Veendam vs. Norwegian Dawn to Bermuda

Trying to decide between these 2 ships for a last minute cruise to Bermuda with my elderly mother who has some mobility issues. She can do some stairs, but also uses a walker. We will also have a wheelchair with us, in case needed for port visit activities.

I know the Veendam is able to dock in Hamilton where as the Dawn requires a ferry to reach land. Can anyone give me insight as to mobility related challenges with either docking areas/towns (other than the added required ferry), meaning are there steep uphill grades involved which would impact our decision? And any other issues like that? We want to be sure she is able to get around with her walker or that we are able to push her in her wheelchair.

The other things I haven't been able to find are copies of "dailies" for this trip on the Veendam. Found them for the Dawn, but was hoping to see the available activities on the Veendam.

Any insight between these 2 ships for us would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!!

These are the dailies from the Veendam Bermuda last year. I would think they would not change a lot:

https://solocabinchallenge.wordpress.com/programs/veendamlocation/

I'll mention one thing about HAL that might be an advantage. On each cruise they have a crew member called the "Location Guide" who is the authority on the ports. As well as doing port talks, they have desk hours where they answer individual questions and are stationed at the gangway for the first couple hours at a port for anything last minute. I would guess they would be a great source of information on accessibility issues.

One new thing NCL is doing this year is they provide free chartered ferries to Hamilton, although it's only every couple of hours. On the Veendam you can come and go as you wish.

If you have a great desire to see St. George, NCL might be better for that. No direct ferry service Hamilton to St. George so from the Veendam would need to either take the ferry to Kings Wharf and then connect to St. George or go by road. The buses did not look accessible.

Roy

People seem to either love or hate Veendam on here so get ready for a lot of... "passionate" replies whatever they may be.

I will say that Dawn was just re-done and the pictures I have seen show a beautifully refreshed ship with modern touches almost everywhere.

HAL is going to have an advantage on service, main dining room food quality and drink prices.

Either way, have fun. I'm sure more will throw in their 2 cents

I think you may have some misconceptions of Bermuda. If your ship docks in Kings Wharf, you do not need a ferry to 'reach land'. The dockyard is right there, and is 'land' . One of my stops in Bermuda I docked at King's Wharf and took the bus all the way around to St. George's. It was interesting, seeing Bermuda from one end to the other. On a previous visit, we docked in Hamilton and a day later traded places with another ship and docked at St. George's. St. George's is much more historic/interesting to me than Hamilton. I didn't find much in Hamilton of interest except a very old church, unless you want to shop in expensive stores. If you choose Veendam and dock in Hamilton, you can take a bus or taxi to St. George's. Or to Dockyard, but it is more adventurous to take the ferry (which is fully accessible). Bermuda is not a mountainous island, just some small hills. ( They do refer to themselves as hilly...). I googles 'accessible Bermuda' and got these hite:

https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_00029c.htm

http://www.bermuda-online.org/BPHA.htm

You might also ask for advice on the Disabled Cruising forum here, under Special Interest Cruising. EM

Size might matter to your mom. The Dawn is bigger. She's about 250 feet longer, and she can carry almost 1,000 more cruisers. Athough I haven't cruised on the Dawn, I have cruised on her sister, the Star, and she felt a lot bigger than the Veendam. We just completed a Canada/New England cruise on the Veendam, and we loved her, especially her smaller size.

Just my 2 cents -- I think your mother will enjoy the smaller ship (Veendam) and docking in Hamilton.

We have done a couple of Bermuda cruises and both were on smaller ships where we docked in St Georges (which Veendam can't do any more) and downtown Hamilton. We loved being able to come and go whenever we wanted to.

 

 

If you have a great desire to see St. George, NCL might be better for that. No direct ferry service Hamilton to St. George so from the Veendam would need to either take the ferry to Kings Wharf and then connect to St. George or go by road. The buses did not look accessible.

 

Roy

Unless the ferry service has changed, there is no need to 'connect' to St. George at Kings Wharf.

We took the Veendam a few years ago and when going to St. George, just boarded the ferry at Hamilton (the pier for the ferry is just a short walk from where the Veendam is docked).

Once on the ferry, we stopped at King's Wharf...but did not have to get off. We simply stayed in our seats until the King's Wharf passengers boarded and then continued on to St. George. No 'connection' required.

HAL has better options for room service including delivery from the Main Dining Room.

Having been on the Dawn and just got off the Veendam 's Bermuda cruise last week, I would vote for the Veendam.

Generally speaking, the Veendam offer a slower pace and less crowd. We have never had problems finding a seat in the Lido buffet area whereas on the Dawn, the buffet area can be a zoo at certain time during the day.

What about the Summit from cape liberty

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Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful responses! I truly appreciate it! As it turns out, we found out today that we were only able to get an accessible cabin on the Dawn, so we weren't able to choose in the end.

Thank you for the info you've provided. It will be helpful as I plan our time in Bermuda. :)

Hands Down, it would be the ms Veendam, without question.

We are booked on her for a Newfoundland and Labrador voyage, love that size ship as well as the ms Koningsdam.

Edit to delete post. I just saw your response about booking the Dawn so my post really isn't relevant any longer.

Have a great time!

What about the Summit from cape liberty

 

 

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We did the Summit last year and we just got off the Veendam from Bermuda literally this morning. Veendam is a vastly better experience. Being docked in Hamilton away from the big ships in the dockyard was much more enjoyable. The dockyard is very commercial- sort of like the Times Square of Bermuda. It's touristy and tacky.

Hamilton is in the middle of the island so getting anywhere is a lot easier. With Veendam you get three full nights docked which made a huge difference over the 2 you get elsewhere. And the size of Veendam was great- no lines or crowds.

