I'm in a Panic!!

[sail7seas]

We were on Rotterdam for Millenium NYE. IT was wild snd fiun. FANTASTIC. It was wild out at Lido pool in addittion to evrywhwew wlse on the ship. They made terific parties for us.

[tuolumne couple]

I'm the opposite. I'd rather sail on ANY older HAL ship than a larger newer ship. And their balcony cabins , which are all at least nominally suites, are almost always more per person than Vista ships and larger. Do older ships have more issues? Yes. But a young ship is no assurance of a perfect cruise with no issues.

 

OP, holiday cruises are usually more lively with a large variety of age groups onboard. I wouldn't worry about being bored.

i hear you- i am in love with the older smaller ships. been sailing them a lot recently and have found my niche :)

[sammiedawg]

We’ve celebrated three very lively NYEs on HAL ships. There was a huge live band dance party in the main theater and another in the Crows’ Nest, plus the frivolity extends well after midnight in the various ship’s lounges. Plenty of champagne and sumptuous late night hors d’oeuvres as well. The crowd will be older on HAL, so with the exception of a few over-indulged (and over indulging) grandkids, you won’t see the raucous drunken debauchery you might find on the more “fun ships”.

 

We last sailed the Veendam in January 2017 and she was lovely. In reading the “awful reviews” — be they of ships, hotels or restaurants - try to factor in as much context as possible. Does this reviewer habitually trash or are their reviews reasonably balanced? How long ago was their experience? What was the experience of others since that time? We’ve booked the Veendam again for this October (bucket list - Cuba - itinerary) and I’m looking forward to another excellent HAL experience.

 

I wouldn’t trash reviewers who write negative reviews as a result of onboard mechanical problems. I glanced at 2018 reviews and there are about a dozen that document Veendam AC, plumbing, flooding problems. This is ongoing for years and years. There is nothing subjective about mechanical problems.

I was on this ship a while back. I don’t write reviews but if I had I would have had a lot to say about mechanical problems experienced and witnessed. I would not sail it again.

[81Zoomie]

Why stress? You are well before final payment. If you are not sure you can cancel and rebook on another ship or cruise line. We sailed on the Zdam over NYE several years ago and there was plenty of activity. We also love Celebrity. Any day at sea is better than a day at work. Book, enjoy, and celebrate the new year !!!

[awhcruiser]

Not sailing HAL again because of one bad experience? Really? The Veendam is not the only ship in the fleet. not is the cruise to Quebec the only one they offer.

We were on Veendam August 18-25. We had pretty bad service, primarily screwups with beverage cards, account owners on file, etc. Mostly adminstrative stuff, but they just kept getting it wrong.

On embarkation day, we sailed after 6pm instead of the 4pm from Boston. We were late arriving to every port, and usually early to leave.

There was a smoke event in the galley while we were at sea on Thursday enroute to Quebec. Some tense moments for a while, especially for my anxious 12-year old son.

The ship developed a pretty good groan near the end of the voyage, on the way in to Quebec, heard while we were underway into the wind. We had winds across the deck of 65 knots.

Due to the triathlon in Montreal, we had to disembark at the temporary port, which was a real hassle with older in-laws (and it cost us an additional $15 in cab fare to the airport instead of the $41 it would've been from the Old Port area.

We will not sail HAL again.

[KroozNut]

I love strangers and I'm fun! ;p

 

Could have fooled me, based on your initial posts.. ;)

[Lovincruisin1321]

Could have fooled me, based on your initial posts.. ;)

My initial post was a response to negative reviews. That had nothing to do with my character but your response reveals much about yours. [emoji12]

 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Forums mobile app

[AlexCherie]

I’m the person reporting “live”. What wasn’t working on the ship (primarily lighting) since the surge, still isn’t but it really hasn’t impacted our experience. I’m a first time HAL customer and, despite everything, I would definitely sail HAL again. The crew has handled this very well and the OBC was welcome since we were inconvenienced.

 

The food has been good to great (the desserts are superior to Celebity). The ship is dated but comfortable. I do think the atmosphere is pretty sedated. That said, we are having fun. The power surge did worry me- I’m surprised at so many dismissing that. I’ve never experienced it before, or having the ships emergency crew deployed. And I’ve never had one at home.

