The final day on the ms Veendam was another sea day and one of those days to just lay around, relax and take in everything around you before returning to reality. That pretty much sums up how I spent the remaining hours on board, interspersed with a few cold beverages and some time in the sun.
But before saying goodbye, I took in another burger at the Dive In to see if I could give it a higher rating than I did the other day when I called it “nothing spectacular.” Of course, I had a pretty plain burger, so I opted to go for the lettuce, cheese, bacon, and Dive In sauce. The bun was cold as if it were taken right out of the fridge, the lettuce was shredded, the tomato was small, and the cheese was also cold and not melted on the burger at all.
Disappointing to say the least.
Granted the Dive In has only been on the ship for a week, but what does it take to make a good burger? Certainly, they can pull off something better prepared. Hopefully, over time this will improve because the passengers on board certainly enjoyed the addition.
At the opposite end of the ship, the big complaint of the day was the ship’s pizza shop. It appears one pizza topping has proven to be very popular and they ran out on the last day. The topping? Not pepperoni, sausage, or the usuals you would expect. They ran out of black olives. And this is something that the nitpickers on board picked up on and just had to complain about.
I pity the folks in Seattle who are going to be getting letters from some of the passengers on this cruise. They were certainly a rough crowd to please. One woman was so upset, I’m told she went to the front office and had her daily gratuity removed from all seven days. That means none of the hard-working crew members who scrubbed her toilet, made her bed, emptied her trash, took her dinner order, served her food, brought her breakfast in bed, and listened to her complaints got a single penny from her.
Shameful.
Dinner once again was in the Pinnacle Grill, the ship’s steakhouse, where I once again enjoyed the steak tartare and ordered a filet with some grilled shrimp. Once again, a great meal… and my table was ready for me on time.
After dinner, I met up with two crew members who work in the ship’s gift shop. I got to know them by seeing them every day and stopping to talk and smoking a cigar with one. For a couple of hours we enjoyed several cocktails at Mix, shared stories, exchanged numbers and I believe even sang along with the piano player once or twice.
Luckily I packed up before heading to dinner otherwise I’m not quite sure that would have been easy to do when I got back to my stateroom!
So here’s the wrap-up.
The Ship – the ms Veendam is old and it shows. While there was work done during the previous week’s dry dock, she is still showing her age with areas in need of paint, railings that were missing their teak railings, exterior fixtures in dire need of sanding and some TLC, and plenty of public spaces on the upper decks – including the second level of the retreat – that were roped off for the entire cruise.
For a small ship, I thought the Veendam would be easy to navigate, but so many times I hit dead ends either by the ship’s design or by areas being roped off for maintenance or just being downright closed. Throughout the week, contractors were still on board completing work from the dry dock, making me think that the ship was not quite ready for this cruise.
The décor was not over the top as it is on the ms Zuiderdam, but some areas could use some updating.
I did find most areas to be clean, as they should be, and the crew is constantly working to keep the public areas in top shape. However, on the final day, there was a strong odor of paint thinner that could be smelled on decks 6, 7, and 8, as well as a rotting garbage smell near the main dining room during the afternoon. Not sure what was going on there, but these odors were not present on any other days.
The Cabin – I booked the Lanai Stateroom, as I said earlier because I wanted to try this unique room that is only on a few Holland America Line ships. While significantly smaller than a suite I would normally book, at first thought, it was too small for me. But as the days went on, I found it to be cozy and would not hesitate to book it again. While I enjoy the privacy a balcony provides, I found the convenience of being able to go right out onto the Promenade Deck to be a plus. The one thing I did miss was not being able to enjoy breakfast on the balcony.
Tip for those looking to book this type of room. While you cannot see into the sliding glass doors during the daylight hours due to the tinting of the glass, at night with the lights on in the stateroom, you can see right in. So if you like to wander around your room in the buff or in your underpants as I do, close the curtains unless you’re into that kind of thing.
Oh, and the fact that I had great water pressure in the shower was an unexpected bonus!
The Food – The first night I ate in the main dining room because of our late departure. While I don’t usually eat in what one passenger called the “mess hall” I found the dinner I had that night (prime rib) to be excellent. And I know my prime rib!
I’ve said enough already about the new Dive In, I don’t eat in the Lido Buffet at all, since buffets give me chills that run down my spine and cause uncontrolled convulsions. There is just no way I want to grab a utensil that hundreds of others have touched to grab food that people may have coughed or sneezed on, or even touched and put back. That scene just freaks me out completely!
