HAL's new "SHOWROOM AT SEA" on VEENDAM is a hit!

[TCF]

We spent five weeks on the Veendam last Sept/October and frankly the only thing we thought it needed was some rebuilt /new A/C units and a really good spiffing up of the cabins, bathrooms and furniture throughout.

What I have seen from Richard's pictures makes me believe that is what they have done...as well as adding the cabins and changing the pool area aft. Even the new cabins look to be very similar to the existing ones...just all shiny and new.

We found the problem with old 'theater' was primarily the very uncomfortable seating...banquets that only came up just past the 'small' of ones back. From the pictures it would appear that they have increased the back support and added some real cocktail tables and chairs down front. That alone is a huge improvement from what was there when we were on it!

Unseen...but spoken of enthusiastically by Richard... is vast improvements to the audio/visual/lighting/sound system that was also badly needed...now if they have replaced the technician with someone who can actually operate the equipment it will only add to the improvements.

As for the entertainment itself....we'll just have to wait and see! While the entertainers last fall certainly weren't "Broadway" or "Vegas" calibre...we found the 'kids' doing the shows to be enthusiastic and talented....and quite enjoyed them!

As for the credibility of Richard's posts...well I have always found everything he has posted to be well thought out...well researched...well presented...so I have no reason to believe this time his report is anything different.

The only confusion I have is when people talk about the "look" of what HAL has done to Veendam...are they talking about what the ship looks like from the shore...or what one sees when they are on the ship?? I find some of the mega-ships to be stunningly beautiful as they sail out of the harbour...but you couldn't drag me on them to cruise!

[jbeb]

Ya know ---- reading these neggy posts just makes me shake my head. Stuff changes and if you don't like it don't go. HAL didn't do this design change to please everyone but to keep an older ship fresh instead of sending her to the breakers or selling her off somewhere. I will be on her in a couple of weeks and am just going to enjoy myself, my sweetheart, vistas and the amenities, food, crew and the happy folk lucky enough to get away. There are some REAL stuffed shirts out there ---- please stay away and go on Cunard or Crystal or somethin'.:p

I agree wih the Star Wars fan and will be joining the Veendam in Vancouver the 17th in Vancouver for a btb Alaska adventure. I truly look forward to soaking up the sites and experiencing the best the Veendam has to offer. I am pleased to say HAL, Carnival and Princess have never disappointed me and it is the people, places and ships crew that bring me back. I look ever forward to keeping a sunny outlook and meeting all the nice folks aboard.

Jan

[scopewest]

Thank you, Richard, for your postings. I won't be sailing on the ship until the fall so it's great to see the changes.

[Sillyjilly]

Richard, I noticed on your blog that you are in cabin 222. That will be our cabin in September. Any tips for neat places to watch the scenery from near that cabin?

 

Thanks! Love the pics!

[Flyingfish]

As far as I'm concerned, it's simply a matter of whether you used the aft pool or not. We always do on these ships. We hang out there. Now I see an area that will encourage families with small children enjoying the shallow water. That's all well and good, but I'd look awfully silly trying to cool off there. We go on the Veendam next year, I guess it's a "wait and see."

[lardor]

We spent five weeks on the Veendam last Sept/October and frankly the only thing we thought it needed was some rebuilt /new A/C units and a really good spiffing up of the cabins, bathrooms and furniture throughout.

 

What I have seen from Richard's pictures makes me believe .....

 

I asked HAL about replacing the A/C (as we both know, that "repairing" them doesn't work very well) and they said no...I am on it this August to Alaska so that should not matter as much as it did last year...

[Bramcruiser]

There are some REAL stuffed shirts out there ---- please stay away and go on Cunard or Crystal or somethin'.:p

 

Isn't that sterotyping and making assumptions about those travellers as well?

 

David

[Bramcruiser]

I had only been on one HAL trip prior to this year - although I loved my voyage on the Vista-class Oosterdam, I must admit HAL did the big productions shows really poorly. Although I give high marks for most other things and am really looking forward to the smaller Maasdam next month. However, I think the idea of a more intimate performance is an exciting new change. I doubt it will be on the Maasdam in time for my next voyage but am willing to give credit to HAL for trying to make a change. I hope it works.

