Cruise Recap: Veendam Can/NE July 18-25

Heigh-ho there, HAL-boarders. It's your friendly neighborhood verbose pedant, Alcarondas, with another helping of self-indulgent word-salad posing as a cruise recap. Fasten your safety belts, pour another cup o' joe or three, and try to stay awake. I dares ya.

Actually, you may get a reprieve on this one; there's not a lot to tell. We'll see how it goes though. I have a terrible time saying anything in a few words, as many of you already know.

First, some basic stats: This was my 12th HAL cruise since the first in 1999, and my second of 2015 (having been on Westerdam in the Caribbean back in March). Thus, it was the first time I've done 2 cruises in the same calendar year. It was also the shortest gap (by about a month and a half) between cruises, eclipsing the December/May romance I had with Zaandam and Oosterdam back in '04/'05. This was also my first cruise in the school's-out summer season.

For those of you already nodding off, I'll stick the TL;DR right here: The cruise part was great, but the weather was terrible. Ship was fine, crew was fine, fellow passengers were (generally) fine, food was good, nightlife was quite good. Port calls were mostly washed out; ergo no shore-ex for me this time (another first).

I only had 2 problems, one of which was resolved. The first was an excessive wait for the bus transfer from YQB airport to the pier. It was 1 small plane's worth of passengers who all arrived on time. They knew we were coming and when. And yet we sat/stood around for about 40 minutes waiting for a bus. I usually try to stay away from harsh words and strong emotions in my recaps, but this one was unforgiveable; and all the more so because the delay caused me to miss one of my favorite embarkation rituals - the Mariners' Lunch in the MDR. I had to deal with the Lido instead (more on that later).

The other was a shirt (my favorite, of course) that got lost in the laundry. I always spring for the unlimited pressing service, and send all my suitcase-mauled clothes to be freshened as the cruise goes on. As soon as I noticed, I called the front desk to get the problem on record but I didn't really expect them to do anything (and I wasn't disappointed in that expectation). Instead, I let my cabin steward know as soon as he got back from a break. He told me he'd take care of it, and he did. At first he said the shirt would be in with the second load I sent, but it actually showed up early by itself. There was much rejoicing.

I have always found (and this experience further validated) that the stewards are the go-to guys for just about any non-techincal issue or problem. I've yet to have an onboard-life sort of situation that my stewards couldn't resolve. I almost never bother with the front desk for anything more complicated than simple questions or transactions.

I mentioned dining, so let's start with that. As is my practice, I had fixed late-seating at a table for 10, but there were usually only 6 of us; we had 2 join for the first formal night, and another 2 who were there about half the time, and trying alternative venues the other half. Regardless of composition, it was a fun group and many an enjoyable meal was shared.

Every meal I had was good, but the menus were odd. Usually the problem is choosing between several tempting options. This time it was more about finding something that sounded good as described on paper without having to resort to the same old chestnuts I can get at home. I wonder if maybe the drive for culinary diversity and creativity hasn't pushed the menu into a strange space where the "old favorites" and comfort food are a bit too old and comfortable, and the edgy new stuff is slightly off-putting in its new edgy-ness. And while we did have fresh local mussels and lobster, I was disappointed that there weren't more regional (i.e., Can/NE) specialties. Also, the menus on the formal (now known as "Gala") nights were very limited, and dessert had to be ordered at the top; which I found to be inconvenient.

Service at dinner was predictably good, but the dining steward/wine steward interface still seems like a work-in-progress. I'm not much of a wine-drinker (at least not by the bottle), but it did look like some of my table-mates struggled to get their package-purchase wines in a timely fashion, as that entailed waiting for the wine guy. By-the-glass drinks had to come from the table guys, who of course already had plenty of other things to do. This is one area in which "progress" has been retrograde. I miss the red-uniformed beverage stewards of old who handled everything promptly, leaving the blue-suited table stewards to get the food where it belonged. (The colored livery also made it easy to spot and flag down the person you needed. Now they all dress similarly in white.)

Breakfast service was a mixed bag; I ate all my morning meals in the MDR, and if I got there early, service was fast and efficient. If I arrived in the middle-to-late period it tended to drag a bit, and the pastry tray was usually picked clean. The food was always good though.

