lissa6626
December 18th, 2004, 05:02 PM
I just returned today from my first HAL cruise aboard the Veendam.
Some background info about me before reading the review...I usually cruise Celebrity ( and love it), dislike Carnival, am married and in my mid 20's. I do like a classier, more refined group of pax.
The Ship
m.s. Veendam was beautiful. I loved the orchids in the Lido. The size of the ship was nice and navigating was a breeze. My cabin 421 was large and comfortable. I enjoyed being on the lower prom deck overlooking the aft. There were no privacy issues concerning pax walking on deck past my window. Only complaint is that whenever we docked it sounded like the ship was going to fall apart. The noises were so loud that it was almost impossible to sleep in during a port day. No ac problems in cabin, but very cold on deck 8 midship around casino and explorer's lounge. We did hit worse weather than I am used to and I don't know if the size of ship I was on made a difference or not.
The Service
The service was adequate, but cannot even compare to Celebrity. Our waiter did a good job, but was not very outgoing or willing to go the extra mile. The whole area around our table was empty, so it was not like he was too busy. Maybe this a cultural thing. I have found that the Indonesians and Philipinos are not as friendly. Bar service in the Crow's Nest was superb. Rodel and Reden always had our drinks waiting for us. They also went out of the way go get us appetizers each night before dinner. In the lido I almost always had to carry my own tray and go get my own drinks. Speaking of which...the only choices were tea, water and coffee. X always has fruit punch and lemonade as well as the staples. I was wishing I had bought a soda card on about the third day.
The Food
OK...lets get to the stuff that matters...food was good for the most part.
Breakfast in the lido was standard. The typical stuff as every cruise. Our problem was that it ended so early and we wound up eating the poor continental breakfast a few too many times. They need to keep the buffet open later for the sleepyheads.
Lunch in the lido was above average. I think this is where HAL outshines Celebrity. Most everything I ordered was tasty and perfectly prepared. The broccoli puree soup was fantastic as were many of the desserts. I also appreciated the hand sanitizers in each restaurant. That was a nice touch for us germaphobes. I did not make it to the dining room for breakfast or lunch. Dinner in the dining room was not as good as X, but certainly edible. Most food was good, but almost nothing was excellent. I found the food to be a little bland, but well prepared. I missed the waiters hand pouring cocktail sauce, dressings, etc as they do on X. I do give HAL credit for more variety, though. I think there was many more options with the exception of salads. Pinnacle Grill was outstanding. The ribeye may have been the best I have ever had as well as the clam chowder. The problem was service. It was very slow and it seemed as though we were there for hours, even though it was empty. Specialty rest. on X had 5 star service ie) synchronizing plate placing and removal, hand picking meats, table side preparation, etc. I would not let the service deter me from going back to the Pinnacle. I was just expecting better service than what I was getting in the main dining room.
Fellow Pax
Ok...now this is where some people may get mad. Now, I knew the average age of the pax would be old.This is HAL. I did not know it going to be this old. Now old is not always a bad thing, but when they are grumpy and sour then it is a problem. I am quite accustomed to being around more refined people but I was quite disappointed in my fellow pax. On the formal nights I did not see the classiness I was expecting. My DH and I were always impeccably dressed and we thought everyone else would be, too. It was almost as bad as Carnival dare I say. We felt out of place in the tux and evening gown. Every evening I could not believe how poorly pax were dressed. And this was a problem with the young and old. There worst part about it was the the dress code was never inforced in the dining room as it should have been. I have seen pax turned away from the dining room due to dress code on X. This did not happen on HAL. I guess anything goes. But I feel that if pax do not want to get dressed up then they should eat at alternative dining or do a freestyle cruise. I also overheard several older pax being extremely rude to the bar staff and complaining way too often, especially about the younger pax. Have fun, you're on a cruise. How bad could it be? Of course tipping was an issue. I was at information and heard several pax getting their tips taken off. I was appauled. Unfortunatly, HAL makes it too easy to do so. Not once did the employee question if there was a problem with their service or anything of the sorts. Just fill out a paper and that's it. No questions asked. HAL should be explaining their policy and educating these people as to what happens when you don't tip.
All in all I had a great cruise. It's really hard to have a bad cruise. I met a lot of nice people and gained a few pounds and got lots of relaxation. I did enjoy HAL, but I still prefer Celebrity. I don't think there is any comparison between the two. Would I cruise with HAL again? Probably if the price was right and itinerary good. But it would only be on the new vista class as I hear it is a bit younger crowd.
