Veendam Review 3/8 - 3/15

[GarySuzy]

Veendam 3/8/09 – 3/15/09 Review

A little about us; This was our 5th sailing on HAL, we have been on the Maasdam, Oosterdam, Volendam, Ryndam prior to this. We are in our late 50’s and early 60’s and enjoy the company of others. We do not expect a perfect cruise as “stuff happens” so we go with an open mind and try to have a good time no matter what.

Night before in Tampa:

Stayed at the Holiday Inn Rocky Point – they have a package that includes room and transfers to and from the ship. Hotel was nice and there was a little market near by to purchase wine to carry aboard. (We flew in and did not want to have wine in our luggage as we had to change planes at DFW)

Embarkation:

This went very smooth we arrived around 12:15 were through the check in line by 12:30 and then had a short wait until our number was called to board. We were able to go straight to our cabin and drop off our carry on’s and then off to the Lido.

Cabin:

We were in Cabin 183 and it was very clean and well kept. Yes, it showed a little wear and tear but that is to be expected. Our stewards Bolo and Rizky had 29 cabins to take care of but ours was always cleaned and made up before Noon. This cabin will be renumbered after the dry dock and will be number 195. In all 51 cabins will be added to the 9th and 10th decks combined.

Lido:

We ate most breakfasts in the Lido and found the selection very good. Yes, there were no trays however, I noticed that a couple of people requested trays for various reasons and were given them.

Don’t know if this is real or not but we have been on the Maasdam and Ryndam and I think the Lido is bigger on those two ships.

Dining:

We had any time dining and did not care for it. However we were accommodated and given a 5:30 dinner reservation every night. Our table mates were fantastic. A daughter and grand daughter surprised the grand parents by showing up on the ship and taking the cruise with them. Our waiters at night were Massman and Aga, they were very good and except for the chefs dinner they were very attentive. Chefs dinner they were rushed with the signing and performing. The food was excellent and I appreciate that they have down sized some of the portions so you do not over stuff yourself.

Entertainment

The shows by the HAL Cast were the same ones we saw on the Ryndam in November so we did not go to any of them except for Lee Bayless the comedian, He is really good.

I will not discuss the shore excursions as everyone has their favorites.

We enjoyed the Ports, Key West, Belize, Guatemala, and Costa Maya. We plan to take a land vacation in Belize in a few years.

We had a great time on this cruise and a big part of that was the people we were on the cruise with. CC’ers meet and greet was great and we kept bumping into each other on the ship and ashore.

Disembarkation:

This was the best ever our time to disembark was 8:15-8:30, we were off the ship and at the airport and checked in for our flight home by 9:15.

:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home!!

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[fireman845]

Thanks for the review! Glad you had a good time and welcome back!!

[earl_m]

Glad everything work out for you!! welcome home!!

[jollyjones]

Well, I was on this cruise too and the one thing I found surprising was that breakfast in the Lido was challenging to get an interesting meal. If you didn't want eggs in their many manifestations plus the usual bacon/sausage thing, there wasn't much else apart from pastries (altho' the raisin buns were to die for). The food choices at other meals were interesting and of very good quality but I just found breakfast ... difficult. Shame, because breakfast is my cruise indulgence, don't eat it, usually.

[hammybee]

Woo-Hoo. At the airport by 9:15 sounds like the good ole days.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us.