Veendam Review

4.0 / 5.0
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First time on HAL, probably not last

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Veendam
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silverhybrid
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jul 2010
Cabin: Large Ocean-View Stateroom

Four adults in our group, my sister, brother-in-law, husband and myself. Sister is an experienced cruiser, this is only my second. We chose HAL for their embarkation location (Manhattan, very convenient for my sister and b-i-l who live nearby) and reputation of HAL as a step up from other lines.

Our first reaction when seeing Veendam at port next to Norwegian Dawn was "Mamma Ship" (Dawn), "Baby Ship" (Veendam). It looked so small in comparison. Little did we know what an advantage that would turn out to be.

Boarding the ship went very smoothly and efficiently, no problems whatsoever. We explored a little and made our way to the Lido for lunch. We were surprised to be served at the buffet stations, everything, even salad was dished out for you (this was the case for the first 2 days and then the buffet was self-serve). This made for some lines and grumbling, but we felt it a small inconvenience for making sure we stayed healthy. I've never seen this done before and give HAL high marks for their thoroughness. We were pleasantly surprised by our cabins, adjacent ocean-view on deck 4. I've never been down that low and it didn't bother me at all. There were little touches in the room that impressed us. First the bathroom had a REAL tub, and individual little bottles of Elemis shampoo and other gels. Each cabin received a HAL tote bag, which came in very handy. I especially liked the lighted magnifying mirror - little touch that meant a lot. Another perk was the availabilitiy of self-serve laundry facilities. I used them twice whicvh made all the difference. Having flown into NYC, we only brought carry-ons (unlike my sister who could bring her entire wardrobe aboard if she wanted to) being able to wash clothes was great. On our previous cruise on RC, there was no self-service laundry, and washing clothes in the sink and hanging them around the cabin got tiresome very quickly. Thank you HAL!!! We made our way up to the deck to watch NYC at sail-away. Breathtaking sight, especially going under the Verazanno Bridge.

Cabin Review

Large Ocean-View Stateroom

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