Review of Veendam 4/28- 5/07/16

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Just returned yesterday from the Veendam.

 

The ship had recently been in drydock, but it's still the same decor as always- with perhaps some new carpeting. Nothing really different.

 

The linens and beds are very comfortable and the cabins are well-equipped. I was in three staterooms on this journey...

 

The passengers were very old on this particular sailing. I would say the average age was 75. Very few people of my generation ( I turned 51 on the trip), but I had a good time meeting lots of nice people.

 

The cruise line couldn't control the weather- but it was cold (mostly sunny) the whole cruise- except in Gaspe. Spring had not sprung yet in Bar Harbor or Canada. No greenery yet.

 

My favorite port was Saguenay. The people there were so friendly and the journey up and down the Fjord was worth the entire trip. Thankfully we had clear skies and the scenery was very much like Alaska to me.

 

Now for the bad news.... Despite having come out of drydock in April- there was a horrible issue with the ship- that effected me personally. I was in cabin 381 (an outside connecting cabin on deck 6). There was no noise from the adjacent cabin, which did have passengers in it. That was good. There was lots of noise from the kitchen (overhead) but that was bearable. What wasn't bearable was the exhaust fumes that wafted into the room for the first few days and then took over the room. At midnight on my birthday (May 3)- the fumes were very bad and I called the front desk. The girl from the desk agreed that the fumes were very strong and moved me to an inside cabin (521 deck 5 forward) for the night. I hoped that the situation would be resolved, but it never was and I asked to be moved permanently to another cabin. Only insides were available. So I was moved to 617 (deck 5 midship). The exhaust issue was not fixed over the next few days. It was still noticeable when I walked by my old stateroom. This is engine exhaust and not from the kitchen. They knew about this problem before I boarded the ship- I came to discover. Sad that this was not taken care of in drydock and is a potentially dangerous problem.

 

Despite being moved to another cabin, I had a good time on the ship. The inside staterooms don't have baths but are deeper than my outside cabin on Deck 6. There were six drawers (in the inside cabin) in the dresser instead of three (in the outside cabin). The tv is far from the bed though- and I couldn't read subtitles from the bed- but that's a minor complaint.

 

I thought the food was just ok. Nothing to write home about, but I didn't eat in the Pinnacle Grill. Best meals (3) I had were at Canaletto.

 

The crew and passengers made this trip very pleasant. I didn't complain about being moved to a different cabin, but I am surprised that they didn't do anything to apologize for this inconvenience. I know that when my parents sailed on Holland and had a problem with their running water (it was brown for 24 hours) - they sent them a gift certificate for the Pinnacle Grill. Considering that I had to be moved to an inside cabin (twice)- I would have thought they'd send a bottle of wine or something, but they didn't.

Edited May 8, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[SeaBands]

and they started scraping chairs at 5:30 every morning even if it was going to be a cold and rainy day. We were under the non smoking side.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the feedback.

[KirkNC]

Wow, that's not good. Exhaust fumes can kill. I am very disappointed that this happened and it seems like they weren't very apologetic about it. I agree, a bottle of wine would have been nice. You ate to be commended for not letting this spoil your trip.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

It didn't spoil my trip. It was still a good trip, but if it had been a full ship- I guess I would have been sleeping in the library instead.

[RuthC]

I'm happy you were still able to see the good parts of the cruise for what they were.

 

Besides the bottle of wine (or plate of chocolates;)) Holland America didn't send, I hope they are going to reimburse you for the difference in the outside cabin you paid for, and the inside you ended up staying in.

Any excess from the time you did spend in the outside should be gratis, considering it was a health & safety issue.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you had a great cruise.

Sorry that you had to deal with engine exhaust fumes -- not good.

[Rungee]

Rebeccalouiseagain, Sorry to hear of your problems with the engine fumes. Sounds awful. We have a cabin on deck five on the Veendam on an upcoming cruise. Would appreciate if you could clarify - did you also have problems with fumes also in the two cabins they gave you had on deck five or only in the first cabin you had on the deck six?

 

Thanks

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Both of the insides on Deck 5 were fine. No problems. The cabin that was affected was 381 on Deck 6, but I was told other people had to be moved on Deck 6 as well. This is the aft part of the Starboard side on Deck 6. I really hoped they have fixed the problem.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

Too bad about the fumes, but glad you enjoyed the rest of your cruise.

[Topsham]

Just returned yesterday from the Veendam.