Since we were in port every day but one, the dining room was never open for lunch and I had to resort to the Lido/Terrace Grill for midday meals. I generally abhor buffets of any kind, and shipboard ones are a particular anathema. I was gratified to find an expanding selection of grab-n-go items that I could just swipe and take back to my cabin or under the pool dome. I enjoyed the sushi rolls and the pre-made sandwiches (the prosciutto and fresh mozz was a favorite). I also had a Dive-In burger and fries one day, and grazed on the taco bar another. I never made it out to the pizza bar though (usually because it was raining). Everything was good, but nothing was remarkable.

The exception to the no-MDR-lunch thing was the official Mariner lunch on the one and only sea-day, and featured typically good MDR food and service. I never got my ceramic tile though, but on the advice of another passenger, was able to get one from the front desk. I also did the Indonesian tea service in the dining room for the first time, and that was enjoyable with some very good tea.

Let's see... what next? How about entertainment. I only did one of the evening shows in the lounge: comic/juggler Benji Hill. Suitable fare for a cruise ship. I generally skip the production shows featuring the ship's cast, so I can't comment on them. However, there was plenty going on in the other public rooms.

The beating heart of the nightlife was (as those who know him will attest) "Barry from Boston" in the piano bar. He kept everyone happy and singing along all week. He also kept them drinking, much to the bar manager's delight, no doubt. Those who preferred to express happiness with their feet rather than their voices had a choice of rug-cutting venues; Veendam has not yet made the transition to "The Band", so they still featured a Neptunes trio in the Ocean Bar and a HALCats band (with vocalist Erika) in the Crow's Nest.

Both groups were talented and enjoyable. This batch of Neptunes was less Vegas-standards and more rhumba/cha-cha/samba, with a few dreamy country waltzes thrown in for good measure. All their music had a sweetly romantic quality to it that had young-at-heart lovers swirling around all week. Meanwhile, upstairs Erika warbled inoffensively through modern pop and dance numbers, backed up by a typically solid HALCats lineup. I thought their volume was perfect for the size of the room; loud enough to be exciting but not deafening. Maybe I'm just not too old yet. I can only hope. (Brief digression back to the dining room: This was the first cruise in about 12 years where I wasn't the youngest person at the table. Woe betide me.)

There was also a solo guitarist who appeared variously in the Mix bar area or the Crow's Nest playing light music, usually in the late afternoon/early evening before the other acts got rolling. I didn't stop to listen, but he seemed suitably soothing. Finally we have my usual favorite after-dinner activity, the Adagio classical act in the Explorer's Lounge. I'm conflicted about this iteration though; it was a duo of violin and piano as has been usual recently. They were undoubtedly very talented, and played expressively and with great feeling. But their repertoire was down-tempo almost to the point of being lugubrious. Their sets featured long sequences of meditative, contemplative and sometimes mournful works, punctuated by an occasional lively dance. All in all, despite their formidable skill, they were just a wee bit boring for my taste. (Those of you who remember my effusive praise for the Adagios on the Westerdam in March will know where I'm coming from here.)

Okay, so this review is running long after all. I feel better. So what else? How about the ship. I'll just come right out and say it. Veendam is ugly. The butt-lift did her no favors; the overhanging monstrosity looks just as tacked-on as it really is. Version 3.0 of the aft pool area (now a bunch of whirlpool/hot tubs on an elevated platform) is only slightly less of a disaster than the 2.0 "Retreat" concept. They should have left it alone. Don't mess with success. Inside, I thought the decor was subdued to the point of bland. Her collection of artifacts and objets d'art was far less impressive than that of any other HAL ship I've been on. Most of her stairwell decorations consisted of an admittedly-comprehensive collection of port-visit plaques and awards. This girl's been everywhere, and she doesn't mind telling you about it.

My cabin was clean and nicely appointed, and all the interior spaces were in good repair. Outside, paint and varnish were fresh. She may not be aesthetically pleasing, but she wears her clothes and makeup well. We did have a couple of rocky rides, and in a churning sea she showed no shortage of creaks and groans; probably not unexpected of a ship nearly 20 years old and with lots of miles on the clock.

We were shepherded 'cross the seas by Captain Erik Van de Wal, and ably so. Under his leadership and that of his senior officers, the ship ran smoothly and efficiently. His afternoon radio addresses were very interesting, and he wasn't afraid to discourse on some technical aspects of navigation. Considering that this was a very port-intensive itinerary, his talks served as a timely reminder that we were in fact on a cruise and not a bus tour.