We also found the food to be a significant upgrade over Summit. Both the dining room and specialty restaurants on Veendam were more elegant than Summit.

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I sailed on Dawn's sister ship in March and submitted this review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2492505

I sailed on Dawn's sister ship in March and submitted this review:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2492505

I vote for the Veendam and docking in Hamilton.

While the Dockyard is an interesting area to spend a day visiting the museum, fort and the shopping area, it is located at the far tip of the island and it is a long trip to anywhere.

We have been there twice on the Veendam and once on the Prinsendam.

We bought multiday bus/ferry passes and took the ferry to the Dockyard. The local busses have their main station in Hamilton and it is easy to ride to St George's. There is a bus stop at the aquarium, the caves and, in another direction, the lighthouse. We felt perfectly safe using public transportation---much different from Caribbean islands where we wouldn't consider it.

On Wednesday evenings the street in front of where the Veendam docks is closed to traffic and used for a local street fair which is fun. You will find good quality goods for sale.

I vote for the Veendam and docking in Hamilton.

While the Dockyard is an interesting area to spend a day visiting the museum, fort and the shopping area, it is located at the far tip of the island and it is a long trip to anywhere.

We have been there twice on the Veendam and once on the Prinsendam.

We bought multiday bus/ferry passes and took the ferry to the Dockyard. The local busses have their main station in Hamilton and it is easy to ride to St George's. There is a bus stop at the aquarium, the caves and, in another direction, the lighthouse. We felt perfectly safe using public transportation---much different from Caribbean islands where we wouldn't consider it.

 

On Wednesday evenings the street in front of where the Veendam docks is closed to traffic and used for a local street fair which is fun. You will find good quality goods for sale.

Looking forward to our 1st time in Bermuda when we board the Veendam on July 8.

Had already planned a day trip to St George`s using the local bus system and attending the street fair on Wednesday night.

Is a trip to Dockyard using the ferry really worth it? There are two of us and only one really enjoys shopping :D unless we go wine shopping ;p

Looking forward to our 1st time in Bermuda when we board the Veendam on July 8.

Had already planned a day trip to St George`s using the local bus system and attending the street fair on Wednesday night.

Is a trip to Dockyard using the ferry really worth it? There are two of us and only one really enjoys shopping :D unless we go wine shopping ;p

Louis, shopping is only a small part of the Dockyard. The Fort is very interesting and the Bermuda Museum is housed there in the fort. There is a good restaurant called The Frog and Onion just outside the fort.

Also just below the fort is a nice little beach. You have to pay to use it.

Even if you dislike shopping, the shopping area is housed in the old naval buildings which make for interesting poking around. Unlike the Caribbean, in Bermuda, the goods offered for sale are good quality things you would actually use.

One of the interesting things to do in St. George's is to poke around the old cemetery in the churchyard. If you like old European cemeteries you will like it.

Unless the ferry service has changed, there is no need to 'connect' to St. George at Kings Wharf.

 

We took the Veendam a few years ago and when going to St. George, just boarded the ferry at Hamilton (the pier for the ferry is just a short walk from where the Veendam is docked).

 

Once on the ferry, we stopped at King's Wharf...but did not have to get off. We simply stayed in our seats until the King's Wharf passengers boarded and then continued on to St. George. No 'connection' required.

This is no longer correct. You do have to switch ferries at Dockyard to go to St. George. You get a transfer on the way off the dockyard ferry and hand it in when embarking the second ferry. There are limited trips to St. George. If you plan it right, you can go directly from the Dockyard ferry onto the St. George ferry (and cut the line in my experience); otherwise you have to hang out at Dockyard to wait for the next one.

I noticed that the Norwegian ship had a special reserved ferry for their passengers to St. George (did not see one for Hamilton but they may well have had one of those too). I liked the central location of Hamilton and just getting off the ship and being in the thick of everything. the Dockyard ships don't require any special ferry to get to land, but it looked like a pretty long walk just to get to the shops/attractions of the dockyard, and I imagine that the bus to other points of the island gets filled mighty quick when a couple thousand people pour out of whatever two ships are in port that day (one of the behemoths of the seas was there when we were, shudder).

I realize that OP has already selected Norwegian for a very good reason. Also want to chime in though that in addition to the prime parking spot in Hamilton, Veendam's sail in to port is pretty cool. Once you pass the Dockyards, the ship passes between these two small islands that are fairly close together. There are some nice houses to gawk at on the way in, and we were there during the pre-America's Cup hoopla so there were some nice sailing boats to look at too. We happened to be greeted by the US Coast Guard barque Eagle, which was a nice surprise from my hometown. I imagine some of the luxury yachts will be there all summer.

As for activities on Veendam, during the week there was bingo four times, tea every day, the usual show and musical entertainment every night, usual array of Microsoft computer and digital imaging classes, three or four America's Test Kitchen demonstrations, two or three BBC Earth presentations, multiple movie showings every day, trivia I think twice a day, casino was open much of the time, well-stocked library, On Deck for a Cause. Not as big an emphasis on the art auctions as I recall from my Alaska trip last year (although as I mentioned elsewhere today, there was an event billed as "High Tea" in the Ocean Bar that was a front for the art stuff). My problem with the activities was that the stuff I wanted to do was all scheduled at more or less the same time so I mostly had to amuse myself.

Anyway, I enjoyed the cruise and being in Hamilton and I would not hesitate to book it again.

Any insight between these 2 ships for us would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!!

I know nothing about Veendam but I would stick pick it over Dawn. Dawn was my worst cruise and one of only 2 ships I've sailed that I will never set foot on again.