VEENDAM IN A NUT SHELL (long)

[PathfinderEss]

Let me preface this with the fact that we had a wonderful time on our cruise and we also had lots of fun sharing it with our friends. I'm going to try and keep this short and to the point, which is really not my style but I will try.
Wow, have things changed on the Veendam and most of it not for the better, sorry to say. Now don't go off the deep end on me, the food in the Pinnacle and Rotterdam dinning room was great as always, service was good.
The ship was clean, air conditioning worked, etc..
We decide to try anytime dinning, still can't figure it out. If it is anytime dinning why did we need to make a reservation. I understand it was so that we didn't need to wait for a table, but what’s the point of that. Might as well eat at the normal set times, especially being the set times for anytime dinning was the same as the regular dinning times. I heard people were waiting 45 mins to get a beeper and then another 45 mins to get a table the first night. I believe there must have been something going on because I again heard the same story from passengers having breakfast the next morning in the dinning room that also had to wait a long time for their meals. Worse then the night before, something like 2 hours one passenger told me. Whatever was going on did seem to clear up as this only seemed to transpire on the first few day.
On to the bad part, we decided to tried dinner in the Italian restaurant “Canaletto” in the Lido. Total failure, it was awful. The wait staff was excellent though, they tried so hard to make it right but the food was a total failure. Needless to say we became quite chummy with Executive Head Chef Karl. Wonderful man, so tall and handsome, I have a feeling that it will improve under his supervision.
Our Captain was "PJ" van Maurik whom we sailed with on the Ryndam a few years back. Such a personable Captain, always more then happy to talk to the passengers. We enjoy some great conversations with him again on this cruise.
……….but I'm getting ahead of myself, embarkation was horrible, not Hal’s fault. Was the pier staff or their higher ups. Anyone familiar with San Diego knows about the front gate you come thru to get to the ships. Well we were stopped outside the gate and had to stand in an extraordinarily long line along with the embarking RC passenger in the heat with luggage in tow. No porters to help, felt very sorry for people who did not have roller bags and of course the very elderly.. We were told it was because the RC ships had come in late, and certainly that was possible…...but just as bad as checking-in, getting off the ship was worse. We encounter something new, a “silent” disembarkation, what a fiasco. I probably don't need to tell you what a mess that turned out to be, as everyone wanted to get off the ship at the same time even though we all had different numbers, what a joke. I sure hope Hal doesn't make a practice of doing it, because it was a dismal failure.
The cruise before ours was a chartered “Blues Cruise”. They had to deal with a late season hurricane, so that cruise end up basically being a trip to nowhere. What a great time they must have had even so, they drank and drank and drank, so much that on our first day they were pretty much out of a lot of liquid libations. OJ to Miller Light was non existence but that did improved as they got their supplies out of the hole and up to the bars the next day.
We did noticed how much more Hal has cut back their crew, we were on a cruise in January and it was somewhat noticeable then but wow, this time it was obvious. Did it effect our cruise, yes, as it was hard to get waited on in the bars, just not enough help. Room stewards we're being overly taxed, and not getting some rooms cleaned up until very late in the day. Not their fault as they are covering more and more cabins with fewer staff.
New bar area, or as they call it “Mixes”, I have to defer to the piano bar player observation, it was like playing in Marcy’s and I had to agree. Very large open area, overly lit for what reason I have no idea. The Martini bar was ok but saw very few people using it and much of the time I could not get waited on, not knowing where the bar tender was, possibly covering the Beer Pub, I don't know. The Champagne bar, never saw anyone using it, in fact there’s really is no bar or anyway to sit around it like at the Martini bar, another thing I didn't get the point of. Sports area or I guess the Beer Pub look good, did see passengers enjoying it. I really liked the new tables in the sports bar with the electronic games built in, that was fun.
Went to a few shows , I found them to be quite good, and this is coming from someone who doesn't usually do the shows. I'm like a piano bar junky but though piano man “Dave” was ok, just not good enough for me to stay for.
Now about the new aft rooms and aft “poolette”, never got to see them but did meet up with the young men who came on board to try to fix it. Have no idea if they accomplished their task or not, but here’s the interesting thing. They had to replace all the cement floor in the new aft cabins and hallways. Seems someone did not do it right the first time around. We got to see trash can after trash can of used broken up concrete coming down the hallways. So not only did Hal give us all $100 per person for not being able to use the “Retreat” area but apparently they could not use any of the new aft cabins.. Talk about loosing some money, wow!
We were in a deluxe suite and the new decor looks nice. I'm not sure about the bathroom counter being chocolate brown, I guess just a matter of taste but it just looks strange and what is with the foe wheat color fabricated tile that’s covering all the inside shower, toilet area. It looks cheap, I'm sure it was a inexpensive way to cover up the old. Just seems tacky to me. Also as much as we all love Hal’s beds, they really need to change their mattresses. Seems to me they're just not holding up well.
Oh yes, we also had a total electrical failure one day lasting just a few minutes, my guess was it had to do with the guys working in the “Retreat” area. Funny thing was after that I kept getting brown water out of all the faucets in our cabin.
The new Mariners program seems to be working well. We got a nice discount on our dinner at the Pinnacle. Though, because we were in a suite most of the 4 star advantages you already get. They did have a separate line at embarkation for suites and 4 star Mariners.
We have been to Mexico so many times, we don't do excursions anymore, we just have our favorite haunts that we go to, for shrimp, calamari, guacamole, margaritas and chips, ole’.
Like I said in the beginning, we had a good cruise but ask me if I would sail on the Veendam anytime soon, I would have to reply no………..and because of that I am questioning a cruise we have planned for the Rotterdam. I think I'll have to think twice about that one, as she is being retrofitted with the same amenities as the Veendam, I believe this month and what if it goes as well as the Veendam, whoa..............

