Veendam, Boston - Bermuda, May 9

[mygoalie35]

Finally found some downtime after our vacation and wanted to share our review for those looking for more detail.

 

We wanted to visit Bermuda and found that the cruise from Boston was the most cost effective way. The Veendam docks in downtown Hamilton and there are 4 days to come and go between the ship and port. Our group consisted of my spouse and I (mid-late 40's) our 19 year old son and 4 year old grandson.

 

Boston Terminal: We parked at the garage and walked over to the cruise terminal. If not for the cobblestones, this would have been fine. All our luggage is wheeled, but this does not help much on the cobblestones. We arrived around noon and were able to quickly get through all stations without delay or line. Luggage arrived within minutes after we entered the stateroom

 

Stateroom 829-deck 4: the room felt very crowded when we arrived with all our luggage. Once everything was put away, much roomier. Limited storage options for large suitcases though (did not fit under bed). The closets are not as deep as a suit hanger so our luggage and suits had to be adjusted to close the doors properly.

Spacious bath room. Plenty of room to take a child in and get him cleaned up.

We had no problem with noise or motion from this room other than on the morning we docked back in Boston.

We made use of the bunk bed for the 4 year old. This was lowered from the ceiling every night and raised in the morning by the room steward. Our queen bed was centered under the window, the bunk lowered over 1/4 of the bed. (Gave me a place to take cover when he decided to jump from his bunk to our bed).

Teen used the sofa bed. Not a typical pull out sofa. The cushions go away and the bed comes up from beneath, so the bed is the length of the sofa. My son is 5'10" and did not complain of the bed being too small. Only complaint was this was not converted back to a sofa daily, just remained a made up bed.

 

Lido Deck: Heated pool was heavenly, great to slide in and enjoy. Could use more restrooms near the pool. Only 1 men, 1 women poolside. Had to go through Lido buffet to get to more restrooms.

Buffet was very good. Eggs benedict and the variations on it was delicious. We all enjoyed the ice cream bar, the Mexican bar and the Dive-In burgers/fries. Main buffet did not seem to have much variation day to day. Same stations/options available everyday for breakfast and lunch. Seemed like soup was the only real change.

 

MDR: At first the staff was slow between visits (drink order, meal order, courses) but most likely due to 1st day adjustments. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The menu was varied and wonderful. Many opportunities to try new things. For those less daring, my husband was able to order steak and potato every night. A kid friendly menu is also available.

 

HAL's Club: WONDERFUL!! Day one we went to sign up our 4yo. We were greeted by 3 wonderful young adults (mid 20's) that were very friendly and welcoming. A banner welcomed the kids on the cruise with their names on it. There were about 6-7 kids on the cruise aged 4-7 (per the banner). For the 1st 2 days, our 4yo was the only one there and he loved the 1 on 1 attention. I guess word got around because by the end of the cruise there were 3-4 every session. The club was open mornings, afternoons and evening. Timed perfectly for meeting up for meals. Our grandson never wanted to leave and was always asking to go back. Once he even choose the club over swimming.

 

Activities: for the most part, not geared towards our age/lifestyle. We did take part in some afternoon dance activities, but for the most part the classes were around tech use of windows and digital computers, specialized group meetings, and music around the ship. We enjoyed some of the music. But the lack of our interest in activities allowed us to really relax poolside and do nothing. The nightly shows we attended were good and entertaining. Other than the 1st night, they were presented twice. The first night was too late for us to be up with our child so we skipped it.

 

Bermuda: We can now cross it off our list. It is beautiful. We took a glass bottom boat tour/snorkel adventure with Reef Explorer. The guides were friendly and helpful. Very nice tour of the island, knowledgeable guides, plenty of snorkeling time along a coral reef with a small beach to relax on if not into snorkeling.

Visited the Zoo/Aquarium. Nice for a couple hour visit. Took the bus out and back. Stopped at Shelly Bay beach. Noted in guide book as kid friendly due to the playground attached. Otherwise would not consider kid friendly. Rough waves, deserted building adjacent and no changing facility.

Very nice shops on Front Street, but overall, a very expensive destination. Did not find much other than water activities to draw interest and it was too cold for much time in the water.

 

Overall ship: Loved the smaller ship. Although it did not offer as much as the large scale ships, we never felt rushed, stuck in a line or crowded, and who wants to spend vacation waiting in line. Nothing was a very long walk away. We will definitely consider smaller ships in the future.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

Sounds like you all enjoyed yourself.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed reading it.

 

Happy you got to visit a place that was 'on your list'. :)

Welcome back.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you had a good time.

 

[POA1]

Thanks for the review.