Here is a copy of a letter we sent to Holland America about the horrible experience we had March 2008 on the Veendam. This letter only discusses the ship ... it does not discuss the horrible experience we had in Cozumel ... We asked that we be compensated for at least half the $1,784.76 we paid in advance and in good faith. We did hear back from Holland America and they offered us an upgrade if we buy another trip .... how gracious — not!

When we embarked on our cruise on March 9, we were shocked to find our room filthy and in a state of total disrepair. When we booked our cruise in January, we initially wanted to be on a higher deck but were told that none of the rooms were available. We agreed to a room on the lowest level because the Holland America agent assured us it would be just as nice as any other, we would be able to have a double bed, and that the room would be placed in the middle of the ship. Based upon the company’s reputation and the website, we believed we had little to be concerned about.

We entered the room, which was located at the farthest end of the ship (the second room from the end) to discover two single beds, sticky goo on the nightstand and dresser surfaces, dirty walls, a sticky/dirty temperature control knob, stained and dirty carpet, and a dirty bathroom counter, mirror, and medicine cabinet. It took two different trips and a telephone call to the front desk for the room to be properly cleaned and the beds put together. We resigned ourselves to the room’s location.

(We enclosed photographs, which showed the condition of the furniture — it was so bad it would not be accepted for donation by a charitable organization.) It is inexcusable to ask your guests to spend a week in a room with chipped furniture, scratched walls with holes in them, and stained carpet. The temperature in the room was hard to control and fluctuated from being too hot to being too cold.

With the exception of our hard-working and attentive cabin steward, none of the ship’s executive staff bothered to follow up and assure that our grievances had been resolved.

Nowhere in the literature we reviewed about the cruise line or on the website did it say we would have to endure such a nightmare. Your promotional materials assure quite the opposite. Holland America honored none of the promises made by the agent who sold us the trip, the promotional materials, or the contract.

The condition of our room made what should have been a relaxing enjoyable holiday a very stressful experience that we would have done anything to avoid. Like so many, we had a choice of which cruise-line to sail and based upon positive comments at some of the travel web sites we chose Holland America.

Sorry about your terrible experience. That's why we prefer to sail with Celebrity.

wow...that sounds terrible.
Was this your first trip w/HAL?

I've been on alot of their ships
and have never experienced anything
anywhere near this!

you might want to peruse cruisecritic.com board & post there.

I am sure that there is another side to this story that we will never heard. And I suppose Holland Am was responsible for the bad experience in Cozumel.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I agree with fmpden in that we will probably never hear both sides of the story and as this ship rates a member review of 5 on cruise critic then this experience as described is all the more enigmatic to understand.

I also agree with "both sides of the story". We have been cruising with HAL since 1985 and have never had such a problem. If we ever had any kind of problem we went to the purser's office and reported it. They took care of it right away - but as far as a filthy cabin - just has never happend.

I also find this difficult to believe and would like to hear more. NJgal do you plan to post review in CruiseCritic with photos etc to back this up?

"We agreed to a room on the lowest level because the Holland America agent assured us it would be just as nice as any other, we would be able to have a double bed, and that the room would be placed in the middle of the ship."

- how did you make the reservation? HA agent - is this a travel agent acting on behalf of the cruise line?

Did you know the cabin number before making this reservation, and saw where on the deck plan the cabin is located before you've agreed to pay for it?

As the cabin's location is very important for me (motion sickness) I always see the location before committing, it seems from your letter you only relied on "reputation" without checking the location.

Or was it a "guaranteed" cabin with upgrade? Judging by the price it might be.

FainaAgain, that is exactly the same questions I had. When I am booking a cruise I am always looking at the floor plan because I like that center of ship room. We have taken the "guaranteed" cabin a couple of times and have always had a cabin assignment a couple weeks prior to departure. Something else is a miss here. Also noticed NJgal hasn't posted in over three years so I am guessing the post is to put as much pressure on Am Holland as possible.

I know it is Holland Am -- just typing too fast.

That is why we never book a guarantee. I always choose my cabin ahead of time - mid ship main deck. I have been on too many rough seas to chance any other location. Had one bad experience years ago. People believe that going up one deck is an upgrade but not if it is in the bow or stern. I have my Mid ship main deck cabin all picked out and paid for on the next adventure 27 day back to back Med cruise next summer.

