Veendam New Year's Cruise review (long) Part I

[AAL]

Our family (me, and DH, DD age 16) had a wonderful new year’s cruise on the Veendam, departing Tampa on December 28. The highlights were the wonderful service by our room stewards and dining room waitstaff, the delicious food in the Lido and dining room, the great cocktails, and the entertainment. The public areas of the ship were beautiful and our stateroom was comfortable. One of the things I love about HAL ships is the number of public spaces, both inside and out, to sit and enjoy the scenery and the sun. The other passengers were a great mix of well-behaved families. The only minor negatives were AYWD (which doesn’t work well when the ship is at full capacity) and unreliable room service delivery (after two times without food we gave up). After the upcoming drydock, and with a little improvement in the food service management, the Veendam would be perfect!

 

After some anxiety about flying through Seattle, which had some big winter storms, we arrived in Florida as scheduled. We spent the night before the cruise at the Tampa Waterside Marriott, which was very nice. We stopped at Total Wine and bought several bottles for the cruise and then had dinner in Ybor City. In the morning we could see the Veendam from our hotel window. The Marriott has a Hertz desk, which made it easy to return our rental car.

 

We arrived at the pier about 11:30 and were told that boarding would begin at 2:00 p.m. because the ship was being sanitized after a norovirus outbreak. HAL had arranged for a deal on admission at the nearby aquarium, but we opted to sit and play cards. Boarding started at 2:00 as promised, and we were in group #8 to board. Staterooms weren’t ready, so we went right to the Lido for our first delicious lunch. At that point it was not crowded, but the Lido got quite jammed as more people boarded in a short time. Since the ship was in Code Red, the buffet was not self-serve (even for water and coffee), which slowed service down a bit, but to stay healthy I was happy to avoid touching spoons that others had touched. The shortened embarkation time threw our usual Day 1 routine off schedule; by the time we got to the spa, there were no more massage appointments for the first sea day. Oh well. After the lifeboat drill, we went to the aft pool for sailaway and a margarita – HAL cocktails are soooo good! Then on to dinner in the dining room, which tonight entailed only a short wait. Food and service were good, as always. We made it to the show, which involved a comedian who was somewhat funny.

 

By the time we returned to our stateroom, all of our luggage had been delivered and we unpacked. We had an aft outside stateroom on the A deck, category FF. The bathroom had seen better days – definitely in need of the upcoming refurbishment. The bed was very comfortable, and the storage space was great. DD and I do not travel light – the three of us had 5 suitcases and 3 small rolling carry-ons, but it all fit in the closets and underbed drawers, and all the empty luggage fit under the bed. The air conditioner worked fine. Other than the beat-up bathroom, the only problem with the stateroom was a frequent odor issue. I love an aft cabin and the easy access to the Lido and the aft pool.

 

Monday we stopped in Key West. It was a beautiful day – like almost every other day on this cruise. We took the trolley tour, shopped for the items we forgot – air freshener spray and an extension cord, and walked down Duval Street. We were back on board for some pool time before a beautiful sunset sailaway. Our wonderful room steward had brought us a wine bucket and ice so we could chill our wine before dinner. There were a few new passengers (and their luggage) waiting to board in Key West, whose arrival in Tampa must have been delayed.

 

Monday evening we had our first delicious meal at the Pinnacle Grill (booked online before the cruise). The PG beef is incredibly good and the desserts (chocolate soufflé and Cherry Garcia Baked Alaska) were great too.

 

Monday night’s show featured the Veendam singers and dancers in a tribute to Broadway. We saw several Broadway shows this year, and I thought that the Veendam entertainers were Broadway quality. Very enjoyable.

 

Tuesday was our first sea day. After breakfast in the dining room, we found lounge chairs on the stern of Deck 9, just below the aft pool, a very peaceful spot. At 3:00 I went to the martini class, which unfortunately conflicted with the Indonesian tea service. So many cocktails, so little time. Unfortunately, we could not get dinner reservations that morning (except for 8:30), and ended up waiting about 45 minutes for a table.

