lipoppop
December 20th, 2004, 11:57 AM
They say you can’t go back and that things are never like you remembered.
Well they are very wrong.
Our first HAL cruise was on the Veendam to Alaska in June 2002. Since then we have taken four more HAL cruises and our sixth was on the Veendam again to the eastern Caribbean on December 11th.
With all the negative press I had seen on this board together with the changes HAL has made even though I am the perpetual optimist (when I vacation) I didn’t know what to expect.
I booked the Grand Hyatt with Priceline and came down two days early in case there might have been bad weather here in New York. The weather was good; The trip on Southwest since I only paid $39 pp plus tax was even better. The hotel is so-so. Very nice grounds were you can walk through the mangrove forest; good view of the bay but poor service, and every thing else is mediocre, especially the buffet breakfast. I would take one of its four stars away. Spent a day at Busch gardens, which I recommend if you haven’t been there before.
The first problem was getting on board. The line was short but when I asked the clerk about preferred boarding she said we didn’t have a suite! Well my documents said cabin 045, class S is a deluxe suite but she disagreed. Even after looking at the deck plan she was insistent. Finally she got a supervisor who also wasn’t certain but they reluctantly gave me a low boarding number. To add to this they didn’t have our cards and said we would have to get then at the front desk! Were all the bad things I had heard true? HAL is cutting back on its staff and here we had two people who were at best poorly trained.
This was just before noon and immediately our number was called to board. With a card with a large number 7 on it we were passed through security and off to the front desk.
There the staff who I always felt was most helpful and capable got us cards after they checked our passports again. Didn’t even have to take our shoes off.
There was a woman very loudly asking that the tips be taken off here bill. Remember this was noon on the sailing day and they hadn’t even been posted. She said she preferred giving the tips to the staff in person. I helpfully mentioned to her that if she removed the tip from the bill the staff would have to turn in the money she would give them. She responded she liked to see the look on their faces when she tipped them! I thought she was either full of s---, going to stiff the staff or didn’t realize that Indonesia and the PI were no longer colonies and their citizens were not serfs.
Well folks that’s it for the bad news. Sorry to disappoint the HAL bashers but from here on I will tell you how great the cruise was.
STAFF:
Perfection from our room steward, Budi, who immediately learned when we were out and worked around our schedule; leaned we liked grapes and not apples or bananas so they were there daily, took the laundry early so it came back the same day; had time to chat with us and kept the room spotless.
We had an early upper dining table for two where we ate four evenings. Twice we ate in our room on the veranda and once in the Lido. In the dining room there was no long wait between courses; no mistakes in the orders; extras we asked for were delivered without a problem; Imam, the waiter, having spent 10 years on HAL vessels was very professional and made for us to get to know each other. I think he had 22 people to serve and from what I saw everybody nearby had the same positive attitude.
Milo, the concierge in the Neptune was our, pardon the cliché, ray of sunshine. Cheerful, helpful, made good suggestions and even tracked us down when there was a misunderstanding about the delivery time for the diner we had ordered for our room.
In the Lido, lounges, theater and other public areas service was at the high level we had learned to appreciate and expect on a HAL vessel. I never felt anybody was just doing his or her job. They truly wanted to insure that we had a great cruise.
In the Lido there was enough staff that the tables were cleared promptly; there was no wait for somebody to carry a tray if needed; coffee was served at the table and drink orders that I observed were delivered quickly.
The captain, Albert Schoondererbeek, is new to the vessel. He has been on the Statendam and Masterdam. Hotel manager, Nick Berger, was also new to the vessel.
FOOD
Good or better than I remembered it. The small portions or no extras I had read about must have been on another ship. For example the evening we had lobster tails which were the best I have had on a vessel, the four people at the next table each finished two tails and then ordered two more each!
Oh yes, there was meatloaf on the menu. I ate it and loved it!
The Lido choices were more than adequate. Another wok at the pasta bar could have reduced the wait but it was no big deal. Museli for breakfast and bread pudding for desert were my favorites. Whoever recommended the museli, thank you.
ENTERTAINMENT
The evening shows were mixed. The ship’s crew entertained twice. Staging and costumes were excellent. I thought the leads weren’t as good as the rest of the cast. The female lead’s voice was artificial and annoying. The ventriloquist, Mike Robinson, was worth the price of the cruise. Outstanding skill and delivery. He takes the art to a new level.
As usual I played the jackpot bingo the last evening and did get to stand when I only needed one number. B11 where were you? It was for $3900. But they would have probably have given me a 1099 and I would have to split with Uncle Sam.
