Veendam Review

4.0 / 5.0
0 reviews

Poor value for money spent

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Veendam
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deefly
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jul 2017
Cabin: Verandah Suite

This is the second time we have cruised this same route, and were sorely disappointed this time. The route is still wonderful, but the poor old Veendam is showing its age and needs to be send back to the shipyards for a retrofit. During our cruise, the ship was visibly and noisily being worked on, and one of our dining companions related that she was dressing in her balcony suite with the curtains open when a workman suddenly rappelled down to her balcony, greeting her with a cheery "hello!"

We paid $$$$ for a top-of-the-line vista suite, and what we got was a one-star cabin with a cracked sink in the bathroom; visible rust around the door frame, chipped paint on the TV stand, and no - repeat - no electrical outlets on the side of the cabin with the bed. Our cabin steward jerry-rigged a setup with two extension cords so that we could plug in a c-pap machine by the bed. Note: Holland America knew we were bringing a c-pap machine, but never mentioned there would be no place by the bed to plug it in. We spent the week in our "luxury" suite stepping over extension cords duct-taped to the carpet.

We selected "as you wish dining," only to find that this meant standing in a line of 20 people to wait for a table for up to 20 minutes. and then being seated at large tables for 6 or 8, not what we wished. When we inquired about making reservations, we were told that reservations were only available at 5:30 or 7:45. Our table companions joined us in being furious about this, and we heard many people complaining to the maitre d', about this practice, which of course was a decision of the cruise line, not the hapless maitre d'. The dining room appeared to be understaffed - one gala evening, we had to wait an hour between ordering and receiving our food.

Cabin Review

Verandah Suite

Cabin BA

We paid $$$$ for a Vista Suite, and what we got was a cabin with a cracked sink in the bathroom; visible rust around the door in the bathroom, a shower that intermittently stopped the cold water, scalding us, chipped paint on the ancient VCR housing, and no - repeat - no electrical outlets on the side of the cabin with the bed. Our cabin steward jerry-rigged a setup with two extension cords so that we could plug in a c-pap machine by the bed. Note: Holland America knew we were bringing a c-pap machine, but never mentioned there would be no place by the bed to plug it in.

Port Reviews

Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island)

Since we have visited Charlottetown before, we went ashore and toured on our own and had an excellent lobster lunch.

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