Swimming on the Veendam

[petern6827]

Hello all,

Sandy and I are looking forward to our first HAL cruise....May 30, Boston to Bermuda.

We are swimmers and wonder if there is a good time to swim laps for our daily exercise. Any thoughts on the pool onboard?

Thanks.

Peter

[PathfinderEss]

Hello all,

Sandy and I are looking forward to our first HAL cruise....May 30, Boston to Bermuda.

We are swimmers and wonder if there is a good time to swim laps for our daily exercise. Any thoughts on the pool onboard?

Thanks.

Peter

My thoughts would be either early morning or later in the afternoon for doing laps.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[RuthC]

There is only one pool on the Veendam, so the opportunity to swim laps will be reduced, compared to the other ships.

 

Sometimes there are water aerobics classes in the morning, but you might be able to swim before they start (if they have them). Another time to try swimming laps would be about the time of first dinner seating. By then then crowds have dissipated.

 

Since you're going to Bermuda, there may be some opportunity to swim during the port days when people are ashore.

[Ine]

Pool on the Veendam.

[Boytjie]

The pools are too small to swim laps IMHO.

[GradUT]

As you'll see from the photo to which Ine provided the link, the Veendam's pool is much too small for laps. (And it would be rare for it to be empty, so having people in it makes it even less of a lap pool.)

[sail7seas]

The Lido pool is too small for laps. If you are strong swimmer, three or four crawl strokes and you are end to end in the pool.

[petern6827]

Thanks everyone for all your feedback.... and that picture from Ine says it all! Here's hoping the ocean off Bermuda will be warm. We'll bring our snorkels and masks.

[Boatdrill]

On the Veendam I swim in the morning at about 7 or 7:30. Usually no one else is there. Although the pool is small, at least I'm swimming a few laps and moving around. Gets the day off to a good start. Have a good trip !

[ScriptOhio]

Just sayin': I have seen people use these bungee cord things to swim "laps in place" in the ship's smaller pools:

 

[sail7seas]

Wow, what a good idea. :)

 

[Jim Avery]

Have to agree with the posters above, the pool is too small for laps. Also, when we were on board, every kid on board was in the pool all day (or so it seemed). Really a shame they greedily eliminated the aft pool and put in the mostly useless hot tub deck. Strange to have a one pool for approx. 1,300 passengers operating the warm weather routes they do. Otherwise, we enjoyed the Veendam.

[mcmarya]

Even though we went to Bermuda on the Veendam in May and the weather was not super, the pool was still full of kids. The one time I had thought to swim, I ended up just getting in to get wet and got right out again.

[cb at sea]

It's true that the pools are for taking a dip to cool off...that's about all they're good for.

[sail7seas]

It's true that the pools are for taking a dip to cool off...that's about all they're good for.

 

On Veendam, it is pool...... singular. While it was once pools, it is now pool and unused, view blocking tubs of sorts.