I did mention that the pizza and Stromboli served in Slice were very good and were on par with a mom-and-pop pizza shop down the street. And of course, every meal I had at the Pinnacle Grill was exceptional. Well worth the $29 per person/per night surcharge.
No complaints about the room service breakfast each morning either. The toast was hot, the order was correct each time and everything was served warm. Other ships I’ve been on had a hard time mastering the art of serving a warm breakfast in the room.
The Service – Here is where I had a problem with the Veendam. The crew either seemed to be overworked or understaffed. When sitting down in one of the cocktail bars, on other Holland America Line ships someone would come over and take your drink order almost immediately. Many, many times during this cruise I, and others had to wait 10+ minutes for someone to come over, or we just would get up and get our own drinks. It became a running joke. Even when a bartender was standing behind a bar doing nothing, he/she would not leave his / her post to come over and take an order for a group of us sitting down.
Up around the pool and retreat areas, there was staff to walk around and take orders, however, there were far too few to handle the number of people. If you asked for a beer or something like the San Pellegrino water I wrote about the other day and that bar was out of it, instead of going to another to get it, you were told to choose something else.
There was only one wine steward in the Pinnacle Grill each evening and the poor girl was running her ass off taking drink orders from everyone and constantly apologizing for taking so long. On the final night, I ordered an Amaretto before my dessert arrived. My dessert came and went along with another ten minutes before the Amaretto made it to my table.
My cabin stewards, however, kept my room immaculate and were so stealth-like I often wondered how they creep in and out without being seen! Amazing job by both of them.
The Entertainment – The only show I took in was the comedian who was very good. May and the HALCats who played around the pool and in several bars at night were also very good. Other honorable mentions go to the pianist and violinist who were simply phenomenal if you’re into classical music. The acoustic guitar singer got old quickly as did the piano man. The one complaint I have about the entertainment was that it needs to be on a rotating schedule more. Having the acoustic guitar guy at the bar a group of us met every night at 5pm, got annoying. It would have been nice to have the piano singer switch off and on rather than do the same thing every night at the same time.
The Passengers – On this trip there were plenty of Floridians as well as many from the UK and Canada. Many French-speaking passengers were onboard, most of whom did not speak much English. For a Holland America Cruise, I was surprised at the age range of the pax on board. On other HAL cruises I’ve been on, the age range was usually 50+. On this particular voyage, there were plenty of 20 and 30-somethings, which is unusual. I found the people to be extreme nitpickers and complainers, which kind of sets the tone for the cruise and this tenseness could definitely be felt at times.
Would I do the ms Veendam again? Unfortunately, I have to say no. Maybe it’s because this ship just spent a week in dry dock and wasn’t quite ready to deal with passengers, or maybe it’s just because I felt the service just wasn’t up to Holland America Line standards. I can’t say it was the worst cruise I’ve taken, but it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable or remarkable as my last one on the ms Zuiderdam in December. It’s rather a shame because I was hoping for a great small-ship experience on HAL and I didn’t get that this time around. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy myself, because I certainly did.
What’s next? Well… I’ve always said I would need to be drugged, kidnapped, tied up, and dragged with a chain to get on board a Carnival Cruise Line’s ship, but guess what? I’m doing it. I’m doing it just to experience what a Carnival cruise is like. In essence, Carnival is the Walmart of cruising and appeals to a young, “spring break” type crowd who are looking for a fun, action-packed vacation rather than a laid-back, subdued one that I enjoy.
Don’t get me wrong, Carnival offers a product that their loyal passengers absolutely love! I don’t know if it’s right for me until I step on a ship and experience it for myself, so when I board the Carnival Liberty on June 15th for five days in the Bahamas, it will be a first-time experience that I’m going into with zero expectations.
So stay tuned for that one, because I’m sure my blog posts from onboard will be…. entertaining.
Thanks for following along with me on this journey and living vicariously through my blog posts.
Personal Day-By-Day Noordam Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of the Veendam:
Welcome to my photo tour of the Veendam! Get ready to explore this beautiful vessel and all it has to offer through a series of stunning photographs. From the elegant dining rooms to the luxurious cabins and the endless entertainment options, you’ll see why the Veendam is a favorite among cruise enthusiasts. So sit back, relax, and let these photos take you on a virtual tour of the Veendam.