Thoughts, Feelings, Review on Veendam

[Cruising Jedi]

Hello! We got off of Veendam yesterday morning (May 25) and after making our way home from Quebec City and getting a good night's sleep I would like to give a little review of our cruise.

 

Before we left I posted a thread titled "Sailing with Mixed Emotions" (or something close to that) because I was feeling like I'd made a mistake booking this ship, and this line. Everyone was telling me my kids would hate Holland America and be out of place there, and I got caught up in reading so many negative reviews about the Veendam. But after getting a good pep talk here I went in feeling better about things. So here is my review:

 

Embarkation: A little hiccup here, as we were delayed in boarding due to "the tide being too low". Apparently they could not get the gangway at a safe angle and we had to wait. They did eventually provide chairs and were good and communicating what was happening. Everyone was on their phones / computers checking when high tide would be coming, lol. As for the age thing, the very first thing a fellow passenger in line said to me was "What is a young girl like you doing in a place like this?" (I am 43 lol) Everyone laughed because me and my family were the only ones without grey hair in sight - but it was all in good fun. We later came to find out we were by far not the youngest on the ship!

 

Cabin: We were on Deck 5 (Main Deck) outside cabins 507 and 509 as far forward as you could get! These were port hole rooms, they were fine good views. There were no issues with motion or rocking, the entire cruise was so calm and stable it was not always easy to remember we were moving! Fair warning to light sleepers, these cabins are very noisy in the morning when coming into port - something mechanical gets turned on and it is very loud and then what sounds like the anchor chains dropping. This sounds very loud and goes on for a long time. However, it didn't bother us at all, mainly because my husband is a deep sleeper and slept right through it all, and I was up early anyway and actually grew to love the sound. I mean, we are on an actual, functioning ship at sea. Where else can you hear an anchor being lowered into the ocean right below you? What a thrill, really, and I miss it now with nothing to hear but an alarm clock and traffic. Sigh.

 

Fellow Passengers: Met some awesome people, young and old. Some real characters that I am going to miss. My children (12 and 14) made friends and also heard the life stories of some very fascinating people. My youngest just smiled and said "Wow, the people you meet on a cruise ship". Yeah, the people all right! I am not particularly social and had planned to pretty much just keep to ourselves but it turns out the fellow passengers really helped make the cruise special.

 

Food: Loved it! Did the Lido for breakfast and lunch and the dining room for dinner. My husband had a few dinners that he felt were questionable but I guess I ordered better than he did because I felt I had a great meal every night. My kids loved the Terrace Grill and usually had burgers and tacos and nachos every afternoon while playing ping pong. Wonderful Dessert Extravaganza one night on deck, wow! But my favourite dessert was in the dining room, the Banana Rum Caramel Sundae.

 

Staff: Everyone was wonderful. Very friendly. We did wind up tipping our cabin steward a bit extra, which is unheard of for my husband, but he was wonderful!! Only thing I found slow was the bar service, but that may be because I didn't break down and order drinks until the final day, and by then I think the bar staff already had their favourite regulars, because it took me half an hour to get a beer delivered to me, while others were getting theirs faster, and also slow to receive my wine at dinner, I was literally finished my meal and then my wine arrived...

 

Ports:

 

Boston - just had time to stroll around, lovely city and we would like to visit again. Took some touristy shots outside of Cheers for the kids!

 

Bar Harbour - again strolled around town, walked down to the beach area, found a wine shop and picked up a cheap bottle of wine to take back on board

 

Halifax - walked (or should I say it felt more like a hike!) up to the Citadel, did a tour, saw the noon canon being fired and they had a 21 gun salute for Victoria Day, walked along the boardwalk and back to the ship.

 

Sydney - rented a car and drove out to Fortress Louisberg, and up to Glace Bay area and back to Sydney

 

Charlottetown - rented a car, did the Central Coastal drive, then walked around the city a bit and back to ship

 

Quebec City - walked around the old town, just beautiful!!

 

By the way in Sydney and Charlottetown we rented from Budget, they pick you up at the port, give you maps and whatever help and info you need, and drive you back to the ship when done. Easy peasy!

 

The Ship (ms Veendam): I went in with doubts, but I truly fell for her. The only indication of her age that I could see, is the small size compared to how big the ships are being built today. But this is a beautiful ship! Now I didn't go over everything with a microscope but she looked in top shape to me, everything working properly, no issues at all. The layout was nice, it was elegant, rooms were spacious...what a pleasant surprise for me since I did not know what to expect! My favourite spot for sailaways was in the Retreat area, just pull a lounge chair around to face aft and wave goodbye to each skyline. So peaceful.

 

Disembarkation: Efficient, smooth, fast (too fast I wanted to stay on longer) and out like clockwork. I actually left the ship with tears in my eyes! My kids devised a plan to swim out after her when she left, and they would be morally obligated to rescue us and pull us aboard and then we would have a bit more time until they put us off at the next port, lol.

 

Well, I guess I have gone on a bit much, and at the same time have probably forgotten things as well. But I said I would give a review so here is my shot!!!

