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Least favourite HAL ship and why

496and706

By 496and706,
in Holland America Line

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nana51

nana51

Posted
Posted
Least favourite ship ever, on any cruise line, the Zaandam. Yuck. Dark, dingy, horrible food. Our AC didn't work the whole week, our cabin was at 87 degrees. They did nothing at all to fix the issue. I found out afterwards that there is a section on the ship with cabins with no AC. I booked it as a guarantee, never again. It was dirt cheap, the cheapest cruise of any cruise line for that week. Obviously there was a reason! Never again.

 

The Eurodam is a 100x nicer than the Zaandam. I hope the NA has cleaned up and replaced carpets for my next blues cruise in January.

 

Least favourite port, Montego Bay. No I don't want drugs or my hair braided!

I have to agree about the Zaandam. I did not like this ship. It was run down, even dirty. We had some sort of bugs in our room (assuming bedbugs) and they cleaned all our clothing and moved us to another room. It was just kind of depressing.

 

As to my favorite, the only other ship I've been on was the Oosterdamn and was VERY happy with it. I'm sailing her again next year to Alaska.

 

Least favorite port....Mazatlan. They don't stop there anymore due to crime.

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boards Holiday Sharing Rare

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Were you on an excursion ? Or just wandering on your own in Ocho Rios ?

 

 

Thank you CC family :)

taneous@hotmail.com

 

It doesn't matter we have done both, once you get off a bus or out a store they are all over you. It was almost scary. They are very rude. I know they have to make a living, but we cannot handle it. Sorry Jamicia

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shrimp56

shrimp56

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Least favorite ship is Veendam. Only one pool and when we were on her, the staff was not what we would have expected from Hal. I understand that her staff has undergone a complete revamping since we sailed her 2 summers ago.

 

We sailed on the Veendam in June and loved her. There were a few issues, such as under-staffing and exhausted crew members, that nasty Retreat and a taped balcony window, but the problems that caused that dreaful inspection score were not in evidence. Captain Bos was a rockstar and Canaletto was excellent.

 

I expected to not like the Eurodam, but we loved her. Good crew, good captain. She's not a pretty ship, but inside she's a 'dam fine one.

 

Least favorite port is the one where I have to disembark and go home!:)

 

AMEN!

 

On the subject of Nassau. We stopped there twice on the old Dolphin IV and, while we tend to agree with the general assessment, the second time we went to a Sunday service at the Anglican Cathedral. The sermon was on devil worship in the out islands. The whole experience was worth the stop. The windows were open so there was a gentle breeze coming in and you could hear the birds outside. And we've been there, done that.

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Tampa Girl

Tampa Girl

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O.K., so Jamaica is no one's favorite, but . . . if you find yourself there and haven't taken the excursion to Noel Coward's home, "Firefly", it is well worth it. There were no beggars enroute, and the home is situated at the tip of the island with gorgeous views. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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USN59-79

USN59-79

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We have no least favorite HAL ships, but don't really want to try the newer largest ones. Favorite is the Amsterdam; have more than 200 days on her. Recently tried and loved the Prinsendam and are sailing again on her in a few weeks. One caveat is that if you book an inexpensive inside cabin on Amsterdam it will be very comfortable; if you book the least expensive inside on Prinsendam it will be tiny. We learned our lesson and booked an outside for our next cruise. Least favorite port is Petroplovosk, Russia.

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brazilgirl "Live from...." Rare

brazilgirl

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We won't set foot on the Westerdam again for love or money. That said, we aren't at all fond of the Vista and up size ship.

 

We'll be on the Veendam in Dec. for 25 days. I am counting on the improvements I've heard have been made.

 

Least favorite port: Others who've been there will not agree with me but I say Fanning Island in the South Pacific. We don't really care for any of the ports in the Mexican Riviera. We just stay on the ship there.

 

May I ask why you disliked the Westerdam so much?

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USN59-79

USN59-79

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One of the posters mentioned Civitavecchia as a bleak, freaky place. I feel totally different about it. We stayed there last year rather than getting a hotel in Rome. The hotel was up on a hill above the train station. The DW and I walked about half way there and weren't sure of the directions so we asked an old man who had just parked his car. He said "throw your suitcases in my car, I will take you there." He did and wouldn't accept a tip. That evening we walked down to have dinner at a nice local restaurant and got lost again on the way back to the hotel. Asked a young lady for directions and she also took us back to our hotel in her car. So while the streets are poorly marked and seem to change their name every block or two, the local people are the friendliest we have met in Europe.

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jtl513

jtl513

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So far on this thread I've seen my most favorite ships given as somebody's least favorite, and vice versa. Guess that's what makes to world go 'round. ;)

 

Least favorite port: Palermo. Couldn't wait to get back on the ship! :)

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solocanadian

solocanadian

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My least favourite so far is the Zuiderdam. Sailed on her in a Neptune Suite in May this year. Didn't find the crew all that friendly. If it weren't for the many Australians on board during this cruise, I would not have enjoyed myself. Service poor in MDR and food only so, so. Least favourite port if not taking a train excursion is Skagway, Alaska. Too many phony jewellry stores that don't belong there. They should stay in Caribbean.

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cruz chic

cruz chic

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<snip>

Least favorite port....Mazatlan. They don't stop there anymore due to crime.

