A Memorable Voyage

Item: Veendam
Rating: 4
Author: dittman

Veendam Cruise Review to Hawaii

dittman

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

17 Night Circle Hawaii (San Diego Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 15, 2014

Ship: Veendam

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

The cruise on the Veendam was a very pleasurable experience. The staff was ready at a moment's notice to cater to our every whim be it getting an extra cup of coffee, a towel for the pool, or a fan because our room was too warm. Nothing seemed to be too much to ask for. The ship was extremely clean with hand sanitizers at every elevator and the entry way of almost every room. The staterooms were roomy and had plenty of storage space for our 3 suitcases of clothing. There were plenty of activities planned for the day including games with the crew, two nightly shows, cooking demonstrations to name a few. The formal "dress up nights" were one of my disillusions as they were more dressy casual, which kind of took the romance out of the nights. Also the casino was too tight on the games. The only place I saw actually winning were the tables where it was a minimum of $15 to play - a bit high for the lower income travelers. Also the bingo at $25 a card for only 4 games was a bit much to win the small pots that were paid. One really nice feature was the unlimited supply of free movies for the days when you did not feel like going out of your cabin or there were no activities that one wished to take part in. The other great feature was being able to get room service brought to you without an extra charge. We also took part in the many photo opportunities and purchased one of their reasonable photo packages. All in all it was a fun cruise that I would definitely do over again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

There was quite a variety of foods to chose from. It would have been nice to be able to eat after midnight for night owls. They had a couple of restaurants on board if you did not chose to eat in the dining hall or on the lido deck.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

The bingo and casino were way too expensive to be any real fun. However, most of the demonstrations/classes were really a lot of fun. Some of the activities had to be cancelled due to bad weather/seas, but the availability of movies made up for most of that.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Some of the entertainment was Vegas level which was surprising to say the least. One particular show, however, seemed like they just asked some previous entertainers to come in and fill up 10 minutes of showtime with something. It was like a small town variety show.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Andi, our stewart, and his staff were outstanding. No request was too great and everyone always had a big smile on their face, even in the wee hours of the morning.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship was one of the smaller in the fleet. The pool was small for the amount of guests on board. However, they did have a basketball court, tennis court, and several places where you could go dancing.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The bed with the two singles put together was about the size of a queen bed. It was soft yet firm with lots of pillows. There was also a couch and plenty of room to dress in. The shower was small but the water pressure was good and the water came out warm right away. The crew kept the room very clean as they visited a couple of times a day.

Ship tip

You can have as much as you want of any item on the menu even if it is as single specialty like crab or lobster. The main thing you want to emphasize is that you only want "one" or just "a little bit" if you are not a big eater or a just sampling something new.

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