Live From the Veendam - Limping to Tampa

[SOUTHOF30A]

We're limping back to Tampa at less than full speed, having had to skip Cozumel due to a propeller problem which developed on our first night out (11/18). We also had to skip Key West due to this problem. Crew attempted to fix during the cruise, to no avail.

Makes you wonder how this will affect future sailings.

Got some decent future cruise credits, shipboard credits and free booze this morning, but would have rather have gone to Cozumel.

[jhannah]

Wow! That's too bad. I hope they can fix it while in port.

[silvercruiser]

Sounds like our problems last spring on the Ryndam. They said they were flying a crew in from Finland to fix the propeller......year, sure.

[SOUTHOF30A]

They flew in 3 guys to Santo Tomas yesterday but they were unable to fix during the night.

[fsdj1097]

I have been following Captain Albert's weblog the past couple of days and he noted the problem with the Veendam their first night out of Tampa which caused the missed port in Key West.

There was no mention of further issues through the 21st, but also noted that Captain Albert did not post to his Weblog yesterday.

[hammybee]

I read almost all CC boards and there are mechanical problems onboard at least one cruise ship, any cruise line, at any point in time. Unfortunately, it sounds as though this time, it the Veendam's turn.

Glad to hear you are making the best of things. Have a safe journey home.

[HokiePoq]

Sure hope it's all fixed by December 9th!!!!
Do they ever cancel due to these things?
I would hate to miss 2 of the ports, especially Coz.

[sail7seas]

Very sorry to hear you missed ports..... that is always disappointing. Happy to hear the repair has been accomplished and all is now well.

Nice that HAL gave you those nice credits and the drinks. They really don't have to which makes it even 'sweeter.'

Enjoy the rest of your time aboard.

[hammybee]

Sure hope it's all fixed by December 9th!!!!
Do they ever cancel due to these things?
I would hate to miss 2 of the ports, especially Coz.


Every cruise line has had to cancel a cruise or change intineraries due to mechanical issues. It is not however, anywhere near as common as it is with airlines.

I think it reasonable to assume HAL and every cruise line will do everything possible to correct and/or manage a mechanical issue to enbale future sails to progress.

They have a tremendous amount of revenue at risk and loss of productivity for their onboard crew, as motivation. Canceling a sail is no small matter for any cruise line.

Missing ports, changes to port times and even different ports are a fact of life in cruising due to the many variables, mechanical issues, weather, sea conditions and issues at the various ports.

The uncertainty associated with cruising with any cruise line is a part of the adventure. Hang in there and enjoy the ride.:)

[Spoely]

Well, shoot. Looks like we may have a slow boat to the islands -- no problem. We will have a marvelous time even if we have port changes or cancellations. Always have liked the sea days best. :)

Thanks for letting us know, SOUTHOF30A.

Cheers,
Spoely

[Briny]

Uh-oh. First the air conditioning problems, and now this. We are booked for the Veendam’s December 9 sailing, and I really hope they have things fixed by then. Personally, as far as I am concerned, they could just take the ship out in the Gulf of Mexico and follow the good weather wherever it takes us. I love being on the ship more than anything. This time, however, we have convinced my 82-year-old mother that this would be a good first cruise…and she really has her heart set on seeing all the ports of call on the itinerary. For her sake, I hope they can make things right in the next couple of weeks.

SOUTHOF30A - Thanks for the heads-up.

[localady]

Briny-
Hey think of it this way, they have 2 weeks to get it fixed.:D The obvious cancellation would be San Juan, as we are only there from 4pm- 12:00. Just praying it doesn't effect Bonaire and Aruba, for a snorkeling girl like myself, that would be very sad.:o Isla de Margarita would be another candidate, but we will see how this plays out.

Thanks for letting us know, our CC group will try to let you know the status on the next cruise.:D

[jtl513]

What kind of propeller problem could a ship have that could possibly fixed while she's still in the water? :confused: :confused:

[localady]

What kind of propeller problem could a ship have that could possibly fixed while she's still in the water? :confused: :confused:
My guess and hope (as I am embarking the Veendam God-willing on Sunday;) ) is that the damage is to the drive shaft or it's electrical workings vs the "propeller". Something that can be rectified with the right parts.......
And yes, the glass IS 1/2 full!;) :D

[localady]

Okay off to pack, but I did a bit of checking before I do.
This is an excerpt of what Capt. Albert had to say in his blog about the propeller.
"Just before midnight we had to slow down again as we developed issues with one of the propeller shafts. It took all night and most of the early morning to control the problem and as a result we had to cancel our call at Key West."

[jtl513]

... issues with one of the propeller shafts."Thanks! :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

So nice of Southof30A to post about this problem and so sorry they missed 2 ports on a 7 day cruise ... really too bad considering the 150+ kids onboard who I'm sure were looking forward to getting off.

Clearly it's not fixed yet, but like someone else said just put me on the ship and push me out to sea and I'm fine. I cruise to be on the big blue ocean in Captain Albert's "little blue boat" so all's right with the world!

As long as the A/C works and the plumbing doesn't back up, we'll be happy!

[Briny]

Briny-
Hey think of it this way, they have 2 weeks to get it fixed.:D The obvious cancellation would be San Juan, as we are only there from 4pm- 12:00. Just praying it doesn't effect Bonaire and Aruba, for a snorkeling girl like myself, that would be very sad.:o Isla de Margarita would be another candidate, but we will see how this plays out.

Thanks for letting us know, our CC group will try to let you know the status on the next cruise.:D

localady – thanks for the kind words of encouragement. :) I’m sure Captain Albert and his crew will do everything in their power to take care of the problem. Hope you have a fabulous cruise.

[booboo29]

DH and I returned this week from 2 weeks on the Veendam and I had hoped to do a more detailed review, but I thought I would just throw in a few comments for now.

We were late to San Juan because of engine trouble, not only by a few hours. It did not affect our arrival to the rest of the Islands, which were great.

We were on deck 9 and there was almost always a bucket or 2 outside of our cabin catching a drip of some sort, but they got that all sorted out before we left on Sunday. We had no problems with plumbing whatsoever and I didn't hear about any major problems.

AC is another issue. We found our cabin to be way too hot and it registered at about 75-77 degrees. It was checked several times a day and the crew went above and beyond the call of duty to attempt to make us comfortable. We were issued a fan and they were able to cool it down some, but we still kept our curtains closed at all times to make sure we didn't add any heat from the sun. We were told the usual temp for the cabins is 72 degrees. This is warmer than I keep my house, and I know we have been able to make our cabins cooler on other HAL ships.

Besides the cabin, the AC was a little hit and miss. The Crows Nest was ALWAYS cool and we spent a lot of time there after being out in the sun all day. The Reubens Lounge was hot, but we were only there once. The Lido was comfortable. As you walk around the ship, you will hit certain areas that are warmer than others, but we understood that it was in improvement from previous weeks, so we are thankful.

HAL was really trying hard to solve the problems and they did offer many passengers a choice between credit on the current cruise or future cruise credit. I appreciated the guesture and felt it was appropriate. We will be back on HAL again!

Jennifer

[bepsf]

Briny-
Hey think of it this way, they have 2 weeks to get it fixed.:D The obvious cancellation would be San Juan, as we are only there from 4pm- 12:00. Just praying it doesn't effect Bonaire and Aruba, for a snorkeling girl like myself, that would be very sad.:o Isla de Margarita would be another candidate, but we will see how this plays out.

Thanks for letting us know, our CC group will try to let you know the status on the next cruise.:D


HAL won't ever cancel San Juan if they can avoid it - That's where the garbage is offloaded...

...more likely one of the more distant ports would be cancelled.

[Deb C.]

And don't forget our $15.00 port charges returned to us for missing Grand Cayman (and the free rum punch for the evening show!!)

