Do you think we will like HAL?

[MarLieb]

We are considering a 7-night Boston to Montreal cruise on the Veendam for August 2016. It will be me, my husband and our 8-year old son.

 

We have sailed on NCL (Gem, Pearl and Breakaway) and found it to be a bit tacky and on DCL (Fantasy, Dream and Magic) which we liked (especially my son!), but my husband and I would like a more sophisticated, non-Disney experience this year.

 

We are supposed to be sailing on a Celebrity Silhouette Baltics cruise in June, but it looks like our son may be going to a summer school program which means we'll have to cancel. It just so happens he will be in camp in Massachusetts in August and we could drive to Boston right after camp ends and go on this cruise! The itinerary looks great! But I'm a little concerned about the ship. I think my son will be fine with the kids club activities that are offered and my husband and I can always find something to do, plus this is a port heavy itinerary. We would book a Pinnacle suite and I typically book private tours in port or we just walk around and tour on our own.

 

I'm just concerned with the mixed reviews I'm reading about the ship looking old and the food not being that good. How does HAL compare to NCL and Disney in terms of food and upkeep of the ship? I see the ship is going into dry dock soon, so that's promising. I would just like to get a better sense of what kind of experience we will have before I spend $20K. Thanks for any thoughts!

[cantwait2cruize]

I have sailed Holland America and enjoyed it. I have to say, I would not have enjoyed it with may grandchildren. Someone would be jumping overboard. Your child will find it boring.:eek:

[OCruisers]

In August other children will be on board. HAL has a better kids program than you might expect.

Go for it and look forward to having a great cruise. :)

[RMLincoln]

My grandchildren enjoyed the better attention they received with fewer children aboard; they had no difficulties finding new friends among the children. We were on Volendam r/t Alaska.

 

Veendam only has one pool but that one does have a retractable roof. There is no adults-only pool on Veendam. Not having been on the New England cruise, I can't say how much the pool would be used but I know my grandchildren loved swimming every day. m--

[OlsSalt]

HAL has old world hominess to it. It is not a "sophisticated" ship. But rather like a very nice country home. The ships are well kept up, have very welcoming and professionally friendly crews.

 

They are older ships so the decor is certainly not hip or trendy, but is still of very nice quality level. The ships celebrate old world art and the long Dutch sailing traditions so they feel like they have more of a "patina" to them than eye-popping glamour. They have their share or garish mis-matches as well, but that is not the overwhelming feel of HAL ships.

 

There will always be little "Las Vegas" when it comes to decorating large sea-going spaces. Unfortunately some of those decor fails are found in the penthouse suite on some of the ships - but still they are extremely spacious and well laid out so forgive them if you get the one with the large turquoise semi-circular sofa. (!).

 

There are very few smaller ships still sailing in this price category so one finds they either love the smaller, more intimate charms of HAL ships, or they miss the higher level and variety one finds on the larger ships. As you say, you are in a port intensive itinerary and you have picked the top of the line cabin so I hope you do find this to your liking because it is where you are going that can matter as much as how you are getting there.

 

The food is quite satisfactory, but it is a large cruise ships serving thousands of meals a day. Nothing is really custom or refined - just very good level banquet type affair. But it has spectacular fresh baked breads, good Lido selections and always something interesting on the main menu. Breakfasts are very good and delivered hot to your room if you like too for no extra charge.

 

Hope you enjoy your time on board and your suite. That is a very nice way to enjoy HAL ships.

[Hlitner]

The mixed reviews you read are probably close to the truth. HAL is generally better than NCL but no match for Disney (especially with kids).

 

Hank

[Krazy Kruizers]

There is only 1 Pinnacle Suite on the Veendam.

If it isn't already gone, you better book it now.

[iancal]

Veendam is not a HAL ship that we would ever consider. Most especially if we wanted a ship with great pool areas. And even more so if we were booking a gty cabin.

 

We are cruise line neutral. We generally place more importance on the ship/itinerary/time than we do on the cruise line.

 

Besides, in these days of cutbacks the one consistent thing across all ships will be inconsistency. HAL (and HAL ships) is definitely no exception to this.

Edited February 12, 2016 by iancal

[OlsSalt]

Keeping in mind one is taking a 7 day, port intensive cruise there is fundamentally little to be worried about choosing any ship in the HAL inventory. You will eat and sleep well, and be in nice surroundings with good people. We have been on the Veendam twice and have chosen her again because this is where we want to go, so we have had no problems choosing this particular ship.

