Time for another check-in from Holland America Line’s ms Veendam. Day four saw us spend the morning at sea as we made our way toward Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. We hit San Juan Bay around 12:30pm and made it to the ship’s berth right on time.
While I’m not a fan of Old San Juan, I have to say the arrival at the breakwaters as you enter San Juan Bay is a sight to see, and for as many times as I’ve been here, it’s always something I look forward to seeing.
As you pull in, immediately off to the port side is El Morro, a daunting structure that was built as a fort to protect the island and is currently a historical site managed by the United States. I always joke that when the ship arrives, it suddenly lists to port because everyone moves to that side to take pictures. Myself included.
Since I got breakfast and a two-mile jaunt around the deck out of the way early in the day, I got off the ship shortly after arriving and headed down to El Morro. Along the way, the local university’s chemistry club was holding an Earth Day outdoor fair and there were booths and displays put together by the students along the thoroughfare. Of course, merchants hawking all kinds of crap were there too, including a run-down cart selling something really disgusting on a stick for a buck.
Once at El Morro, instead of going inside to see the guts of the fort, I took a long walk along the path that encircles the structure along the shore. Here one has the opportunity to look up at the giant walls that make up the fortress and delight in the feral cats that have overrun the joint. So much so that they’re taken care of by the park service which puts out food and water for them and is known as the “Cats of El Morro.”
Just like a tabby you would have in your home, these cats are so used to humans, they’re not afraid to come up to you, rub against your leg, or if you sit under one of the spreading banyan trees to take a break from the sun, you’ll find one come up and take a nap.
Can someone say “cat scratch fever?”
Yeah, I just took pictures and moved on.
The path around El Morro is a long one and on a day when the sun was strong and temps were in the 90s, hot. Leaking like a rusty pipe, I finished my appointed rounds, took photos, and made my way back to the ship resisting every temptation to buy a bottle of “cold aqua” being pitched by just about everyone.
Back on board, a cold shower was in order before oiling up and, grabbing a few cold beverages at the pool, and hitting the lounger for even more sun.
Instead of hitting up the Dive In for a burger or hot dog, I decided to try some Stromboli at Slice, the pizza shop located at the aft end of the ship in the area known as The Retreat. The other day I mentioned I had a few slices of pizza there and was impressed. The Stromboli was just as impressive and would make Nonna proud. Loaded with cheese, peppers, onions, and Italian meats, it was just as good as any mom-and-pop pizza joint back home.
Since we weren’t leaving Puerto Rico until midnight, many people on board decided to take advantage of the late port call by having dinner in town. With my intense fear of being murdered in a foreign land and my body never being found, I played it safe and remained on board despite a few invitations from people to join them ashore.
Dinner once again was at the Pinnacle Grill, the ship’s steakhouse. For dinner, I started out with an awesome steak tartare garnished with corniches, chopped onions, and parsley and served with crostini. That was followed by the usual tomato basil salad and a simply incredible veal chop topped with a mushroom marsala sauce. I played it safe by staying away from dessert, as the Stromboli gave me a guilt trip.
Due to our late departure, there was no entertainment in the ship’s showroom, but a pool party was held on the ship’s Lido Deck with food, drink, and dancing. I got a few laughs watching the handful of people try to dance liquored up after a day of drinking rum at the Bacardi factory tour.
My gripe of the day has to do with MTN Satellite Communications, the company that provides Internet and television service on board. Granted satellite Internet is not like the connection one would have at home or at work, but with today’s technology, there is no excuse for the pitiful connection guests have to pay big sums of money for while suffering with speeds worse than a 300 bps modem from the ’90s.
This is not the first time I’ve complained about Internet speeds on Holland America Ships. I asked a crew member if they have to suffer with the same speed, constant connection timeouts, and disconnects as we do, and was told, “It was a lot worse before we got an upgrade.”
I paid $250 for 1,100 minutes, so out at sea the cost of keeping in touch is dear. I would expect that with today’s technology MTN or Holland America would do something to make using the Internet less painful for their guests. I keep up with cruise industry news and have seen plenty of articles lately where cruise lines are embracing new technology from partners other than MTN, to offer connection speeds at sea that rival or beat land-based systems. It’s time that either MTN or Holland America step up their game to provide a better overall Internet experience because this is just pathetic.
You may be sitting there saying, “whiner.” Let me respond by saying if you’re the one using shipboard Internet on a Holland America Ship provided by MTN, you’d be bitching as well. When I was on the ms Zuiderdam in December, I complained about the Internet speed (also provided by MTN) but I think the connection on the ms Veendam is even worse.
I’d be interested to hear from MTN or Holland America on their plans for making communicating at sea less frustrating. But hey, when you’re paying by the minute and the Internet is a profit center, why improve speed?
Speaking of hearing from folks, I received an email from the director of marketing and design for Meritech, Inc. This is the company that makes the handwashing machines that are installed throughout the ms Veendam that I commented on the other day. I’m in love with these things and have used them several times a day in addition to traditional hand sanitizers. Before I leave the ship, I’ll do a little write-up about how these things work and post a video to see if anyone else has seen these on ships they’ve traveled on.
Today we’re in port at St. Thomas followed by two days at sea before returning home to Ft. Lauderdale. For those who have been asking, once I’m back on land, I will add photos to the blog posts. With the Internet service from MTN being so horrible, I’m thankful I can even cut and paste plain text and get these blogs published. I would probably need to spend the entire day, every day if I wanted to add photos.
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.