 

David

[Opinions]

HAL is a corporation, is it not?

 

It is the Carnival Corporation...HAL is a brand of that corporation.

[Bramcruiser]

It is the Carnival Corporation...HAL is a brand of that corporation.

 

Actually, HAL is a corporation but owned wholly by Carnival. Still all Carnival owned corporations have their CEO's and business plans to gear themselves towards the markets they appeal to. While there is a certain amount of Carnivalization of the industry its not Carnival head office that determines what HAL, Princess, Cunard or many of the other brands decide what to do in terms of food, entertainment, paint colours:D, etc.

 

Sure there's a homogenization in terms of how the industry is going to operate but each corporation or division (Cunard is not a separate corporation like HAL) has their own business plan.

 

David

[kryos]

I still don't understand this "Showroom at Sea" concept.

 

Is it a replacement for the large production shows ... smaller, more intimate cabaret type performances ... or is it in addition to a couple of the full-blown production shows each week?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[hammybee]

Thank you Richard, for making the time to share your perspective with us.

It sounds like they hit a home run to me.

[DFD1]

rita, My understanding is that The Showroom at Sea is a replacement for the full blown production shows, however I may have it wrong.

[Richard in Panama]

My understanding is that the full blown million dollar production shows will continue . . . and if you've seen "Dream Park" you know that they are getting bigger and better . . . on the bigger, Vista class ships where they have the staging to support big shows. On the smaller ships, like VEENDAM, where they can't physically support the big production shows, they will introduce a new concept . . . not big production shows, not traditional cabaret . . . new and different being the operative words.

 

Regards, Richard

[realvtr]

Just logged on after being out of the loop for a while. Interested in the changes on the Veendam as it was the first ship we ever sailed on and took our last cruise on last year. We love the Aft pool as it is away from the cafeteria tables etc. and there is always a place to have a lounge chair out there as opposed to the mid-ship pool where people "save" the lounges for the entire day. So there is no swimming pool in Aft now, just the retreat shallow lounge pool? And I guess I don't understand about the shows- what has changed there? Thanks for taking the time to answer as we are getting ready to book our next cruise..........

[northern dancer 37]

At first the Showroom at Sea was touted as a fantastic change, until people tried to use it. Sight lines are very poor for many in the audience, and much of the seating is still uncomfortable.

 

As for the shows, they were mixed in style, fortunately. Some were "Broadway" style, and far too loud for our tastes. Others we found enjoyable. Sadly, the Daily Program did not give adequate detail on the performances, and we found some people missed shows they would have enjoyed, and showed up for others they would prefer to miss.

 

As an example of lack of information: ""The World On A String" with master musician Doug Mattocks." That was the total information supplied. Was he a violinist, a guitar player, or someone who made funny noises on a yo-yo string? Was his music going to be classical or rap? (He was a skilled and entertaining banjo player with a very broad repertoire.)

 

Lack of information on this Code Red Veendam cruise was normal - we never found out if the "bug" was noro, nor if it was being contained, or spreading.

[Quince]

I was also on last week's cruise. My impressions of the new Showroom were:

 

It's a very attractive room, but as stated above, the seating was stiff and too upright to sit comfortably for more than a short show. (Whoever did the interior re-design gave more thought to "looks" of the re-done areas than "comfort".) The chairs in front and on the middle aisle are the best seats if you have a bad back.

 

Beautiful staging, lighting, sound in the new space. The speakers are very effective, so if you have sensitive ears, don't sit right behind them!

 

It's not the typical Vegas style production shows because they only have two dancers. They do have 5 "staff singers" who were excellent. They did one night with two singers who did a ballad type performance. The second night was the four guys with a fun show of "street singing" (think Jersey Boys type harmonies). The third night was all 5 singers doing songs from Broadway with dresses by Bob Mackie. All of these big shows were tremendous, with excellent lighting and a live band.

 

In between these big shows were the individual performers, brought on board for just one performance .