 

A note on AYWD: We’d requested the early traditional dinner seating when we booked in March, but got AYWD. I was open to the concept, but AYWD did not work well on this cruise. The ship was at full capacity since it was a holiday cruise, and there were several large family groups with multiple tables, which probably upset the dynamics of AYWD. If there are 1200 people on board and 75% of them eat dinner in the dining room, AYWD probably works relatively smoothly. If there are 1450 people on board and a higher percentage of them eat in the dining room, it doesn’t work so well. When it worked for our schedule, we reserved a table for 5:30. On the two occasions that we preferred to eat later, we waited 45-60 minutes for a table (so much for eating as we wished). We were never offered a pager, perhaps because of the Code Red situation. The maitre de was one of the few unfriendly staff I encountered – he had an attitude like we weren’t quite good enough to eat in his restaurant. That didn’t help the situation.

 

My DD (on her 4th cruise since age 8) missed having a personal connection with an assigned waiter. She is a picky eater, so perhaps it is easier for her to order from the same person every night. She did have trouble finding food to eat on this cruise and ended up ordering pasta almost every night. The menu choices were just too adventurous for her, but the waitstaff was very willing to accommodate her requests for non-menu items like marinara sauce. I had no problem at all finding food to eat.

 

Once we were seated, the food and the service were both good. I did not think that the selection on the menu was as good as the Zaandam in 2006, but perhaps my expectations were higher on this cruise. I did not go hungry.

 

Tuesday night’s show was an illusionist duo who were very impressive. How do they do that?

 

Wednesday we stopped in Belize, which involves a looong tender ride. We were on one of the first tenders and had arranged for a combo shore excursion – ATV ride and cavetubing – with Yhony. He was waiting for us when we disembarked, and sent us off with a great guide (Richard) for a short tour of Belize City on the way to the ATV site. The ride was muddy and lots of fun. The cavetubing was different from anything I’ve ever experienced, but crowded and chaotic. Next time I’d go to a beach instead.

 

Wednesday the Code Red was lifted. It was very interesting to see how much reappeared: salt and pepper shakers, bread baskets, self service in the Lido, the taco bar at the Lido pool, magazines in the library, the fruit basket in our stateroom, nuts and appetizers in the lounges, cloth towels in the restrooms, pool towels readily available, basketballs, etc.

 

Wednesday was New Year’s Eve, one of the highlights of the cruise. It was formal night, so we got dressed up and had pictures taken. Because we left the ship before the 8:00 a.m. dinner reservation time, we did not have dinner reservations. When I called in the afternoon, they said that getting a table anytime after about 7:45 should be fine. Fortunately, we went to the dining room about 7:30, before the early show ended. We waited for almost an hour (and were not offered a pager) and while we waited the line eventually extended past the elevators. Finally the three of us were seated at two adjacent 2-tops, with an aisle in between. Service was very slow; clearly they were just overwhelmed when everyone chose to eat in the dining room on new year’s eve. Perhaps on full capacity cruises – and especially on special nights – HAL should return to assigned dining.

 

We went to the show lounge at 11:00 for the New Year’s Eve party, which was the best NYE party I have ever attended. Hats, necklaces and noisemakers were handed out at the door, the ship’s bell was placed on the stage to be rung at midnight, VJ and the Hal Cats played great music, the officers danced, and there was a balloon drop at midnight. What a way to start the new year!

[AlohaPride]

This sounds like a BLAST! I'm going to HAVE to take a new year's cruise one of these days! It sounds so festive!!!

[AAL]

One of the things I forgot to mention was the complete lack of Christmas decorations when we embarked on December 28th. I had read about HAL's beautiful decorations and hoped they would stay up at least until new years day (my tree is still up!) but no such luck -- not a shred of tinsel anywhere. I guess I'll just have to take a cruise in December!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

So many people are complaining about AYWD -- I agree with you -- HAL should do away with it!!

In spite of the AYWD, sounds like you had a great cruise.

[AAL]

Thank you for your review.

So many people are complaining about AYWD -- I agree with you -- HAL should do away with it!!

In spite of the AYWD, sounds like you had a great cruise.

 

I think AYWD could work with some modifications, especially when a cruise isn't full. First, I think HAL should determine whether the smaller upper or larger lower dining room is used for fixed dining based on the number of people who request traditional dining when they book.

