Veendam and Maasdam sold

[Copper10-8]

33 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I have thought about that as well since the announcement has been made.  

 

My opinion at this time:  since the Maasdam's and the Veedam's Atrium art is Murano glass, that might be considered to be a more "elegant" centerpiece to build a refreshed interior decor around that those of Rotterdam and Amsterdam.  

 

Wait until it's Zaandam's turn with her 22-foot high Baroque-style Pluer pipe organ in her Atrium 😉

 

 

[annandme]

23 hours ago, HokiePoq said:

We were on Veendam July 2021 and got the email cancelling us.   Heartbroken as it was a unique itinerary and Veendam is our favorite ship.   We spent 90 days on Veendam and also have enjoyed Rotterdam and Maasdam.   Not sure when the effective date of the sale is or if any will be attempted before the sale.   We weren't switched, just dumped.  Hope you have better luck.

 

If you're talking July 3, 2021, so were we.  I saw a few pages back, a link to a spreadsheet from HAL recommending "Any Europe" be sold as an alternative to this cruise.  "Any Europe"?  As a replacement for this unique itinerary?  How tone deaf can they be?

[Sir PMP]

35 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Wait until it's Zaandam's turn with her 22-foot high Baroque-style Pluer pipe organ in her Atrium 😉

 

 

I think this ship will be great for world cruises..

[DFD1]

16 minutes ago, Sir PMP said:

I think this ship will be great for world cruises..

 

I agree. We like her a lot and I'm glad she was not sold....not yet anyway.

[BarbarianPaul]

What exactly does reciprocity with Celebrity mean? Can we actually use our HA L credit with them??

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Sir PMP said:

I think this ship will be great for world cruises..

 

I agree and I love the Atrium organ.  The colorful Atrium glass feature on the Volendam is something that I always enjoy seeing.  

[crusinbanjo]

I guess I am glad I don’t have a future booking or FCC on HAL at this time.  Mrs Banjo and I will be leaving the fleet for cruise lines that continue to offer smaller ships. 

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Wait until it's Zaandam's turn with her 22-foot high Baroque-style Pluer pipe organ in her Atrium 😉

 

 

 

Oh my goodness. That is certainly, um, "unique".

 

[Sir PMP]

31 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Oh my goodness. That is certainly, um, "unique".

 

You used to hear that sound a lot in the 50s and 60s in Amsterdam..

[1ANGELCAT]

1 hour ago, BarbarianPaul said:

What exactly does reciprocity with Celebrity mean? Can we actually use our HA L credit with them??

No. They are 2 different companies. Celebrity is part of RCCL.

[HokiePoq]

2 hours ago, annandme said:

 

If you're talking July 3, 2021, so were we.  I saw a few pages back, a link to a spreadsheet from HAL recommending "Any Europe" be sold as an alternative to this cruise.  "Any Europe"?  As a replacement for this unique itinerary?  How tone deaf can they be?

That was our cruise as well.   Had been so looking forward to this one as it was unique.  You are so right.  
Any Europe will not do.   I'm thinking only a small ship could do this itinerary to the polar icecap.    Have been having a pity party as two other trips have bit the dust this year leaving zero trips this year and that was the one I'd planned for next year.   I know this is a first world problem but I'm still bummed.   

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, Sir PMP said:

You used to hear that sound a lot in the 50s and 60s in Amsterdam..

 

 

You can still hear it, but it's no longer one guy turning the big wheel and switching arms because one of them (arms) is getting tired. It's all mechanical now, but I have loved that "draaiorgel" sound since I was a kid growing up in Amsterdam when the organ man came through the street with his organ on wheels and his "centen bakkie" 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2020 by Copper10-8

[Nodakboiler]

We were supposed to be on the July 26, 2021 Veendam sailing of the British Isles. We were attracted to the itinerary because of the ports along the western Irish coastline. My DW reached out to our HAL PCC about a refund of the deposit. We were told to wait 30 days or so because HAL was developing an itinerary on a different ship that it is substituting for our Veendam cruise. I guess we will just have to wait and see. We have had four other trips already cancelled because of Covid-19. 

[Sir PMP]

1 hour ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

You can still hear it, but it's no longer one guy turning the big wheel and switching arms because one of them (arms) is getting tired. It's all mechanical now, but I have loved that "draaiorgel" sound since I was a kid growing up in Amsterdam when the organ man came through the street with his organ on wheels and his "centen bakkie" 

 

 

 

I so remember, the guy was changing his arms to keep the speed the same, I always give them money, because it's part of our tradition, nothing wrong with that..

[TiogaCruiser]

9 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

You can still hear it, but it's no longer one guy turning the big wheel and switching arms because one of them (arms) is getting tired. It's all mechanical now, but I have loved that "draaiorgel" sound since I was a kid growing up in Amsterdam when the organ man came through the street with his organ on wheels and his "centen bakkie" 

 

 

 

Thanks for the video and explanation. I never understood the organ on Zaandam. I would have liked to have seen one when we went to Amsterdam last year. ( Love that one fiets in the background. I would really love one of those. Instead I recently bought a similar ebike model from Gazelle.)

[CJcruzer]

here is a picture of the one in Keukenhof gardens.......

