Veendam New Year's Cruise review Part II

[AAL]

Continued from Part I. . .

On Thursday the Veendam stopped in Costa Maya. We rented jet skis, which DD loved, and went out on a one-hour snorkel trip. Fortunately we managed to do this before the downpour, our only rain on the trip. The beach in Mahahual is pretty, but walking down the malecon there was a constant barrage from the local vendors and restauranteurs. Voyager of the Seas was also docked at Costa Maya, so the port itself was crowded, and the shopping was ridiculous. (At one store I asked the price of a pair of earrings, and was told $35; I returned a few minutes later with money, and a different clerk said $90, but for me $75. Such a deal!)

We had the good sense to make a 5:30 dinner reservation and dinner was again delicious. The show was a violinist.

Friday was our last stop, Roatan. What a beautiful island! A large Carnival ship was docked, so the Veendam tendered, which was a slow process because it was too shallow for more than one tender at a time. Luckily,we have learned to get ready early on tender days, and we were on the second tender (even after waiting for room service breakfast that never came). We’d arranged for a private tour with Bodden Tours, and we couldn’t have chosen better. We had an island tour with a great guide (Norma), and then brief stops at West End and West Bay Beach before heading back to the ship at 11:00. The last tender was supposed to be at 11:30, but so many people returned at the same time that it took another hour to get everybody on board. We hung out by the aft pool for sailaway, and the music ended before the anchor was lifted.

Friday DD and I finally had our massages, and then I went to a flower arranging class, which was very interesting.

Friday was the second formal night, and again we made a 5:30 dinner reservation and dinner was good. The show was the Veendam singers and dancers, and just as good as the first one. We finally made it up to the Crow’s Nest, where VJ and the Hal Cats were playing; they are really good.

Saturday was the second sea day and after the embarkation talk and the Mariners’ lunch we hung out at the aft pool again, soaking up the sun and watching some silly pool games. After packing, we had our second dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, which was again excellent. The show was an encore performance by the illusionists, violinist and comedian.

Sunday we had silent disembarkation, which was a breeze. Our time was 8:30 – 9:00, and about 8:40 we were ready to go and walked right off the ship. Our luggage was easy to find, and National Rent-a-Car had a shuttle waiting. The cruise was a great way to pack a lot of sightseeing into a week, but it’s the service that makes HAL a great cruise line.

[MartyC]

Great Review. We also spent the week on the aft deck so I am sure we ran into your group sometime through the week. My wife did what you did in Costa Maya and was called a cheapo by the vendors. Made her really want to spend more money in such a warm, friendly shopping place. They were crazy as she buys a bling in every port and now she can say except Costa Maya. We had pretty good luck at the dinning room for waits Usually sat right away if agreed to sit with larger group. We also had the aisle way seating with the pole in between a couple of nights. New Years eve they gave us a table for 4 so I got to talk without dodging the pole which was nice. I think Holland needs to scrap anytime dinning. We really debated getting off in Roatan but didn't really want to deal with the tender situation. To stop for that short of time really was odd. Great to read you had a good tour though and some dinner companions we had also had a good table. My daughter enjoyed the New Years eve party a lot more than we did. The time change really screwed me up as it was really 1 am. I do have to finish my review but it will be very similar to your experience.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks again.

We were at Costa Maya in 2005 (way before the hurricane) -- and the prices for everyting then were high -- and no one wanted to haggle over prices. We really didn't care for the port -- we were there with 2 other ships and it was packed with people!! We couldn;t even find a seat at the restaurants just to sit down and have a drink.