Sirdar

Sailed Veendam more than any other HAL ship. It has received some bad comments over the years but DW and I have always liked her and the smaller size is appealing unless you favor the larger ships

DW and I will be on the Zuiderdam for the fist time in March. Glad to learn of this excellent rating.

Having done 10 Bermuda cruises (last year on Veendam from Boston) I would definitely opt for Veendam over the others. We did Celebrity the year before from New Jersey. Veedam , because of its smaller size, berths in Hamilton which is way superior (IMHO) from the other ships which due to size must tie up at the Naval Dockyard in the west end which results in far more crowds from the larger ships. The grandkids will appreciate the extra time in Bermuda that HAL affords versus the other lines although Veendam is a smaller ship for them there is less time at sea and more time to enjoy Bermuda.

Thank you for the report. The Veendam is probably HAL's most maligned ship and my experience (past and hopefully future) is that it's far better than people give it credit for.

 

Roy

Having sailed Veendam six times, I quite agree with this comment. I'm glad that my experience with the ship is shared by others.

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.

DW and I did the Celebrity Summit out of Bayonne NJ to Bermuda in 2014 and the Veendam from Boston last summer. Without a doubt the Veendam is the better choice. We live in NJ and appreciate the fact that the trip to Boston is less convenient as a port but this can be overcome by flying R/T to Boston from Newark or by driving. The hotel we stayed at in Boston (suburb) offered a weeks free parking to cruise ship passengers and we met some folks who drove up from Pennsyvania etc for the cruise. The extra day that the Veendam offers in Bermuda is very welcome and the docking in Hamilton is right on Front street and is ideal as a jumping off point as the main bus terminal is only a couple of blocks away and the water taxi transport is adjacent to the ship. Also keep in mind that the Summit is not the only ship docking at the Naval Dockyard. NCL departs NYC at the same time as the Summit and arrives in Bermuda at the same time (or it did last summer). This puts a total of the 2 ships about 5-6K passengers ashore during the same time period. Expect stiff competition for taxi, bus and water taxi services.

We are just off the Veendam two weeks ago and found the crew and condition of the ship excellent. They also just scored a 100% on the CDC inspection and a 99% on the Canadian equivalent. The whole crew was pleased with that. It is a team effort, for sure.

 

The only two maintenance issues were one elevator in the aft elevator bank out of service waiting for parts, and the sink in the Men's Room in the Crow's Nest out of service - on our last night. Minor issues for something as complex as a cruise ship.

Quite agree. DW and I were on Veendam for Collectors Cruise in July and found the ship to be in very good shape. Heard only one bad plumbing complaint. Overall positive experience.

A nice idea. A Pre or Post Cruise visit in scenic/historic Virginia would be very appealing to many people.

I took DW for better or for worse but not for Breakfast. I wouldn't worry about being separated for too long on a cruise. Just agree to meet up later on.

DW and I were on the back to back DWTS cruise from Boston to Bermuda and then Boston to Quebec in June. We are not fans of the show and had not seen a single episode. Nevertheless, we completely enjoyed the experience. Celebrity guests on board, Florence Henderson and Carson Kressley were very entertaining and accessible. The dance exhibitions that the professional dancers put on were terrific. I think you will enjoy the experience and otherwise find that it does not impact your usual cruise experience.

My sister and her family was on same cruise and said Carson Kressley was very funny

Kressley was very funny indeed. I'm not sure how his over the top gay personality played with some of the HAL passengers however.

I will be on the Veendam this Saturday our first HAL cruise. Can you walk off with your luggage when disembarking, or do you have to put it out the night before?

Thank you.

Luggage is generally put out the night before although there was an accommodation for those who must catch early flights and connections. I believe you can arrange this on board when you receive disembarkation instructions. I would check with the desk earlier however. I don't think it's a problem as I saw many guests hauling their own luggage.

DW and I recently completed our 2 week Collectors Cruise on the Veendam from Boston to Bermuda and back to Boston then up to Canada ending in Quebec City. Herewith (in lieu of a comprehensive review) are some thoughts on the cruise (although I'm happy to answer any questions).

This was our sixth cruise aboard Veendam. I'm happy to say that the ship looked in very good shape. We experienced no problem with the A/C or toilets although we spoke with one passenger on the Main deck (Deck 5) who did.

The food in the Rotterdam Dining Room, the Lido and the "Dive-In" by the Pool was uniformly good. I thought it better than that which we had last summer on the Celebrity Summit to Bermuda. We did not avail ourselves of the specialty restaurants. The new format for Hamburgers and Hot dogs at the Dive In was so good that there were 20 minute waits to get your order. The Taco Bar was also excellent for a quick lunch or snack.

The service in the dining room was quite slow during the peak 6-8PM hours. Some people with whom we shared tables complained bitterly. Staff cutbacks were, thus, noticeable.

The itinerary of 4 days at Hamilton is vastly superior to the 3 days at the Naval dockyard offered by other lines. I strongly suggest this to those contemplating a Bermuda cruise.

