Live: A grouch's Veendam Hawaii cruise, January 2015.

Keep up the posts as you are very entertaining.

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John and Diane's LAST Round the World Adventure has a gazillion views, I'm hoping the Grouch can catch up. Two great writers with their own style, very entertaining.

We also found the early show to be very crowded, so we made sure we ate early. It's probably a good idea to hit the later show and I think we'll do that on this summer's cruise on the Noordam.

Two things we never did on our Veendam cruise, that we do intend to do the Noordam, are the afternoon tea and the 10:30pm buffet. Hopefully Holland America still has them on its ships.

Enjoying your updates, thanks.:)

Am enjoying your review. Looking forward to reading more.

Great review! Keep it coming! :D

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }January 24, 2015, Saturday, headed toward Lahaina

Excellent company last night at dinner, the Veendam has attracted a great group of cruisers. Nothing exciting on the menu last night, Mrs. Whogo had another fish we had never heard of. Where is the red snapper of yesteryear? Sustainable fish are not as tasty. Amusing performance by pianist Count Dimas, who might really be from Transylvania. Backed up by saxophone, guitar, drums and more, the music never reached the classical level. Comedy and fast playing left the crowd satisfied. I wondered why I never saw him touch the piano pedals.

The morning GPS reading showed us traveling at 20-21 mph with 966.1 miles to Lahaina. I figure that converts to a rectangle 18 knots by 1100 liters, but you might want to check my calculations. Still no automobile route.

I will try to live up to the grouch title. There was a wait for a table in the main dining room for breakfast. Breakfast. I find that unacceptable. I wonder if there is a bug going around affecting staffing levels, the crew has been scrubbing down the walls, no sign of code red, though. If the crew is healthy and staffing levels have been cut to the point where we have to wait for a table for breakfast there is something seriously wrong. Our orders were screwed up, too. Perhaps I was spoiled by the Prinsendam where there was never a wait for anything. I am still having a great cruise, but this is not the service I expect from Holland America.

The Veendam seems crowded. It may just be that everyone wants to do the same thing at the same time that I do and what is it about doorways that makes people want to stop there and block traffic? There is some unknown force that takes over the human body, voodoo or something. Some scientist should investigate.

I can not get my email to send and receive. Anyone know if Mediacom is having email troubles again? It might be my Macbook, the mail program keeps taking the accounts offline. It is vexing to try to investigate at $.50 per minute.

Glad you are having a good cruise but as far as some of your concerns...HAL built( a well) deserved reputation prior to Carnival Corp buying them. My first time on HAL was back in 1976 or 77 . My last cruise on HAL was about 4/5 years ago in the VEENDAM. Ours was only a 7 day Bermuda cruise but the cutbacks were in evidence back then. Firstly the aft pool was replaced w/ a horribly splash thingy so additional cabins could be added to the deck below - the midships pool was always packed. Fewer cabin stewards for more cabins meant slower service all around and the food was also cutback considerably - not only in choice but quality. Even the HVAC was affected because no accomodations were made to the infrastructure due to the change w/ additional cabins.

Now that these ships are getting on in age its funny HAL pushes them until real problems occur - even the Amsterdam - supposedly the lines premier ship-that is doing a world cruise has major HVAC & plumbing problems.

I did a TA on Prinsendam 6/7 years ago & tho she sailed beautifully she too had the same problems. The corporate structure permits Carnivore / HAL to charge such inexpensive rates so to bring about these monster size new builds while attracting others to pay for suites etc at higher rates that certainly do not live up to the marketing hype.

Even a few years ago I had never heard of anyone waiting for a table especially at breakfast - its too bad but also the way of the industry I am afraid.

Do enjoy the rest of your voyage -BTW - I too agree w/ you about your philosophy about waitstaff, etc.

We agree. On Veendam over Christmas, the cabin staff and restaurant staff were very obviously spread too thin.

We disembarked from the Veendam on 1/20/15 after the same R/T Hawaii cruise. I'll be interested to read your day by day report and compare with my diary.

Just off Veendam last Saturday (1/20/15), same cruise - early fixed seating was at 5:15, but we avoided the elevator crush & standing outside the DR, arrived at 5:30 & seemed just fine. There was 3:00 tea each day, didn't see a High Tea, but there was an English Tea once. No 10:30 Buffet that we saw.

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }January 25, 2015, Sunday, sailing towards Lahaina

No wait for a table last night! Upper management must be following this thread. The menu layout changed to mix the always available items in with everything else. Peaches were featured in lunch and dinner desserts.