Don't believe everything you hear. I think it's more about the cruiselines ability to make money. There has been a lot more crime in the Caribbean and cruise ships are pretty ok going there. My former colleague vacations there for about a month a year and her parents have a condo there that they stay at for about 6 months a year. Neither have had problems with crime.

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maxie99

maxie99

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:eek:

Least favorite ship: Veendam by a mile. Flooded room, cracked balcony glass, Duck-taped pipes on the promenade and staff complaining constantly, a terribly failed coast guard and health inspection. We will not sail her even if she was the only ship at sea. The entire management was fired after our sailing.

 

Least favorite port: Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Was offered cocaine for my wife's purse and he followed us for blocks as we tried to find a cop. Will never visit again (we'll never sail the Caribbean again so that'll be easy).

:eek::eek::eek:_i still like jamaica ,, we where there this jan.-- on a tour,,but i understand, a while back we landed in Ochoa Rios on jan 1 and the temp. was 32 degrees,, there was ice forming in the puddles,, hardly no one got off the ship,, but i did a 50 yr old female-- once i walked past th gates- a young man , maybe 17 yrs, started to chat me up, well:eek: what he was suggesting -- you get my drift-- but i kept on asking him ? about his life as we walked, and we had a good talk ,, once he realized thats there no work here, he left me be, and the rest of my walk was lovely , in near freezing temp.. but then im a canuck. im use to it:D

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catl331

catl331

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On our Ryndam cruise we missed Key West and Jamaica due to strong winds. We were disappointed about Jamaica and after reading all this, who cares about Jamaica!

 

We were on the Westerdam for a Baltic cruise. I found décor blah but nothing really wrong with the ship. This was the best itinerary--all ports I really enjoyed. Denmark, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden (2 pts) Germany. Great!!

 

At this point, I would do any ship and any itinerary Just stay on board some of the ports mentioned here. We took at Tour off Santo Tomas to a banana patch and some Mayan ruins.

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mcmarya

mcmarya

Posted
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I have to mention that we spent 20 nights on the Westerdam in March and had a wonderful cruise. Our itinerary called for a stop in Puerto Caldera, but, since tidal conditions allowed we were surprised to wake up in Puntarenas instead. There is a very large variation in depth at Puntarenas from low to high tide and it is apparently the captain's call on whether to dock in the better location.

 

My least favorite ship in the Veendam even though we enjoyed our cruise. The missing rear pool was a factor--the other pool was so full of kids it was impossible to do more than jump in and get out. There were also issues with uneven air conditioning with odd hot spots on the ship here and there. Since it was a short cruise, didn't have time to sit on the promenade deck so the lack of loungers was not a problem but would have been on a longer cruise.

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magandab

magandab

Posted
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After our Med cruise on the O-dam, that was my least favorite ship. We had plumbing problems, that were blamed on us. I think there was something else, but it's a distant memory. I think it was that the Med was not our favorite cruise, and we chose so-so excursions. I was very leery about our New Zealand Cruise, back on the O, especially after hearing about the azipod problems.

 

Based on our NZ cruise, the O is now my favorite ship. So, I think there are many factors that make us perceive a cruise and/or a ship as good or bad.

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arewethereyet

arewethereyet

Posted
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:eek:

:eek::eek::eek:_i still like jamaica ,, we where there this jan.-- on a tour,,but i understand, a while back we landed in Ochoa Rios on jan 1 and the temp. was 32 degrees,, there was ice forming in the puddles,, hardly no one got off the ship,, but i did a 50 yr old female-- once i walked past th gates- a young man , maybe 17 yrs, started to chat me up, well:eek: what he was suggesting -- you get my drift-- but i kept on asking him ? about his life as we walked, and we had a good talk ,, once he realized thats there no work here, he left me be, and the rest of my walk was lovely , in near freezing temp.. but then im a canuck. im use to it:D

 

32 degrees in Jamaica?

 

I was born at night, but not last night.

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serendipity1499

serendipity1499

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Least favorite ship would be the Rotterdam (hard to believe that we booked the Veendam in a weak moment) because of her awful design! One swimming pool (often taken over by a few kids), a large "bird bath" on the aft end of the ship (so they could replace the pool with a few more cabins), those silly promenade cabins (there is a reason no other cruise line does this), etc. We can't wait for the next HA drydock to see how they can ruin some more of their vessels.

 

As to ports, this is easy. Constanta, Romania.

 

Hank

 

I bolded your sentence as wonder why you call the Lanai cabins silly? Have you ever stayed in one? Also, wonder what the reason would be that other cruise lines don't have Lanai cabins on Promenade? ..Many other cruise lines don't even have the beautiful Promenade decks that HAL has..;)

We stayed in one of Veendam's Lanai cabins & loved it! Also loved having our own dedicated lanai chairs out on the Promenade deck!..:):)

 

I have to say, no ship qualifies as a "least favorite ship". If we're on a cruise, we enjoy it to the max!

 

I'm with you, although we prefer the smaller HAL ships..Our favorite is the Prinsendam & 2nd favorite is the Amsterdam.. Have only cruised on one Vista, the Noordam..Have never cruised on the Eurodam or the NA..

 

Betty

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