I have never had port charges returned to me when we missed a port. Nice touch this time! Deb

[KAYEF]

Nothing like HAL...................
we missed ports, limped along on "one engine" according to the "captain" and got NOTHING on NCL.
No one even got a refund of port charges................that's what we got for trying another cruiseline.:cool:
Sorry you are having problems.
Me? You could push the ship out to sea for the entire time; I love those sea days.
But, if it's your first cruise OR your first time in an area, I know you want to "hit the ports."
Keep us informed..................we love Veendam.

[venicecruiser]

I was on the 11/4-11/18 Southern Caribbean cruise. My cabin was on Main Deck and I had absolutely no A/C problems. I also had no issues with plumbing.

Another poster was correct in that different areas of the ship had very noticeable temperature differences. The Crows Nest was always so cold that I avoided it. The Ocean Bar was often uncomfortably warm. The casino flucuated between being too cool and way too warm....

We missed Grand Cayman due to high winds and fairly rough seas. As the poster above stated we DID receive a credit for the port tax. I've cruised several other lines, missed ports, and never received a refund of port tax. I was surprised and pleased to see that HAL refunded the tax.

All in all, it was a wonderful two weeks onboard Veendam. I am sorry, however, to learn that the next cruise included 2 missed ports.

Claudia

[onthegogirl]

And don't forget our $15.00 port charges returned to us for missing Grand Cayman (and the free rum punch for the evening show!!)

I have never had port charges returned to me when we missed a port. Nice touch this time! Deb


This is a brilliant marketing decision. Great goodwill for a relatively small price. The bean counters ( I used to be one:eek: ) were probably apoplectic at the missed opportunity for additional revenue but the goodwill generated will translate to the bottom line with customer loyalty. This decision is a win win, IMHO.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Claudia:) , welcome home!!! I looked all week for news from you! So glad to hear you had a good time I guess no news is generally pretty good news! When things are really bad, we tend to hear right away;) .

[sarplum]

we have friends going on the Dec 9th sailing. The Veendam usually sails
from Tampa top the Western Carib, (not San Juan). Thie sailing is still
listed for those ports. Now to get to my question. The do not use this
board. Should I frighten them? They are so enthusiastic that I would
hate to spoil their fun.

[boards]

I wouldn't bother them about it, by the time that date comes around the ship will be fine. I am sure eventually they will hear about it, but why upset them.

[Briny]

we have friends going on the Dec 9th sailing. The Veendam usually sails
from Tampa top the Western Carib, (not San Juan). Thie sailing is still
listed for those ports. Now to get to my question. The do not use this
board. Should I frighten them? They are so enthusiastic that I would
hate to spoil their fun.
I guess the answer depends on your friends -- and you know them better than anyone here. If they are they type (like my mother is) to worry and lose sleep if things might not turn out perfectly, then you probably should just keep this to yourself. We have decided to keep mum to my Mum about this. Why should we get her unnecessarily worried about something over which she has no control, possibly spoiling her excitement in anticipation of her first cruise. After all, HAL has two weeks to get things right, and you can rest assured that they will do everything they can to keep on cruising…and making money.

We’ll be on the same cruise. Maybe we’ll meet your friends.:)

[HeatherInFlorida]

we have friends going on the Dec 9th sailing. The Veendam usually sails
from Tampa top the Western Carib, (not San Juan). Thie sailing is still
listed for those ports. Now to get to my question. The do not use this
board. Should I frighten them? They are so enthusiastic that I would
hate to spoil their fun.

I wouldn't mention it. What will be will be. Truthfully I think I'd prefer I didn't know. The only thing that would upset me now is if they canceled my cruise. Beyond that, how bad can it be?

I don't care if we limp:o .

[tomc]

localady -- And yes, the glass IS 1/2 full! My philosophy is: Half full or half empty ... it's time for a refill!

[venicecruiser]

Thanks, Heather! I enjoyed the 14 days on Veendam as much as I enjoyed being onboard on the transat in April. Only "problem" I had this time was with the shore-ex managers. I believe they need to find other employment and none that requires dealing with customers.....