There is a jazz group aboard, I have heard they number 100. I also heard 200. Either way, they have closed the showroom and crow's nest at times, it has not affected me. Some of their performances are open to the public. I sat out on the promenade deck to read for quite a while this afternoon. Others may have found it chilly, there were few people sitting on the shady side. The promenade deck is definitely better than our balcony to my way of thinking. It will be tough to justify a balcony, if we sail Holland America again.

J. Neal and Liane presented a great magic show, one trick has me stumped.

It is a big ocean. I have seen no other ship or any sea life for days. I have fallen into a gentle rhythm onboard. Starting tomorrow we have six port days in a row, it will be a shock to the system. We will see if I can keep up the reports.

I dressed in the dark, let Mrs. Whogo sleep in and ate first and second breakfast as usual. No wait for a table for me, I saw eight people waiting as I left the dining room. Morning GPS reading said we were “driving” west at 20-21 mph with 487.8 miles left to Lahaina. Seas have picked up, the ship is pitching quite a bit, 'tis particularly noticeable in the Crow's Nest. Spent much of the morning reading on the promenade deck, surprised there are not more people doing the same.

Magician J. Neal's 11:00 presentation explained some of the psychology of magic and some secrets of slight of hand. He is an excellent speaker and his style of magic appeals to me. The dining room was closed for a Mariner's lunch, assume we will be asked to one at a later date which we may attend, if only to report it here.

I am amused to find that the gemstone seminars attract a crowd. Would as many show up if they were accurately described as a sales pitch? Park West is also active. I wish them and the casino well, their income helps keep my cruise fare low.

Looking forward to more promenade deck reading and lamb chops for dinner.

Enjoying your reports.

Thank you.

Enjoying your reports. Looking forward to our 9th HAL cruise on the Volendam in April.

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P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } January 26, 2015, Monday.

As reported elsewhere, there was a bit of excitement before dinner last night. Cruise director Mario made the announcement that we would be aiding the Coast Guard in a rescue mission. More motion was expected while stopped and we were asked to return to our cabins and stay seated. The outside decks were being closed off. It was announced before 5:30 that a rescued man was safe aboard a tender which was returning to the Veendam. We could see a parachute rising from the water to starboard, I assume the man had crashed his ultra-light aircraft.

It was indeed an aircraft of some sort. Fellow cruisers reported that the pilot was picked up from a life raft. All I saw was a parachute that continued to blow in the wind from what looked to me like the tail of an ultra-light. Captain said they had received the request to render assistance from the Coast about 4:15. He gave highest praise to the crew. Twice.

If the captain's luck is like mine, both this incident and the return to San Diego for a sick passenger occurred during his scheduled rest time.

Twenty-minute wait for a dinner table, we left for a while and returned to count 35 people waiting. More arrived before we were seated. Holland America was not on their game, service was slow, my soup never materialized. I should have ordered the lamb chops without the sauce, all my fault. There is a passenger to be avoided.

Dawn broke gray again, I have yet to see more than the slightest tinge of red in a sunrise or sunset, wonder if their beauty is exaggerated in the tropics. GPS read 20-21 mph yet again with 47 miles to go to Lahaina. That is 47 miles as the crow flies over the island, I trust the captain will take the long route by sea. With a little more light I got my first distant glimpse of the cloud covered Hawaiian Islands.

Captain said we should anchor at 9:30 and begin tendering at 10:00. Without a booked tour or four star Mariner status, I expect to board a tender after noon.

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Twenty-minute wait for a dinner table, we left for a while and returned to count 35 people waiting. More arrived before we were seated. Holland America was not on their game, service was slow, my soup never materialized. I should have ordered the lamb chops without the sauce, all my fault. There is a passenger to be avoided.

As you wish dining doesn't seem to be working well right now. Can you make reservations for a certain time and table every evening?

You're such a tease (note bolded portion) - please elaborate; it isn't the fellow wearing the blue tarp, is it?

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

As you wish dining doesn't seem to be working well right now. Can you make reservations for a certain time and table every evening?

 

You're such a tease (note bolded portion) - please elaborate; it isn't the fellow wearing the blue tarp, is it?

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

LOVING your posts!

Besides being a hoot, you are a tease, indeed! Please do elaborate.

Thanks for taking the time to post: the rescue mission was a great addition.

