veendam

would love input from anyone who has sailed on her

I'm sure that you will find many comments on the Veendam by searching this site. DW and I sailed her for two weeks last summer (Boston-Bermuda-Boston- New England). We did not encounter any of the usual problems connected with the ship (toilets, air conditioning) although at least one of our fellow passengers did. Overall the ship was in good shape and he food and entertainment more than adequate. Ours was a DWTS cruise which made things a bit more entertaining and Barry from Boston held court in the Piano bar which was great fun. These factors naturally affect your perception of the cruise and therefore the ship. The service in the MDR was exceptionally slow. Overall a good ship. we have sailed aboard her six times without any major problem.

I've been on Veendam many times including once quite recently. The ship was in excellent condition, a few traces of wear here and there but nothing significant. No problems whatsoever with any mechanical systems, all in all a typical HAL experience.

Last 3 cruises on her. Good experiences ( other than an electrical issue in March - which could have been a result of someone using a surge protector- or other problem. Can't blame the ship necessarily). Love her small size and great crew.

Some people here on CC had some really bad experiences in 2012. Really bad.

DH and I had our first cruise on the Veendam last May, Boston to Bermuda and back. We did not experience any of the problems others have mentioned - AC issues and such. Our cruise was good. I concur regarding the slowness of the MDR service, but other than that we had a great time. We enjoyed the food on the ship and the service in general was more attentive than we were used to with our previous cruise line of choice, NCL. We also enjoyed the entertainment. We are booked on the 9 night Atlantic Coast cruise from Boston to Montreal in April/May. We are hoping our future Veendam cruise is as good as our last one was.

Lorie

My input: Don't.

We seem to sail often on the Veendam (itineraries) and have not experienced any problems. Shall be booking another cruise whisk on our cruise in a few weeks. Like the size, Loved the aft cabins, great staff. We don't often use the MDR since all dinners take too long for us on cruises...prefer Lido.

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We spent 35 days on the Veendam in July and August in the North Atlantic and loved every minute of it.

We had a Lanai cabin.

The friendly service and attention from all staff was exceptional. The laundry service is great.

We enjoyed the food in MDR and breakfast and lunch in the Lido.

The Ocean Bar bartenders and combo were great.

We enjoyed the evening entertainment and the cooking demonstrations.

HAL is said to put it's better people and entertainment on long cruises.

But we enjoyed it so much we signed up for the same cruise (on the Rotterdam) for summer 2016.

Sailed last May to Bermuda, loved it. No issues, food good & everything went well. The smaller size of the ship was just what we were looking for. We had an aft corner and found it a breeze to get to the Explorations Cafe in the Crows Nest and back to the room with coffee still steaming. We just got off of the Eurodam and I missed that.

We sailed in December and had an aft balcony. Our room steward was awesome. Everything was kept stocked til the last two days when things got rocky and glassware was removed. Wise choice. Service in MDR was good except they waited to serve each course til all were finished and we had a very entertaining but yacky person at our table. All other times, service was good. The specialty venues were very attentive as well. Front desk was efficient and helpful. The ship was lovely but getting a bit worn here and there. It's small so a wander takes no time but I can still manage to get lost! They cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more. We still got noro but there doesn't seem to be much they can do about that! Everything seemed to work everywhere we went. There was a slight sewer smell from time to time in the midship hall. The laundry was way faster than promises and done very nicely.

We spent 35 days on the Veendam in July and August in the North Atlantic and loved every minute of it.

 

We had a Lanai cabin.

 

The friendly service and attention from all staff was exceptional. The laundry service is great.

 

We enjoyed the food in MDR and breakfast and lunch in the Lido.

 

The Ocean Bar bartenders and combo were great.

 

We enjoyed the evening entertainment and the cooking demonstrations.

 

HAL is said to put it's better people and entertainment on long cruises.

 

But we enjoyed it so much we signed up for the same cruise (on the Rotterdam) for summer 2016.

I could not agree more. The Voyage of the Vikings was amazing and the Veendam far exceeded our expectations. We had first been on the Veendam in 2007 when some of the mentioned problems had occurred. That turned out to be a great cruise and the VOV was way, way better. The ship was in excellent condition in my opinion. I am sorry that the Veendam is being sold in the future. I would not hesitate to sail on the Veendam as long as it is a HAL ship!

I am trying to think of any HAL ships that does not get the occasional reports of failed A/C, noise and plumbing. As lovely as they are, the Zaandam and the Volendam seem to fly under the radar more than others in the HAL fleet with few reports about them period - loved them both.

And several trips on the Veendam were also fine for us. But I doubt if any cruise can be 100% perfect with all the moving parts any ship has.

Some of the worst A/C stories seem to come from ships that traverse the equator or Panama Canal when any A/C system will be stretched to its limits. Cruising in more temperate climates probably generates the fewest later complaints. Just guessing though.

Balky toilets can be caused by passengers themselves early in the trip, flushing things down that don't belong- baby wipes or sanitary supplies.

Some captains up front warn not to do this at the life boat drill, and others just hope everyone reads the warning signs on the commode lid. They should survey the numbers or plumbing incidents for each type of early announcement - did it help when the captain up front was very specific about the do's and don'ts.