Claudia

[HeatherInFlorida]

................ I believe they need to find other employment and none that requires dealing with customers.....

Claudia

Ouch!!! Well, hopefully we won't need them ... we booked all our excursions in advance and plan no changes.

I'm envying you that Prinsendam cruise in your signature!!! We have the same taste in ships, it seems!:)

[smokesmom]

I guess the answer depends on your friends -- and you know them better than anyone here. If they are they type (like my mother is) to worry and lose sleep if things might not turn out perfectly, then you probably should just keep this to yourself. We have decided to keep mum to my Mum about this. Why should we get her unnecessarily worried about something over which she has no control, possibly spoiling her excitement in anticipation of her first cruise. After all, HAL has two weeks to get things right, and you can rest assured that they will do everything they can to keep on cruising…and making money.

We’ll be on the same cruise. Maybe we’ll meet your friends.:)

Glad to hear from others who will be on the 12/9 Veendam cruise. Come on over to the roll call. We are a friendly bunch. :)

[HokiePoq]

We sure are. I did tell my DH but am hoping no news is good news from HAL and that all will go on as scheduled for those of us on Dec. 9 cruise out of Tampa.
So sorry you guys missed two ports.

[JimVrhovac]

Does the shaft problem meen that I have to go out tonight and purchase a spare shaft and take it to the dock with us. The SUV is already full inside and on top

Ruth & Jim

[mamaofami]

A limping ship is a lot better than no ship at all. Hope you all have a wonderful cruise.

[maxout]

Does the shaft problem meen that I have to go out tonight and purchase a spare shaft and take it to the dock with us. The SUV is already full inside and on top

Ruth & Jim


In my experience, it's better NOT to get the "shaft". ;) :D

[ldog]

In my experience, it's better NOT to get the "shaft". ;) :D

what I would have said if I was fast enough on the uptake:rolleyes:

[Copper10-8]

From Capt. Schoonderbeek's blog today re; the shaft problem:

As I had been fearing the good plans did not work. We could not make up the 1.5 hours lost on departure Santo Tomas and starboard propeller shaft was still playing up. Thus in the course of the morning I had to cancel the call at Cozumel. Based on the ships speed, we would have arrived at 4 pm in the afternoon or even after, while having to leave again by 6pm. in order not to endanger the arrival time in Tampa. Although I have a lot of Tampa people on board, there is still a considerable number that has to fly and I can not jeopardize those flights, if I can help it.

Thus the company sent another letter with a compensation offer, we did an open bar on the Navigation deck and Lido deck in the late morning and the ship sailed on to Tampa. It is for us all on board very fustrating to have to deal with an issue we can not control. The engineers are trying very hard to resolve the issue, we were making progress and then there is a setback again during the night. My chief engineer is not a happy camper at the moment and is making long hours downstairs. We have the technicians on board to work on supplying more power to the shaft and I have high hopes that there will be a minimum impact on the next cruise. Luckily when we are island hopping, the distances are very short and the average speed to maintain quite low. Thus I am keeping my fingers crossed.

It is only an issue that affects us on higher speeds. The ship is safe and I can maneuver in and out every port and under every circumstance without a problem. I just can’t crank the ship up to warp speed at the moment.

[Jsipes]

Just be Thankful you weren't on a lifeboat in the Antartic... :D

[jimgev]

"Does the shaft problem meen that I have to go out tonight and purchase a spare shaft and take it to the dock with us. The SUV is already full inside and on top"

The latest update from Captain Albert indicates that your offer might be appreciated Jim.

I hope they get it figured out by April!
Jim

[iancal]

I do not think that refund of port charges for not stopping at the port is something to complement HAL for . It should be expected. These are per person taxes levied by and paid to, the respective jurisdictions when the ship docks. Over the past eighteen months, we have had port charges automatically refunded by to our shipboard account by both Princess and NCL. And is has happened on a number of other cruises.