Veendam Bermuda May 2, 2015 Review

[Crazy For Cats]

This was our second sailing on the Veendam and our first time going to Bermuda.

 

The Cabin - We took advantage of a last minute up sell to a Neptune suite. We got cabin 023. At first the cabin seemed wonderful. It is very spacious and located across from the entrance to the Neptune Lounge. The balcony was fantastic. It had two lounge chairs and a table with four chairs. We did have a nice, although chilly, sail away on May 2nd with some friends. The weather got a bit rough sailing to Bermuda and all sorts of things were either banging or creaking in the middle of the night. Additionally you do get a fair amount of noise from the lido deck directly above and when there was a late night event bedtime was delayed. The plumbing and air conditioning worked correctly. If I get the chance to sail on the Veendam again I would pass on this cabin.

 

The Food - We were on board the ship in plenty of time to take advantage of the embarkation lunch. Food and service were great. We did try the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast two times. The first time service was spot on and the food was good. The second time it took over 40 minutes to get food and when we ordered mimosas no one knew if a bar was open for this option. Eventually the drinks came after we got our meals. Later we did try the PG for dinner with some friends and the steaks were the best I have had in awhile. The baked potato was a bit cold when served. Dessert was fantastic; chocolate lava cake. The rest of our meals were in the lido and the food there was good but not great, except for Indonesian night, that night the food was excellent; best of the cruise.

 

The one other time we ate in the MDR was for the Mariner lunch. The food was good. The service was disjointed at best. One person got champagne, the rest of the table eventually got theirs. Then they took one persons menu away before taking our orders. When it came time for the toast none of the ship crew had champagne and it took 10 to 15 minutes until they had something to toast with in their hands. Very odd meal.

 

The Entertainment - We sat through "Bob Mackie's Broadway" again. It was no better or worse than the previous versions. "Street Singin'" featured the male talent and while different seemed all too familiar. It was only bearable thanks to performances by Ernie. Maria Walsh was the comedian one night and she started out very weak, had a few good jokes and then ended poorly. We did try to sit through a session with the Hal Cats. They included the guitar man from the MIX and he was most definitely out of his element. At one point he said to abort a song and they didn't. We left shortly after that.

 

The Ship - The Veendam itself seemed to be in good shape. The crew took full advantage of the days in Bermuda and did some work around the ship. From painting, to varnishing and even carpet repair.

 

The Crew - The crew were fantastic with very few exceptions. It was nice to run into two guys from last summers Maasdam voyage. They both helped to make it an enjoyable vacation.

The Captain was Chris Norman; Hotel Director was Hendrick Hoekstra; Cruise Director was Christina Purcell.

 

Signature Beverage Package - On this booking we did receive the Signature Beverage package included in our fare with no increased cost to us. It was nice to have and did save us some money on our final bill. Room key cards had an orange sticker on them to indicate the promotion. An interim bill showed all the bar charges with an immediate credit. What was not know to me until disembarkation day was that on the ship our accounts were marked as Explore 4 promotions. My trip to the Pinnacle was at no charge causing me to have a credit balance at the end of the cruise that could not be refunded. The concierge quickly had our accounts joined so that my husband could get the $50+ credit on his bill. Our paper work made no mention of the E4 promotion and we were not give reservations to the Pinnacle when we boarded. My advice to anyone with the Signature package would be to check the on board account and see if the PG is included.

 

Final Thoughts - I would say that we had a wonderful cruise to a new destination. Would we sail on the Veendam again? Yes if the itinerary is something that we want to do. We do seem to like the Vista and Signature class ships a bit more as there is more options to keep busy. In the end we are blessed to be able to sail on any "dam" ship and feel lucky to have made some nice friends while doing so.

[dfish]

Thanks, Jake, for posting your review. I think Sue and I have moved beyond the Mariner's brunch. We forgot all about it last cruise.

 

Sorry to hear that your suite came with noise. We are under the aft deck in September so I am bringing ear plugs.

 

Deb

[kazu]

Thanks so much for the review.

 

Very enjoyable. Sorry to hear about the noise but it sounds like you had a good cruise :)

 

and welcome home.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

Glad you had a nice cruise.

Thank you for your review.

[Crazy For Cats]

Thanks so much for the review.

 

 

 

Very enjoyable. Sorry to hear about the noise but it sounds like you had a good cruise :)

 

 

 

and welcome home.

 

 

Kazu, it really was a good cruise. Yesterday I sent you some pictures if you can use them.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you had a good cruise.

[bjkrlk]

Thanks for your posting. We are in 015 so I will bring ear plugs as well. Was there a piano bar type venue and how was Bermuda itself

[Crazy For Cats]

Thanks for your posting. We are in 015 so I will bring ear plugs as well. Was there a piano bar type venue and how was Bermuda itself

 

 

Barry from Boston was in the Piano bar. The crowd seemed to really enjoy him. Bermuda itself was very nice. We booked the 5 hour minibus tour for the first day and that gave us a nice overview of the island. We also went to Crystal cave, good, aquarium, not good, zoo, very good. We did go on a water tour and saw a ship wreck and some coral which was a nice way to spend some time on the water.

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[cruisin'girl]

Barry from Boston was in the Piano bar. The crowd seemed to really enjoy him. Bermuda itself was very nice. We booked the 5 hour minibus tour for the first day and that gave us a nice overview of the island. We also went to Crystal cave, good, aquarium, not good, zoo, very good. We did go on a water tour and saw a ship wreck and some coral which was a nice way to spend some time on the water.

Barry from Boston is great! Try to get there early to get a seat.

[rafinmd]

Welcome home Jake. We were together in Bermuda for a while. You might be interested in my photos and sailaway videos of the Veendam taken from the Crystal Serenity and Bermudian tender referenced in posts 15 and 17 here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2203138

 

Roy

[Crazy For Cats]

Welcome home Jake. We were together in Bermuda for a while. You might be interested in my photos and sailaway videos of the Veendam taken from the Crystal Serenity and Bermudian tender referenced in posts 15 and 17 here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2203138

 

Roy

 

Roy, thanks for sharing the sail away video. We were standing on the deck just below the bridge.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[coolbluegreenseas]

Thank you for the review. Sounds like a perfectly delightful ship and cruise.