Veendam Live in the Caribbean Dec 2017

[Crew News]

This thread has been an interesting experience as the crew kept asking me why I carried a little notebook and was writing so much.

 

As parting gesture, I noticed that I was charged for my last night in the PG even though I had prepaid and had my reservation confirmed via a second reservation card received yesterday morning, The charge was not on my room account when I went to bed.

[Rmt1948]

Thank you Roger for the great trip. Can’t wait to see your pictures and the menus.

 

Maury

[VennDiagram]

....

 

My requested disembarkation 9:30 AM allowed me to have a leisurely breakfast and check email. At 9:00 AM, I received a call from Guest Services telling me that I was the last passenger on board and that I could now leave. There was nobody in the hallways except for Room Stewards and nobody near the gangway on Deck 5.

 

.....

 

We self-disembark, so I tick that box and have not paid any attention to the rest of that disembarkation form.

 

 

Our next cruise, we are likely going to spend an extra day or two in Vancouver. So my question to you is:

 

Does HAL give an actual choice of time to disembark on that disembarkation form? So we can request, e.g. 8:30 am, or 9 am, or 9:30 am?

[Florida_gal_50]

Thank you for your informative thread. I hope any silly comments don't deter you from further threads.

[Crew News]

We self-disembark, so I tick that box and have not paid any attention to the rest of that disembarkation form.

 

 

Our next cruise, we are likely going to spend an extra day or two in Vancouver. So my question to you is:

 

Does HAL give an actual choice of time to disembark on that disembarkation form? So we can request, e.g. 8:30 am, or 9 am, or 9:30 am?

 

You will receive a Disembarkation Request Form during the first few days and you will make your time choice. The day before disembarkation you will receive your Disembarkation packet with confirmed times and your color-coded luggage tags. I have always received my choice.

 

The above said, I have seen some passengers disembark much later than there request due to oversleeping, change of plans, etc.

 

I prefer a relaxed Disembarkation Day with Room Service breakfast on the veranda while the Room Stewards are preparing the stateroom for the next guests.

[Crew News]

Thank you for doing this, makes my countdown that much more fun. What kind of entertainment is there in the Crows Nest in the evenings? And looking forward to seeing menus.

 

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Dancing on most nights in the Crows Nest and team trivia on some. I hope to have the "Where and Whens" as well as all menus within one week on my website. Pictures need to be converted from RAW to jpg so it takes a little longer to process them.

 

Thanks for following the thread. It was created to help those who will follow on the Veendam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

This thread has been an interesting experience as the crew kept asking me why I carried a little notebook and was writing so much.

 

As parting gesture, I noticed that I was charged for my last night in the PG even though I had prepaid and had my reservation confirmed via a second reservation card received yesterday morning, The charge was not on my room account when I went to bed.

 

 

That has happened to us a couple of times. Because I had to be in a certain place, at a certain for special disembarkation, we were not able to take care of the bill until we got home.

Everything was taken care of.

[Crew News]

Just remembered that the Pinnacle Grill had a 25% discount the night before the last cruise evening.

I only saw four other table occupied during three of my PG dinners, one of which was Le Cirque Night. The fourth dinner was the last cruise evening when every table was occupied.

[VennDiagram]

You will receive a Disembarkation Request Form during the first few days and you will make your time choice. ..... I have always received my choice.

 

....

 

Thanks!

[whogo]

Thanks again for the great live thread, Crew News. Lots of good information and you had the best disembarkation ever.

[Crew News]

Thank you Roger for the great trip. Can’t wait to see your pictures and the menus.

 

Maury

 

I have updated Beverage Menus, all dining menus (Lido lunch, MDR lunch, Lido dinner, MDR dinner, and Late Snacks), and When & Wheres have been added to my website (Link in my signature).

 

Of special note is the Mix Bar Menu which includes snacks, including chicken wings, being served from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Sure wish I knew about the wings while I was on board and I would have stored a few in my minibar for late snacks.

