Veendam Live in the Caribbean Dec 2017

I remember the first time we visited Grenada and doing a similar tour along those narrow, steep roads in a small bus.

Great report.

Lots of clouds with brief pockets of sunshine this morningas we docked in Guadaloupe. The MSCFantasia with its nearly 4000 passengers beat us to the dock so it took someskillful maneuvering to park behind her. I had planned to go ashore but seeing we were parked in the commercialport area with little to see nearby, I opted to just stay on board for the day. It was reported that being Sunday, mostbusinesses were closed.

I reverted back to my egg white omelets but did notice thatboth waffles and crepes were available for breakfast.

The day was filled with watching football and taking photosaround the ship for my photo review. Thetelevised games do not have announcers but rather an open microphone on thefield. You can actually hear the playsbeing changed by the Quarterback and defensive signal callers for a newprospective on the game. Late gameincluded the booth announcers unlike the early game.

Not having an excursion report for today, I will post someof my observations:

No USB ports by the bed and still old flat screens with DVD players. Slanted salad bowls are only available at the Pizza station on the AftLido deck. The laundry stickers arelocated at the bottom of shirts on the inside left seam. The ship is using the new Diet Coke cans thatdeclare, “No sugar, Light, no calories.” There are at least seven females working behind the Lido Market servingline and more female bartenders than I have seen on previous cruises. The ship Photographer is not pushy orintrusive at the end of the gangway or in the Rotterdam Dining Room. My Room Steward picked up my laundry at 9:00AM and it was returned at 3:30 PM. TheAtrium is now ready for Christmas with garlands, trees, and a huge wintervillage display. One stateroom door isdecorated with blinking lights. TheRotterdam Dining Room and the Lido Market share the same beverage list fordinner. The movie, “Dunkirk” could nothold my attention when it played on the stateroom TV today.

I tried chicken soup with prune pieces for dinner andenjoyed it. My crab and shrimp gratinhad enough pieces to perhaps cover a single cracker making it necessary to havean additional appetizer. The shrimpfried rice entrée had four small shrimps and a few peas. It was ok but far more filling than tasty. The raspberry sorbet was delicious.

Elevators were coming sooner today but one had to have theelevator door pushed several times before it would close.

Tomorrow is St John, Antigua with arrival at 7:00 AM. My shore excursion meets at 8:45 AM so theLido Market will have few people when I wander up for breakfast.

There is a hair dryer in my desk drawer that should be fine. Elemis products (shampoo, soap, conditioner, body wash, nd body lotion) are provided and seem to be good enough for most. It never hurts to bring products that you enjoy.

More later.

I appreciate the answer re the USB ports. I just wish it had been a different answer as we are booked on the Veendam at a later date.

Great reporting! Thanks so much for sharing your experience.

Thanks for the around the ship report.

Thanks for your wonderful reports from the Veendam. I was in Half moon Cay on the Koningsdam with her and commented to friends that Veendam is much sleeker than the new Koningsdam and along with Maasdam is still pictured in HAL's brochures.

Another bright, sunny, day in the Caribbean as we docked in St John, Antigua.

The Lido Market was more crowded than any other day of this cruise when I went for my breakfast but there was still no waiting for a table.

My excursion met a few yards from the ship and while waiting we were entertained by a ten-member reggae band. When directed, we proceeded through the gate and were soon standing among the exhaust fumes of closely parked tour buses.

Being the only single passenger, I had a seat directly behind the driver. While moving to my seat, I noticed that my seat was about eight inches below the level of the floor of the bus with an seat arm nearly 12 inches above floor level. My first step to get into my seat was one 14-inch step down from the floor of the bus and then dropping my body over the seat arm the remaining distance below the floor of the bus. While seated, my knees were nearly shoulder-high, but I could raise and extend one leg up to the floor of the bus for a hint of comfort.

Traffic in the shopping area was atrocious as the bus had to maneuver through parked cars, cars disregarding stop signs, and very narrow streets. Our first three stops were at former British fortresses overlooking the sea with thankfully, no steps to climb. Extricating myself from the seat was a test of shoulder strength and time just to get to the bus floor level at each stop. I was able to capture a good number of “overlook” photos. The final stop was at a former British warship repair facility that currently operates as a dock for many sailing ships in town for a sailing regatta. As a sailing ship fanatic, it was an impressive opportunity for photographs.

The return to the ship mistakenly drove into newly erected traffic barriers creating a pedestrian shopping zone until Christmas. The last few blocks to the ship took nearly a half hour and a number of close passes of parked vehicles. The traffic made New York City seem like a freeway. The information provided by our guide was excellent and she passed out samples of local pineapple. She passed around another flat fruit that was supposed to be very sweet but smelled like sweaty feet.

Lunch around 1:00 PM in the Lido Market had no lines and many open tables with many passengers still ashore at the dockside shopping area. The friendly server at the Asian Station continues to greet me by name and suggest the best Asian dish of the day.

The movie, “Equalizer,” was on TV today and kept my attention for two hours.

