Veendam delay into Fort Lauderdale April 21????

So, here is the latest regarding facts...not conjecture:) As of this moment the Veendam is about 55 miles east of Port Everglades moving at 15.3 knots towards the port. So the good news for our friends (who will be on this cruise) is that the ship seems to cruising at near normal speeds :). The other good news for our friends (since we think their flight into FLL is delayed a couple of hours) is that they probably do not have to be real concerned with getting to the port on time. At her current speed and course it does seem likely that the ship will dock around 1 pm. Our best to all going on the next cruise and we hope whatever delayed the Veendam's arrival has been rectified and you will all have a terrific cruise.

 

Hank

Hey Hank, I was just on the Veendam that was delayed coming in on April 21, 2017 it was due to mechanical issues with the propulsion. The Captain knew this on April 20 around noon but waited to tell everyone closer into 7:15 pm that evening leaving everyone to scramble on changing their flights late in the evening. Their we're hundreds of people in line with guest relations for hours and the the only thing guest relations did was to give everyone 100 minutes of free internet time to contact their airlines which was a joke as everyone knows that as soon as you get on the ships internet you will lose satellite connectivity which is exactly what happened to most of us. Guests relations had no concern over our worries and trust me they expressed that to all of us in fact most of the ship started complaining about it and Holland issued a form the next day telling everyone to send in their bills and they "might consider" paying it (Key words "might"). Many of the people on board were elderly and didn't have any Idea how to go on line to fix anything in fact guest relations had no one available to even help them it was like they could careless. The cabin service was great but, higher up service was awful. I purchased a case of water on the ship as soon as I boarded and it showed up 3 days later??!! It was the absolute worst service and trust me I never complain.Not too mention quite a few of the toilets were not flushing and the food was the worst of any ship we had ever traveled on and it wasn't just me and my husband that were complaining it was a lot people. The ship clearly was not prepared to handle the issue with the delay and the only thing I was thinking was Thank God the ship was not sinking as there was no way any of them would have been prepared for it!! After this entire issue and the lack of concern over everyone missing their flights and the disorganization of handling the whole issue not too mention the way they were speaking to people we have decided that we will never travel with Holland America again as I don't think it would be a wise move to put your life in their hands.

well, she had no trouble leaving Pt Canaveral yest. just a little late. I waited and the camera just stayed on the back of the Queen Victoria. I could hear the Veendam give 3 toots! but no camera coverage. Another ship, Victoria?, answered back. Oh well. (some cruisers like to have lunch in the port and others go to the beach which is nearby.) then there are ones that must go to RonJons!

Also the Space Center.

We were on the Veendam, in the main dining room, deck 7 at about 6:45PM when we heard a loud thump, followed by a slow deceleration to a stop. We had a late flight back home scheduled on Friday, so we didn't have to worry as much as others. We were able to make our flight home OK. We spent the last couple of hours getting to Ft. Lauderdale watching 'Deepwater Horizon' in the theater.

I'm sure others had more pressing issues. All in all it was a good trip, but I really do not like the new "When and Where"--it doesn't tell you much!

We were on the Veendam, in the main dining room, deck 7 at about 6:45PM when we heard a loud thump, followed by a slow deceleration to a stop. We had a late flight back home scheduled on Friday, so we didn't have to worry as much as others. We were able to make our flight home OK. We spent the last couple of hours getting to Ft. Lauderdale watching 'Deepwater Horizon' in the theater.

I'm sure others had more pressing issues. All in all it was a good trip, but I really do not like the new "When and Where"--it doesn't tell you much!

"When and Where?"

Not really unusual. Seems to be the norm when they reposition to and from New England. We did a Veendam repo (2 years ago) from Quebec City to San Diego and we stopped at Boston, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades before heading down to the Panama Canal. Personally I really dislike Port Canaveral, but I guess it suits folks that want to take the trek over to Orlando.

 

Hank

Thanks for the enlightenment. I did not know that. BTW, why do you dislike Port Canaveral?

"When and Where?"

New name of the 'On Location/Navigator'. If you look on Kazu's Live from the Rotterdam thread, you'll see pictures of it.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2474965

Hey Hank, I was just on the Veendam that was delayed coming in on April 21, 2017 it was due to mechanical issues with the propulsion. The Captain knew this on April 20 around noon but waited to tell everyone closer into 7:15 pm that evening leaving everyone to scramble on changing their flights late in the evening. Their we're hundreds of people in line with guest relations for hours and the the only thing guest relations did was to give everyone 100 minutes of free internet time to contact their airlines which was a joke as everyone knows that as soon as you get on the ships internet you will lose satellite connectivity which is exactly what happened to most of us. Guests relations had no concern over our worries and trust me they expressed that to all of us in fact most of the ship started complaining about it and Holland issued a form the next day telling everyone to send in their bills and they "might consider" paying it (Key words "might"). Many of the people on board were elderly and didn't have any Idea how to go on line to fix anything in fact guest relations had no one available to even help them it was like they could careless. The cabin service was great but, higher up service was awful. I purchased a case of water on the ship as soon as I boarded and it showed up 3 days later??!! It was the absolute worst service and trust me I never complain.Not too mention quite a few of the toilets were not flushing and the food was the worst of any ship we had ever traveled on and it wasn't just me and my husband that were complaining it was a lot people. The ship clearly was not prepared to handle the issue with the delay and the only thing I was thinking was Thank God the ship was not sinking as there was no way any of them would have been prepared for it!! After this entire issue and the lack of concern over everyone missing their flights and the disorganization of handling the whole issue not too mention the way they were speaking to people we have decided that we will never travel with Holland America again as I don't think it would be a wise move to put your life in their hands.

