Paris182 Posted October 21, 2012 #1 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Just a brief post to say that I just got off the Veendam and was more than a little pleased. Absolutely no problems, no smells, no sign of wear or tear, and although the ship is over a decade old, it has a old time ocean liner feel that I loved. It was spotless, the staff pleasant and engaging and the ports fun. (except Sydney NS which we could have sailed right by). I did think the food in the main dining room was of somewhat variable quality, ranging from excellent to only fair. But the service was good and I had open seating and never waited more than 5-10 minutes and my table companions were always a delight. I will be sailing HAL again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madera1 Posted October 21, 2012 #2 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Nice to hear that you had a positive experience while on your cruise aboard the Veendam. We were on a New England/Canada cruise ourselves earlier in the month. Hope you had good weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paris182 Posted October 21, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Actually it was generally unpleasant except Halifax in the AM, did not detract from the good experience though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliaschief Posted October 21, 2012 #4 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Thank you for sharing cruise experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted October 21, 2012 #5 Share Posted October 21, 2012 ............. and the ports fun. (except Sydney NS which we could have sailed right by).................... You missed the WalMart in Sydney, NS?:eek: And you didn't like the big fiddle?;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paris182 Posted October 21, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Well I do have a picture, and did have a nice experience at a local coffee shop, and met some pleasant folks, so I suppose I can't complain too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted October 21, 2012 #7 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Well I do have a picture, and did have a nice experience at a local coffee shop, and met some pleasant folks, so I suppose I can't complain too much! You're right though! Nice people but not a heck of a lot to do/see there! I'd rather skip it and do an overnight in Quebec City like they used to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KNOT2L82SAIL Posted October 21, 2012 #8 Share Posted October 21, 2012 When we stopped at Sydney, we did the HAL tour, the Taste of the Cabot Trail, and it was a wonderful excursion. The ride was full of great scenery, tour guide great. I am so amazed when people say they did not like it there. Just need to pick the right excursion. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted October 22, 2012 #9 Share Posted October 22, 2012 When we stopped at Sydney, we did the HAL tour, the Taste of the Cabot Trail, and it was a wonderful excursion. The ride was full of great scenery, tour guide great. I am so amazed when people say they did not like it there. Just need to pick the right excursion. ;) My visit to Sydney was 18 years ago (on the Regent Sun) and my tour was to the fortress at Louisburg. I enjoyed that (perhaps I was looking through rose colored glasses). I'm wondering if that's one of the HAL offerings. I looked for my Veendam cruise and nothing is listed yet. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookingmom Posted October 22, 2012 #10 Share Posted October 22, 2012 We were on the Oct 4-14 sailing of the Eurodam. Our day in Sydney was one of the most memorable and worthwhile of the entire cruise. After docking, our happy little group, took a 5 min. walk to the municipal bus stop. We hopped on the #1 Bus to Glace Bay (my first "senior rate" experience since 55 is the age to qualify there) and then had an easy 15 min. walk to the amazing Miner's Museum. Our tour guide, Wish, was a retired miner who made the visit very personal. Everyone in our group was quite moved by the experience. Our easy walk back to the bus stop allowed us time to discuss the retched life of the Sydney miners and contemplate the mining industry today around the world. Granted, Sydney Canada lacks the beauty of other ports but traveling enables us to learn and grow, often giving us a new perspective on the life of others. We sure did get that in Sydney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathfinderEss Posted October 22, 2012 #11 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thanks for the review of your cruise on the Veendam. Glad you had a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Gail & Marty sailing away Posted October 22, 2012 #12 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thank you for the good news .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted October 22, 2012 #13 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us:):) Welcome home:):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted October 22, 2012 #14 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I'm happy to read your description of the Veendam, and it's current condition. I'll be sailing on her in the near future, and have had a bit of trepidation that the HVAC won't be able to handle the oppressive South America temperatures. Thank you for your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted October 22, 2012 #15 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Welcome home! Glad you had an enjoyable cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 22, 2012 #16 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Welcome Home Glad you had a good experience on the Veendam and everything was in workingorder for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 22, 2012 #17 Share Posted October 22, 2012 When we stopped at Sydney, we did the HAL tour, the Taste of the Cabot Trail, and it was a wonderful excursion. The ride was full of great scenery, tour guide great. I am so amazed when people say they did not like it there. Just need to pick the right excursion. ;) My visit to Sydney was 18 years ago (on the Regent Sun) and my tour was to the fortress at Louisburg. I enjoyed that (perhaps I was looking through rose colored glasses). I'm wondering if that's one of the HAL offerings. I looked for my Veendam cruise and nothing is listed yet. Roy We have done those tours ( or similar ones) and enjoyed them very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hal lover Posted October 22, 2012 #18 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Thank you for posting on your cruise. Glad that you had a good time and have good things to say about the ms Veendam. I hope to sail on her someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
startwin Posted October 22, 2012 #19 Share Posted October 22, 2012 The Veendam was my very first cruise ship, so I've always had a soft spot for her, and been saddened by the negative reports. So glad to hear you found her in good ship and had a great cruise on her.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoon1 Posted October 22, 2012 #20 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Finally, a positive review of this ship, after all the negativity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGCruisers Posted October 23, 2012 #21 Share Posted October 23, 2012 We were probably on the same cruise (sailed Oct. 13th) on the Veendam and I'm sorry to say our experience was not as positive. When we got to our cabin on embarkation day, it was uncomfortably warm, although the heat was turned all the way up. We turned it way down and waited for the cabin to get cooler, but it never did. Over a period of about 7 hours we called the front desk, talked to our cabin steward and called the front desk again. At about 11:30PM someone from the front desk came down and took the temperature in the cabin. She sent a technician who said that the control was stuck. He was able to fix the control so the room was comfortable and it remained that way for most of the cruise. There were still times when it became too warm -- and it was 40 degrees outside. We also had plumbing problems. There were 3 or 4 mornings when the toilet wouldn't flush. One morning the cabin steward told us that the toilets in the entire corridor wouldn't work. By the time we returned from our time in port it was fixed. So, we don't have any horror stories, but certainly some inconveniences. Service in the MDR was very inconsistent. Some nights it was very prompt. Once we were seated and given menus and then waited at least 15 minutes for someone to take our order and fill our water glasses. One night one of the dining room managers took care of us. I guess the waiter was too busy so he stepped in to help. It seemed like they were understaffed. Our cabin stewards were great. Overall it was not the most positive experience. We are 3 star Mariners with the days from this cruise and we are thinking it might be time to look at some other lines, although we are not saying, "never again." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare StartrainDD Posted October 23, 2012 #22 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Just a brief post to say that I just got off the Veendam and was more than a little pleased. Absolutely no problems, no smells, no sign of wear or tear, and although the ship is over a decade old, it has a old time ocean liner feel that I loved. It was spotless, the staff pleasant and engaging and the ports fun. (except Sydney NS which we could have sailed right by). I did think the food in the main dining room was of somewhat variable quality, ranging from excellent to only fair. But the service was good and I had open seating and never waited more than 5-10 minutes and my table companions were always a delight. I will be sailing HAL again It's good to hear a positive review on Veendam. Re: Sydney, we were there recently on Summit. Rented a van with two other couples and visited the fortress at Louisbourg. It was a worthwhile excursion, and very low cost the way we did it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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