Sail away was at 3:30 PM and we are now on our way to San Juan.

It was Le Cirque Night and I learned there will only one more Le Cirque on the Veendam before its cancellation. Only four tables were occupied during my time in the Pinnacle Grill which allowed me to talk with several staff members. My lobster salad, melon soup, Chateaubriand, and raspberry sorbet were excellent. Edward, HAL’s Corporate visiting chef, stopped by for a chat while I was awaiting my Chateaubriand. We will be having dinner together tomorrow night with the promise of something special to eat and giving me a chance to improve my culinary operations knowledge. I am hoping to ask about the menus for all of the Caribbean season during our dinner. Any other culinary questions I should ask?

I stopped for my daily Diet Cokes and chat with the ship’s only barista. She will be providing me the names of ship staff members/entertainers tomorrow.

The Mix Bar has a piano player, Tom, who plays sing-along requests for those gathered around his piano. The Mix Bar has a large-screen TV playing Monday Night Football.

Elevators are still working well whenever I need them and the internet is still very slow. With food so close and no waiting lines, I have not tried Room Service.

Tomorrow is San Juan and cell phone tethering to catch up on email and posting on CC.

More later.

Thank you for doing this, makes my countdown that much more fun. What kind of entertainment is there in the Crows Nest in the evenings? And looking forward to seeing menus.

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Glad you found the slanted salad bowls. I would prefer that servers offer a choice of salad bowl at the Lido salad bar. I don’t like the big bowls.

FWIW I just found laundry stickers on my handkerchiefs from the Veendam laundry.

Rain clouds could be seen in the distance with broken clouds overhead as the Veendam entered the San Juan, Puerto Rico harbor. Immediately noticeable was the lack of small and large watercraft that had been present in the harbor on previous visits to San Juan. A closer look around showed all of the big tree leaves missing from the palm trees. Some port facilities were missing roofs. At the time we docked, the ship was the only ship in port.

It felt very good to use my cell phone for a decent internet connection and a chance to catch up with emails/CC Forums.

I wandered up to the Lido Market for breakfast after we had docked and encountered no lines with lots of free tables.

With no excursions, I just wandered around the port area up to half mile from the ship. There were only a few people and cars on the streets. Only four taxis were waiting for passengers and there was a noticeable lack of street vendors. I counted five beggars on my walk where there had been none in previous visits. One restaurant had a sign, “Sorry. We are open,” on the front window and some business were still cleaning up after the hurricane. Even Diamonds International was closed. San Juan has all of its power restored, so I have been told, but the lack of power outside the city leaves no workers coming to the city to work.

In my time away from the ship, I saw only two commercial aircraft and six military helicopters land at the nearby airport.

IMHO it was too early for tourist ships to return.

The weather improved and the stiff breeze eased the impact of the high humidity in the afternoon. A Celebrity ship joined us at the pier at 4:00 PM.

My PG dinner provided the usual great dining experience and the lamb chops were excellent. Edward, HAL Corporate chef, was unable to have dinner with me.

The laundry picked up at 10:00 AM by my Room Steward was returned while I was at dinner thus continuing the laundry’s efficiency for every turn-in during my cruise.

I tried my hand at one of the slot machines and cashed out with a $0.69-cent gain. Tomorrow, I will try the casino again in hopes of posting another gain.

The rest of the evening was spent scanning documents, organizing photos, and chatting with new friends in the Explorations Café.

Sail away was delayed nearly one hour.

More later.

Crews we are onboard the Veendam 2;/7 and we cannot wait to hear more details about the ship, Any dailies that you can post would be greatly appreciated as well if we can purchase the retired Le Cirque table wear. Happy to off load a service for 8.

Just got caught up.

I am enjoying your review.

Roger would you mind asking the Pinnacle Manager how long he h as been on the ship, when he began Managing pinnalce? Thank you if you would do that. I havae found a Veendam cruise that might interest me but want to know if same PG Manager is sitll there.

Continuing to enjoy this great thread. Really appreciate hearing some first hand accounts of San Juan. Sounds like they still have lots of work ahead of them.

We recently called at St. Barts (on another cruise line) and felt the same... they are not quite ready for tourists yet, though I recognize that resumption of these stops is very important for the local economy. About half of the businesses and restaurants around the harbor in Gustavia were still closed.

Looking forward to your next report!

This report will be a review of the last two sea days aboard the Veendam

Being sea days, many passengers opted to sleep-in so the Lido Market had few customers for breakfast and lots of open tables.

More than 200 passengers attended the Mariner Society Reception for 4 & 5 Star Mariners and medallion holders. One passenger in attendance had 2420 sea days and received a hearty round of applause. There were two Luncheons on Deck 7 to accommodate all of the Mariners. The reception attendees were escorted through the kitchen to avoid using the elevators to go up, walk to the aft elevators, and then taking the elevators down to the second reception. The Captain asked all In attendance to repeat what he was about to say. Beginning with “Happy” to which all shouted, “Happy” followed with “Birthday” and then “Captain”, Captain Driscoll told all present that his birthday was actually the day before but he thanked us for our greeting. A good laugh was had by all. The food was from a new Mariner’s Luncheon menu.