[suse]

But, I am going to confess, it's been awhile since I've seen such a poor review. You said you had a good time but I can't tell where it was good?

[IRL_Joanie]

Thank you for the honest review!

I hope you go ahead with the Rotterdam and not let the problems you had discourage you.

Joanie

[cruisun]

I may be wrong but just as in your title it seems that there are many contradictions contained in your review. "in a nut shell"......"long"

[CowPrincess]

PathfinderEss, I think (though I may be wrong) that the changes to the aft deck that were SUPPOSED to be done on the others ships soon have been deferred for a couple of years.

Thanks for your review. Sounds like a "mixed bag" kind of cruise, glad you were still able to enjoy it. We sailed once with Capt PJ and were VERY impressed with how close he got us to the glaciers

[lardor]

[quote=[SIZE=3]
We decide to try anytime dinning, still can't figure it out. If it is anytime dinning why did we need to make a reservation. I understand it was so that we didn't need to wait for a table, but what’s the point of that. Might as well eat at the normal set times, especially being the set times for anytime dinning was the same as the regular dinning times. I heard people were waiting 45 mins to get a beeper and then another 45 mins to get a table the first night. I believe there must have been something going on because I again heard the same story from passengers having breakfast the next morning in the dinning room that also had to wait a long time for their meals. Worse then the night before, something like 2 hours one passenger told me. Whatever was going on did seem to clear up as this only seemed to transpire on the first few day.

Pretty much the same from our Veendam 14 days to Alaska, but the "dining" part didn't fit.
we had 33 Veendam days last fall, 14 days this year with anytime dining. I never made a reservation, we usually ate between 6:30 and 7 and never had to wait... We ate breakfast once in the GDR, very short wait but service was way too slow for us and never went back....
We are doing the Rotterdam in March (fingers crossed) and then I think I'll save my money until I can do more on the Oceania boats...
[/size]

[Jemima]

Our cruises were on different HAL ships and were one month later and one month earlier than OP's cruises. We did not see any differences in service or staffinng levels between our Feb. cruise and our Sept./Oct. cruise.
Open dining including reservation times has been frequently mentioned on CC, so I'm surprised that OP was surprised by the reservation times. Our service in open seating has been just as good as fixed seating, but that's our experience. We've had open seating the last several cruises.
Lounge staffing may be down a little from several years ago, but we never have problems being served. If they don't come to us, I simply ask.
Cabin cleaning load doesn't seem to have changed except it is now done by a team of two with their cabins combined. We had late cleaning on the Veendam last year because we were "end of the line", middish on the Zaandam last spring and early on the Eurodam this fall. They seem to be expected to do the cabins in a certain order.

[luvcruisn']

Hi Melodie. Thanks for your review. From all the posts on the Veendam I'm not keen on trying it. I hope they don't do as much to the Rotterdam as they've done to the Veendam. For our group of nine on the Zuiderdam in August, we were able to reserve for two nights at a time, and got a reservation every night for 7:45pm after the first night. The first night we waited in line, and then they seated us at two tables, next to each other, which couldn't be moved to make one table. Finally they understood that wasn't what we wanted, and seated us at the table which we continued to reserve for the remainder of the cruise.

[Sonora5]

I had to chuckle when reading your review. I was on the Blues Cruise you mention that sailed right before you. We did have a lot of sea days due to Hurricane Rick. Our only stop was Ensenada.

We were told that our cruise set a record for amount spent on bar tabs for a week cruise on the Veendam. Not surprising.

We were also in a deluxe suite. The Neptune staff were particularly nice, especially since our cabin flooded the first night. The carpeting was soaked clear to the outside wall on the far side of the bed. The staff tried very hard to make this right, but unfortunately lots and lots of blowers and dehumidifiers had to be deployed in our cabin and in the hall outside. This meant we had a hot, noisy room for a couple of days.

[PathfinderEss]

Originally Posted by suse

But, I am going to confess, it's been awhile since I've seen such a poor review. You said you had a good time but I can't tell where it was good?