And since I've drifted on to the itnerary, let's get into that a bit, shall we? It began with an overnight/extra day in Quebec, followed by the only sea-day as we flowed out on the St. Lawrence. After that, it was a port a day (Charlottesville, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor) until we were summarily ejected in Boston. Personally, I found it to be very tiring. Usually there is a 2nd sea day towards the end, or at least a Half Moon Cay-style throw-away day when one can relax and recover before the trauma of disembarkation and homeward travel. No such luck this time, and by the time it was over I felt like I needed another vacation to get back in shape mentally. (As it turned out, I played hooky from work on Monday. So there's that.)

It's impossible to discuss the ports without discussing the weather, which was awful. Embarkation Day in Quebec was a washout, with rain, sometimes heavy, all afternoon. Day 2, still in Quebec, was only a slight improvement. I was able to explore the old city on foot for a while before the rains came again. What I saw made me certainly want to return for an extended land-based stay in the future. Very interesting town with plenty to appease my inner history geek.

Day 2, on the St. Lawrence, was characterized by morning rain, afternoon fog, shrieking wind, choppy seas and temperatures that lurked fitfully around 10C/50F all day. Yuck. The butchery of the rear deck didn't matter, since nobody was using (or missing) the outside pool.

Charlottetown, and a slight improvement. Thick morning fog gave way to overcast skies, but no rain. I walked all over the town and saw the sights in relative comfort. The afternoon sailaway was actually pleasant, with a fair bit of blue overhead. A hopeful harbinger of better days to come?

Hardly. Sydney was a dead loss. Back we went to thick, drizzly mist and raw temps. I'm glad I opted not to do the hiking excursion I had been looking at. For much of the day, the town was mostly invisible in the fog. Better luck next time.

...and in fact, it was. Halifax was the only nice day we got. The arrival was a bit sketchy with dark clouds on the move, but by mid-morning it had cleared off and was warm (22C/72F), sunny and dry. I trekked all over, down the harbour walk, up the hill to the Citadel, around past the cathedral, and back along the waterfront to the ship. Halifax buzzed with energy and seemed very much like a city on the rise, but lacked the charm of Quebec. Even rainy Quebec. So the weather's finally broke, and we'll finish strong, right?

Wrong. Day broke clear and cool over Bar Harbor, but rapidly went downhill. By mid-day it had clouded over with intermittent drizzle. Folks who took the ride to the top of Cadillac Mountain were greeted with an unobstructed view of fog and rain. This was another day that I was glad I hadn't bothered with excursions. Instead, I spent some time gawking through my binoculars at the 285-ft monster yacht Fountainhead as she glowed and preened in Frenchman Bay. Must be nice.

Which brings us to Beantown, where I had some post-cruise activities lined up. I have family there and as compensation for lodging and transport, I took them out for an afternoon at Fenway Park. I hadn't been there before, and was suitably impressed. The park is tiny (relatively speaking), and the field is right there. Add in the footlong dogs, peanuts and lemonade, and it made for a perfect day at the ol' ball game. The Sox lost. Make of that what you will.

So that's pretty much it. The cruise-part of the cruise went as well as I have come to expect from My Favorite Cruise Line. There's no accounting for weather, so that can't be held against HAL or the places we visited. Canada was, as it is typically represented, clean, friendly and charming; we got a warm (if wet) welcome everywhere we went. Would I do this one again? Probably not. Even without Shore-ex overdose, I was plumb tuckered out by the end. Maybe in the opposite direction, though - with the sea-day and the extra Quebec day at the end instead of the beginning, there may be more opportunity to unwind as the trip winds down.

Oh, right. The young'uns. It was summer vacation, of course, and it was a very young crowd aboard. In addition to the usual cast of retirees, there was a strong contingent of young-to-medium aged families with school-age kids. With the exception of a couple of squalling brats aided and abetted by indulgent (or perhaps indifferent) parents at breakfast one morning, all the children and teens were well-behaved and unobtrusive. There was a particularly charming family seated near us at dinner, who proved night after night that it's possible to have a fun meal with kids in a fancy restaurant without disturbing anyone around.

That's all I can think of right now. And yes, I heard that sigh of relief. ;) If anyone has specific questions, post them below and I'll respond as best I can. As always, thanks for reading. I'll see you out there again soon, I'm sure.

Thanks for your review!

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Sorry you had such crappy weather.

I learned a long time ago when a shirt of DH's was lost in the laundry and I was asked to describe it (and couldn't) to take pictures of everything I send out.