 

Second, I think that HAL should definitely reconsider AYWD on full-capacity cruises. Since they used to seat everyone in two seatings, there are obviously enough tables for everyone. But if enough people don't go to dinner early, so tables are sitting empty for an hour or so, there is a problem later in the evening when too many passengers want a table. On a less-than-full cruise, they start with some vacant tables (in addition to tables that would be empty because people eat in the Lido or use room service), which gives some flexibility. On a full cruise, when there are a lot of family groups who always eat together in the dining room, there simply aren't enough tables to make AYWD work well.

 

Finally, the AYWD rules should be the same for everyone (except suite passengers). We could never make a reservation except 5:30 or 8:30, even when we called right at 8:00 a.m. But as we sat waiting (and waiting and waiting) for a table, lots of people came in with reservation cards, so obviously some people were able to make reservations at other times.

 

And lastly, the maitre de should be a nice, friendly person.

 

Yes, we did have a great cruise -- two long waits for a dinner table did not affect my overall opinion of the cruise. (When we reserved a table for 5:30 there were no problems.) I offer my comments only because AYWD is so frequently discussed here. My preference is a fixed dining time, and the same waiters every evening, but I would be willing to try AYWD again on a non-holiday cruise.

[Suesan Jean]

Thank you VERY MUCH for your Veendam review.....!!!

 

I am trying to decide between two cruises for next year, both to Bermuda. The Norwegian Spirit or the Veendam......

 

We were on the Noordam last March and LOVED IT.....!!!:)

 

I know that the Veendam is a smaller older ship, but we are OK with that. Some of our best cruises have been on older, smaller ships.....:D

 

Can you tell me what the Explorers Lounge was like? I am assuming that is will be smaller than on the Noordam, but, was there a large collection of books? Was there a table where people worked on a puzzle?

 

What about the Culinary Center? How was that? I liked it on the Noordam.

 

Did you find the Veendam easy to navigate? It does not have center of the ship elevators, did you find that you were doing a lot of back and forth walking?

 

Would you cruise on the Veendam again?

 

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.

[AAL]

Can you tell me what the Explorers Lounge was like? I am assuming that is will be smaller than on the Noordam, but, was there a large collection of books? Was there a table where people worked on a puzzle?

 

What about the Culinary Center? How was that? I liked it on the Noordam.

 

Did you find the Veendam easy to navigate? It does not have center of the ship elevators, did you find that you were doing a lot of back and forth walking?

 

Would you cruise on the Veendam again?

 

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.

 

There was a fairly large collection of books in the Veendam library, card tables, and a puzzle table. We played cards there on New Year's Eve while waiting for the party to start. The Explorer's Lounge never seemed to have many people in it.

 

The Culinary Center looked just like the Culimary Center on the Zaandam (I haven't been on the Noordam). I did not attend either of the paid cooking classes because the menus didn't appeal to me, but I did go to the flower arranging class there.

 

The Veendam is very easy to navigate -- it is small enough that the center elevators are not needed. (There is an atrium and center stairs between decks 7 and 8.) It takes hardly any time to walk from one end to the other.

 

The only time I did a lot of back and forth walking was to maneuver around that darn Deck 7 kitchen. For some reason I could never remember to figure that into my plans -- but I had the same problem on the Zaandam.

 

I would cruise again on the Veendam, but if the itineraries were equal I would choose the larger Zaandam class. I like walking around the top deck, and that deck is of course smaller on the Veendam. Also, the Zaandam's lower stern decks were open to passengers, which made it very easy to zip up the stairs from our stateroom to the promenade deck. Those decks are closed to passengers on the Veendam -- that's where the stern lines are. Those are the only differences that I noticed -- there are still plenty of public spaces, and the ship never seemed crowded (except the dining room entryway). We always found seats in the show lounge, the Lido, and the aft pool area when we wanted them.

 

I have never sailed on a large ship or on Norwegian. Personally, after experiencing the HAL service and food, I would have a hard time going to another line, unless it's a luxury line. I enjoyed our first cruises on Royal Caribbean, but I'm not sure I'd be as happy with them now.

 

Hope that helps!

[Suesan Jean]

There was a fairly large collection of books in the Veendam library, card tables, and a puzzle table. We played cards there on New Year's Eve while waiting for the party to start. The Explorer's Lounge never seemed to have many people in it.

