asked for compensation but certainly feel it was due. The very fact that I am the one that must go on the offensive makes me inclined to simple find another alternative next time knowing that if another problem occurs I will face the same treatment.

 

I get, I think, the deal on why mass marketed cruise lines don't usually make it right, while onboard. And the reason is precedence. There are people on every sail/every cruise line who look for opportunities to obtain OBC or a refund and they don't need encouragement.

 

Having said this, they know what happened, who you are and have your contact information. There could have been a voice mail from HAL waiting for you when you got home with a point of contact for resolution.

 

Woulda/shoulda/coulda.

[PhylHarv]

We were on this cruise and had a wonderful experience--our 6th time on the Veendam. We have now sailed over 100 days with HAL and have never been disappointed with them. We were two of the lucky ones I guess because we had no problems with our cabin. We saw no indications of poor conditions. We thought everything was well maintained inside and out. As pointed out by another poster, the reason we were late getting into Tampa was the very high winds hitting us. The ship was going full power, but the winds slowed us down considerably. Sorry that some people missed their flights though. The crew are the greatest--so friendly and eager to please, even though they must work such long hours. We think they have to work harder since Carnival took over HAL. We hope to again sail with HAL in the future.

[pvlover]

Good Lord...Carnival saved HAL from bankruptcy and oblivion nearly 20 years ago!:eek:

[Smoky]

I noticed the following on a thread from a month ago--------

 

"Last edited by LauraS : April 1st, 2008 at 11:52 PM. Reason: surnames not allowed "

 

Can somone explain to me what this means?? I notice that the last name of the Customer Service manager has been removed. There are any number of posts/threads on this board that refer to HAL crew with full names. Why has this one been altered?? When you give lousy service and you are as high profile as the "Customer Service Manager" it isn't unreasonable to be refered to with a full name. Does this mean that posts/threads can be changed with little justification. This no longer is the thread that I posted. Where does that stop?? Can someone change meaning or message without consulting the writer???