Wow!!! It is amazing just how two folks can experience the same situation yet view it so differently.

I was also on this sailing. (For full disclosure - I continued on to Boston, so did not experience any of the discomfitures felt by many). However I disagree (almost totally) with Highlandgirl1.

First off, I am not sure how she knows with certainty when the Captain became aware of the situation. After steaming 2 full days from Columbia, we arrived on time at Half Moon Cay on time. We left a bit late and it seemed to me that there was a problem. The Captain came on the speaker and told us exactly what the problem was - "one engine was down, we could only make about 14 knots, and that the engineering department was hard at work trying to solve/correct the problem. However, if the engineers could not correct the problem, we would be late in arrival to FLL". He also told us that he would keep us informed as the evening went on. I am not sure exactly when the OP thought he should have first notified the passengers. If, as she claims he knew about it at noon, he had no reason to address it much before he did as the majority of the passengers were enjoying the the offerings of HMC, until later in the afternoon and quite possibly thought the problem could be corrected without the ensuing delays. He came on again a couple of hours later and basically said there was no change and that we would be late in arrival with an estimated time of arrival at 1:30 pm (1330). I believe it was at this announcement that the internet offer was first mentioned. As I was not affected, I cannot speak to connectivity issues, but would imagine there had to be some. But I personally saw many, many folks make arrangements that evening - some even obtaining updated boarding passes. Early in the morning of the 21st, the Captain again updated (problem still not fixed). However he had been able to squeeze a couple more knots out of the old gal and we should be pier side by 12:30 p.m. (and we were).

I observed the exact opposite of Highlandgirl1 as regards service. Guest relations were overwhelmed. After all they do not have a huge staff, but they were giving it their best. For the most part I observed professionalism on their part AND quiet acceptance on the part of the affected guest. However, as always, there are some who cannot or will never be satisfied with ANY solution. So, there was some friction. Again, not sure how the OP thinks the ship's staff could have handled it "better", but would like to know.

There were indeed "elderly" passengers who had no clue about computers. However, I personally observed staff sitting at the terminals with these "elderly" folks helping them traverse the internet. I also observed other passengers helping in the same manner. Not complaining - HELPING.

In addition to his announcements, there were 2 or 3 letters with his signature outlining the problem, compensation and other factors. Again, not being personally affected, I thought the compensation was quite generous (it included monies for change fees imposed by the airlines after documentation was provided). Plus all involved were given a future cruise credit of 10% of the price they paid the affected sailing.

As a p.s. to this post. The Veendam was scheduled to depart FLL at 9 p.m. on the 21st but didn't get underway until 10:30. I am not sure of the why of that 1.5 hour delay, but I do know that once at sea everything was working fine again and we arrived in Pt. Canaveral the next morning on time. And, with two more days of absolutely crappy weather, in Boston pretty much on time.

All in all I thought the crew did a great job during this "crisis" and throughout the entire cruise. Unlike the O/P I will continue to sail on HAL.

I agree with you John. Like I stated before, I too was on the Veendam. What I don't understand is how according to the other poster, the Captain could have know at noon that the propeller was not working, when we were anchored at Half Moon Cay until 3 PM?

Thank you DocJohnB and dhw545. It's nice to get another viewpoint, and I happen to like yours. :D We will be on the Veendam's first cruise out of Montreal next week.

Thank you DocJohnB and dhw545. It's nice to get another viewpoint, and I happen to like yours. :D We will be on the Veendam's first cruise out of Montreal next week.

I, too will be on the Veendam in the near future. However, I seem to have a slightly different perspective on travel -- to give an example -- one December we were flying to a land vacation in the Caribbean, we sat in the deicing line until we were supposed to almost land in Miami. I looked at my DH and said - It's going to be an adventure. - It was. When we got to Miami, the airline had rebooked flights (same day..the good old days), and the travel agent had arranged everything on the island.

Our vacation wasn't ruined. When you travel, you have to be be prepared for unexpected adventures. I think YOUR attitude is what sets the stage. If you are arguing or are just disagreeing with your SO and something goes wrong your attitude will color every interaction going forward.

REMEMBER IT'S YOUR ATTITUDE THAT SETS THE TONE.

Thank you DocJohnB and dhw545. Because we, too, will be on the V-dam this year, we were interested in the outcome of the issue. It is great to have rational, first hand observations. Looking forward to many more adventures with HAL.

g&g

DocJohnB

Thank you for coming back and giving us the correct information and the condition of the Veendam.