 

This is engine exhaust and not from the kitchen. They knew about this problem before I boarded the ship- I came to discover. Sad that this was not taken care of in drydock and is a potentially dangerous problem.

 

.

 

 

I'm trying to figure out how 'engine exhaust fumes' got into your cabins... and others.

 

The engine exhaust fumes can only get out of the tops of the funnel. There is no other way out. If the engineroom is basically clean air. Has to be because the engineers would be dead and quite quickly!

 

What was the weather like? Sometimes if the wind is strong and from the wrong direction and the flue gas can come over the side of the ship. From there it might be sucked into the air ducts and through the air conditioning system. On a transatlantic voyage in QE2 the plume of engine gas was pulled down over the side of the ship. You could see it, but thankfully it didn't cause a problem.

 

Any ideas?

[InTheWASide]

I hope they are going to reimburse you for the difference in the outside cabin you paid for, and the inside you ended up staying in.

Any excess from the time you did spend in the outside should be gratis, considering it was a health & safety issue.

 

Agreed

[Rungee]

Both of the insides on Deck 5 were fine. No problems. The cabin that was affected was 381 on Deck 6, but I was told other people had to be moved on Deck 6 as well. This is the aft part of the Starboard side on Deck 6. I really hoped they have fixed the problem.

 

 

Thanks for the quick response - I appreciate it! Glad to hear it didn't affect deck 5 also.

[Cruising-along]

Thanks for the quick response - I appreciate it! Glad to hear it didn't affect deck 5 also.

 

We were on this cruise (including the first 3 days before OP boarded) and were on deck 5. We had no problems with our cabin (574) but did smell some occasional fumes in some walk ways between cabins.

[galensgrl]

Sorry to hear about the problems with your first cabin, and being moved to an inside cabin. DH and I were on this cruise and luckily our cabin was fine. It was our second cruise on the Veendam, and we have been lucky both times. It can be nerve wracking to book on an older ship, I've read complaints about A/C issues, plumbing issues, and now your air quality issues, and it does make me a little nervous about getting a "problem" cabin next time. We are looking at a 14 day collectors cruise for next year - Montreal to Boston, then on to Bermuda round trip, it is on the Veendam as well. I will say DH is curious about Celebrity cruises also, but so far we have enjoyed HAL. I guess we will see where we end up going next year.

Edited May 9, 2016 by galensgrl

[kevingastreich]

I'm trying to figure out how 'engine exhaust fumes' got into your cabins... and others.

 

The engine exhaust fumes can only get out of the tops of the funnel. There is no other way out. If the engineroom is basically clean air. Has to be because the engineers would be dead and quite quickly!

 

What was the weather like? Sometimes if the wind is strong and from the wrong direction and the flue gas can come over the side of the ship. From there it might be sucked into the air ducts and through the air conditioning system. On a transatlantic voyage in QE2 the plume of engine gas was pulled down over the side of the ship. You could see it, but thankfully it didn't cause a problem.

 

Any ideas?

 

It happened to us on Oosterdam last Oct. on a Caribbean cruise. SS on deck 6. It was horrible for two days. Guest services blamed it on NO wind!

[Topsham]

It happened to us on Oosterdam last Oct. on a Caribbean cruise. SS on deck 6. It was horrible for two days. Guest services blamed it on NO wind!

 

LOL!

 

Wind make a lot of difference.... a cross wind can bring smoke down the side. A following wind... say 18 knots with ship sailing at 18 knots and smoke will sit right over the ship.

 

No wind? Well, no reason at all, but it might. The thing is there is no other place that engine fumes can get from.... unless you are getting testing of lifeboats?

[iancal]

I am surprised that the front desk did not blame it on those miscreants who leave their balcony doors open.

 

Those folks, and the ones that misuse the toilets seem to be responsible for everything from no HVAC, flooding cabins to elevators that are often malfunctioning or out of service. They should ban them from Veendam. Then all those pesky problems would disappear and HAL might not have to unload the ship.