Awesome review, thanks (Learned something new and that is where YQB is ;)) Captain Eric vdW is a good one. Sorry to say, and no disrespect to its citizens, but there ain't a heck of a lot to do in Sydney, NS (It does have the largest fiddle in the world and a Wal-Mart ;) Agree 100% about VEDM's ugly rear end

Thanks for the review. Very comprehensive!:D

On our Maasdam cruise from Montreal to FLL, we had a day of sailing in circles missing out on Charlottestown and Sydney, but they added an overnight to Halifax which was some compensation. Enjoyed your review!

Oh my gosh, I loved this review! Great writing style, great wit. Fun to read! :D

Loved your review too!

Thx for the review. About the Hal transfers, it seems I have always had to wait. You land and you're tired only to stand there and wait another hour. Annoying.

Enjoyed reading your great review, thank you.

Thank you so much for your observations Alcarondas ! — RE: Weather and Ship condition

I'm from Quebec city and I've done this cruise (NE-Canada) twice. Last year from Quebec and this summer from Boston (including a Fenway Park Boston-Yankees).

This summer in QC, the weather conditions are awful (rainy & cold) !

One of the worst record since many many years.

I've been lucky, bc I do not encounter any rainy day on my Veendam cruise this year.

Holacanada

Thanks for the review, which I really enjoyed.This one was particularly interesting to me as I was on the ship from Boston to Quebec.(and Boston-Bermuda-Boston the week before). I am so sorry about your weather, as we had fabulous stuff at every port on the way up. Our only lousy day was your embarkation day, which as you describe was a real shocker. Kicked off the ship at 9 am and with a check-in for our flights home at 4 pm, our planned stroll around lovely Quebec morphed into long hours mooching around coffee shops, musing how long we could stay without buying more drinks :D Fortunately we had the day before there too, when it was glorious so we did see it in all its glory.

Maybe the constant sunshine influenced how I felt about the ship, which I enjoyed, apart from the lack of an aft pool, which was there when I was last on the Veendam. We had 3 very hot sea days and only one pool made for a miserable experience for 1200 passengers. All the best, Tony

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Thanks for the review ..

Thank you all for the kind comments.

Unless you like fields of dull grey, there isn't much to see among my photo collection. I did manage to pluck a few decent ones from the bunch, though:

1. Quebec skyline by night. Low clouds reflecting lights from the ground give an interesting effect.

2. The Chateau and boardwalk in the rain.

3. Monday on the St. Lawrence. Yep, this one sums it up nicely.

4. Charlottetown. I have no idea what this is. I took this shot mainly for the tiny ribbon of blue sky in the background. It didn't last.

5. An expansive shot of Halifax harbour. This was as good as the weather got.

6. Cadillac Mountain making its own weather. It was downhill from here in more ways than one.

Thank you for sharing your lovely photos.

Great review! Do you remember how much the pressing service costs? Also, can anyone go to the Mariner lunch in the MDR on the first day or is that for repeat cruisers? Thanks :)

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One more question, how quick is the turn around on the pressing service? Thanks

Great review! Do you remember how much the pressing service costs? Also, can anyone go to the Mariner lunch in the MDR on the first day or is that for repeat cruisers? Thanks :)

One more question, how quick is the turn around on the pressing service? Thanks

Unlimited pressing is $4 per day, so $28 for a 7-day cruise (you have to buy it for the entire cruise.)

They SAY that items left with your steward before 9am will be returned within 48 hours, but in my experience over the years anything dropped off at any time will be returned by the evening of the next day (and often sooner - usually in time to be worn for dinner). They will happily charge you extra for "expedited" service, but I find that the normal service comes back in plenty of time.

Yes, the Mariner lunch on Embarkation day is for repeat cruisers, and they check your ship ID card at the podium when you arrive.

Thanks for posting. As a colleague of mine used to say, "short story made long." NOT a criticism, I loved hearing the details.

I'm sorry the weather was so bad. Do go back to Quebec city someday, it's lovely.

Bar Harbor was your first port, yes? So how did Immigration inspection work? I think I've been through it there on Maasdam, but I can't remember what happened.

Thanks for posting. As a colleague of mine used to say, "short story made long." NOT a criticism, I loved hearing the details.

 

I'm sorry the weather was so bad. Do go back to Quebec city someday, it's lovely.

 

Bar Harbor was your first port, yes? So how did Immigration inspection work? I think I've been through it there on Maasdam, but I can't remember what happened.

No, Bar Harbor was next to last, before disembarkation in Boston. It was the first US port we entered though, if that's what you meant.

