VEENDAM 8/26 to Bermuda. Photo revieiw of the FOOD & SHIP

[cruisenanny]

Hello all!

Here is the start of my promised food & ship photo review.

I will write a few lines about the cruise and then proceed with the photo review over the next day or two. Please be patient with me. If you aren't interested in a lot of "food porn" this review probably isn't for you.

 

Embarkation in NYC was ok, we arrived around 10:45 and were on board about 12:15, group number 6. Cabins were not ready when we boarded. They were ready around 1pm.

 

The not so good:

A/C was a problem throughout the ship. You felt pockets of cool, warm & HOT as you walked from area to area on the ship. Unfortunately, our cabin 185 was one of the warm areas. We asked for and received a fan the 1st day. It helped for sure, BUT our cabin was still warm & everything (particularly the bedding) just felt DAMP all week.

Our table for 2, #78 in the MDR was another of the warm spots on board.

The servers were very friendly & seemed to be trying hard but service was VERY slow, taking up to 1 hour & 45 minutes to be served an app, soup or salad & an entree. Because of this we only ate in the MDR 4 of the 7 nights and only had the patience to wait for coffee & dessert 2 out of the 4 nights.

Overall the food was good to very good (and I will list this as a good thing) BUT there were a few odd things that we experienced. I will list a few:

No sour cream/butter offered when a baked potato was served & no horseradish offered with the Prime Rib. (You know how they usually rush around with the little tray of these things when your Prime rib & baked potato entree is served to you?? It isn't like we were just overlooked, the tray just didn't exist. Not a huge deal, but we noticed)

Ceasar salads were always WARM, still tasty but more of a "wilted" Ceasar, lol

No drawn butter served with the lobster tail.

The person who delivered the wine by the glass would set it on the wait station instead of delivering it to us directly. So we would LOOK at out wine sitting there for at least as long as it took to get our first course. Such a tease!

Another ODD thing was that there seemed to be an ice shortage. It was tough to get a really COLD drink, from a bar or otherwise. More often than not the lido had ICE POLICE, one afternoon my husband wanted 2 glasses of ice and was told NO! LOL twice they asked him "iced tea or water?" He said "Just 2 glasses of ice, please?" No was the answer...

Ordered room service one evening for a late night snack. The person who answered the phone was a bit surly and our snack NEVER arrived. We didn't call to inquire, just went to bed. (saved a few calories:p)

Room service orders were 100% right about half of the time..:rolleyes:

 

The good:

Room stewards were good & very friendly.

Food was overwhelmingly good. Desserts not so much but that is not a big deal to me.

The cabins are lovely with TONS of storage space, more than we could use. Nice full sized leather couch, nice vanity, spacious bathroom.

We only went to two comedy shows as my husband doesn't like the dancing/singing shows. Both comedians were very funny. Chris John & Bruce Smirnoff.

The Mixx area was very nice, the bars had great Happy Hour specials every day. I often indulged in the $3 champagne cocktails from 5-8pm & they also had "buy one get one for $1" specials on other drinks from 7-8pm. Chris usually got two Mojitos during this time, very tasty. (these always had enough ice, yay!)

In true HAL style, the ship was gorgeous and very tastefully decorated.

The Explorations area was HUGE and lovely, a real retreat with SUPER cappuccinos.

Debarkation was a pleasure. We ordered a nice breakfast in our cabin, gathered the rest of our things and leisurely walked off the ship at 9am.

Beds & pillows were very comfortable.

Being able to order off of the MDR menu for room service is always great.

Room service orders were 100% right about half of the time..:)

 

IRLJoannie, I have about 15 good photos of cabin 185, how do I get them to you? (sorry, I am not the most computer savvy person)

 

Mozzarela & tomato salad from our Mariners Embarkation luncheon.

Below is the salmon dish, which was the first and BEST entree I had all week!! It was sooo good! (I apologize, I was starving & took a bite before I remembered to photo it, won't happen again!)

[CtheW0rld]

more tales of woe from the has-beendam. nice photos, though.

[cruisenanny]

Cabin 185, Verandah Deck

 

The couch was a bit weary but very comfortable

[jimbri]

Looking forward to your review. We were on the July 1 cruise and loved Bermuda.

[cruisenanny]

The bathroom

 

Tiny jacuzzi tub, about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of a standard tub, I would say. Looked a bit worn, but was clean & functional. (I suggest filling the tub, running the jets & draining once before use)

 

LOVED the Elemis products, nicest I have ever encountered on a cruise ship.

[IRL_Joanie]

.........

 

IRLJoannie, I have about 15 good photos of cabin 185, how do I get them to you? (sorry, I am not the most computer savvy person)........

 

No need to send them to me as I've just copied them from your posts:)

 

I'll copy your comments about the stateroom from your posts:)

 

If you have any others that you want to send me just send them HERE and attach 2-3 at a time. More than 2-3 and most email oprograms will not allow them because they are to big (bandwidth wise)

 

Joanie

[cruisenanny]

A few odds & ends photos of the cabin.

SUPER closets & safe.