The casino was unusually busy, especially the slots. I didn’t see any big rollers at the 21 or dice tables. There was a man who spent hours at the roulette table with a book in which he recorded what he bet and what came up. He had huge piles of chips and made multiple bets on each wheel spin. The last time I saw him the piles of chips were gone.
Since we had a deluxe suite, our first, we were invited to several extra cocktail parties and even a luncheon in the Crow’s nest. My travel company even had a cocktail party for us. Only eight people attended and two snuck in. I will tell the company they should save the money and give us an extra bottle of wine.
With all the parties my bar bill was low. When I did buy a drink I went to the bar and did get a good pour.
SHORE EXCURSIONS
My DW and I both had bad cold so we didn’t book any shore excursions but did a lot of wandering or made arrangements when we docked.
Georgetown is a very sad place. It seems every tree has been knocked down or decapitated by the hurricanes. Many roofs have lost shingles; windows are covered with plywood. There was talk about houses being knocked over but I didn’t see any. We took a tour of the turtle farm and Hell. When I realized the turtles were being raised for their shells and food I was turned off. Hell is a 10 second view of stalagmites and a few crowded shops. Didn’t get to the stingrays. The beaches looked very nice. I would have preferred another sea day.
In Montego Bay it rained heavily until lunch time so afterwards we took a cab to town, bought coffee and looked at the poor quality handicrafts. Stopped in a local grocery store on the way back and found prices there were no lower than in the tourist shops for coffee.
Cozumel was very busy. Nine large vessels were in the harbor. We were lucky and docked downtown. I pity the passengers on some of the Carnival vessels that tendered. They had to use a local tender that carried about 300-400 people. Long time to load and unload. We enjoy visiting local markets when we travel and found a nice one not too far from the ship. Spent the rest of the time wandering in the streets away from the ship. Called home to tell the children they could not read our will yet.
MISCELANEOUS
The onboard shops had the usual stuff. Bought the DW a cherry colored amber necklace.
The ship’s décor was as we remembered it- subdued but with wonderful statues, paintings etc.
Speaking of paintings I observed the art auction twice for about 10 minutes each time. In all the time nobody bid on anything. A painting would go up, quick spiel on the painter, its appraised value and starting bid. Each round took about 45 seconds.
Only met one CC’er and recognized him by his footwear. We hadn’t arranged a meeting. He said he met several others.
Enough for now. If I think of anything else you might be interested in I will repost.
Well they are very wrong.
Our first HAL cruise was on the Veendam to Alaska in June 2002. Since then we have taken four more HAL cruises and our sixth was on the Veendam again to the eastern Caribbean on December 11th.
With all the negative press I had seen on this board together with the changes HAL has made even though I am the perpetual optimist (when I vacation) I didn’t know what to expect.
I booked the Grand Hyatt with Priceline and came down two days early in case there might have been bad weather here in New York. The weather was good; The trip on Southwest since I only paid $39 pp plus tax was even better. The hotel is so-so. Very nice grounds were you can walk through the mangrove forest; good view of the bay but poor service, and every thing else is mediocre, especially the buffet breakfast. I would take one of its four stars away. Spent a day at Busch gardens, which I recommend if you haven’t been there before.
The first problem was getting on board. The line was short but when I asked the clerk about preferred boarding she said we didn’t have a suite! Well my documents said cabin 045, class S is a deluxe suite but she disagreed. Even after looking at the deck plan she was insistent. Finally she got a supervisor who also wasn’t certain but they reluctantly gave me a low boarding number. To add to this they didn’t have our cards and said we would have to get then at the front desk! Were all the bad things I had heard true? HAL is cutting back on its staff and here we had two people who were at best poorly trained.
This was just before noon and immediately our number was called to board. With a card with a large number 7 on it we were passed through security and off to the front desk.
There the staff who I always felt was most helpful and capable got us cards after they checked our passports again. Didn’t even have to take our shoes off.
There was a woman very loudly asking that the tips be taken off here bill. Remember this was noon on the sailing day and they hadn’t even been posted. She said she preferred giving the tips to the staff in person. I helpfully mentioned to her that if she removed the tip from the bill the staff would have to turn in the money she would give them. She responded she liked to see the look on their faces when she tipped them! I thought she was either full of s---, going to stiff the staff or didn’t realize that Indonesia and the PI were no longer colonies and their citizens were not serfs.
Well folks that’s it for the bad news. Sorry to disappoint the HAL bashers but from here on I will tell you how great the cruise was.
STAFF:
Perfection from our room steward, Budi, who immediately learned when we were out and worked around our schedule; leaned we liked grapes and not apples or bananas so they were there daily, took the laundry early so it came back the same day; had time to chat with us and kept the room spotless.