Musings:

I heard the Captain’s voice at least twice per day, starting with, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.” Show times were 8:00 and 10:00 PM each night with a few exceptions. Room Stewards now have new charcoal uniforms. I did receive an art gallery brochure nearly every day and only a few from the Spa. No deck sales only markdowns in the Shops. There are three, non-jewelry, Shops facilities. Miscellaneous toiletries are behind the counter in the Liquor Shop. I have spotted 20 children, ranging from two-year old’s to teens during the past 14 days. On only one occasion did I see a fray of dishes in the hallway and it was at a room occupied by teens in a room connected to their parent’s room. I have not heard of any A/C or plumbing issues, only dissatisfaction with the elevators. Security has at least four different female officers. The Explorations Café barista is amazing. I received my disembarkation envelope today and noticed a new style luggage tags made without the attachment strings. No custom forms. The internet is very slow but will be fast next week when Mr Ashford is aboard?

The ship’s elevators retaliated against me by trapping me inside on the Lido Deck after breakfast for about five minutes. I tried every button except one to close the door that was already closed. After a few jumps and trying to pry the door open, I pushed the “close” button and the door opened. I will probably be taking the stairs until the time I need to disembark.

After a final visit to the Casino, I now owe HAL $11 on my final bill.

Here are the ship’s officers:

Captain: Driscoll (Irish)

• CD: Becka
  
• Chief Engr: Lejan
  
• Environmental Officer: Maitland
  
• Hotel Director: Ulbricht
  
• Culinary Operations Manager: Kovacs
  
• Executive Chef: Samudio
  
• Beverage Manager: Xavies
  
• Executive Housekeeper: Lemmers
  
• Explorations Café Barista: Michelle
  
• Pinnacle Grill Manager: Barnes and he will be aboard until June
  
• Barista: Michell
  

My luggage is packed and ready for the sad event of placing it outside my door before midnight. Since my disembarkation is in the last group, I will have a chance to check email using my cell phone. I will pause for the evening at the Hilton Marina with my flight home on Saturday promising to be a holiday zoo at the airports.

More later.

Thanks for the last report from the ship.

Look forward to your other reports once you get home.

Safe Travels.

...........<Snip>......... I will pause for the evening at the Hilton Marina with my flight home on Saturday promising to be a holiday zoo at the airports.

 

 

More later.

Cannot wait to see your photos and hear more of the cruise when you get home me darlin!! I'm almost as excited today as I was when you were due home from Turkey and Kuwait:)

Me

Roger, thank you so much for the excellent account of your cruise. My first cruises on HAL were also on the Veendam, back in 2003, when I was also living in New Mexico. I'm glad that HAL is maintaining and updating their smaller ships (although I'm in love with the Koningsdam).

My main recollection from the Veendam cruise to Alaska was when I set off the smoke alarm by having a cigarette right under the alarm. No more smoking in cabins now and I haven't smoked in 7 years.

It is unfortunate that HAL isn't upgrading their internet connections. For those of us who are addicted to electronics, it's a frustrating situation.

I lived in Puerto Rico in the late 60's and hate to hear of the troubles there, both political and storm related. I'll probably be visiting it again in a year.

Will be following your thread.

Keith

Thanks for posting this thread. We were on the ship just before you so it was interesting to read about the subsequent cruise. We thought the Captain was one of the best. Also, we agree that the ship is well maintained. We cruise more for the interesting ports, but enjoyed it overall.

Disembarkation day in Fort Lauderdale was sunny and warm once the sun appeared on the horizon.

My requested disembarkation 9:30 AM allowed me to have a leisurely breakfast and check email. At 9:00 AM, I received a call from Guest Services telling me that I was the last passenger on board and that I could now leave. There was nobody in the hallways except for Room Stewards and nobody near the gangway on Deck 5.

Inside the terminal building, my two pieces of luggage, and the only luggage in view, were sitting next to the exit line. There was nobody in the Customs Line so I did not get to try out my Global Entry but instead chatted with the only agent for several minutes. There was nobody in the taxi line and I told the driver that I was the last one off the ship.

I only had to wait one hour for early check-in at the Hilton Marina Hotel near the port in spite of the masses waiting to leave for their cruise ships.

What an amazing end to a HAL cruise! Now if this could be repeated for the rest of my booked cruises......

A wonderful relaxing ending to a great cruise. Thanks for taking us along on your adventure. If you did not get a Cruise Log I hope you will make note of that omission when you do your eval for HAL. They have some work to do on the elevators so that Mr. Ashford doesn’t get stuck in one! Welcome home.

Roger, Welcome back to reality.

Thanks for the ongoing review of your daily activities on the Veendam. I enjoyed each and every post. Great job.

:)

Thank you again for your good review and particularly for the name and end date Pinnacle Manage will be on the ship...