This was a Dancing with the Stars cruise (DWTS). While DW and I don't watch this program we very much enjoyed the programs presented in this regard. The professional dancers from the show were amazing. We had the opportunity to meet talk with and be photographed with he celebrity guests on board --Florence Henderson (of Brady Bunch fame) and Carson Kressley (of Queer Eye for the straight Guy note). Ms. Henderson was particularly delightful and willingly posed for snapshots when asked during the entire two week cruise.

Much of our evenings were spent at the Piano Bar where Barry from Boston entertained. He was very good and had a large loyal following.

We enjoyed the Canada week as well (Bar Harbor Maine and Halifax were very nice ports) Sidney NS has little to offer and we missed Prince Edward Island due to poor weather which caused Capt. Ryan to cancel the port call. We hoped to do the Anne of Green Gables tour but no luck there. The overnight on beautiful Quebec City was a perfect end to the holiday.

All in all a very good offering from HAL. We will continue to work our way up to 4 star Mariner Status!

Thanks. Great ideas. I appreciate the help

Good idea. I'll have to check. Perhaps a half day tour is the answer

Glad you were happy with the call. Good customer service is increasingly a thing of the past. On the other hand some people are concerned with privacy issues when companies know a great deal about your browsing on the internet.

I guess it's a trade off these days.

I just did this cruise. The airport is fairly far from the port. It cost approximately $35. I believe that was a flat rate. There is not much to do at that airport. It's small and overrun when a cruise ends there.

Thank you for the information. We will try to find something to do other than wait at the airport for several hours!

http://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/information-for-cruise-ship-passengers/customer-service

Thank you for this very useful link!

I posted this on the Canada board but got no response yet. Hoping that those who have made the trip to Quebec City can help out

DW and I will arrive in Quebec City and stay on the ship (HAL Veendam) overnight from Friday to Saturday. Our flight home does not depart until late afternoon on Saturday and we will have several hours between disembarkation and the flight home. This is our first Canada cruise and we are unfamiliar with Quebec.

Questions:

How far is the airport from the cruise terminal?

What would be the fare for a taxi to the airport?

Any idea of what do before the flight other than sitting around the airport?

What to do with luggage while awaiting the flight?

Any help is appreciated.

We will arrive in Quebec City and stay on the ship (HAL Veendam) overnight from Friday to Saturday. Our flight home does not depart until late afternoon on Saturday and we will have several hours between disembarkation and the flight home. This is our first Canada cruise and we are unfamiliar with Quebec.

Questions:

How far is the airport from the cruise terminal?

What would be the fare for a taxi to the airport?

Any idea of what do before the flight other than sitting around the airport?

What to do with luggage while awaiting the flight?

Any help is appreciated.

Last summer we had cabin 707 on the Veendam which is directly below your cabin 507. We actually chose that cabin because of the excellent rate being offered, but I'll admit that I was concerned about motion, noise, lack of light, etc. It turned out that I had nothing to worry about--especially concerning motion. I am very sensitive to both noise and motion, but I slept like a baby in this cabin.

 

Our cabin 707 was a bit longer than your cabin 507, but I imagine that's the only difference. The head of the bed was situated under the portholes but there was a "shelf" between the bed and the portholes, so the bed is not directly under them. There is a room darkening curtain behind the head of the bed that you can draw if you don't want light coming in from the portholes.

 

Going from the bed toward the door was a desk and chair on the right and continuing toward the door was the closet on the right and the bathroom on the left.

 

I really enjoyed our cozy, quiet cabin #707 and I hope you enjoy #507.

Thanks for the response. I'm feeling a bit better about the assignment

Just received my cabin assignment for 14 day Bermuda and New England -Canada cruise of June 6. We took our chance this time with a guarantee and was assigned Cabin 507 on the Main deck right up in the bow with portholes. Not happy BUT can't complain-you pay your money and you take your chance. This will be our 6th cruise on Veendam but we have never had such a cabin.

I would appreciate any feedback regarding this cabin type and location. Will the pitch be very noticeable/ Noise issues? Cabin configuration?

Any feed back or advice s appreciated

I would definitely check with the ship before going ashore.

I think those ships are too big to make the cut to dock at St. George's.

 

Veendam cannot make it anymore. She used to be able to until they added more weight to her aft. Veendam docks in downtown Hamilton but those NCL ships and Celebrity cannot. Celebrity's Zenith used to dock in Hamilton as we were on that ship in Hamilton and we moved during the week to St. George's. Being docked in those two places (back then) was great.

 

Quite right. Still I'm glad to be going on Veendam to Hamilton. Much better than the Dockyard. Made three trips years back on the old Pacific Princess. That ship was so small (about 20,000 tons) that it visited all three dockings while in Bermuda.

When cruising outside of the US I make it a point never to discuss US internal affairs. While I may have issues with this or that politician or party, I believe that all politics stops at the border and I've said as much at dinner with both US and foreign fellow cruisers. It's a good way to politely stifle that kind of talk