We had an early upper dining table for two where we ate four evenings. Twice we ate in our room on the veranda and once in the Lido. In the dining room there was no long wait between courses; no mistakes in the orders; extras we asked for were delivered without a problem; Imam, the waiter, having spent 10 years on HAL vessels was very professional and made for us to get to know each other. I think he had 22 people to serve and from what I saw everybody nearby had the same positive attitude.
Milo, the concierge in the Neptune was our, pardon the cliché, ray of sunshine. Cheerful, helpful, made good suggestions and even tracked us down when there was a misunderstanding about the delivery time for the diner we had ordered for our room.
In the Lido, lounges, theater and other public areas service was at the high level we had learned to appreciate and expect on a HAL vessel. I never felt anybody was just doing his or her job. They truly wanted to insure that we had a great cruise.
In the Lido there was enough staff that the tables were cleared promptly; there was no wait for somebody to carry a tray if needed; coffee was served at the table and drink orders that I observed were delivered quickly.
The captain, Albert Schoondererbeek, is new to the vessel. He has been on the Statendam and Masterdam. Hotel manager, Nick Berger, was also new to the vessel.
FOOD
Good or better than I remembered it. The small portions or no extras I had read about must have been on another ship. For example the evening we had lobster tails which were the best I have had on a vessel, the four people at the next table each finished two tails and then ordered two more each!
Oh yes, there was meatloaf on the menu. I ate it and loved it!
The Lido choices were more than adequate. Another wok at the pasta bar could have reduced the wait but it was no big deal. Museli for breakfast and bread pudding for desert were my favorites. Whoever recommended the museli, thank you.
ENTERTAINMENT
The evening shows were mixed. The ship’s crew entertained twice. Staging and costumes were excellent. I thought the leads weren’t as good as the rest of the cast. The female lead’s voice was artificial and annoying. The ventriloquist, Mike Robinson, was worth the price of the cruise. Outstanding skill and delivery. He takes the art to a new level.
As usual I played the jackpot bingo the last evening and did get to stand when I only needed one number. B11 where were you? It was for $3900. But they would have probably have given me a 1099 and I would have to split with Uncle Sam.
The casino was unusually busy, especially the slots. I didn’t see any big rollers at the 21 or dice tables. There was a man who spent hours at the roulette table with a book in which he recorded what he bet and what came up. He had huge piles of chips and made multiple bets on each wheel spin. The last time I saw him the piles of chips were gone.
Since we had a deluxe suite, our first, we were invited to several extra cocktail parties and even a luncheon in the Crow’s nest. My travel company even had a cocktail party for us. Only eight people attended and two snuck in. I will tell the company they should save the money and give us an extra bottle of wine.
With all the parties my bar bill was low. When I did buy a drink I went to the bar and did get a good pour.
SHORE EXCURSIONS
My DW and I both had bad cold so we didn’t book any shore excursions but did a lot of wandering or made arrangements when we docked.
Georgetown is a very sad place. It seems every tree has been knocked down or decapitated by the hurricanes. Many roofs have lost shingles; windows are covered with plywood. There was talk about houses being knocked over but I didn’t see any. We took a tour of the turtle farm and Hell. When I realized the turtles were being raised for their shells and food I was turned off. Hell is a 10 second view of stalagmites and a few crowded shops. Didn’t get to the stingrays. The beaches looked very nice. I would have preferred another sea day.
In Montego Bay it rained heavily until lunch time so afterwards we took a cab to town, bought coffee and looked at the poor quality handicrafts. Stopped in a local grocery store on the way back and found prices there were no lower than in the tourist shops for coffee.
Cozumel was very busy. Nine large vessels were in the harbor. We were lucky and docked downtown. I pity the passengers on some of the Carnival vessels that tendered. They had to use a local tender that carried about 300-400 people. Long time to load and unload. We enjoy visiting local markets when we travel and found a nice one not too far from the ship. Spent the rest of the time wandering in the streets away from the ship. Called home to tell the children they could not read our will yet.
MISCELANEOUS
The onboard shops had the usual stuff. Bought the DW a cherry colored amber necklace.
The ship’s décor was as we remembered it- subdued but with wonderful statues, paintings etc.
Speaking of paintings I observed the art auction twice for about 10 minutes each time. In all the time nobody bid on anything. A painting would go up, quick spiel on the painter, its appraised value and starting bid. Each round took about 45 seconds.
Only met one CC’er and recognized him by his footwear. We hadn’t arranged a meeting. He said he met several others.
Enough for now. If I think of anything else you might be interested in I will repost.