Edited May 9, 2016 by iancal

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I am not expert, but I have cruised now many times (more than 30 times) and this is the first time I've experienced exhaust fumes in the cabin at all. I mentioned this issue to some engineers who I happened to be sailing with and they said that exhaust fumes should not get in through the air conditioning system regardless of wind conditions and did not buy this argument. Since this problem was not widespread and seemed the worst in my particular cabin- I think that there was something else involved. The problem got worse over time. I kept getting just a whiff of exhaust here and there and then it got really bad and when I'd walk by the cabin after I'd vacated it- the smell was really bad in the hall outside my door (so was a persistent problem) Something broken or a leak or maybe a filter that wasn't replaced. I haven't written to the cruise line. My takeaway from this is that the Veendam is an old ship and I probably wouldn't travel on a ship of this age in the future. Not just because of this issue- but other issues reported by other cruise critic passengers.

 

The ship was extremely cold for many of the passengers- many, many complaints about the cabins that I was overhearing while standing in line at the front desk. Problems that were reported but not being addressed. The ship was very cold the entire trip. Seemed like they couldn't turn off the air conditioning and it was definitely not needed on this itinerary- where temperatures never topped 58 degrees. My outside cabin was quite cold, but the inside was just right.

 

Again- I had fun on this cruise, but I do have concerns about this issue and am here to advise people that they may want to avoid- 381.

Edited May 9, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[65 Gator]

The ship was extremely cold for many of the passengers- many, many complaints about the cabins that I was overhearing while standing in line at the front desk. Problems that were reported but not being addressed. The ship was very cold the entire trip. Seemed like they couldn't turn off the air conditioning and it was definitely not needed on this itinerary- where temperatures never topped 58 degrees. My outside cabin was quite cold, but the inside was just right.

 

I can vouch for the COLD. Our cabin on 10th deck was cold... It was 62 degrees for three nights and finally they "fixed it" and, after that, we could vary temps from 60's to 75 with thermostat. First two nights they supplied second bed cover and blankets...

[OceanPatter]

Really appreciated your balanced review, and your ability to take things in stride. That happens so rarely on these boards. I hope you have many more wonderful cruises.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review, sorry you encountered the problem with the fumes.

[catl331]

Glad you can say you had a good time. I would still like the money back from the more expensive room. Also an apology.

On our last day of a Bermuda cruise on this ship, bathrooms were all not working on the stern end of the ship. I was in such distress hightailing it across to the spa to find those locked there. No excuse for this. Felt sorry for thee room stewards.

 

Even though It was great to be able to dock in downtown Hamilton and I love the smaller ships, never on Veendam again. (well if it was free):)

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I'm not sure what the difference in cost would have been on my stateroom. I had originally booked an inside stateroom and as the departure drew near I noticed that prices had dropped and now outside staterooms were the price that I paid for an inside. I called my travel agent and Holland upgraded me to an outside at no additional charge. So I actually paid for an inside but got an outside. So I really can't complain about the financial part of the trip.

 

The situation was I spent the first 4 nights in the outside cabin 381. On the 5th night I had to move to the inside (521). The 6th night I slept in 381 but that pesky exhaust crept in again and I slept fitfully- went out on the promenade deck at 1 am to get some air- returned to the cabin and the smell was apparent but not as bad as on night 5- so I powered through until 6AM (and went to the buffet). I decided not to chance these fumes and asked what the best available cabin was. They only had insides- so I asked for one midship and got 617- which was very nice, spacious and most importantly- fume free. Also the air temperature in the room was perfect. So night 7 was great. On night 8- I got a phone call that there was now an outside available, but I had already moved all my stuff and to me it wasn't worth moving again since there was only that night and one more left. After I got off the phone from the front desk- I thought "I wonder who died?" because they had told me the day before that there were no outsides available. I was pleasant about the whole ordeal in large part because of Rachel at the front desk. She had a very sunny and pleasant manner and we laughed about my situation. I was like joking that I'd rather live and have an inside than die in an outside. So they probably didn't view me as an irate passenger or something- but I would have appreciated some kind of compensation (chocolates, wine, or a gift certificate). Little things mean a lot- but I will say Rachel was a doll.

 

BTW- I felt bad for all these stateroom attendants. I tipped all four of them (from cabin 318 an cabin 617) a little extra like I always do.

Edited May 10, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[sailorgirl]

That's so funny, Gator65, because we were portside mid ship same deck as you and the first day/night it remained 75.5 degrees in our cabin and we complained we had no A/C. The Housekeeper just said to leave the door open to get some cooler air. They provided us with a fan. Finally, as we sailed north, we were so happy to get the cooler weather and cold nights! Missing our breakfasts at the Pinnacle! All in all, it was a wonderful cruise and Cruise Critic gathering, with much thanks to you.

Edited May 17, 2016 by sailorgirl