On the morning we arrived in BH, everyone aboard had to be seen in the Explorations library by someone from US Customs. They took passengers with early shore excursions first, so they could leave the ship, but no one was allowed back on until everyone on board was accounted for. They then called passengers by deck, starting with the balcony decks and working their way down. Being in "the basement" on A-deck, I was in the last group.

This was a source of some consternation, actually. We had previously received information on the procedure, with a list of times at which they expected to call each deck. Mine was in the 9.15-9.30 range. So I (and a lot of other people) went to breakfast figuring we'd have plenty of time to order, be served and eat before we'd have to appear. As it turned out, the process went very quickly and they finished about half an hour early. I had just gotten my meal when they called my deck so I scarfed it down rather hurriedly. The folks next to me left their table before their order arrived and got back in time to eat it.

The process itself was simple; just a fast-moving line from the casino into the library, where ship security checked our ID/key cards and a customs agent checked our passports (for US citizens; not sure about others) and said "welcome home". That was it.

Plus, upon arrival in Boston, since we had alread "cleared customs" in Bar Harbor, all we had to do was hand our declaration forms to an agent at the end of the jetway. No line, no fuss. I had my own travel arrangements and carried my own luggage, so it took me maybe 3 minutes to get from the gangway to the street. Easiest disembarkation ever.

Unlimited pressing is $4 per day, so $28 for a 7-day cruise (you have to buy it for the entire cruise.)

 

They SAY that items left with your steward before 9am will be returned within 48 hours, but in my experience over the years anything dropped off at any time will be returned by the evening of the next day (and often sooner - usually in time to be worn for dinner). They will happily charge you extra for "expedited" service, but I find that the normal service comes back in plenty of time.

 

Yes, the Mariner lunch on Embarkation day is for repeat cruisers, and they check your ship ID card at the podium when you arrive.

Thank you, very helpful! :)

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

No, Bar Harbor was next to last, before disembarkation in Boston. It was the first US port we entered though, if that's what you meant.

 

On the morning we arrived in BH, everyone aboard had to be seen in the Explorations library by someone from US Customs. They took passengers with early shore excursions first, so they could leave the ship, but no one was allowed back on until everyone on board was accounted for. They then called passengers by deck, starting with the balcony decks and working their way down. Being in "the basement" on A-deck, I was in the last group.

 

This was a source of some consternation, actually. We had previously received information on the procedure, with a list of times at which they expected to call each deck. Mine was in the 9.15-9.30 range. So I (and a lot of other people) went to breakfast figuring we'd have plenty of time to order, be served and eat before we'd have to appear. As it turned out, the process went very quickly and they finished about half an hour early. I had just gotten my meal when they called my deck so I scarfed it down rather hurriedly. The folks next to me left their table before their order arrived and got back in time to eat it.

 

The process itself was simple; just a fast-moving line from the casino into the library, where ship security checked our ID/key cards and a customs agent checked our passports (for US citizens; not sure about others) and said "welcome home". That was it.

 

Plus, upon arrival in Boston, since we had alread "cleared customs" in Bar Harbor, all we had to do was hand our declaration forms to an agent at the end of the jetway. No line, no fuss. I had my own travel arrangements and carried my own luggage, so it took me maybe 3 minutes to get from the gangway to the street. Easiest disembarkation ever.

Yes, I meant to say first US port. Thanks for the info. It sounds pretty painless, except we are on Verandah Deck, so I can see I'll have to be up early.

It sounds pretty painless, except we are on Verandah Deck, so I can see I'll have to be up early.

Not if you don't want to be. If you are the last one in line, they will still let you clear Immigration---no matter what deck you live on.

You won't be refused. :D

Not if you don't want to be. If you are the last one in line, they will still let you clear Immigration---no matter what deck you live on.

You won't be refused. :D

That's true. Unfortunately, DH is a follow-the-rules type so whatever time we're "assigned," he'll go then. I am the anarchist in the family when it comes to onboard Immigration. Once, (or maybe twice) on QE2, I went to Immigration in my bathrobe. That was back when they carried officers onboard and did Immigration on the last sea day. I was sick, and waited as long as I could and finally just dragged myself out of bed and threw on a robe. Thank goodness there was no dress code for Immigration!!!

We just went through Immigration inspection from hell on QM2. Stories vary about the cause, possibly too few officers. But when our time came, we went to the door to the meeting place, and the queue stretched back nearly the length of the ship. I said something rude and went to breakfast. DH got in line and stood for 2 1/2 hours. As you say, somebody has to be last. I waited until the line was much shorter, and it only took me about 20 minutes. This is a Cunard thing, onboard Immigration is always a mess.