Veendam Alaska Sort of Review

[lovebug33]

Since Erica just did a great blog, here are just a few of my thoughts on our Veendam cruise. We had an awesome time! First, we have cruised on Carnival and Princess. Here is what we thought were the positives and negatives of HAL for those who always ask:

Positives: better food, smaller ship, better entertainment, more elegant (people dressed appropriately), the spa suite was awesome!, the techspert classes, and the way they divided up the entertainment staff

Negatives: lack of activities and night-life, small portions of good food, ship bathrooms stank!

The Veendam is actually very pretty so everybody who is freaking out about it being ugly, it is not. However, I think the retreat area is the worst idea in the world. I watched it empty twice. I wouldn't even have noticed that the ship was moving to a side or anything. People started running so they wouldn't get wet. I can so see somebody falling down, especially when there were a lot of older people with canes on that side. I can't imagine what it would be like in rough seas.

I want to give a disclaimer to my next comments. This did not at all wreck our cruise, but I wanted people who were my age (mid 30's) an idea of what it was like being the youngest people on the ship. We didn't fully realize what it meant to be on a ship with more mature people. Most of the shows were geared toward that age bracket. So, DH and I, while we enjoyed the shows, were a little lost during some of the impressions because we weren't alive during the 50's and 60's. And, there just weren't that many activities. When there were, very few people showed up. There was a scavenger hunt and only three people showed up besides us! It was definitely interesting!

So, all in all, we had a great cruise and most probably will sail HAL again. If you have any specific questions, I will answer them!

[fabby50]

Hey! I've been hoping to see someone who booked a spa suite. What did you think of that? Did you get everything listed as part of the suite? What was on the spa suite menu of services?

 

We are booked in a spa suite in October and I have been waiting for someone to be able to give feedback -

 

Glad to hear you had a great cruise and I appreciate any comments you might have on this aspect -

[jtl513]

The Veendam is actually very pretty so everybody who is freaking out about it being ugly, it is not.

Except on the stern, outside. :eek:

[lovebug33]

We beg to differ about the outside being ugly. We thought she was pretty inside and out. We loved the spa suite. We got the vitamin water and the Voss water and it was all free. There were pedometers and the yoga mat (never used). The fountain added some great ambiance! The cut fruit tray was there when we embarked (Thank God after our train trip from you know where). The breakfast is what we really liked. We could get smoothies free every morning, whereas in the bar they were 3.50. And, they had egg white omelettes, which made me happy because I could actually have an omelette (I'm allergic to yolks). We did get three different deals during the cruise for the spa, but I am not sure that those weren't given to everybody on the cruise. There wasn't, like, a special book just in our room about the spa. The only thing we didn't like about the room was that the bed was incredibly close to the wall and the pictures were hung at my eye level. I hit my head a couple of times before I learned to just crawl over the bed!

[cruisinsmoothly]

Lovebug33, any input as to which table games were in the Casino? Erica was able to inform me that LIR was absent, but I am still curious what is onboard.

[lovebug33]

Sorry, we don't play in the casino, so I can't tell you what kind of games there were. Too bad we can't find our travel friends because they spent a lot of time there!

[chris1]

Thanks for your thoughts! We'll be on the Veendam in about two weeks and we're also in the same age bracket as you, this is, however, our first cruise experience. As I'm starting to think about packing, I was wondering about typical dress for dinners, especially the formal night? I normally don't wear a suit at work, so I certainly don't want to on vacation (nor do I want pack one to wear twice). I have no problem with a sportcoat, but what about a tie? Can I get away without one, especially for my age group and this particular cruise? How about temperatures, both on and off the ship? We live in Chicago so once it hits 60 it's beach weather! Also, did you guys go on any interesting excursions or hear any feedback as to which ones are worth it or not? Thanks for the help!

[lovebug33]

If you don't wear a tie, you will be out of place, at least from what I saw.. I think you would be fine with a sport coat (is that where you have one color jacket and another color pants?????). People were way dressed up on our cruise. Even on regular nights, most people put on something nicer than day wear (Dockers and a shirt, nice pants or skirts for women). When we were there, it was HOT. Like, t-shirt and pants (DH even thought about shorts). If I were you, I'd check weather.com. They were spot on with the weather, except Ketchikan, where it was cold that day. However, that was our last port and weather forecasts are only good for about 5 days, I think. They pushed the float planes big time. We saw the Mendenhall glacier and gardens in Juneau. Not the most exciting tour, but we loved it. We also did the Lumberjack Show and Saxman Village in Ketchikan. That was our favorite and I feel not to be missed places. Are in Skagway or Haines? We were not at all thrilled about Haines and really felt our excursion was overpriced for what we got. However, some people went on a Lake Chilkoot cruise and LOVED it!

[suse]

It's so much fun to be mature! Not that I am.. But, I enjoyed reading your review!

[Lucyt1207]

Since Erica just did a great blog, here are just a few of my thoughts on our Veendam cruise. We had an awesome time! First, we have cruised on Carnival and Princess. Here is what we thought were the positives and negatives of HAL for those who always ask:

Positives: better food, smaller ship, better entertainment, more elegant (people dressed appropriately), the spa suite was awesome!, the techspert classes, and the way they divided up the entertainment staff

Negatives: lack of activities and night-life, small portions of good food, ship bathrooms stank!

The Veendam is actually very pretty so everybody who is freaking out about it being ugly, it is not. However, I think the retreat area is the worst idea in the world. I watched it empty twice. I wouldn't even have noticed that the ship was moving to a side or anything. People started running so they wouldn't get wet. I can so see somebody falling down, especially when there were a lot of older people with canes on that side. I can't imagine what it would be like in rough seas.

I want to give a disclaimer to my next comments. This did not at all wreck our cruise, but I wanted people who were my age (mid 30's) an idea of what it was like being the youngest people on the ship. We didn't fully realize what it meant to be on a ship with more mature people. Most of the shows were geared toward that age bracket. So, DH and I, while we enjoyed the shows, were a little lost during some of the impressions because we weren't alive during the 50's and 60's. And, there just weren't that many activities. When there were, very few people showed up. There was a scavenger hunt and only three people showed up besides us! It was definitely interesting!

So, all in all, we had a great cruise and most probably will sail HAL again. If you have any specific questions, I will answer them!

 

What is the "retreat area"? Please explain the running etc in your original post. thank you

[lovebug33]

The retreat area is this wading pool thing. So, it's not too deep. When the boat turned slightly, the whole pool emptied out over the deck. People started running to get away from the emptying pool. What a mess!

[Boytjie]

What is the "retreat area"? Please explain the running etc in your original post. thank you

 

Veendam Retreat area: photo at

[ScottishMaid]

The retreat area is this wading pool thing. So, it's not too deep. When the boat turned slightly, the whole pool emptied out over the deck. People started running to get away from the emptying pool. What a mess!

 

We were there as the ship left San Diego the first day the retreat pool was finished and filled with water. The ship made its first turn, the water slopped out and people were running. But later on when the sea was rough it didn't seem so bad, just waves going back and forth. i think they lowered the fill level.