 

The LARGE balcony

 

The contents of the "tepid at best" mini-fridge (we removed them & put in our own water, soda & wine, then put back the contents on the last morning, so the steward didn't have to)

[cruisenanny]

Just click HERE and attach the photos to the email that should open up for you. Limit yourself to 2-3 photos at a time as they are probably each to large for most email programs to allow (Bandwidth wise)

 

Do not forget to give me your Cruise Critic Name, Stateroom Number, date of the cruise and if you'd like, any comments/descriptions (Good and Bad) of the stateroom.

 

Joanie

 

Thanks Joanie, I will get them to you in the next day or two!

[kazu]

Really great pics - great job - thank you.

 

Surprised about the difficulty to get ice:confused::confused: and what:eek: no horseradish for the prime rib??? nor sour cream/butter for the potato:eek: Well, I would have been asking (I am a foodie too and frankly prime rib cannot be eaten without horse radish;)).

 

Sounds like you had a decent time overall. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences - looking forward to hearing more when and if you have time.

 

Welcome home:)

[cruisenanny]

First Formal night

Delicious Beef Carpaccio

 

Crispy Crab Spring Roll

 

Quail

 

Beef Wellington

 

Fresh flowers & a peppermill on the table

 

The much talked about "NET" on the ceiling of the MDR

[CtheW0rld]

what's up with the net? were diners and staff in danger from the fixtures crahsing down? :eek:

[cruisenanny]

No need to send them to me as I've just copied them from your posts:)

 

I'll copy your comments about the stateroom from your posts:)

 

If you have any others that you want to send me just send them HERE and attach 2-3 at a time. More than 2-3 and most email oprograms will not allow them because they are to big (bandwidth wise)

 

Joanie

 

Great! Thank you!

[cruisenanny]

Really great pics - great job - thank you.

 

Surprised about the difficulty to get ice:confused::confused: and what:eek: no horseradish for the prime rib??? nor sour cream/butter for the potato:eek: Well, I would have been asking (I am a foodie too and frankly prime rib cannot be eaten without horse radish;)).

 

Sounds like you had a decent time overall. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences - looking forward to hearing more when and if you have time.

 

Welcome home:)

 

Thanks! Glad you like my photos!

We did have a very decent time overall!

(If they had ever checked on our entrees, I would have asked for some horseradish....

it just seemed like they didn't have the time to give proper service. I don't blame this on the staff.)

[cruisenanny]

what's up with the net? were diners and staff in danger from the fixtures crahsing down? :eek:

 

Yes, I believe that is the reason for it!:eek:

[cruisenanny]

Photos of The Retreat area. 2 small Hot Tubs & 2 large Hot Tubs (shaped like small pools, kind of odd)

 

 

I forgot to post Chris's appetizer from the Embarkation lunch, antipasto.

(My photos got all out of order when I downloaded them to photobucket...)

[pampaul]

Can't wait to read more. And I love looking at food pictures!!! We were on the sailing the week before you. It's like re-living the week over again. :D

[cruisenanny]

Room service breakfast on our balcony as we were sailing into Hamilton, Bermuda.

It really doesn't get much better than this!!

We sailed past the Dawn & Explorer, out at the Dockyard.

 

More room service breakfast photos.

Delicious eggs Bennedict. (Isn't that a FUNNY shaped poached egg??)

 

The steakhouse

[kazu]

Ahhhhhhhhhh - you're making me hungry:):);)

[mamaofami]

Your pictures are fabulous. Very detailed view of the cabin and the food had my mouth watering.

 

The no ice thing is curious.

[jimbri]

I loved the French toast for breakfast.... and loving your review!

[cruisenanny]

Some interesting, beautiful, classy or otherwise "neat" things I noticed on the ship.

View towards the atrium, shops & casino

 

Atrium

 

In a public area, I don't remember where

 

Another public area (outside the MDR, perhaps?)

 

Interactive table tops in the "spirit & ale" area of The Mixx

 

I thought these light fixtures in the MDR were really cool. Sort of Asian & old fashioned looking (in a good way)

[cruisenanny]

The third night, MDR Dinner

Salad with orange & toasted pecans

 

Ceasar salad

 

Veal chop

 

Salmon from the everyday menu

 

Chocolate bread pudding with a berry mint compote

 

A strawberry sundae with toffee crunch topping, and a cappuccino

Best dessert I had, yummy!

[cruisenanny]

MDR menu from the 4th night.

Chris & I were tired from a great day on the island and didn't want to sit in the warm MDR all night to have dinner.

So I went down and photographed the menu & we called room service.

We had an awesome dinner on our balcony overlooking Hamilton.

That is the GOOD news. The BAD news is that I forgot to take pictures..

 

 

A neat snack menu was available each afternoon in the Mixx area.

We never tried anything, but I got you a pic of the menu!!

(I rotated it in photobucket, but this is still how it posts:confused:)

 

[cruisenanny]

Can't wait to read more. And I love looking at food pictures!!! We were on the sailing the week before you. It's like re-living the week over again. :D

 

Thanks Pampaul, I love seeing food pics in reviews too!

Did you find the ship uncomfortably warm in places on your sailing??

[travelinjones]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.