 

Carol

 

Edited July 18, 2020 by CJcruzer

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Thanks for the video and explanation. I never understood the organ on Zaandam. I would have liked to have seen one when we went to Amsterdam last year. ( Love that one fiets in the background. I would really love one of those. Instead I recently bought a similar ebike model from Gazelle.)

 

Looks like an old style "dames fiets" (ladies bicycle) since the horizontal bar between the steering wheel and the seat is missing 😉 

 

Last time I was in A'dam with the Maasdam on the VOV, there was a "straat orgel" (street organ) playing right smack in front of the cruise terminal on the Piet Heinkade (Piet Hein quai) in close proximity to "het centraal station" (the central railway station of A'dam). They usually show up there when there is a cruise ship in town 

Edited July 18, 2020 by Copper10-8

[BarbarianPaul]

Re the Zandaam’s organ, I understand  those who think it’s quirky and charming in its own way. But I don’t agree.
 

I think it’s creepy and funereal, and looks like some left over prop from a roadshow of The Phantom Of The Opera. And it’s not some great example of old world craftsmanship either, since it’s made of cheap plaster!  It also communicates a message that the cruise line is old, stodgy, and completely out of step with the times. My wife and I, though, have really fond memories of the ship, and quite enjoyed our 33 days on it a few years ago, on both an Antarctic and Brazil cruise, back to back. We had an amazing time, and loved the size and intimacy of the ship.

 

For us, though, the decor was hopelessly dated, and it didn’t look like HA had ever spent a nickel to bring it up to date. 

[HokiePoq]

15 hours ago, Nodakboiler said:

We were supposed to be on the July 26, 2021 Veendam sailing of the British Isles. We were attracted to the itinerary because of the ports along the western Irish coastline. My DW reached out to our HAL PCC about a refund of the deposit. We were told to wait 30 days or so because HAL was developing an itinerary on a different ship that it is substituting for our Veendam cruise. I guess we will just have to wait and see. We have had four other trips already cancelled because of Covid-19. 

We were on that, too.   We just got a cancellation email.  Is that what you got?  I'm thinking your email didn't say anything about a substitute?    We mainly booked for the polar icecap cruise prior to this one but our booking was for a back to back and the British Isles itinerary was quite nice as well.    You are ahead of me, five to three cancellations.    

[rkacruiser]

Re:  Dutch Street Organ

 

Aboard Rotterdam V in 1971 during Dutch Night, a small version of this was in the foyer outside of the Club Room and was playing.  I did not understand, then, what it was.  I do now thanks to the above posts!  I keep on learning!

[Nodakboiler]

We haven't  received our email from HAL yet for the 7/26/21 Veendam British Isles cruise. I first saw it here on Cruise Critic and then we emailed our PCC. We will wait and see if the new itinerary  and ship pique our interest.

[OBX-Cruisers]

On 7/15/2020 at 2:57 PM, richwmn said:

the link here says "expected to sell", so someone's idea not an official announcement

In addition, Princendam was sold and then leased back for a year to complete itineraries that were scheduled although that is not as certain now.

 

It's official.  SOLD and you cannot book ANY cruises on either ship if you try today

[OBX-Cruisers]

7 hours ago, BarbarianPaul said:

Re the Zandaam’s organ, I understand  those who think it’s quirky and charming in its own way. But I don’t agree.
 

I think it’s creepy and funereal, and looks like some left over prop from a roadshow of The Phantom Of The Opera. And it’s not some great example of old world craftsmanship either, since it’s made of cheap plaster!  It also communicates a message that the cruise line is old, stodgy, and completely out of step with the times. My wife and I, though, have really fond memories of the ship, and quite enjoyed our 33 days on it a few years ago, on both an Antarctic and Brazil cruise, back to back. We had an amazing time, and loved the size and intimacy of the ship.

 

For us, though, the decor was hopelessly dated, and it didn’t look like HA had ever spent a nickel to bring it up to date. 

We were on the Zaandam several years ago and had a similar reaction to the organ.  The those who liked it.......fine............but we thought it was the cheapest looking atrium decoration of any other ship we had been on up to that time.........maybe because on our cruise the organ NEVER really did anything

[kwb101]

1 hour ago, Nodakboiler said:

We haven't  received our email from HAL yet for the 7/26/21 Veendam British Isles cruise. I first saw it here on Cruise Critic and then we emailed our PCC. We will wait and see if the new itinerary  and ship pique our interest.

We were on the July 3 '21 B2B voyage to Spitsbergen and the polar icecap, then on to the UK on July 26. There was nothing in the email canceling the cruise last Thursday about any alternative to either or both portions. I hope HAL manages to find something similar for you, but check your reservation: there's a thread on the main HAL firm here that some folks have been summarily moved to other, similar voyages with no notice. Good luck!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2755852-for-those-booked-on-sold-ships-check-your-bookings/

[AncientWanderer]

On 7/17/2020 at 4:28 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Oh my goodness. That is certainly, um, "unique".

 

 

If you're an Ingmar Bergman fan, the organ clock on Zaandam always made me think of the clock in "Smiles of a Summer Night."  Probably most people wouldn't make that kind of pleasant mental association.