I'm sorry Suse I thought I had made that clear, apparently not. I told you many things we enjoyed. We love Mexico and had a great time going to our favorite haunts. On the ship we enjoyed the shows, dinners at the Pinnacle, and the dinning room, like I said previously. Love being out on our balcony, the seas, the
sunsets, sleeping in. The electronic games in the Sports Bar, being with our friends, other passengers, the Captain, the Chef, etc.. Though all that I complained about was true, I tried to be fair and not over exaggerate the circumstances, I wanted to be honest about what we experienced. We try to take everything with a gain of salt. It certainly in no way ruined our cruise experience but like I said I would have to think long and hard about cruising on the Veendam again. I think out of some 26 cruises we have been on with Hal, this was my first more negative review. We love to cruise and it would take a total disaster for us not to enjoy our cruising experience. As everything, we have found that some are just better then others.

[gabbyisadog]

Do you know why your cabin flooded? Lots of things seem to go wrong on this ship and we sail on her for 16days beginning 12/5/

Thanks.

[suse]

Originally Posted by PathfinderEss

I'm sorry Suse I thought I had made that clear, apparently not. I told you many things we enjoyed. We love Mexico and had a great time going to our favorite haunts. On the ship we enjoyed the shows, dinners at the Pinnacle, and the dinning room, like I said previously. Love being out on our balcony, the seas, the
sunsets, sleeping in. The electronic games in the Sports Bar, being with our friends, other passengers, the Captain, the Chef, etc.. Though all that I complained about was true, I tried to be fair and not over exaggerate the circumstances, I wanted to be honest about what we experienced. We try to take everything with a gain of salt. It certainly in no way ruined our cruise experience but like I said I would have to think long and hard about cruising on the Veendam again. I think out of some 26 cruises we have been on with Hal, this was my first more negative review. We love to cruise and it would take a total disaster for us not to enjoy our cruising experience. As everything, we have found that some are just better then others.

thank you for your kind reply. Hope your next one is better for you. It's like anything else, some things are better than others. Hard to figure it out sometimes though, isn't it, what makes one better than another. Maybe the stars weren't aligned correctly or something. I don't believe in that stuff, but some people do.

[gabbyisadog]

Thanks for all the information. Any idea when repairs to aft cabins and retreat are to be completed? What was problem with food in Italian restaurant.

Thanks

[Sonora5]

Originally Posted by gabbyisadog

Do you know why your cabin flooded? Lots of things seem to go wrong on this ship and we sail on her for 16days beginning 12/5/

Thanks.

No. The water was coming from the panel behind the toilet in the bathroom. It was not related to anything we were doing in the bathroom, thank goodness. The staff were trying to fix it going through an access panel in the hallway outside our room.

We were about to leave the room when we discovered the flood-about an inch of water on the floor of the bathroom had accumulated at that point. It took the staffers several minutes to turn it off-maybe as long as 10-15 minutes. The Neptune concierge and the cabin steward were unable to stop the water and a plumber type guy had to come up to turn it off.

The hall carpet was soaked as well as the carpet in our room. The neighbors said they were not affected by it.

We did get a $200 ship credit and a bottle of wine, and many apologetic notes from the concierge.

[DFD1]

This is the first review I have read that focused on the major changes in Veendam and all the accompanying problems with them.

Thanks, Melodie, for the heads up. I think I'll stay away from Veendam and pray they leave the other ships alone until they get this mess straightened out.

[JimVrhovac]

Thank you for taaking the time to write your review.

It sounded like the cruise we took on her when she left drydock. The frustrating part is that they have screwed up our favorite ship and are about to do it to the Rotterdam.

Doesn't corporate ever learn or are they just stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111

Have a great week

Ruth & Jim

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Hi Melodie,

Thanks very much for your review - it was nice to know first hand about the changes - from what I can gain from my research into the Rotterdam drydock, according to HAL the "design flaw" that has caused the problems on the Veendam (I'm talking the retreat area) have been fixed and there are no plans to change the refit for the Rotterdam. I was told the chances of keeping the aft pool on any of the ships designated for the refit are "slim to none". Looks like everything is going ahead as planned.

Debbie

[mamaofami]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review. I certainly am having second thoughts about my planned cruise on Veendam. I'm also sorry to hear they're going ahead with these changes on the Rotterdam. I loved that ship and thought she was perfect, just the way she was.

I can't wait till everyone returns from the Rotterdam TA and tells us all about the cruise since it is the last one before the drydock.

[innlady1]

Disappointing for sure, pathfinderEss . I too am questioning the choice of our Bermuda cruise on the Veendam next October.

Having said that, it's better than the alternative (NCL) and we're anxious to get back to Bermuda (haven't been since October '93) and to sail from NYC again. And, I keep telling myself, "nothing is perfect." Although our cruises on the Noordam have been about as perfect as can be!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Melodie, thanks so much for your review and your obvious positive attitude about HAL overall, but obviously a lot of disappointment.

I'm sad to read this because our last HAL cruise was on Veendam before they took away my favorite deck. We had a cabin in the aft section and it was just a quick spin out to that amazing pool where I spent many an afternoo. So that change was not good news for me.

Also, the service we received on Veendam was about the best we've ever had. Sad HAL has had to cut back to the point that it's so obviously felt by the passengers. I just heard a similar report from a friend who just returned from the Eurodam. She said the service had taken a serious downturn.

But as you say, you can't beat being out there on the sea, sitting on the balcony, enjoying friends. Somehow you can still look back at some fantastic memories.