We got advance notice that boarding would be delayed due to the outbreak of norovirus on the two previous cruises. They were "deep cleaning" the ship. No objection from me, and they continued cleaning all during our cruise; constantly wiping down all handrails, doors, walls, etc. They installed special hand-washing machines at the entrances to each eating venue, and posted personnel to be sure ...
My wife and I are in our mid 40's no kids and have cruise on Princess, NCL, and Royal Caribbean. We both were exited to spend the holiday at sea.
I will start with the good then not so much
We arrived to the pier at 2 pm anxious to start our journey we went thru screening then to meet the boarding attendant. She advised us the ship was being sanitized due to the Nero virus from the previous ...
Again, a wonderful experience. The Veendam is an older and smaller ship, but well maintained and not crowded at all. We always were able to find a quiet place to relax with NO people.
The stateroom, an ocean view, was fine. Wonderful room service. It was kept immaculate, had nice little touches like chocolates on your bed every night, and the food room service was nothing short of excellent, ...
There were some real positives in our experience. The cleaning crew kept everything immaculate and were very nice, our room was comfortable and well designed/very quiet, I had a lovely port excursion and the entertainment-- in the bars as well is in the showroom-- was top notch. They also kept a Nora virus break out under control and immediately helped my mom when she got very sick. But we have ...
This is our seventh cruise, fourth on Holland, second on Veendam in one year (that is how much we like this ship.) We would define this cruise line as one for relaxed mature passengers who value an elegant and quiet experience over being constantly entertained. A perfect example of the ambiance is the lack of frequent blaring announcements that assault you on other lines.
Cons:
This ship is ...
My husband and I just got back from our first cruise in many years. This was a test of sorts to see if we are 'cruise ready' for the next phase in our lives as empty nesters/early retiree's. (mid 50's) Chose HAL because of price and itinerary. Feedback was that we would be the youngest on the cruise.
So, yes, the average age was about 10 years + older than us. But we realized almost ...
Negative feed back. to many older people, average age around 70, no out side pool games, outside lights that string over the pool deck were on 2 times during the cruise only while at port. you should have food on lido deck at all times during the day, the room toilet only worked about 70% of cruise. your main show room is to small, the life boat drill was a joke, workers doing maintenance during ...
Nov. 19-26 HAL Veendam Mexican Riviera (San Diego Departure) by the twin of Oscar the Grouch
Let me start by stating the we have cruised 14 times since 2006, and seven have been on HAL; the others scattered on RCCL, Celebrity, and Princess. All have been from East/West coast ports. I have always recommended HAL and we had guests join us on two prior HAL cruises; this cruise was with two ...
This was our seventh cruise on HAL. We are a couple in our late 60's, and we always have a great time, but this time there were a few "not so great moments".
We began our vacation by driving from Green Valley AZ to San Diego two days before our cruise. We stayed at the San Diego Hilton Airport/Harbor Island, where we also left our car. This Hilton has a park and cruise package, and Hilton ...
This was my 3rd sailing on the ms Veendam, the first since her refurbishment and second Mexican Riviera cruise. Embarkation in San Diego is always a pleasant experience as it's close to our home in Arizona and it's a quick trip from airport to dock. The embarkation crew was excellent and very friendly.
Once on board we went to our Veranda Suite, on the Veranda deck towards the stern of the ...