Holland America discounted our cruisefare tremendously, but put us in the first cabin, right by the embark/debark stand. We would constantly hear the beep of the cruisecards being inserted. I don't have a lot of patience, but I did grow used to it in time.

Now, we ALWAYS choose the cabin we want. We don't want an upgrade, either. We have had those, but had to listen to chairs scraping from the pool deck above. Having a mini suite upgrade was NOT worth it.

Maybe HA had a new steward on that floor. I sympathize. We once were on a cruise where we had a moldy shower curtain, that never got changed. Turned us off of Cunard, that's for sure.

I like HA, but I believe anything can happen.

Isn't it ironic that the person who saves all year for a special vacation is discredited and discounted over a big corporation. But, I will answer everyone's questions. While it may appear I'm trying to put "as much pressure on Am Holland as possible" that no longer makes sense. My husband and I went through all the channels on board, took pictures (which I will post), and then wrote a reasoned letter. This will not change their mind.

I do this with the hope that someone else won't spend their hard-earned money without being forwarned.

I do object to being maligned in this forum as though my story is not to be believed. I wish Holland America would tell their story and explain the deplorable condition of their ship and the audacity of charging people to live that way. With regards to Cozumel ... instead of wondering what bones I have to pick why don't you ask about that experience — the fact that the ship tendered late and took 2-plus hours to tender so that by the time we all got to our activities it was time to return to the ship.

To the person who finds this difficult to believe, please tell me why. And explain what you think my motivation is. You want to hear more ... then ask and I'll respond.

I made the reservation directly with Holland America. I was told I would be assigned a cabin later (which should have been a clue). I asked for a guarantee, and was not given one.

I've sailed on Celebrity before with great pleasure and am well traveled beyond cruising. This trip was not at all what it was presented to be. My intent in posting was to prevent my experience from happening to someone else. I hope it does just that.

NJgal, I am sorry, but it seems to me, your expectations were too high.

When I made reservations I picked a cabin, and knew the cabin number right away, even before typing in my credit card number - before my very first cruise a year ago. Sorry you haven't done the same.

Please don't take on the attitude of "I've been saving all year, and you don't". I can go on for hours how I save all year, being a poor emigrant with bad English, working a low-paid job.

Sorry all this had happen to you, but it looks like you haven't done your homework.

As for being tendered late... if you read CruiseCritic's reports, mentioned often on Fodor's, it happens often. Especially in bad weather. No port stops are guaranteed, and no hours are guaranteed. Ocean is an unpredictable boss.

I agree that a filthy room is unacceptable and you are right in asking for a partial refund. I hope you reduced the amount of tips as the room attendant did not do a good job, and files a complained right there on the ship.

I hope this won't stop you from enjoying cruises in the future.

First of all thank you for the post to begin with. Why is this hard to believe? You told your side but we have never get to hear the other side. As the Veendam has excellent reviews on cruise critic from around 80 passengers who choose to post a review and as HAL is so widely well regarded why would your story HAVE to be believed? Of course there will be at least SOME doubts and you can't assume most here will believe you. It has nothing to do with one saving for a yr. vs. a mega-rich corporation. It really isn't like its poor little old me vs. huge, cold and uncaring HAL. Its your word here only. If you have the pics lets see them.
I agree with the above about being sure you get a speciifc cabin assignment. This is what most people do. Do try cruising again but go through an experienced TA who will not only be your guide but also will get a better price too than booking with the cruise co. itself. You did say the room was cleaned and the beds were arranged to your liking so I don't see how you are justified in asking for > 50% your cruise. Sorry it just doesn't add up. I mean you used the ships facilities, had your meals, had the opportunity for entertainment every day and night and so on. We spent a good hunk of $$ two yrs. ago for a Tahitian cruise but couldn't tender into one of the islands due to high seas. Thas bad luck and not anyones fault. JM2C.

I'll be happy to share my pictures if someone will tell me where to post them and how. My complaint is about the cabin and its deplorable condition. Anything else I mentioned on the list was an error on my part in that it took away from the real problem.

Just post a link.

Where does one link to for photographs? I don't have a website.

Can you put the pics online, like in photobucket or Kodak? You don't need a personal web site, just a hosting site.

Here are a few photos from the room.
http://photobucket.com/cruise