Relaxing Vacation

Veendam Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 11
Helpful Votes: 226

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Veendam

15 Night Panama Canal Eastbound (San Diego To Ft. Lauderdale)

Sail date: November 05, 2016

Ship: Veendam

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 314

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The Veendam is a great ship on which to view the Panama Canal transit--outside upper deck, inside large lounge (air conditioned), smaller deck on Level 10, and a large bow, plus all around public Deck 6, and of course the full Lido deck.  The service was great, and the food was good.  Other than the four port days in a row, there were sea days mixed in with the other ports, so there was lots of time to sleep, eat, read, and rest.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
We preferred our own time to read and do needlework, but a variety of activities were available, including a 5K for charity and enrichment lectures about the Canal and ports.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
Available, but I only saw four children and teens on the cruise.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Deck six with limited view of outside if one looked far to the left or right, but at least we coukd sense the light and darkness. Good location otherwise. Shower in tub, so larger area than many ships.

Ship tip

Use the (free) Hollandamerica.com site to see the dinner menu each day so the decision can be made whether to eat in Main Dining or Lido. The Lido and dining rooms also post menus at their entrances. The website also has a free link to the NY Times, which I enjoyed during the election results time

Ports of call

San Diego, California

5 out of 5

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

5 out of 5

Huatulco, Mexico

5 out of 5

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

5 out of 5
Lots of shops at the dock. We even caught a free fashion show and cultural program. I bought souvenirs here.

Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua

3 out of 5
Glad we took an excursion; really nothing in the port area (although we watched the industrial area).

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

5 out of 5
Also known as Puntarenas.

Enter Panama Canal At Balboa

5 out of 5

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5
This is the best ship to view the transit--lots of viewing places. I watched the whole transit from the front because I had seen other views before, but people were encouraged to move around.

Exit Panama Canal At Cristobal

5 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5
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1 Comment

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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