 

I enthusiastically agree that the evening performances need better promotion. Maybe it was because the Cruise Director wasn't sure what to expect either, but when you sat down, you never knew if it was going to be classical violin music, or a comedian with a guitar.

 

Everybody on board said that compared to the normal Holland America entertainment on the smaller ships, this was a huge improvement.

[DFD1]

Thanks, Quince. That's great news. I hope these new, less glitzy programs work out well. We often did not bother with the larger Las Vegas strike-off productions because they were so loud and not very well done, in our opinion.

 

Too bad about the uncomfortable seating. Hopefully that will be corrected if this idea is taken to the other ships.

 

Thanks for your comments.

[karenem]

Just off the Veendam yesterday!

 

From way back: I toured the kids' club--very nice facilities, and Laura, the supervisor, is great. The teens have their own hang-out with a waterfall, waaaaay up high. Only about 10 kids on this cruise though, so didn't see anything in action. No designated kids' pool. They said there are more kids during school breaks though. My teen would *not* have had a good time on this particular cruise with no one to hang out with, but YMMV.

 

New theater: I have nothing to compare it to so... it looks beautiful, mostly cabaret-like tables and chairs lower down, low-backed, couch-ish seating in back and on the balcony. The stage looks pretty small (too small for more than 2 dancers to move comfortably, which is probably why they had... 2 dancers). I saw the Beatles/Beach Boys tribute band for their two shows--they were good and the crowd enjoyed them. (I ended up chatting with them at the airport because we were on the same flight out--very nice guys! They said they really enjoy working the HAL cruises.) The staff singers are also very professional and polished.

 

Retreat area: hmmm. I'm not a big "bake by the pool" person so it's kind of lost on me. It did slosh unexpectedly (big time!) when we were leaving San Diego, and several people who were sitting on the edge got really wet because it doesn't have the "pool within a pool" edges that the regular pools have. Lots of sun and chairs out there though, and the water probably keeps things cooler in hot climates.

[drsfl]

I was on the Veendam "Cruise from Hell" for the premier of their 3 new cast shows and theater. The new lighting and effects are spectacular. The seating downstairs looked good, but we couldn't get there in time to sit there (30-45 min early) because of the slow service in the dinng room. So we had to sit under the balcony with poor sight lines, or in the balcony with its uncomfortable low backed couches and poor sight lines after rows 1 and 2. I don't go to 10:00 shows.

The new concept applies to the Cast Shows only - there were 3 in our 13 nights. The rest of the evenings were the usual shows of solo singers, instrumentalists, comedian, juggler, ventriloquist, with some performers on twice. Nothing new - shows lasted 45 minutes maximum.

The old 1 hr Cast shows with 6 dancers plus 4 singers have been replaced by 35-40 minute shows with 2 dancers and 2-6 vocalists. Two of the vocalists were an upgrade in talent, while the others were not. It reeks of cost cutting. The first show, Encore, should have gone last, as it was the best I have seen in 20 years of cruising. The two singers were outstanding, but they were wasted in the other two shows. I am a big oldies fan, but the 35 min Philly show did not do it. A couple of the guys were out of their element, the songs selected were poor, and the scenario was hokey and forced. There was one great number, which should have been the finale. The other show of Broadway show songs and gowns was also only 40 minutes of material for 6 singers, and the song selection was also poor, Except for two songs by the two stars, the was no audience connection. The gowns were pretty, but we came to be entertained.

Is this an improvement? These 35-40 minute shows or a 1 hr nonstop song and dance show by a more enthusiastic but less talented Cast ? Some of both would be nice.

No more Crew Show, Passenger Talent Show or Oldies Show. Having the Marriage Game and Liars Club in the Crows Nest instead of the Showroom is a mistake. They had overflow crowds, but hard to see and hear. Karaoke Superstars finals show was in the Showroom, but a 65+ average passenger age doesn't bring out much talent. No more theme night parties or deck buffet cookout, chocolate buffet either. The best talent on the ship was the string quartet in the Explorers Lounge, heavily attended.

It appears to me that HAL is going backwards in a cost savings mode. No more Cruise Director's staff to help with onboard fun and games - replaced by "Specialists" , so CD is overworked and activities are reduced.