Veendam Review

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Veendam to Alaska-What a Disappointment

Review for Alaska Cruise on Veendam
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gringorn
First Time Cruiser • Age 20s

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Sail Date: May 2009
Cabin: Verandah Suite

My husband and I cruised on the veendam for the May 24th Alaska sailing. It was a major disappointment and I certainly would hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is traveling with the purpose of enjoying a cruise experience while experiencing the beauty of Alaska. Alaska itself could never be a letdown, but a cruise line could...and in the case of the Veendam, this was a big letdown. I had lived in Alaska for several years before I met my husband and was so excited to go back and also to see him be "wowed" and it just didn't happen on this ship at all. We have sailed on Princess (2), Celebrity (2) and Carnival (4) and chose HAL because the Veendam had just gone through its Signature of Excellence upgrades and was just out of dry dock after a well publicized upgrade. Unfortunately, we really are unable to pinpoint just what these upgrades were as we found the ship lacking in many ways and there was an overall feeling of old, worn and tired surroundings

There were aspects that HAL does well. The customer service at the anchorage airport and their representatives for the train ride to Seward was exceptional. We handed our bags over at the Anchorage airport and they were in our cabin minutes after our arrival onboard. The train ride to Seward is a definite MUST for first time visitors to Alaska as well as those of you who have been to Alaska before. A 2pm train is available with Alaska greylines. For some reason, very few travel agents seem to be aware of the 2pm train and tend to only try to book passengers on the 645am train. Spread the word though, for the ride is a treat regardless of what time you go. Another thing HAL does well is the embarkation and disembarkation for the cruise. Both processes were quick and organized. Getting on and off the ship at ports was also very quick and organized. The safety drill was well organized and thorough and they have a good system in place to assure that all cabins are represented at the drill. The ship appears to be very clean and all the staff seems to be very conscientious about preventing illness. There are hand sanitizer systems everywhere you look. However, on several decks we noticed a strong "sewer" smell in some areas. We met one woman who got to her cabin and the bathroom wasn't completely installed when she arrived. She had no facilities that first night and had to use her friend's cabin. The ship was booked full so there was no alternate cabin for her.Onboard, there are few things to recommend HAL Veendam other than the Alaskan storyteller who gave regular talks about Alaskan heritage and customs. Ours was named Cindy and she was one of the highlights of our cruise. Sadly, participation was limited and the talks were usually poorly attended. The Explorer Lounge was well stocked with books, games and there were daily puzzles and trivia contests you could do on your own time and drop off. They do have internet but it was very expensive with the best plan costing about 40 cents a minute. The explorer lounge was quiet and has many comfy seating areas. The Crow's Nest would be a nice area to view the scenery while staying out of the cold if only the windows weren't so old and dirty which made it distracting. The Culinary arts center had a couple of decent classes but most were pretty lame (towel animals for example). The theater does show some fairly recent movies. We had a verandah suite. It was a good size with a nice verandah and had a fairly large bathroom with a full sized tub. There was plenty of closet and drawer space, a full size sofa and coffee table. There is a chaise and a chair on the verandah. The cabin was very clean, the bed was comfortable and there were plenty of pillows (6). However, things did appear shabby and had obviously seen better days. The colors are dated and boring, the fixtures are losing their finish. It was difficult to adjust our room temp, but there were extra blankets so we were able to stay comfortable. The bathrobes showed how dated things are. One was yellowed and the other bright white. Small things but they contributed to the feeling that the ship had seen better days. The carpet in our room, though clean, didn't reach all the way to the wall. There is a small flat screen tv in the cabin, but it doesn't rotate far enough to watch comfortably while in bed. There is a large gap under the door to the cabin which allows light into the room and also ensures you hear everyone moving about and talking in the hallways through the nite. The food was mediocre and only made to seem worse by the poor service in the dining room. We had the open seating, dine as you wish option. The service was so slow that twice we had to track down the maitre de to find our dinners for us and we never were able to stay long enough for dessert. The fastest we got out of there was a bit over 2 hours. It seems that since it is a guaranteed tip, the waiters in the open seating area don't feel a need to check on the diners. Once they find out you aren't ordering from the bar, good luck trying to get some water or coffee during the meal. We actually sat next to the wait station and ended up getting our own water. Not sure what is going on in the kitchen, but the serving temps on the food were not good. We never got hot soup even once. The temperature of the items on the plate strongly indicated that some items were pre-plated and had cooled off. It was not unusual in the dining room to get our dinners with cold veggies, warm meat and cool potatoes. I was shocked and disappointed that they had the nerve to serve "king crab" that was at best the smallest part of a Dungeness crab leg, split in half and served in a small bowl of bland broth with half of a boiled potatoe. On an Alaska cruise!!! The beef wellington was good, however. After the 3d dinner and trying both breakfast and lunch twice in the open dining area, we gave up and ate up on the lido deck at the buffet. The food up there was actually better than the dining room and served at proper temps. The wait staff was better too, more attentive and friendlier than the main dining room. We could easily get coffee and water refills from the staff up there.

As far as dining options on the ship, we went a several times to get pizza and found it closed during hours it was supposed to be open. The burger station wasn't always open when it was scheduled to be either, but when it was the burgers were good with a wide assortment of condiments. They had one late night buffet, but not what you usually experience on a cruise as far as nice displays or themes like Chocolate Buffets. There were snacks available from 10-11 pm on the lido deck, but they were limited. The room service was frustrating. We tried ordering tea with fruit or a piece of cake several times. Twice we never received it at all. Once after an hour and 15 mins we called and they sent it about 20 mins later. Once we called to locate our tea about one hour after we ordered it and they said they had "lost" our order. Anyway, it was an exercise in futility. I have to say though, we always got our coffee on time in the mornings when we ordered it the night before. One of the things that contributed to that "seen better days" feeling was they use real silver in the dining room but it is tarnished. It would be better to have stainless steel than tarnished silver IMO. The glasses were pretty much all spotty. I am not sure what happened, but there were supposed to be 2 formal nights. The first one my husband and I dressed formally and found we were in a very small minority of people who bothered. There were even jeans in the dining room that night. There was no second formal night and I am not sure if it was because the first one had such poor participation. Again, something else to detract from the "cruise" experience.A pleasant surprise was the afternoon tea service which had a good variety of typical sandwiches and snacks with good service. Unfortunately, they use the tarnished silver for the service and once we had a leaking tarnished tea pot. Just seemed shabby. Our cabin steward came and introduced himself and his assistant the first evening. Other than that, we really didn't see him much except in the hallway. Our room was usually made up by 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Nothing outstanding, nothing remarkable but nothing bad either. Funny towel sculpture the last nite.

Cabin Review

Verandah Suite

Cabin B

Cabin 177 on Verandah deck.  Comfortable size, long walk to stairs and elevators.  Light comes in under the door at night.  Plenty of closet and drawer space.  Full size sofa.  Bathtub with jets (but we didnt use them)  Awkward viewing angle for tv.  Chair and chaise on the verandah for comfy sightseeing in good weather.

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