Veendam Entertainment and Buffet

[CK77]

We are considering the Veendam for a trip from New York to Bermuda.

 

My Wife and I had our first ever Cruise last year on the Caribbean Princess and overall we really enjoyed the experience.

 

We loved the Lounge Entertainment on the Caribbean Princess, the Comedians were great! We enjoyed the live Dance bands also (we hate DJ's). We were not all that thrilled with the Shows, it just wasn't our thing. We prefer more pop-rock music from the 70's to current music. We don't care for 50's-60's music, well except for the Beatles :)

 

We did like the food at the Buffet on the Caribbean Princess and thought the Breakfast Buffet was great too.

 

The only thing was it got a bit boring during the day at times while we were at sea. I'm not a person who can lie in the Sun all day, I burn so easy.

 

So, I guess after giving you all some background, maybe you could give me some ideas of what the Veendam would be like for us. We are in our mid 50's.

[RuthC]

There's live dance music on the Veendam, but most of it doesn't sound like the genre you're looking for. It's possible you would like the music the DJ plays in the Crows Nest late at night, but that isn't live music.

The food in the Lido is good, or better. There is an excellent selection for breakfast and lunch every day. Dinner has most of the same foods as served in the dining room.

There will be activities on the sea days down & back, but not too much while docked in Hamilton.

The focus of this cruise is Bermuda itself. The ship is docked right on Front St, just steps from easy access to all the island has to offer. It's even an easy ride out to St. Georges---which is well worth visiting.

[dcguy9]

We are doing this cruise in August. There will be four full days in Bermuda; the ship is essentially a hotel for most of the cruise. You will only have a couple days at sea.

 

Bermuda is stunning. We did the Celebrity Bermuda cruise two years ago and can't wait to go back

[mary alan]

Hi CK7,

Hubby (Alan) & I (Denise, Mary is my middle name) are sailing on the Veendam in Feb/March so don't have any experience with it yet, however we have done the Eurodam and loved it. We have also done 2 Princess cruises, Sapphire & Crown and a Celebrity. In our experience, the food on HAL is better than Princess, including the buffet. However, the entertainment is not anywhere near the standard of Princess. I am 57 and Alan is just 60, so similar vintage to you. We found the live entertainment, comedians, ventriloquests etc - on Princess of very good quality, whereas on HAL we only found one decent act, and that was Aaron Tessis who was the singer/guitarist in the Crows Nest Bar.

Will share our experiences of Veendam in April, if its not too late for you. If so, happy sailing!! Cheers:),

[Miata6]

The Veendam entertainment far exceeded my expectations on the NY-Bermuda cruise June 2010. I attributed it to the NYC basing for the cruise (availability of singers and dancers) and the entertainment 'sophistication' of the NYC passengers, of which I am not one.

[barante]

I am not a big fan of the Veendam after a problematic 28-day voyage from Rio to FLL in March. But the ship is ideal for the Bermuda run. It is small enough to get to Hamilton. You will be parked along Front Street, the place to be with most touristy stuff within walking distance. You can easily visit the rest of the island by using publlc buses and ferries.

Bermuda can be a very expensive place so I would recommend mostly eating on the ship since you already paid for that food. The place closes early at night. There will be enough entertainment but it is geared at a slightly older demogtraphic. The Veendam, like Hamilton, closes early.

The variety of the Veendam's food, particularly in Lido, is good. In terms of music, its version of the Halcats was very good. I thought its version of the Halcats was very good. But t was not rock. While entertainment may not exactly what you want, you will have a good time.

Bermuda is one of my favorite destinations -- and has none of the Caribbean's minuses. The Veendam is an ideal ship to experience Bermuda, a slightly old-fashioned just as that island.