Just wondering if you have tried to make reservations for 'As you Wish' dining 3 days out and still had a problem getting a time slot between 5:30 and 7:45.

I think the 5:15 time slot for early fixed seating is very early. Too say nothing of the 5PM start for As You Wish.

Do passengers appear to be OK with this dining time arrangement? Once you start visiting ports these times could become an inconvenience. Is this change systemwide or is it just the Veendam. And I wonder why?

We just watched the crash and rescue on YouTube. I have been following your review and had to come see if today's update mentioned the rescue. Very cool!

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } January 27, 2015, Tuesday, Honolulu

Yesterday we waited about a half hour for a tender to Lahaina, a cute little town. Not having eaten for a couple of hours, we stopped for windowless second floor dining. I downed a gut-busting loco moco, a Hawaiian creation with two fried eggs on a cooked hamburger patty atop a bed of rice with all covered in brown gravy. Surprising tasty. Mrs. Whogo ate more sensibly.

After admiring the banyan tree and the local museum we boarded a Pacific Whale Foundation boat for a two hour whale watching tour. Excellent! Saw maybe two dozen whales including a couple of calves. I saw one of the three breeches. Cool, too, to see the flukes of a few dives. The boat and booth are right next to the tender dock. HAL offered a 1.5 hour whale watching tour for $79, our 2 hour tour was $32.

Back aboard for dinner, we have begun repeating table mates. Too many Bobs and Jims to keep straight, I need some Oscars, Busters, and Heinrichs. With 11 PM departure, the main dining room was nearly deserted.

Annoying woman #1, above, filled any lull in the conversation with drivel in a grating voice. Annoying woman #2, not yet mentioned, has a piercing voice that easily filled a tender over the engine noise. If I am forced to eavesdrop on half of a conversation I want it to be more interesting. Note to parents and grandparents: Teach your descendents to speak in well modulated tones, it is a life lesson that will pay big dividends.

This morning both my GPS, the ship's navigation display, and personal observation confirmed that we were traveling zero miles per hour with zero miles to Honolulu. We were docked at Pier 2. We were off after breakfast in the Lido via city buses to Diamond Head. First thought about Honolulu was that it was foreign looking. We are not in the lower forty-eight. We heard more foreign languages than English on the steep climb to Diamond Head's crater rim. Neat walk, felt pretty good about myself until seeing a woman in her eighties at the top with her cane. I may have sweat more than anyone else on the trail. Seeing a bit of the WWII bunkers was interesting.

Public buses were handy. We took another one to Waikiki. Looking for a non-chain restaurant for lunch, we chose poorly.. Eggs 'N Things' (probably a chain) main draw was a menu in Japanese. My soft waffle appeared to be made of pancake batter. I suggest this for an honest advertising slogan, “Mediocre, yet overpriced!”

Came across some healthy young beach types posing on the lei covered Duke Kahanamoku Statue. Urged Mrs. Whogo to leap up on the statue's base for a photo. She was not as athletic, but the young things urged her on. Mrs. Whogo's climb up was a twelve step process. When she got to step 10 on hands and knees on the base, the young Dude said, “Nailed it!” We could not stop laughing. Step 11 was bumping her head.We got the picture and the climb down was more graceful with the young folk's help.

Then the idiots from the Midwest, us if you are confused, decided we had to at least touch the water. The first four waves came up short of our fingertips. Wave five covered our shoes. “Nailed it!” Sometimes the things that go wrong are more fun than the things that go right.

Still laughing!:D

Thanks for your entertaining update! Your posts always make me smile.

Annoying woman #1, above, filled any lull in the conversation with drivel in a grating voice. Annoying woman #2, not yet mentioned, has a piercing voice that easily filled a tender over the engine noise. If I am forced to eavesdrop on half of a conversation I want it to be more interesting. Note to parents and grandparents: Teach your descendents to speak in well modulated tones, it is a life lesson that will pay big dividends.

Funny!:D:D

Whenever my wife and I experience something like this we look at each other and nod our heads. We're both thinking the same thing - no matter where you go, what you do, there's always a know-it-all loudmouth spouting off.

Funny!:D:D

Whenever my wife and I experience something like this we look at each other and nod our heads. We're both thinking the same thing - no matter where you go, what you do, there's always a know-it-all loudmouth spouting off.

Oh yeah and those voices..........I get that. Getting older makes us less tolerant too!

Love, just love your posts as they put a smile on my face that last all day. :D:D Please keep them up!