Veendam

[Mary49]

Anybody take this ship recently? How is it? I'm thinking about taking it to Bermuda.... Mary49

[GrammieK]

Hi Mary49,
I haven't taken the Veendam since before the refit, but I will be on the NY-Bermuda cruise in April and will report back. If that is too late for you, I am sure that someone else will report sooner. I am anxious to hear about the changes.
Kathie

[cardbucfan]

We were on the Veendam last summer in Alaska. Since it was Alaska, the Retreat area wasn't is use so can't comment on how that "pool" would work instead of the old aft pool. Since I'm a princess when it comes to water temp, just soaking my feet is usually all it takes to cool me off so I thought the new area was nice. They never showed anything on the big screen that I saw. The Mix area was really neat. I'm sure folks will complain that there were too many kids there playing on the tables, but I liked it and enjoyed spending time with my kids playing there! The decor was nice and liked the new colors in the cabin we had-more understated.

Can't think of anything else major that was different. (We were on the Veendam the previous spring) Ask if you have anything specific in mind.

[Bill HaHa]

We were on it October 2009. 8 days to Mexico. A very good cruise. We had a great time. The ship looked to be in grear shape

[iamaphisig]

I was on the Veendam from 12/21-1/6 (we disembarked early) Valparaiso to Rio via Antarctica and the ship was BEAUTIFUL. We were on Code Red LITERALLY the entire time we were on the ship, but boy did the crew go above and beyond to keep the ship clean and functioning throughout. We were super impressed by the service, amenities, and options for things to do. We loved it so much, we're going on another HAL cruise next month! (Just booked Oosterdam Mexican Riviera today!!)

[davidgilead]

What's "Code Red"? Will be on the Veendam in June - Code Red sounds kind of ominous.

[mudscraper]

I was on the Veendam from 12/21-1/6 (we disembarked early) Valparaiso to Rio via Antarctica and the ship was BEAUTIFUL. We were on Code Red LITERALLY the entire time we were on the ship, but boy did the crew go above and beyond to keep the ship clean and functioning throughout. We were super impressed by the service, amenities, and options for things to do. We loved it so much, we're going on another HAL cruise next month! (Just booked Oosterdam Mexican Riviera today!!)
You`ll love the Oosterdam.
We were on her for 11 days in January. Great crew. Excellent food and an immaculate ship. Our 2 day precruise stay in San Diego was fantastic.
Have fun.


Rich

[iamaphisig]

Code Red is another name for an outbreak of the Norovirus (cruise ship flu)... It hit on our 2nd day of the cruise, causing them to close the library, laundry, sauna, pools, internet cafe, etc. The buffet was no longer "self-serve." When shopping in the giftshop or gambling in the casino you had to wear rubber gloves. No fun! My husband got a very mild case, I somehow managed to avoid it. It's nothing too serious, it just seems more pronounced because they monitor it so well... but it can lead to a LOOOONNGG couple of days when you're quarantined to your cabin!! : )

[ldog]

We were on the Antarctica trip in January. The Veendam was a great ship! The crew are fabulous and work very hard. Yes, we had the norovirus through most of the trip but it was harder on the crew than on us.

I'm not a fan of the retreat area on the aft deck. It's very crowded and the new loungers are slippery.

They did use the large screen to play 'Evita' the night that we were in Buenos Aires but they only ran it at 9 pm. We were eating dinner then. They didn't use it after that.

The mix area is pretty but the chairs aren't very comfortable.

The food in the dining room was some of the best we've had. The chefs had a very light touch on the seafood and chicken. It was moist and tasty. On other ships a lot of the food is overcooked and dry.