Why do you love the Veendam?

[Bethcb]

I love this ship but would never sail her again in a warm climate. As a pool and sun lover, the mini aft pools are a terrible design. Lukewarm 1 foot deep pools or main pool that is mostly covered. Deal breaker for me although loved the rest of the ship. 

[RuthC]

32 minutes ago, Bethcb said:

As a pool and sun lover, the mini aft pools are a terrible design. Lukewarm 1 foot deep pools ... .

Those wading streams are long gone. There has been a large raised platform with four hot tubs for many years now. 
This doesn't make your point any less accurate, but the details are not the same. I find that huge platform blocks any nice view, which is my preference. 

[Bethcb]

I guess I described those pools wrong. I was on Veendam November, 2019. Whatever they are at the aft deck, those pools are useless. 

[crusinbanjo]

On 4/30/2020 at 12:34 AM, kucherov said:

Round trip Boston to Montreal and back in Sept 2019 on the Veendam.  The friendliest group of Pax and crew Holly and I have encountered with the possible exception of the Serena last Feb.  The best shows we've seen at sea, bar none.   First time in Canada for me and I loved it...the cold, the rain, the great tours that made you forget the cold and rain...Segwaying in Halifax with Emma...Kayaking in Bar harbor...Spending the day touring PEI with an encyclopedia for a tour guide (Target tours)...Beautiful Quebec City...Fiddlers in Sydney.   A great cruise on a real ship.   Stephen

that is an IT that Mrs Banjo and I do frequently in the fall, as a short getaway.  No airports required for us when we B to B or round trip

. 

[aliaschief]

At this era of our life being on any Dam ship would make it my favorite!🛳

[kucherov]

1 hour ago, crusinbanjo said:

that is an IT that Mrs Banjo and I do frequently in the fall, as a short getaway.  No airports required for us when we B to B or round trip

. 

Same for us.  Road trip to our daughters in West Rox then off to Maine or NH for short getaways, or as last year a cruise.  We would take that cruise again in a heartbeat, but the Amazon is next, if ever. 

[JimnKaren]

I had to look up stuff: Ryndam - 31 nights; Statendam - 28 nights; Maasdam - 70 nights; Veendam - 29 nights.

 

Love them all, miss the old Ryndam and Statendam.

 

As someone mentioned, one can walk from one end of the ship to the other inside of a few minutes. Cannot do that on those bigger ones.

[sppunk]

I essentially witnessed a mutiny on her, thats’s all I got.

 

That cruise to Bermuda was the worst vacation we’ve ever had. You won’t see me on her ever - though I question if she ever sails for HAL again now.

[HokiePoq]

I love the Veendam.  It's just the right size for me.   The crew has been fantastic each and every time we've sailed.   It took us on Voyage of the Vikings....through an ice field,   on the Amazon Explorer, and we hope to sail for the 37 day Polar Icecap followed by British Isles cruise next July.     We also liked the sister ship Maasdam but the Veendam holds a special place in my heart due to the many great times and the expert skill of its captain taking us through icebergs in Greenland and same captain taking us through sand shoals getting into the Amazon.    The big ships can't do that!

[JimnKaren]

Looking forward to Veendam from Venice to Turkey and Greece, Sicily, Malaga and Alicante and back to Tampa in October.

I hope it happens. Need a push pin in the map for Turkey!

Jim

[St Pete Cruiser]

Veendam is special to me as well. It home ported in Tampa for many years in the winter season.

With urging by several including Stephen Card, we cruised on Veendam from Montreal to Boston and then onto Bermuda in June 2017.

Veendam is the largest lengthwise ship that the Front St dock in Hamilton can accommodate. It was a tight squeeze,  but we had the prime spot from which to explore the city and island. 

We returned to Veendam to see Cuba,  where we docked in Havana and also made it into Cienfuegos, another difficult to reach port.

The Crow's nest is the best because of its near circular views as there are no rooms behind it.

The art work and antique pieces are beautiful,  too..

Until  this season was halted, Veendam had a great itinerary scheduled, similar to what Prinsendam did, with the more unusual ports.  I hope to do one if possible!

[MISTER 67]

The Statendam class ships were very nice 20 years ago but now they lack the amenities that larger ships have. I'm no lover of the huge ships that some lines have like RCCL, my favorites now are Holland America's Eurodam and her sisters, just the right size which still have the full walkaround promenade decks. We have found the Celebrity Equinox to be a nice sized ship and at 122,000 tons is a large as we want to sail on.

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by MISTER 67

[silvercruiser]

I've loved the Veendam since our first cruise on it, out of Tampa about 15 years ago.  It's just the right size and I'm thrilled to see it returning to Tampa this year, as it's only a one hour drive to embark.   My favorite cruise on the Veendam was in 2013, Voyage of the Vikings.  I splurged on one of those newer cabins facing the rear of the ship.  Since we were sailing in areas with so many hours of daylight, the view from the large balcony was spectacular.  But most of all, the trip was made so very special because the captain, Peter Bos, now retired, did such a wonderful job of keeping us informed every step of the way. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

She is a small ship -- cozy -- easy to get around -- more personal than the new larger ships.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

5 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

She is a small ship -- cozy -- easy to get around -- more personal than the new larger ships.

Agree.

 

Also her great, smiling, happy crew.

[whogo]

We sailed twice on Veendam, two wonderful cruises, however she would be about my last choice of HAL ships. I don't like her water tank aft pools or all the loungers that are reserved for the lanai cabins. I would normally prefer Veendam's smaller size, but felt that Noordam was a much better ship. We try to stay away from adulterated cruise ships that have added cabins, lanai cabins, or tent cities.

[sambamama]

I love the size of these ships, but the Veendam is by far my least favorite. No sea view pool, and the cabins built back there make her aft look very ugly. It's one ship I would avoid unless it was a cruise where you wouldn't be swimming. The sea view pool is where I hang out during the day, and having hot tubs there doesn't make up for the lack of a pool.