Just Back from the Veendam

[Paris182]

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

[madera1]

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.

[Paris182]

Actually it was generally unpleasant except Halifax in the AM, did not detract from the good experience though...

[aliaschief]

Thank you for sharing cruise experience.

[Copper10-8]

............. 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?;)

[Paris182]

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!

[Copper10-8]

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

[KNOT2L82SAIL]

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. ;)

[rafinmd]

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

[cookingmom]

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.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the review of your cruise on the Veendam. Glad you had a good time.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thank you for the good news ....

[kazu]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us:):)

 

Welcome home:):)

[RuthC]

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.

[KirkNC]

Welcome home! Glad you had an enjoyable cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

 

Glad you had a good experience on the Veendam and everything was in workingorder for you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

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.

[hal lover]

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.

[startwin]

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.:)

[Typhoon1]

Finally, a positive review of this ship, after all the negativity.

[EGCruisers]

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."

[StartrainDD]

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!