Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

VEENDAM: First cruise after refurbishment

JimVrhovac

By JimVrhovac,
in Holland America Line

Recommended Posts

SeaSheep

SeaSheep

Posted
Posted
With the severe plumbing problems, unfinished pooldeck and engine problems, it's obvious that HAL didn't schedule enough time to get the work done during the drydock - and the passengers and crew are stuck paying the price.

 

What did you expect. A normal freighter in takes a month to go through a drydock. But that is without a total refit, normally the entire ship is inspected and not rebuild. So in the same time they had to 'rebuild' it and inspect the ship for short comings.

 

SS

Link to comment
Share on other sites
u4ea

u4ea

Posted
Posted

With the severe plumbing problems, unfinished pooldeck and engine problems, it's obvious that HAL didn't schedule enough time to get the work done during the drydock - and the passengers and crew are stuck paying the price.

 

This is par for the course for HAL, (and others I'm sure). The lesson to the savvy is: Never book a first post drydock cruise.

I have erroneously done that with my Ryndam cruise.:o I WILL be changing it. ;)

Mark...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
510picker

510picker

Posted
Posted

Sorry to hear about the problems being encountered during the cruise. Sounds like a poor job of project scheduling. It isn't like this is the first time HAL dry docked a ship for a makeover. I would be very upset if I awoke to two feet of water in my cabin, especially when I found out there were no other cabins to move to. I'll be anxious to hear what Jim has to say since he has spent so much time on the Veendam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DFD1

DFD1

Posted
Posted

Booking just after a major drydock is too much like booking booking the first cruise on a new ship. Lots of probems and unfinished items.

 

BTW, anyone seen any daytime photos of the ducktail and the aft section?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hflors

Hflors

Posted
Posted

I just received an e-mail from one of my sisters on this cruise and she said Veendam was "having some problems" but that they were having a great time anyway. So much so that her wonderful husband booked them on Statandam next year for the same cruise!!!!

 

I hope the rest of the trip is wonderful for the passengers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

Posted
Posted
Found this on YouTube - Looks like FLL . . .

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAoTwBKReHo

Yes that is definitely Fort Lauderdale. I am thinking I will need to see it in person to make a decision as to what I think of how it looks. When I first saw the Eurodam I thought it looked like a shoe box until we saw her in person. Now I think she looks quite nice. Although I prefer the lines of what the original Vista Class was and will always miss that :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JerseyJaguar

JerseyJaguar

Posted
Posted
Booking just after a major drydock is too much like booking booking the first cruise on a new ship. Lots of probems and unfinished items.

Exactly.

 

That's something I learned when Carnival had the Fantasy in drydock, the first couple of weeks of cruises everyone was complaining about something that wasn't finished or done right. She too had a lot of work done because she's an older, smaller ship. By the time I got on her about a month later all the odds and ends had been fixed.

 

I'm hoping that the same is true for the Veendam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
aliaschief

aliaschief

Posted
Posted

This is unofficial but we did have an individual on our Roll Call who received a message from a friend working on the Veendam. They have had engine problems and had been drifting but have made it safely to Columbia.

 

Keep in mind this is third party information but I do feel it was a pretty good source.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DFD1

DFD1

Posted
Posted

Thanks, lordspain: To me, the addition at the rear looks unnatural and out of step with the good lines of the ship. It was an after-thought, and it looks like an after-thought.

 

Kind of like a rumble seat on an old roadster, or a place for excess luggage!

 

Too bad.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Quince

Quince

Posted
Posted

We just left Cartagena. Captain reports that engines are back up to full speed, but we've had to eliminate Costa Rica from the itinerary as well now. Not time to stop there and make it all the way up the coast.

 

Plus, we are now in Code Red.

 

There are some very unhappy passengers on board, some slightly annoyed, and some, like us, who have encountered no major problems except the change of itinerary (some because of the engine failure, and some because of swine flu). It's interesting because there are also many Holland America "officials" on board. The Entertainment director of the fleet is here, as well as the director and choreographer for the new shows they're doing. So everybody's experiencing the new Veendam in all it's uncompleted glory.

 

I think Jim got a private tour of all the new areas, so he'll be doing a full report of them all, with photos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RedmondCruiser

RedmondCruiser

Posted
Posted
We just left Cartagena. Captain reports that engines are back up to full speed, but we've had to eliminate Costa Rica from the itinerary as well now. Not time to stop there and make it all the way up the coast.

 

Plus, we are now in Code Red.

 

There are some very unhappy passengers on board, some slightly annoyed, and some, like us, who have encountered no major problems except the change of itinerary (some because of the engine failure, and some because of swine flu). It's interesting because there are also many Holland America "officials" on board. The Entertainment director of the fleet is here, as well as the director and choreographer for the new shows they're doing. So everybody's experiencing the new Veendam in all it's uncompleted glory.

 

I think Jim got a private tour of all the new areas, so he'll be doing a full report of them all, with photos.

