Kudos on the Veendam!!!!

We just got off the 14 day Caribbean Cruise on the Veendam. It was terrific in everyway (IMHO). The food was some of the best, the service was exceptional, and they had a Cruise Critic party that was very nice. We met lots of fellow Cruise Critics. This was our 22 HAL cruise, and had thought it was going down hill before this cruise. What an improvement!!

We are leaving on 11/26 for the same 14 day cruise...can't wait.:)

What did most people do in Guadeloupe? None of the ship's excursions appeal to me and I haven't been able to locate any private tours. If you have time to do a short overview of the ports it would really be appreciated!

Glad you had a great time!

Liz

So happy you had such a great cruise on Veendam. We had a wonderful cruise on her last January.

She's a wonderful ship IMO

Most passengers felt Guadeloupe, was NOT one of the better ports. The area where the ship docked was not one of the better areas. Prices were in Euros in most of the shops, and French was mainly spoken.

We did beach stuff in most of the ports, and had a wonderful time. Warm and clear water. One of the few ships tours we did do, was in Aruba..ticket to Paradise. It was open to all cruise ships in, on that day, in addition to all the various hotels guests....Very crowded. Grand Cayman had 7 cruise ships in, the day we were there, for a total of 25,000 passengers (the Veendam Captain reported). Maria and Shannon at the Shore Excursion desk are great ladies to go to for help with questions.

That is such great news! We are leaving on 11/26 for the 14 day trip as well. I am so glad to hear that your trip was wonderful and HAL was at their best! :p

Thanks for posting, we too will be on her November 26th voyage, your input is very encouraging for all of us sailing. Glad you had a great time . . . . . . . . . . .

Forgot to mention.......nearly every other night we had an animal surprise waiting for us in our cabin. The cabins stewards folded towels for rabbits, Monkeys, Elephants, Pigs, etc. I loved them, but was running out of cabin space for them. Also, the new mattress's, robes, and decors are truly a great improvement in the cabins. Really liked them.

Hi cruisers739, it certainly was great meeting you and your DH, had so much fun with you. I agree with most of the things you reported, but must say, meeting great people has to be up there at the top of my list....keep in touch.......jean:cool:

Carol, agree with everything you said. It was one of our best cruises. The staff from the Capt on down were one of the best we have ever sailed with.

It was wonderful being with you all. Hope Cahrlie got home with no problems.

Will be in touch. Gayle

My husband and I, also, just returned from the Veendam on 11/12. Some of the delays during embarkation were due to new staff but also HAL is now photographing each of the passengers. This photograph is listed only on the ship security computers and it appears whenever you are scanned on or off of the ship. You still must bring some form of photo id with you when you leave the ship. Our captain said that there was a chance of 11 ships being in Grand Cayman on one day in the next few sailings. It was very crowded in Cayman when we were there with only 7 ships in port. Enjoy your cruise and say hello to Hari for us (Starboard side Lido breakfast and lunch). He's great.

Blossom

We're on the 26th, too..............looking forward to that WARM water and the pretty fish

Hope they have a CC reception on our cruise as well.

See a lot of you soon!:)

Checked the spelling there and it's Heri. Anyway, yes, great cruise. As noted Guadeloupe was the low point. Probably should have taken an excursion in an attempt to gain some appreciation of the island. Bonaire was great, but then I did 2 rebreather dives there and therefore prejudiced. Can't wait to go back on the Crown Princess in 2007. I think some of the captain's math was off on the Cayman stop. Having been on the Mariner I know she doesn't carry as many passengers as stated, but the captain was great. He imparted a great deal of imformation which I enjoyed. Especially the bit about 70 knot winds, 15' seas and having to pump 800 tons of water to port side to keep ship upright. I know, it was late 2nd day before I managed to force my door to the verandah open. Have already booked another cruise on the Veendam for late next year; I was on the maiden voyage as well.

Is Captain James Russell-Dunford aboard or is it Captain Schoonderbeek?

This is Captain R-D's last week before his vacation. We liked him very much.

We cruised with him his very first cruise w/ HAL and were among his first guests for his first HAL Captain's Table.

Techdiver, thanks for reminding me about the winds! Yes they were awfully strong. We were on the port side and was taking it hard across the bow, we were really listing to starboard....thank goodness for a great Capt......jean:cool:

Techdiver, thanks for reminding me about the winds! Yes they were awfully strong. We were on the port side and was taking it hard across the bow, we were really listing to starboard....thank goodness for a great Capt......jean:cool:

Hi there, we are two of the nine that stayed on the Veendam from the previous cruise so we did 45 days on board. I have to agree with you that the parties were great the service impeccable and the food wonderful. The server's name is Herry. He was employee of the month for October. He really did start the day off with a smile didn't he? We had a marvelous time and can't wait to get on the Amsterdam in January for the 30 day South Pacific!!

Trisha

Herry was our dining steward on the Oosterdam. It was good to see him again.

Hi Trisha, great meeting you and Virgil on board. Sure envy you guys January trip, have a ball......jean:cool:

PS. loved your Halloween costumes:cool:

Trisha, hope you and Virgil had a safe trip home. I envy you the Jan. cruise. Hope you enjoy it as much as this one.....Carol

Jean ! Carol! Hello. OMG Jean you have to give me your e-mail have I got some good gossip on one of our fellow passengers that I can't put in here. You'll want to know this; trust me ;) . We are home safe and unpacked and not to far from starting to pack again :p Sorry it's just great to be lucky enough to go again so soon. Talk to soon

Trisha

Trish. email me at elmorejj@aol.com......jean:cool:

Thanks for your great comments on the Veendam. We too are sailing next Saturday on her for the 14 day Southern Caribbean

Please don't leave out the rest of us -- we love gossip too, even if we don't know the person.

Hi Trisha, great meeting you and Virgil on board. Sure envy you guys January trip, have a ball......jean:cool:

 

PS. loved your Halloween costumes:cool: