Veendam - Similar to a 3rd world country???

[OlsSalt]

I'm jealous! The VoV is a dream cruise for me! Considering I'm still working and, at only 34 years old, likely shall be for many more years .........

 

Quick, tell us your secret ..how do you get to stay only 34 for many more years .........;p (Oh shucks I misread what you just wrote - darn commas - eat shoots and leaves style).

 

I was in my early 30's when I took my first RTW cruise - $1000 for 60 days, inside bunk bed cabin with bathroom down the hall on the old Lloyd Triestino Galileo. Then it was 35 years later before we were able to do the long or short cruises again. So you are already well ahead of the game.

[July_Cruiser]

Our Rotterdam cruise from October last year had more than 225 posters (couples and solo travelers); our upcoming Amsterdam 14-day cruise to Alaska has more than 60 posters.

 

Hmmm! Go figure!

 

Jim

 

Thanks, Jim,

I agree with your response to the comment about HAL roll calls not having as many postings. I took a cruise last year on Oosterdam and year before on Noordam and we had wonderful meet and greets. Even on the smaller Prinsendam we had great roll calls and meet n greet parties. We have taken Ryndam & Maasdam before as well and we had very active roll calls and met lots of nice people on those same "S" class ships so my original posting was asking about why there should only be a couple of postings on the roll calls for Veendam because it is so much different than our past HAL experiences.

[CruiserGuyWPB]

One can have fun speculating what a third world country is today to flesh our this assumed definition. Originally it meant a non-aligned nation during the Soviet-US Cold War.

 

Therefore Singapore could be a third world nation. Or Bangladesh or Somalia. Which one best describes the Veendam.

Third world as in Yemen or Malaysia? Help us out here. Outdoor plumbing, no electricity, children with flies in their watery eyes and ribs sticking out, foraging roots and grubs for dinner?

 

 

As long as you are on your explanation, Switzerland is a third world nation as well since they were neutral during the war.

 

 

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[St Pete Cruiser]

I'm booked on the Veendam's June 3 cruise for 14 days and it is now showing sold out. Guess the nay sayers didn't get heard by the general public. Please cancel so that I may get an upgrade! LOL.

[July_Cruiser]

Thanks for the great vote of confidence on both Veendam & Maasdam.

 

Just want to throw a shout out for Maasdam, which was also maligned in OP's comments ("(Maasdam also does this itinerary but their reviews are even worse!)"). I spent two oh-so-terrible weeks on Maasdam last year in Alaska and I'd do it again in a second. Nice smaller ship, good condition, great food, no terrible toilet/ac/repair or other problems (other than running out of 9-board bingo cards--the horror!).

 

I'll be boarding Veendam in Boston in less than ten days and Maasdam will be there as well. Honestly I'd rather be on Maasdam because I really liked her aft area, which has been converted to cabins and a hot tub deck on Veendam. But I'm pretty sure Veendam will be perfectly fine and even if she isn't, I'm still going to enjoy my dam cruise. There's been no shortage of commentary about Veendam on the board recently and nothing has raised any alarm bells for me. As others have already recommended, if OP is that freaked out by the reviews, then stay away. There are plenty other ships in the sea.

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

This is a hard decision for you.

If you have never done these ports before -- I say go for it.

If you have done even a few of these ports -- choose another ship.

[July_Cruiser]

Great! I appreciative your response and we were hoping someone who has recently been abourd the Veendam would give us a good heads up to offset the rash of bad reviews that seem to be out there. We too like the smaller ships. We also remember when ships like the Veendam were once considered megaships.

 

 

Been on the Veendam twice, with the second trip just 6-months ago. While she doesn't have that "new car smell" that some of the super-ships have, she is none the less a pleasant ship for those that like upscale cruising without paying the upscale price. I would sail on her again given the chance.

 

However, I'm not sure that I will get the chance to again before she gets sold off to pay for the Nieuw Statendam in 2018 (speculation).

[July_Cruiser]

Thank you, I appreciative your posting and it actually makes me want to go on this ship. We too, like smaller ships and we would probably not travel on the Koninsdam unless the itinerary was something we really wanted.

Just off 15 days on Veendam. Here is the conclusion to the log/review I submitted but not yet published:

 

I hesitated to book Veendam based on cruise critic feedback and reviews. Some on board had issues with their cabins, especially with climate control. Fortunately we had no such troubles. The entertainment is way above what we experienced last fall on Koningsdam, and despite its age, I much prefer the smaller ship size.

 

One of the aft elevators was out of order the entire cruise. I don’t know who is responsible for the entertainer’s schedules but it seems to me that a little tweaking, especially of the Ocean Bar trio would serve passengers well. Their first set is at 6:30. This is too early for first seating guests and also too early for main seating guests looking for pre-dinner cocktails and entertainment. I would think that bar revenue would increase with a tweaking to 7:00 for the first set, and it would entertain more guests.

 

The Adagio duet had a large early audience but I often saw just two or three couples at the later sets. I would really like to know who determines these schedules, is this corporate dictate or is this managed on each ship? If on the ship, is it the cruise director, hotel manager, who?

It is not the ship’s fault that the weather was so horrendous, but many on board were commenting that this cruise is ‘just too early.’ That may be why they had to reduce the price so much as sailing date approached. Perhaps the experts in Seattle should consider doing this one two weeks later as I think that would make a huge difference. Alternatively, do a Caribbean / Bermuda repositioning cruise, calling on Aruba to comply with the Jones act.

“America’s test kitchen” was invisible on the first two-thirds of this sailing. We were told the presenter had a family emergency. Fair enough. Is there no chef on Veendam that with the CD could not do an entertaining kitchen demo? We’ve attended some wonderful cooking demos on various ships and no corporate tie in was needed to provide guests with a great sea day experience.

What really ‘made’ our cruise was Barry from Boston in the Mix Piano Bar. He starts at 9:00 and takes one very short “Eight minute break” at about 10:30. Barry will be on our booked Maasdam NewZealand/Australia cruise over the holidays and it will be great to see him again.

In summary, this was a pretty okay cruise so far as the on board experience. Certainly not five stars, but way better than our Koningsdam experience last fall. 3 ½ stars (out of 5) to the Veendam with hopes that things may improve as we would like these smaller ships to stay in the fleet.

I do tend to think you may not be happy with Veendam so better to cruise on a ship you will not fear boarding.

[OlsSalt]

I'm booked on the Veendam's June 3 cruise for 14 days and it is now showing sold out. Guess the nay sayers didn't get heard by the general public. Please cancel so that I may get an upgrade! LOL.

 

Ha. You might be on to something. A shill poster who simply wants a free empty cabin upgrade. :cool:

[DWAliaschief]

We planning on booking the October 2018 Montreal to Fort Lauderdale repositioning cruise and I'm not the least bit hesitant.

 

 

Oh POA1- please join our merry group already booked on the 2017 repositioning - not only the Canadian ports but Boston NYC and Charleston - there's a bottle of fine wine ready for you!

 

 

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[navybankerteacher]

We were considering a B2B New England/Canada cruise in August. The Veendam itinerary is great. However, when we read the ship's reviews we have been very concerned!

 

We do like the smaller ships and really enjoyed the Prinsendam. Our last 3 cruises have been with Celebrity but we have cruised on HAL a number of times too.

 

I'll lower my dining room expectations, but I do believe it is reasonable to expect decent sanitary conditions.

 

How low do I have to set my expectations concerning working bathrooms? Is it unrealistic to expect my cabin to be free of mold and have a working toilet & shower? Functional restrooms in public areas should also be operational. Is lack of maintenance an ongoing problem that HAL finds acceptable?

 

Reading Veendam reviews sent up red flags. I'm wanting to remain healthy & well on vacation. In checking the roll call boards the one on our proposed sail date only has 3 members.

 

Any viewpoints that counteract the horrible reviews? (Maasdam also does this itinerary but their reviews are even worse!)

 

We welcome your advice regarding Veendam experiences.

 

I think you would be happier on a new NCL or Royal Caribbean ship - they carry many more people than Veendam or Maasdam - and you will be likely to meet many more on those ships who will be likely to share your tendency to believe the posts which are shaping your views.

[POA1]

Oh POA1- please join our merry group already booked on the 2017 repositioning - not only the Canadian ports but Boston NYC and Charleston - there's a bottle of fine wine ready for you!

 

 

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We'd love to, but we are committed to a family trip on the NCL Escape in early October. You'll have to let us know how you like it.

[OlsSalt]

I always though CC stood for Cranky Complainers or Crusty Curmudgeons. ;)

 

Could have sworn it meant Chirpy Cheerleaders.

At least according to some Cranky Complainers and more than a few Crusty Curmudgeons.

[StartrainDD]

you likely should a check map to see how far from Bermuda,, Aruba is lo catedin the Southern C aribean. :D. Your sugggestion is not via ble and cannot be done on a 7 day cruise espec ially to disiembark in o Boston..

 

Sal, you have my greatest respect. This repositioning cruise was 15 days. I am very aware of the geography and it would be quite easy to put together a great itinerary beginning in FLL and ending in Boston with 14 or 15 days. Two days to Aruba, do all the ABC islands, that is five days. Cross over to the Eastern Caribbean and visit two islands, that is nine days. Head to Bermuda, two days in Bermuda and then to Boston. 14/15 days depending on how long the Bermuda stay is.

 

Just an alternate option that I think HAL should look at...

[StartrainDD]

My complete log/review has been published on the review pages. Here is the link for any that are interested:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=575921&et_cid=2861228&et_rid=16969669&et_referrer=Contest_NCL_2013

 

Note CC does not allow for "Half" stars so this shows three circles. It would be 3 1/2 if that were possible.

 

Arie

[jhannah]

Stuff happens. Not to everyone, every sailing, or every day; but it happens. We have good friends we convinced to take their first cruise with us on Princess. We talked so highly of Holland America that they booked a cruise. It was on the Veendam. They had MAJOR problems. Flooded stateroom, non-working toilets, mold, etc. Even missed a port/excursion due to the issues. They are now totally turned off HAL, not willing to try again. Sometimes these are not minor inconveniences.

 

We've sailed Maasdam twice. No issues at all for us.

 

We were on a Princess sailing in the Baltic when the ship lost all power. We were dead in the water for almost 4 hours. No lights. No flushing of toilets. But the issue was resolved and we got through it without any harm.

 

Cruise long enough and you're bound to "suffer" through some sort of problem/issue/inconvenience. Just like appliances and systems in your home break down on occasion, so do appliances and systems on cruise ships.

[sammiedawg]

Verndam is a third rate cruise ship. I can speak for the mechanical issues. AC and plumbing problems impacting entire sections of cabins. Ventilation not working to the

Point a haze was

In the air. Buckets in hallways to catch water. Disgusting.

Cheerleaders need to respect what others report

[Alberta Quilter]

Verndam is a third rate cruise ship. I can speak for the mechanical issues. AC and plumbing problems impacting entire sections of cabins. Ventilation not working to the

Point a haze was

In the air. Buckets in hallways to catch water. Disgusting.

Cheerleaders need to respect what others report

 

I think most reports should be respected, whether negative or "cheerleading" ones.

 

Do you mean to say that because I had a great experience on the Veendam, in South America, that should not be respected? It was one of my favourite cruises out of 16 cruises. Were there toilet issues on the ship? Yes, there were. Fortunately, we were not affected. But even those who were affected seem to enjoy their cruise; we travelled with one couple, who was affected, all the way back to Canada. They never mentioned the plumbing issue again.

 

But as others have mentioned, buckets in the hallway, plumbing and ventilation issues happen on every ship, and on every cruise line. It's not just the Veendam. As OleSalt mentioned at the beginning of this thread, it would help if people followed the rules about flushing items down the toilet that shouldn't be flushed, and keeping their balcony doors closed. Those two things would prevent a lot of these issues from happening.

[richstowe]

Verndam is a third rate cruise ship. I can speak for the mechanical issues. AC and plumbing problems impacting entire sections of cabins. Ventilation not working to the

Point a haze was

In the air. Buckets in hallways to catch water. Disgusting.

Cheerleaders need to respect what others report

Verndam is a third rate cruise ship.

If this was the thread title ( assuming you meant Veendam ) it would be just fine .

No cruise ship is similar to a 3rd world country but they may be a 3rd rate ship .

[sapper1]

Sal, you have my greatest respect. This repositioning cruise was 15 days. I am very aware of the geography and it would be quite easy to put together a great itinerary beginning in FLL and ending in Boston with 14 or 15 days. Two days to Aruba, do all the ABC islands, that is five days. Cross over to the Eastern Caribbean and visit two islands, that is nine days. Head to Bermuda, two days in Bermuda and then to Boston. 14/15 days depending on how long the Bermuda stay is.

 

Just an alternate option that I think HAL should look at...

That does sound like a very interesting option. We have done the Veendam Bermuda cruise twice and would love to do it again but it is a lot of hassle for just a seven day cruise.

I do know that now it is combinable with a 7 day Boston to Montreal cruise. If that is still available when the 2019 schedule is released we are strongly considering it.

BTW we loved the Veendam both times we were aboard----2010 and 2015, I believe.

[July_Cruiser]

THANK YOU!!! We followed this link and read every word of your review. Most helpful, and we added our "helpful" vote to it while we were there.

 

My complete log/review has been published on the review pages. Here is the link for any that are interested:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=575921&et_cid=2861228&et_rid=16969669&et_referrer=Contest_NCL_2013

 

Note CC does not allow for "Half" stars so this shows three circles. It would be 3 1/2 if that were possible.

 

Arie

[clueless2]

My complete log/review has been published on the review pages. Here is the link for any that are interested:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=575921&et_cid=2861228&et_rid=16969669&et_referrer=Contest_NCL_2013

 

Note CC does not allow for "Half" stars so this shows three circles. It would be 3 1/2 if that were possible.

 

Arie

Thank you for the review. We'll be on the Veendam for her 49 day double TA/ Mediterranean cruise this fall. Am I concerned about all the negative reports? Maybe a little. But stuff can happen on any cruise. We did 14 days on Statendam right before she was transferred. She had similar terrible reviews but we had a great cruise.

 

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[cruisemom42]

When sailing on older ships, there is IMO a greater chance of encountering plumbing or A/C issues in the cabins. That's not to say it happens often, just that the (slim) chances are higher -- it's only logical. I will admit that this does give me pause. Not that I would mind the problem so much as long as I knew that HAL staff would be willing to effectively deal with legitimate issues.

 

The small ship I sail on often is approaching 45 years of age. Yes, she's been refurbished several times. But issues with systems like plumbing have occurred. What makes me confident in sailing her is that the staff onboard deal promptly with any issues.

 

One example: One evening I returned to my cabin after being out to dinner and then a musical performance. It must have been around 11:00 pm. To my surprise, my cabin door stood open and two maintenance men were inside. They were dealing with the water cascading down the cabin wall as a result of some plumbing issue in the cabin above. The hotel director was hovering nearby and immediately told me that they would put me in another cabin for the rest of the cruise, and that he would have stewards available to assist me in moving within a few minutes. The room I was moved to was not far away and was an outside cabin rather than an inside. I had all my stuff moved within 30 minutes. Needless to say this left me with a very good impression.

 

I remember about 2-3 years ago there were a number of threads from people who were experiencing plumbing or A/C issues in their cabins. It seemed one of the major takeaways was that it was taking far too long for HAL staff to address the problem, requiring daily follow-ups by the affected passengers having to deal with repeated reassurances that the problem had been fixed (when it was not), etc.

 

Perhaps HAL should take a page from VTA and learn to keep a few spare cabins available 'just in case'. They might lessen revenue slightly, but by the same token, they would greatly encourage positive word-of-mouth and likeliness of rebooking.

[OlsSalt]

Verndam is a third rate cruise ship. I can speak for the mechanical issues. AC and plumbing problems impacting entire sections of cabins. Ventilation not working to the

Point a haze was

In the air. Buckets in hallways to catch water. Disgusting.

Cheerleaders need to respect what others report

 

1. Plumbing and A/C works in "sections" so when a passenger clogs up a plumbing system or leaves a balcony door open, the entire section will be impacted. There is no such thing as individual cabin systems on cruise ships. Passengers need to honor both warnings since their own negligence will impact people in the rest of their section.

 

2. Ventilation is very much part of an elaborate over all ships system that also includes maintaining a cabin air pressure to help the fire suppression system. There is no possibility of "ventilation not working". Otherwise the ship would be a total safety hazard.

 

3. Temperature is very subjective depending upon humidity and area of travel. 75 degrees will feel very different in different locations. HAL runs a range of acceptable temperature but does not provide at-will on demand chilling system. Passengers also need to cooperate by closing curtains when traveling in hot tropical climates when the sun pours in on their side of the ship.

 

(NB: I brought a sensitive electronic device that registered temperature, high and low temperature over 24 hours and humidity on our last Veendam trip to objectively check the complaints about the A/C on this ship. This led to my own conclusions about the subjective feel of temperature range on this ship. Subjective temperature feelings are quite valid, but objectively they are just that. HAL sets a range for acceptable cabin temperatures so it is not at will and on demand for these temperature to be anything any individual demands. This then becomes part of this shared environment experience. We did have one day when it exceeded 75 degrees as we headed south to Panama, and a call to engineering brought a technician to do some adjustments. Later as we headed back into cooler climate, that same 75 cabin temperature felt "cold". )

 

4. Yes, we have seen buckets in the hallways from time to time on several ships. It is not disgusting. It probably is a fact of life particularly when testing is run on the overhead fire suppression systems, which dripped into our cabin once for a short time after the testing was completed. One passengers reported a water leak that she said was confirmed to have come from the galley above her cabin and that ranks as "disgusting" And she had that incident mitigated by a cabin change I recall.

 

5. Ships are complex systems with miles of internal wiring and piping serving thousands of passengers on a moving and flexible platform. One must accept there will be some compromises in this sea setting that one may not encounter on land or in their own homes -which naturally run at 100% peak efficiency 100% of the time.

 

6. Providing reality checks is not cheerleading.

[iancal]

We simply avoid older ships. On HAL and on other lines.

 

And we most particularly avoid any ships that the cruise line has on the open market for sale.

 

So that writes off a number of HAL ships for and most recently a few of Celebrity's M class ships that apparently went up for sale.

 

This conservative approach has not caused us any concern. There are so many other great ships out there to choose from.... on numerous cruise lines.