 

Thanks if you read on this far and if there any questions I would be glad to answer them.

 

Final thought is I guess that I loved this cruise and I would cruise on Holland America and on Veendam again in a heartbeat!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[cruz chic]

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it. Great review. I hear you on the wine service. It's stupid slow and I can't understand why.

[musicismylife]

So glad you and your family had a great trip! We are the same age and never feel out of place on a HAL ship and our 12 yr old son always finds friends to hang out with.

[disfanatiks]

What a wonderful review. I am so glad you and your family had a great time. That itinerary is my favorite.

[GatorMomInNC]

Thanks so much for your review. I am doing this exact cruise on the Veendam in June. Like you I have been a little nervous reading older reviews of the Veendam. and I am also traveling with my 2boys ( ages 6 and 9) and our first HAL cruise after sailing Disney the last three times. My older son even said to me, "Do you think it will be as kid friendly as DIsney?" While I don't expect that, it is good to hear such a positive review!

[innlady1]

Thank you for your review. I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed Veendam. I was hoping you would! Did they do away with the wine stewards on her? Last year in Bermuda we had a lovely female steward and she was always around.

[Seago2]

What a nice review! Sounds like you had a good time. I love the HAL sundaes, too. I like how you handled the noise issue- a lot.

 

Welcome home.

[mamaofami]

Thank you for the nice review. I'm glad you enjoyed Veendam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

Glad you all had a wonderful cruise.

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

[KirkNC]

See, all that worrying for nothing ;). You sound a little like us as our first HAL cruise was on the Veendam with our than 10 year old daughter. We loved the cruise and the ship and have been sailing HAL ever since.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for writing and posting a review of your Veendam cruise. Glad you had a good time.

[Murphycat1]

What a charming review. I have been thinking about Veendam for January and your comments may well have tipped the scale. Thank you!:)

[cruisingberger]

I loved your review. Thank you for taking the time. I'm glad your children had such a great experience. That is why I love cruising so much, there is something for everyone. :D

[aliaschief]

Thanks for the review. MS Veendam continues to rack up great reviews.

[CJcruzer]

glad to hear the nice review of the Veendam...she is the first HAL ship we were on, and we have had 2 great cruises on her...hope to be onboard again next year.

[George C]

Thanks very nice review, I thought lido was far better than the other Hal ships, we also had problems with slow drink service on my last cruise and bar was almost empty?? We byob for dinner and always have my own cork screw, just in case, they will run over if they see you start to open your own wine.

[luvs2beachit]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write your review. We are cruising on the Veendam June 1st for two weeks and it was great to read your wonderful comments!

 

I do have one question........how were the temps in the public areas, in particular, the MDR?

 

Judie

[madera1]

So happy that you reported back on your experience. Now that you are home after a great experience it won't be long before you begin planning for another cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Cruising Jedi]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write your review. We are cruising on the Veendam June 1st for two weeks and it was great to read your wonderful comments!

 

I do have one question........how were the temps in the public areas, in particular, the MDR?

 

Judie

 

Hi Judie, there were no temperature issues at all...we felt comfortable in our normal dinner clothes, not too hot or cold at all. The entire ship was always at a perfect temp, only needed sweaters or jackets when going outside (we did get cool and sometimes rainy weather).

 

Mentioning the main dining room reminds me of another part of the trip I should have reviewed and forgot, so I will do so here!

 

Open Dining: Early and Late seatings were already booked so were assigned open. We thought this option would work for us since we don't like having to rush to dinner, or wait too late for dinner. But no, it didn't really work out that way. You have to arrive by 5:00-5:15 to get a table and if you miss that you are out of luck until 7:15-7:30. People started making reservations to get in at better times but then that seems to defeat the purpose of being spontaneous and eating when you want. I think this needs to improved upon. Our Open dining turned into a rush to the dining room every night to get there by 5:15. Oh well, once we got there it was all worth it. :) but just FYI.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. We sailed on the cruise before yours and had a great time too.

[chrisbu315]

Thanks for the review. MS Veendam continues to rack up great reviews.

 

I agree. It appears the Veendam has made quite a comeback from the bad reviews of the past. Now I understand the net in the MDR is gone. Congrats to HAL on the Veendam turnaround!

 

I sailed on the Veendam from Montreal to Boston last October and enjoyed her very much!

[Cruising Jedi]

I agree. It appears the Veendam has made quite a comeback from the bad reviews of the past. Now I understand the net in the MDR is gone. Congrats to HAL on the Veendam turnaround!

 

I sailed on the Veendam from Montreal to Boston last October and enjoyed her very much!

 

Yes, that is right there was no netting in the dining room. I looked up expecting it but there was nothing.

 

I can hardly believe the negative reviews I had read of the Veendam - this was a great ship and a great cruise. Glad you enjoyed her too :)

[erewhon]

Thank you for taking time to write the review of your Veendam cruise.

 

Pleased to know that you all had a great time.

[SpokaneDan]

Thanks for the feedback, especially re-open seating, which is our usual preference as well.:confused: Will be on Veendam in < 3 weeks.:)