 

My cruise survey has been submitted with special attention given to expressing my displeasure with the poor elevators and atrocious internet service. All other aspects of the cruise were praiseworthy. I may book this cruise again next year to visit the ports that I missed, see if my survey caused any changes, take advantage of the great price, and enjoy the View & Veranda perks.

[canadarocks]

I have updated Beverage Menus, all dining menus (Lido lunch, MDR lunch, Lido dinner, MDR dinner, and Late Snacks), and When & Wheres have been added to my website (Link in my signature).

 

Thanks so much Roger. Your first Gala Night menu isn't showing properly for me. I'm pleasantly surprised at how often the MDR was open for lunch.

[carlyshenk]

Thanks so much for the Veendam Live posts! It was perfect timing for us. We're doing our first HAL cruise the end of January after 22 cruises on other lines, mostly Celebrity. This gives us an idea of what to look forward to. I loved reading your posts every day and look forward to your photos!

 

Carol

[Crew News]

Thanks so much Roger. Your first Gala Night menu isn't showing properly for me. I'm pleasantly surprised at how often the MDR was open for lunch.

 

Thanks for letting me know. It is now fixed.

[canadarocks]

Roger, I see that the Day 1 and Day 2 menus were repeated on Day 11 and Day 12. We're doing a 10 night on the Nieuw Amsterdam in January. Any guess on which two menus we won't get to try?

 

Thanks again for the great work you do!

Cindy

[kftw]

Thank you for another in-depth review.

[Crew News]

Roger, I see that the Day 1 and Day 2 menus were repeated on Day 11 and Day 12. We're doing a 10 night on the Nieuw Amsterdam in January. Any guess on which two menus we won't get to try?

 

Thanks again for the great work you do!

Cindy

 

I tried to get an answer while on board on which menus are on the 7-day (Series A and B), and 11-day to no avail. A Culinary Operations Manager told me that the Zuiderdam 10- and 11-day Panama Canal menus are identical with the 10-day cruise deleting the Day 9 menu from the 11-day menus.

 

If you would take my menu files with you and report back what menu you had on each day (easiest way is to ID the menus by the theme of the Late Snack), I could try to distinguish at least the 10-day menu group.

 

My dining menus are not what determines if the MDR is open for lunch. Only the Where & When shows that. My menus are applicable to all cruises in the Caribbean showing what will be served if the MDR is open.

Edited December 27, 2017 by Crew News

[Florida_gal_50]

Thank you for all the updates to your website. Great information.

[POA1]

Belated welcome back, and thank you. Wishing you and Joanie a very happy New Year.

[Crew News]

Thanks so much for the Veendam Live posts! It was perfect timing for us. We're doing our first HAL cruise the end of January after 22 cruises on other lines, mostly Celebrity. This gives us an idea of what to look forward to. I loved reading your posts every day and look forward to your photos!

 

Carol

 

I enjoyed the Veendam so much that I booked a similar cruise on the Veendam for Nov for some of the same ports and those that the hurricane caused us to miss.

 

Please say hello to Michelle, the Explorations Cafe barista, when you pick up your free chocolate chip cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries each evening.

 

Pictures should be available in about a week.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Crew News

Have you posted somewhere the new menu for the Mariner's brunch/lunch?

[shrimp56]

Thank you so much for your detailed account of your Veendam cruise. She was our second dam ship--we've sailed on her 4 times in total and will sail again when the itinerary and/or timing are right.

[carlyshenk]

I enjoyed the Veendam so much that I booked a similar cruise on the Veendam for Nov for some of the same ports and those that the hurricane caused us to miss.

 

Please say hello to Michelle, the Explorations Cafe barista, when you pick up your free chocolate chip cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries each evening.

 

Pictures should be available in about a week.

 

I certainly will say hello to Michelle for you.

[Crew News]

Crew News

Have you posted somewhere the new menu for the Mariner's brunch/lunch?

 

Yes.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Mariners-Society-Luncheon-Caribbean.pd

[SSKJ572]

Thank you for the valuable information about the Veendam. We've never cruised on her, but will be in June. Loved reading something besides negative comments, which is mostly what I've seen elsewhere.

 

 

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