Veendam Review

4.0 / 5.0
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A Newbie Cruise

Review for Bermuda Cruise on Veendam
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juswannasay
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Sep 2010
Cabin: Lanai Ocean-View Stateroom

At the risk of losing all credibility with veteran CC'ers at the outset,this was our first cruise. I had been to sea in my twenties thanks to an enlistment in the US Coast Guard. I've always loved being on the water, be it a sailboat or even a short hop on a ferry. I'm like the dog riding with his head outside a car window, I love the wind, waves and spray. My wife does not share my passion, due to earlier experiences, queasy overnight ferry trips from Spain to Morocco and between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. After 31 years of marriage, she surprisingly, agreed to join me on a cruise - I'm indebted to her big-time! We chose HAL's Veendam cruise to Bermuda. We liked that there were 2 ports-of-call in Bermuda and one more day in Bermuda than was offered by competing cruise lines.

Luckily, we live only 25 miles from Manhattan. Embarkation was an easy, ho-hum process. We had a quick buffet lunch in the Lido restaurant and had plenty of time to unpack in our stateroom and tour the ship before getting underway on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We chose a Lanai stateroom on the Lower Promenade deck. The sliding glass door gave us immediate access to the port side deck. A pair of assigned deck chairs outside our stateroom gave us a front porch, opening to a our own Main Street. All the pedestrians: passengers and crew alike, would greet us throughout the day. "Howdy, neighbor!"

The stateroom service was always attentive and prompt, even when there was an "equipment malfunction". We had none of the air conditioning problems in our stateroom that was cited in reviews earlier this summer. However, one evening the toilet in our bathroom would not flush. We called the Front Desk and were given a work order number. I was worried we would face having to use the public restrooms for the remainder of the night and next morning. We went to the late show at "The Showroom"; when we returned we were pleased to find our toilet operating properly.

Cabin Review

Lanai Ocean-View Stateroom

Cabin CA

Great location on the port side mid-ships of the Lower Promenade Deck. And don't forget the famous HAL bed mattresses. Is there any way we can get HAL to reveal the name their mattress vendor? I guess I will have to make a point of looking for the manufacturer's tag on my next cruise.

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