 

 

With all those HAL officials on board its a shame that they do not have the wading pool working. A warm weather evaluation of this disaster ( my opinion of eliminating the aft pool ) might be helpful since the next five months will be spent in Alaska where the aft pool is not utilized. The outcome is that they will have no feedback to judge if they should go forward with ruining the next 3 S class ships and the Rotterdam.

Sorry to hear that you are on code Red. (Knock on wood - in 34 HAL cruises we have never been under code red - nor have we every had to deal with no trays in the Lido )

Hope that the rest of your cruise is more enjoyable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
innlady1

innlady1

Posted
Posted
We just left Cartagena. Captain reports that engines are back up to full speed, but we've had to eliminate Costa Rica from the itinerary as well now. Not time to stop there and make it all the way up the coast.

 

Plus, we are now in Code Red.

 

There are some very unhappy passengers on board, some slightly annoyed, and some, like us, who have encountered no major problems except the change of itinerary (some because of the engine failure, and some because of swine flu). It's interesting because there are also many Holland America "officials" on board. The Entertainment director of the fleet is here, as well as the director and choreographer for the new shows they're doing. So everybody's experiencing the new Veendam in all it's uncompleted glory.

 

I think Jim got a private tour of all the new areas, so he'll be doing a full report of them all, with photos.

 

Sorry for all your problems...guess that should be a "head's up" for the rest of us to never book the 1st cruise out of drydock...and as we learned last summer, not too wise to book the Inaugural either (thinking of the Eurodam).

 

Having said that, are you in Code Red because they're taking precautions for the swine flu...or because the Norovirus has joined your cruise?

 

We were in Code Red on the Noordam in 02/08....everything worked out fine...and it really wasn't a big deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gentlemancruiser

gentlemancruiser

Posted
Posted
This is unofficial but we did have an individual on our Roll Call who received a message from a friend working on the Veendam. They have had engine problems and had been drifting but have made it safely to Columbia.

 

Keep in mind this is third party information but I do feel it was a pretty good source.

 

Sounds like the same thing as the Statendam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gentlemancruiser

gentlemancruiser

Posted
Posted
We just left Cartagena. Captain reports that engines are back up to full speed, but we've had to eliminate Costa Rica from the itinerary as well now. Not time to stop there and make it all the way up the coast.

 

Plus, we are now in Code Red.

 

There are some very unhappy passengers on board, some slightly annoyed, and some, like us, who have encountered no major problems except the change of itinerary (some because of the engine failure, and some because of swine flu). It's interesting because there are also many Holland America "officials" on board. The Entertainment director of the fleet is here, as well as the director and choreographer for the new shows they're doing. So everybody's experiencing the new Veendam in all it's uncompleted glory.

 

I think Jim got a private tour of all the new areas, so he'll be doing a full report of them all, with photos.

 

Could you ask a HAL official how they managed to fit the beds & sofa back into the new Lanai cabins. I just watched a video on You Tube and I still can't believe they were able to fit them & a sofa across the cabins. Did they change the length of the beds? Were the cabin walls moved???

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUow5wnAv-A&feature=related

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Boytjie

Boytjie

Posted
Posted
. A warm weather evaluation of this disaster ( my opinion of eliminating the aft pool ) might be helpful since the next five months will be spent in Alaska where the aft pool is not utilized.

 

The second week of September 2007 we used the Amsterdam's aft pool 2 of the 7 days: in Sitka and Ketchikan. I came home with a sun tan. :) I also saw people swimming in the aft pool when most others were wearing sweaters and jackets!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bepsf

bepsf

Posted
Posted
Plus, we are now in Code Red.

 

Gee - Ya think that might have something to do with sewerage overflowing into a few folks staterooms?

:cool:

 

I'm glad that HAL Senior Management is right there with you to see for themselves what a mess they've made of the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

Posted
Posted
Could you ask a HAL official how they managed to fit the beds & sofa back into the new Lanai cabins. I just watched a video on You Tube and I still can't believe they were able to fit them & a sofa across the cabins. Did they change the length of the beds? Were the cabin walls moved???

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUow5wnAv-A&feature=related

When I watched the above video on Youtube I also saw there are several other new videos of all the new changes did anyone see these>

 

Here is the Mix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjxRM4fl6Fk&feature=related[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb2pakQmlps][/url]

 

Then here are the new shops

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb2pakQmlps

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JerseyJaguar

JerseyJaguar

Posted
Posted
She looks beautiful... The stories sound scary... I would love to be on there to judge for myself...

The stories coming out when Carnival's Fantasy went back in the water were very similar, that's why I'm not that worried because she was fine within a couple of weeks. They had engine problems and took forever to get down (and up) the Mississippi their first couple of trips, and because their cruises are 4 and 5 days even more people were effected before everything was straightened out.

 

It's great that the higher ups are on board to oversee all that needs to be finished.

 

I hope everyone onboard still has a great time. It is what it is, you either roll with it or are miserable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...