 

The Culinary Center looked just like the Culimary Center on the Zaandam (I haven't been on the Noordam). I did not attend either of the paid cooking classes because the menus didn't appeal to me, but I did go to the flower arranging class there.

 

The Veendam is very easy to navigate -- it is small enough that the center elevators are not needed. (There is an atrium and center stairs between decks 7 and 8.) It takes hardly any time to walk from one end to the other.

 

The only time I did a lot of back and forth walking was to maneuver around that darn Deck 7 kitchen. For some reason I could never remember to figure that into my plans -- but I had the same problem on the Zaandam.

 

I would cruise again on the Veendam, but if the itineraries were equal I would choose the larger Zaandam class. I like walking around the top deck, and that deck is of course smaller on the Veendam. Also, the Zaandam's lower stern decks were open to passengers, which made it very easy to zip up the stairs from our stateroom to the promenade deck. Those decks are closed to passengers on the Veendam -- that's where the stern lines are. Those are the only differences that I noticed -- there are still plenty of public spaces, and the ship never seemed crowded (except the dining room entryway). We always found seats in the show lounge, the Lido, and the aft pool area when we wanted them.

 

I have never sailed on a large ship or on Norwegian. Personally, after experiencing the HAL service and food, I would have a hard time going to another line, unless it's a luxury line. I enjoyed our first cruises on Royal Caribbean, but I'm not sure I'd be as happy with them now.

 

Hope that helps!

 

YES.....!!! ALL your thoughts and opinions help......

After 5 cruises on NCL, 2 on Royal Caribbean and 1 on Holland America, we REALLY LIKE Holland America....!!!:)

We found it to be a classy, elegant cruise line, al least the Noordam was. Is the Veendam an elegant ship?

We love NCL, we had our first three cruises on them, and still like them. Our two cruises on RCCL were very nice, the Explorer and the Voyager are amazing ships, but, I have no desire to book another cruise, don't know why......

The Noordam was just so nice. The artwork was FANTASTIC....!!!

Is the artwork on the Veendam impressive too?

Thank's again for all your information.... :)

[our turn]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post your great review. As I have posted before, AYW dining was a disaster for us on the Eurodam last month. So much so that we will not book again without the guarantee of traditional dining.

 

The New Year's Eve party sounded wonderful. Glad you had such a good cruise with your family.

 

Kim

[Chrislynn55]

Thanks so much for your great review. We are about to head off on our first HAL cruise (on the Veendam) on its March 15 sailing...all the recent negativity about this ship was starting to concern me. We too have an FF category OV in the aft section of A deck and I'm so glad to hear that your air conditioning was fine in that area! We're used to 'freestyle' dining with NCL and it works well on their ships because there's no fixed dining at all in the main dining rooms. I'm not sure how much we'll enjoy standing in line for an hour for our 'as you wish' dining on the Veendam. Is there 'beverage' service for the people in line...lol!

[mommym]

Hope it's not too late to resurrect this post-enjoyed your review. About the FF aft cabins-I'm trying to tell from the deck plans if the back stairway is accessible through all levels of the ship. When you said you could zip up to the aft pool and Lido-was that one that stairway. I don't like to queue up for elevators and if I take the stairs I tell myself I can justify that dessert every meal...Just wondering if you will share more about accessing the rest of the ship being so far aft. Thanks again so much for the great review. Anxious to see the Veendam after dry dock.

[AAL]

If you are asking about the stairway that is at very back -- that area is inaccessible to passengers on the main deck and A deck; it is where the stern lines are. The aft stairs for passenger use are between F805 and F820, and you can walk that flight of stairs all the way up to the Lido deck.

 

The Veendam is relatively small -- it takes very little time to walk from the aft stairs to the forward stairs (if you are going to the show lounge, fitness center, or crow's nest), especially on the lower and upper promenade decks.

 

That stern area on Zaandam is accessible to passengers, so I was a little bit disappointed that it was not so on the Veendam. I too like to take the stairs whenever possible. When we weren't taking the stairs, we rarely had to wait long for an elevator.

[Estelle]

We just booked Veendam for our first HAL cruise. Thanks for the excellent review.

 

We will be sailing after the dry dock so I am very anxious to see how that turns out. I'm looking forward to the different experience of sailing on a smaller ship.