Condition od Veendam?

[geocruiser]

I know Veendam has had some issues in the past. How is the ship now?

We are looking at Canada and New England cruise both Maasdam and Veendam have these cruises. Veendam is much cheaper. Wonder why?

[SwissMyst]

Are they the same dates and destinations? That can make a big difference in prices for what appears to be the "same" cruise. I believe also the Veendam added extra cabins so they could therefore offer lower prices due to their increased volume? Once you read enough here you find every ship has it problems and its loyal fans.

 

We about cancelled our first HAL trip after reading about the Maasdam on this forum, yet we came away in love with her and quickly moved on to be HAL 4 star Mariners and each and every ship was reported here to be either a moving piece of worthless junk that should have been scrapped yesterday ... and others most favorite ship of all. And often these reports came from exactly the same cruise. A lot of help that is, isn't it? :confused:

[George C]

I really liked Veendam on our May cruise, only thing I really disliked was the one pool, but going to Canada that should be not a issue. I would not take it to a warm weather place.

[geocruiser]

Are they the same dates and destinations? That can make a big difference in prices for what appears to be the "same" cruise. I believe also the Veendam added extra cabins so they could therefore offer lower prices due to their increased volume? Once you read enough here you find every ship has it problems and its loyal fans.

 

We about cancelled our first HAL trip after reading about the Maasdam on this forum, yet we came away in love with her and quickly moved on to be HAL 4 star Mariners and each and every ship was reported here to be either a moving piece of worthless junk that should have been scrapped yesterday ... and others most favorite ship of all. And often these reports came from exactly the same cruise. A lot of help that is, isn't it? :confused:

 

There was a lot about the AC not working well. We are HAL 3 star Mariners. We are book on NCL Dawn for 14 nights. We were going with some friends who now want to switch over to Veendam in May 2013 and not going in 9/13 on NCL. I favor the ports of call with NCL,they are:

 

Sat 28-Sep PORTLAND, MAINE, US

Sun 29-Sep HALIFAX, CANADA

Mon 30-Sep AT SEA

Tue 01-Oct CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD I, CANADA

Wed 02-Oct GASPESIE, CANADA

Thu 03-Oct BAIE (SAGUENAY RIVER), CANADA

Fri 04-Oct QUEBEC CITY, CANADA

Sat 05-Oct AT SEA

Sun 06-Oct CORNERBROOK, CANADA

Mon 07-Oct SYDNEY, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

Tue 08-Oct HALIFAX, CANADA

Wed 09-Oct SAINT JOHN, BAY OF FUNDY, CANADA

Thu 10-Oct BAR HARBOR, MAINE, US

Fri 11-Oct 08:00 am SHIP ARRIVES AT BOSTON

 

NCL it a good amount more money. But I rather have the different ports of call that NCL offers.

[innlady1]

We enjoyed our cruise on the Veendam last May to and from Bermuda...the thing that people oppose was the Sea View Pool being replaced with the Retreat. I don't much care for it either...but it's not a deal breaker. We loved the colors on the Veendam.

[SwissMyst]

My sister complained she froze on the Veendam because the A/C was too strong. But she also did not pack for where she was going (NYC to SA via Panama around to BsAs) Which i believe was a later cruise, than those who reported no A/C. Oy.

[aliaschief]

Spent 20 days on Veendam this past January. No issues and great crew.

[RuthC]

I sailed on the Veendam for 20 days this past January. The HVAC and plumbing systems were fine for the entire cruise, which went from the heat of Valparaiso, to the very cold of Antarctica, to the brutal heat and humidity of Buenos Aires.

Some public rooms, such as the show lounge, were on the cool side when first entering, but quickly warmed up with the body heat given off.

The Retreat area means the aft Lido is worthless for sitting out enjoying the fresh air and a view. The view is totally blocked.

For me, this is a deal-breaker if I have a choice.

As a matter of fact, I did. I will sail the Maasdam---not the Veendam---on a NE/Canada cruise in June.

[geocruiser]

Happy to hear that the ship is in good shape. But I still like the ports of call better on NCL. Our friends might move to HAL. I think we are going to stay with NCL. With HAL ,it is the same ports going north as going south.

[sppunk]

We sailed her in August to Bermuda and will never do so again. YMMV but we don't gamble with vacation funds.

[monina01]

21 days in February and she was fine. I would not hesitate to sail on her again.

[GregnChris]

We just returned from a 31 day Splendor of South America cruise on Veendam. The AC was working fine. There were a few plumbing problems on the Veranda deck (9) with water leaks and at least one toilet overflowed. Not fun for the folks whose cabin was flooded, but they were moved to a different cabin. Given the length of the cruise, no more problems than would normally be expected.

 

However, we did experience severe rolling of the ship for several days. The seas were calm with a 4-6 foot swell overtaking the ship from the aft, port corner. The swell wasn't very large, but it seemed to set up a harmonic rolling oscillation on the ship. The ship would start out smooth, then a small roll would develop, gradually increasing with each oscillation until it was quite severe. Then it would gradually diminish to stable, before it would start all over again. They ended up having to drain the pool and hot tubs. You can see a video I took of the pool overflowing on the Lido here:

 

This was much more roll than I have experienced on any of my other 5 cruises, especially considering that the seas were calm with a 4-6 foot swell. Many folks were remarking on how much we were rolling. We asked several times, and were told the stabilizers were deployed, but it sure didn't seem like it. I did notice that a diver was working below the waterline in the area of the stabilizer when we were docked in Fort Lauderdale. Wonder what that was all about?

 

Given our experiences with the ship rolling, I don't think I wan to book a cruise on the Veendam again.

 

Greg

[mamaofami]

Interesting video. If given a choice, I would sail Masadam. We just came back from 11 days on her and she was in good shape.

[Floridiana]

I was on the same cruise as GregnChris. Yes, the MS Veendam was rolling from side to side between Puerto Montt and Valparaiso. I am certainly no expert on ocean currents and swells, but I would not venture to say that the Veendam was rolling more than any other ship in the same situation.