Great cruise on the Veendam

[lisakoivu]

Since I often see people wondering if they should book Veendam, I just thought I'd drop in and say that my Mom and I recently returned from an amazing Canada New England cruise on her. The ship was in great shape, the food was amazing and the service ... I can't even talk about it, just so, so good. My last few cruises have been on NCL, and the service there has been dropping like crazy. It's almost like I got used to it and forgot what great service looked like! Anyway, I'll be back to HAL for sure now, it was just so great and so restful. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone to book her. 

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the info.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[I like vacation]

Thanks for the review.  We will be on the Veendam in January cruising the Caribbean.

[canadianbear]

Good to know-thank you!

[DeeniEncinitas]

Appreciate your review and am happy you had a wonderful time with your mom! 

This is a good time of the year  for Canada/New England.

smooth sailings

Denise😊

[Krazy Kruizers]

Good to hear that you had a great cruise and everything went well on the Veendam.

[HappiestWhenCruising]

Thanks for posting this as we booked a cruise quite a few months ago on the Veendam for November 2019 and then all I was reading was basically bad reviews.  So its good to hear something positive.  If you could, can you answer a few questions I have about this ship:

1.  How was the entertainment

2.  How was the tv stations and movies you could watch.  We have an inside room, so that might make a difference.

3.  Was there a place where you could get your breakfast at the lido and sit outside to eat it on this ship?

4.  Was the pool crowded?  We are going to the Caribbean so that might make a difference too.

 

Thanks in advance if you get a chance to answer my questions.

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting your positive review. With all the negative things that are been posted about how far HAL has gone down hill it's good to hear something positive. Glad you had a great cruise.

[HokiePoq]

Thanks for posting about my favorite ship!   We've spent 90 days on the Veendam and would love to spend more with the wonderful crew and leadership who make the cruises great.  No, it's not the newest ship but it is a very special one.

[madera1]

Thanks for your review. We haven't been on the Veendam for several years but have a Dec 2019 Caribbean cruise booked on her. Since they don't have BBKings, how was the entertainment?

[pmjnh]

We also just disembarked the Veendam. I agree 100% with the OP, it was a fabulous cruise and I love this ship. The entertainment was low key, although not as low key as my last Maasdam cruise. The Veendam has their own singers and dancers troupe and they are very talented and energetic. This troupe performed 3 different shows and they were all superb. There was Magician Jeff Peterson and Indy. He was very good and comedic. Then there was Mike Robinson, a Ventriloquist/Comedian who was fabulous. I have seen him on two different ships and we didn't stop laughing.

I found the crowd on my Boston-Montreal cruise to be a little younger on average..more 50 somethings. 

The captain Steve MacBeath and the cruise director Hannah Delaney were so friendly and outgoing. 

The crew and staff were terrific.

[St Pete Cruiser]

Nice to hear a positive review on Veendam.  Our friend, Tom, was aboard the Veendam from Lisbon to Boston in August and also said he was very pleased, so much so, that he booked another cruise on Veendam for this coming winter.  HAL has put some money back into this "S" class ship and it seems to have improved.

Veendam is coming back to Tampa Nov 2020 for the winter season, and I'm hoping may resume the Bermuda itinerary in 2021.

[Sea Belle]

We are booked on the Veendam in Dec. and are looking forward to our first experience in a lanai.  Every time we have cruised on the V has been a success...service outstanding always as well a music venues.  Thank you for posting this favorable review and making our anticipation even more pleasant.  BTW....we too hope she will return to Bermuda.  That had become one of our annual cruises and we miss it!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We could not agree more about this ship.  We have spent almost 150 days on her, including 67 this summer, ending in Boston.  The new carpet and furniture through out the ship have her looking clean and bright.  The crew was always working to keep her looking good.

 

The cast, who joined the ship July 26, is about the best we've seem.  They are scheduled to be on board until sometime in April

 

Still, the best thing on the ship is the crew.  In fact, the crew. staff and officers are all friendly and helpful

 

To answer a couple of questions, you can get breakfast in the Lido and eat by the pool or out by the Retreat.  As far as how crowded the pool is, as least as we found, depends on the number of kids are on board.

[ghstudio]

Great positive review and very timely....We'll be on the Veendam in a couple of weeks, our first HAL cruise.

[SilvertoGold]

 HAL has had such a great reputation for service.  Always nice to hear about one more HAL ship that excels!

[victory2020]

I loved the Veendam last August. Hope to sail her again.

[HappiestWhenCruising]

3 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

To answer a couple of questions, you can get breakfast in the Lido and eat by the pool or out by the Retreat.  As far as how crowded the pool is, as least as we found, depends on the number of kids are on board.

Thank you for your reply.

[Rickster50]

That's good to hear Lisakoivu. We are booked on the Veendam for a 7 day'er to the Caribbean in December. I'm not surprised because we have always had a good time on HAL ships.

 

Rick

[3rdGenCunarder]

18 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Nice to hear a positive review on Veendam.  Our friend, Tom, was aboard the Veendam from Lisbon to Boston in August and also said he was very pleased, so much so, that he booked another cruise on Veendam for this coming winter.  HAL has put some money back into this "S" class ship and it seems to have improved.

Veendam is coming back to Tampa Nov 2020 for the winter season, and I'm hoping may resume the Bermuda itinerary in 2021.

 

17 hours ago, Sea Belle said:

We are booked on the Veendam in Dec. and are looking forward to our first experience in a lanai.  Every time we have cruised on the V has been a success...service outstanding always as well a music venues.  Thank you for posting this favorable review and making our anticipation even more pleasant.  BTW....we too hope she will return to Bermuda.  That had become one of our annual cruises and we miss it!

 

We sailed to Bermuda on Veendam the first year HAL did that route out of NYC. I would love to see that itinerary appear again. Might go up to Boston for it, but NYC would be more convenient. Plus, there's nothing like sailing  past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.  

 

After seeing so many posts from people worried that Veendam was in bad shape, it's nice to hear that she isn't!

 

[crusinbanjo]

Mrs Banjo and I were on Veendam in May and, as usual, loved it.  We are again on her next week for a Canada New England cruise.  We love this class ship and when we sail on HAL we look specifically for them and exclude all the rest.  It will be sad when they are gone.

[ghstudio]

On 10/4/2019 at 8:10 AM, crusinbanjo said:

Mrs Banjo and I were on Veendam in May and, as usual, loved it.  We are again on her next week for a Canada New England cruise.  We love this class ship and when we sail on HAL we look specifically for them and exclude all the rest.  It will be sad when they are gone.

 

We'll be on-board with you....visiting family in Boston and continuing home in Fl.  Looking forward to this, our first HAL cruise (we (ocean) cruise mainly on Celebrity and Princess).

[G&G]

Great news. Plan to sail on the Veendam next year out of Tampa.

[RedneckBob]

Thanks for the review

[crusinbanjo]

On 10/5/2019 at 9:04 AM, ghstudio said:

 

We'll be on-board with you....visiting family in Boston and continuing home in Fl.  Looking forward to this, our first HAL cruise (we (ocean) cruise mainly on Celebrity and Princess).

Welcome Aboard!  I hope you enjoy the ship as much as we do.  Hope to see you there!