[sammiedawg]

I would try to find another ship, I would never tell anyone to sail Veendam. It is old and prone to mechanical problems. They move this ship around to very popular itineraries to entice people to book but this is not a loved ship.

There is no comparison on holland America to Disney quality, food, service and ambience. But I have read good reviews of the kid program on holland America.

Try the newest ships if you want holland America.

Check out Royal Caribbean out of New Jersey for your family, their newest ship is summering there.

[OlsSalt]

A hotel director told us they moved the Veendam out of its constant Bermuda run because doing the same thing over and over again with so many sea days and the same destination was creating a negative effect with ship's crew and attitude. So I think they tried to break this cycle, introducing the Veendam to more varied itineraries. At least that was the story we heard.

[dznymom]

Everyone is different of course, so whether or not you will enjoy the Veendam I can't say. I can say that my only 2 HAL cruises were on the Veendam and her sister, the Maasdam. We took them strictly for the itinerary, M to Canada and V to Bermuda. I would not choose either of those ships again, unless I wanted to go back to Bermuda and then I would sail either of them in a heartbeat just to dock in Hamilton.

 

I have cruised both NCL and Disney along with several other lines. For the first time ever, I was bored on the days at sea on these 2 ships. I read 5 books and I usually only read a few chapters on a cruise. We both found the entertainment to be sub-par and the food was no better than any other line (which we found surprising) and some of it was downright lousy. We did not have a suite on either of these cruises, and that may have made a difference. Other than the fabulous ports, the 2 cruises were a Ho-Hum experience.

 

We are trying the Zuiderdam next month. We have booked a suite and an itinerary that is exciting to us. I know we will have a good time, and I am hopeful that we will enjoy the ship as well.

 

I hope this helps! It's not easy posting less than rave comments about HAL on this forum :o

Edited February 12, 2016 by dznymom

[janmcn]

We seem to sail the Veendam a lot due to itineraries she sails. Just completed 35 days last year on the Voyage of the Vikings and all was well...booking a 15-day for '17 on her once we get on the Oosterdam next week. With few children we've heard kids still enjoy HAL activities...the counselor for kids on the last cruise seemed fantastic.

 

 

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[MarLieb]

Thank you so much everyone! After reading your feedback and looking at some videos of the ship, I'm not going to move forward with the booking as of now. The itinerary looks amazing, but I think after being on DCL and NCL Breakaway, Veendam may be a bit of a shock to our systems!

 

I'll know soon if my son is going to summer school. If not, we'll stick with the Celebrity Baltics cruise. If so, I'll look for some other alternatives. I wish some other cruise lines would do the NE/Canada itinerary! I know RCCL does out of Baltimore, but their dates aren't lining up with ours.

 

Thank you again for all of your help!

[OlsSalt]

Thank you so much everyone! After reading your feedback and looking at some videos of the ship, I'm not going to move forward with the booking as of now. The itinerary looks amazing, but I think after being on DCL and NCL Breakaway, Veendam may be a bit of a shock to our systems!

 

I'll know soon if my son is going to summer school. If not, we'll stick with the Celebrity Baltics cruise. If so, I'll look for some other alternatives. I wish some other cruise lines would do the NE/Canada itinerary! I know RCCL does out of Baltimore, but their dates aren't lining up with ours.

 

Thank you again for all of your help!

 

Crystal Cruise Lines does NE - may be more to your liking. We have seen young people on board and they seemed to enjoy themselves. http://www.crystalcruises.com/canada-cruises

Edited February 13, 2016 by OlsSalt

[doone]

We sailed several times on HAL as a family, my nieces and nephews loved Club HAL and the individualized attention they received onboard. They are all grown up now and still talk about those family cruises and how much they enjoyed Club HAL and Holland America and are actually planning their own cruises on HAL

 

We loved HAL and so didn't the kids....hope this helps.

[Oceanwench]

In the last month I have sailed both DCL and NCL ... And I wonder how I will ever adjust to going back on HAL.

NCL tacky?

I found it wonderful!

 

And I don't know if any cruise line can beat DCL when it comes to kids clubs! Although I hear NCL's is very good!