Some background info about me before reading the review...I usually cruise Celebrity ( and love it), dislike Carnival, am married and in my mid 20's. I do like a classier, more refined group of pax.
The Ship
m.s. Veendam was beautiful. I loved the orchids in the Lido. The size of the ship was nice and navigating was a breeze. My cabin 421 was large and comfortable. I enjoyed being on the lower prom deck overlooking the aft. There were no privacy issues concerning pax walking on deck past my window. Only complaint is that whenever we docked it sounded like the ship was going to fall apart. The noises were so loud that it was almost impossible to sleep in during a port day. No ac problems in cabin, but very cold on deck 8 midship around casino and explorer's lounge. We did hit worse weather than I am used to and I don't know if the size of ship I was on made a difference or not.
The Service
The service was adequate, but cannot even compare to Celebrity. Our waiter did a good job, but was not very outgoing or willing to go the extra mile. The whole area around our table was empty, so it was not like he was too busy. Maybe this a cultural thing. I have found that the Indonesians and Philipinos are not as friendly. Bar service in the Crow's Nest was superb. Rodel and Reden always had our drinks waiting for us. They also went out of the way go get us appetizers each night before dinner. In the lido I almost always had to carry my own tray and go get my own drinks. Speaking of which...the only choices were tea, water and coffee. X always has fruit punch and lemonade as well as the staples. I was wishing I had bought a soda card on about the third day.
The Food
OK...lets get to the stuff that matters...food was good for the most part.
Breakfast in the lido was standard. The typical stuff as every cruise. Our problem was that it ended so early and we wound up eating the poor continental breakfast a few too many times. They need to keep the buffet open later for the sleepyheads.
Lunch in the lido was above average. I think this is where HAL outshines Celebrity. Most everything I ordered was tasty and perfectly prepared. The broccoli puree soup was fantastic as were many of the desserts. I also appreciated the hand sanitizers in each restaurant. That was a nice touch for us germaphobes. I did not make it to the dining room for breakfast or lunch. Dinner in the dining room was not as good as X, but certainly edible. Most food was good, but almost nothing was excellent. I found the food to be a little bland, but well prepared. I missed the waiters hand pouring cocktail sauce, dressings, etc as they do on X. I do give HAL credit for more variety, though. I think there was many more options with the exception of salads. Pinnacle Grill was outstanding. The ribeye may have been the best I have ever had as well as the clam chowder. The problem was service. It was very slow and it seemed as though we were there for hours, even though it was empty. Specialty rest. on X had 5 star service ie) synchronizing plate placing and removal, hand picking meats, table side preparation, etc. I would not let the service deter me from going back to the Pinnacle. I was just expecting better service than what I was getting in the main dining room.
Fellow Pax
Ok...now this is where some people may get mad. Now, I knew the average age of the pax would be old.This is HAL. I did not know it going to be this old. Now old is not always a bad thing, but when they are grumpy and sour then it is a problem. I am quite accustomed to being around more refined people but I was quite disappointed in my fellow pax. On the formal nights I did not see the classiness I was expecting. My DH and I were always impeccably dressed and we thought everyone else would be, too. It was almost as bad as Carnival dare I say. We felt out of place in the tux and evening gown. Every evening I could not believe how poorly pax were dressed. And this was a problem with the young and old. There worst part about it was the the dress code was never inforced in the dining room as it should have been. I have seen pax turned away from the dining room due to dress code on X. This did not happen on HAL. I guess anything goes. But I feel that if pax do not want to get dressed up then they should eat at alternative dining or do a freestyle cruise. I also overheard several older pax being extremely rude to the bar staff and complaining way too often, especially about the younger pax. Have fun, you're on a cruise. How bad could it be? Of course tipping was an issue. I was at information and heard several pax getting their tips taken off. I was appauled. Unfortunatly, HAL makes it too easy to do so. Not once did the employee question if there was a problem with their service or anything of the sorts. Just fill out a paper and that's it. No questions asked. HAL should be explaining their policy and educating these people as to what happens when you don't tip.
All in all I had a great cruise. It's really hard to have a bad cruise. I met a lot of nice people and gained a few pounds and got lots of relaxation. I did enjoy HAL, but I still prefer Celebrity. I don't think there is any comparison between the two. Would I cruise with HAL again? Probably if the price was right and itinerary good. But it would only be on the new vista class as I hear it is a bit younger crowd.