 

Again, we’re enjoying ourselves. I’d sail HAL again but I’d probably select a newer vessel: (a) because the amenities are ok but not what I’ve grown accustomed to and (2) because power surges just aren’t normal no matter how many people say they are and things just wear out over time, including ships. If I was booked already, I wouldn’t cancel but just be prepared for anything.

 

 

Welcome to Boston! It's good to hear you had a good trip. Certainly your comments about a power surge were concerning ... but doesn't it remind us all that safety is a relative thing once we've left our own door?

 

You make joy with your party. The greatest vacation I ever took left the port of New Orleans literally hours before Katrina made Louisiana landfall - and that was about the people on that ship and what we went through communally.

 

I won't see you at port. But I'll be taking your place, B2B cruises to Montreal and back.

 

Cheers and welcome home. Thanks for sharing.

[fgump]

Not sailing HAL again because of one bad experience? Really? The Veendam is not the only ship in the fleet. not is the cruise to Quebec the only one they offer.

 

Yep. Plenty of other lines. Celebrity or RC or Carnival all beat this experience handily. Loved the ports, enjoyed the captain, that’s about it.

[ZN1300]

Not sailing HAL again because of one bad experience? Really? The Veendam is not the only ship in the fleet. not is the cruise to Quebec the only one they offer.

I agree. We've sail NCL a few times and the last one on the Sun was absolutely horrible but the others were fine. Our first and only cruise on Princess was on the Pacific Princess last year doing a Venice to Ft. Lauderdale transatlantic. The ship was ok, the food was just ok, but the hotel management was very poor. We may try Princess again as this ship may have been atypical of the fleet. So we would not sail the Sun or the Pacific Princess again.

[don2738]

We, being me age 62 and daughter age 27, just took the Veendam from Montreal to Boston, Sept 8-15, and loved it, hope to do it again next year. I just posted a review if you want more information:

http://https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=634384

 

 

Don't panic, it's fine.

[awhcruiser]

Im not a huge NCL but have done several Princess cruises.

I agree. We've sail NCL a few times and the last one on the Sun was absolutely horrible but the others were fine. Our first and only cruise on Princess was on the Pacific Princess last year doing a Venice to Ft. Lauderdale transatlantic. The ship was ok, the food was just ok, but the hotel management was very poor. We may try Princess again as this ship may have been atypical of the fleet. So we would not sail the Sun or the Pacific Princess again.

[awhcruiser]

I would pick HAL over Carnival any day.

Yep. Plenty of other lines. Celebrity or RC or Carnival all beat this experience handily. Loved the ports, enjoyed the captain, that’s about it.

[KroozNut]

I would pick HAL over Carnival any day.

 

You got that right! :)

[SetAnOpenCourse]

I dont know what kind of cruise experience you want, so it's hard to give you advice on if you're on the right ship or not.

 

First of all, your fears as expressed, aren't warranted IMHO. All ships can have power surges - just like any airplane can be delayed for mechanical problems. Ships are not the same as hotels. They move, they're only in port for major work to be done on turn around days, etc. Most times power surges are simple fixes. But being in a "floating" hotel does require some flexibility in expectations whether the ship is 1 year old, or 20 years old.

 

As far as NYE - I've been on plenty of HAL ships on NYE and no - they are nowhere near "dead". In fact you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in their stateroom. The lounges are hopping with live music, champagne is pouring, and most ships set up little buffet food stations. It's a fun time!

 

We've been sailing on HAL for 25 years, and I'll tell you when I get to be 58, because I'm not 58 yet (that's 4 years away).

 

Now, is the Veendam, or HAL the right cruise for you? Depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for something like you see in the Royal Caribbean commercials (ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, 20 restaurants, etc), probably not. You wont find that. You will find a more laid back cruise. The food and service will be great. The ship - it's a matter of personal taste. What is dated and dark to someone is elegant and refined to someone else. Look at photos and videos on Youtube and decide if it's for you.

 

For us, I wouldnt have it any other way. Let's take those other cruise lines - what others might see as exciting, very active with plenty to do, lots of options, etc. - I see as too many people, too busy, too impersonal, too sterile, too generic. All depends on what you like.

Great perspective - excellent post!

[awhcruiser]

We are definitely not into the party scene. HAL is a much better fit for us!

You got that right! :)