Looking at a 14 day from Tampa on this ship...has anyone ever cruised on this ship? Please share any info regarding the ship, the entertainment, food, activities, etc. Thanks!

Are you looking to compare her
w/other lines? and are you familiar
w/HA?
Carinval owns HA and is trying to
change the age demographic but
the audience is mainly older &
mostly retired. They have eliminated
some of the niceties HA is known for
and have instated mandatory tipping.

Food presentation is an 8 (on a 10);
entertainment mediocre, full range
of activities, movies are no longer
first-run. Staff very accomodating.

Anything else you wish to know?

Hello,

Actually, as a travel agent and cruise specialist, I am seeing a lot of great improvements with HAL!

Holland America is really changing their cruise experience and moving away from the outdated reputation of an older, retired guests. They are updating all of the services, improving and adding more children's programs, adding more active shore excursions. They are also adding more informal dining options, improving the spas, a new coffee shop/library/Internet cafe - all starting with the Ryndam this summer.

The ships are filled with art work and tropical fresh flower arrangements and the service is amazing on HAL (the dining stewards remember how you like your meat, when you want your drink served, etc). It is a really relaxing, calm environment on the ships. The food is good, the entertainment is good, but some entertainment is better than other options. Holland America is a good value overall.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions!

Best Regards,
Julia

I agree with Julia. Maybe it has been awhile since Rhea cruised on HAL....I too think they've improved in many ways. If you're interested in a mass marketed cruiseline, I don't think you can go wrong with Holland America.

Actually I sailed her in January of this
year & have been on a number of
HA ships.
My reply remains. The guests are not any younger, the movies were not enticing. Some of the entertainment was enjoyable, others not. I always frequent the Steiner Salon who maintain a high level of services.
Yes, this is a good value for the mass market w/the caveats I cited.
As for the food: I live in New York &
the cuisine, while attractively presented, is still geared to bland
palate.

Sailed on the Veendam last summer in Alaska. Have been on many cruises on many cruiselines and thought HAL was great, but the ship is an older one (old style theater, etc.) Food was great. Would repeat HAL, but not this ship.

Rhea...could you answer a question for me...sounds like you don't enjoy HAL, yet you state you've been several times...why keep going back?...or do I misunderstand?? Please don't think I'm being snipy....I'm not...just trying to understand..this is very disappointing...the itinerary is a very cool one..but sounds like the ship sucks!! the new ships go to places I hate...

We're booked on the 14 day Veendam cruise from Tampa next year. Have been on 6 other HAL ships, but not yet the Veendam. We understand the Veendam is going into dry dock this spring and having a Neptune Lounge( Consierge for the Suites) constructed as well as adding a Pinacle Grill ( specialty restaurant). We have sailed on her sister ships, Ryndam and Statendam, and enjoyed the intimacy of the smaller cruise ship. It is 55,000 tons and not really a small ship but compared to the new megaships, it is smaller.
We have sailed, NCL, RCI, and Carnival as well as HAL and find HAL to be our favorite line. Comparing the food to other lines, they are very competetive and we have really enjoyed the food. The RCI lines food, to our taste, it not at all competetive and we have heard this from other cruisers as well.
Demographics, no matter what line, are somewhat dependent on the length of the cruise and time of the year. Cruises over 7 days tend to attract an older crowd who had the time and the $$ to spend. Summer time and vacation times always attract a younger family crowd. So if you want to have a younger demographic, pick the summer or holidays and 7-10 day cruises. If you want an older demographic, you can choose the opposite times of the year.
Entertainment ( shows ) are not the forte of HAL. They are entertaining but not on the level of Carnival or RCI. We actually like the smaller showroom however. More intimate and more like a nightclub than a massive theatre. HAL has a very nice casino and many daily activities to interest all. They have trivia groups, bridge groups, and also more physically active groups in the Spa. There is a nice work out facility and classes also given daily.
The essense of HAL is their staff and the wonderful service you receive with a smile. That is one of the reasons we feel comfortable and at home with HAL. We just can't wait for our Veendam cruise.
You can review some of the posts on cruisecritic.com relative to this cruise and the Veendam and you will get a good sense of the ship. Some nice pictures posted as well.

Crazyb1:
I was giving a succinct overview not
knowing (And we still don't know)
how familiar you are w/the HA line.
For the money it's an inexp. vacation.
However, as prev. stated, since
Carnival has bought the line, some
of the offerings have been eliminated
or "cheapened down."
Torpeedo has posted accurately.

Now what are you comparing her w/

We sailed on the Veendam Feb 28 on a one week Carrib. trip. Ship is fine, HAL has the most room in staterooms with the most storage of any line we have been on. Right here I'll tell you that we have sailed on the three new Celebrity ships (Millenium, Infinity and Summit), the smaller Celebrity (Mercury), also on the new Oceania line, (Regatta), HAL Noordam. and the Princess line's Crown Princess. We enjoyed ALL of them. HAL still treats their passengers very well with very nice cabin stewards who greet you by name from minute one, and professional service in the dining rooms. Also the fresh flowers are beautiful and very prominent throughout the ship. I've never seen this on any other ship. Seems like a small point but they are so uplifting to see.

Also, the full prominade is fast disappearing on the big lines,. but the Veendam has a nice teak one and it's very nice to be able to circle the ship. The lounge chairs on this prominade are of beautifully maintained wood over which are placed cushions. Again, a small point but for those lazy days at sea, this makes for a very nice place to watch the sea go by.
We found the food to be OK, not as good as Celebrity which we liked a lot, and certainly not as good as the Regatta which we found to be OUTSTANDING. But fine enough, no complaints. Shows were good some nights ( an Elton John imitator who we thought gave one of the best shows we have ever seen on a ship), and some other just OK stuff. Again, not as good as Celebrity which had bigger productions on their big ships.
HOWEVER, it seems that HAL is coming under the Carnival influence with strict no liquor being allowed to be brought on board for consumption during the cruise,(wine and champagne yes, beer and liquor,no). And new tipping policy as I have read here. Still a very nice cruise experience if you are looking for a non mega ship type.

All...thanks for the wonderful help!

Rhea...I've been on about 5 Carnival ships all the way from the Festivale to the Pride..Majesty of the Seas (RCL) and Norwegian Wind..even the Big Red Boat..weird that they don't have first run movies. Carnival usually does! Anyway, am excited about going to places I've not seen, not to obsessed with the ship. BUT I didn't want to go on something horrible..especially for my anniversary and especially for 14 days!! I think I get the idea....I think it's worth a try!

Congrats on the anniversary. You might want to let them know that.
Sometimes, they do something extra
for 'special occasions'. Do sign up to become a Mariner which is their
repeat customer program. In the
future you may be upgraded automatically.
You might want to research your ports beforehand; many don't require
the ship's exp. tours. May I ask which ports? The staff is very accomodating & the Cruise Staff port
gal is quite informative if you have queries.

crazyb1, We have extensive Veendam links to photo albums, personal cruise websites, and reviews on our personal website, cruiseclues.com. Just click on the blue Shipstips on the bar at the top, then click on the Veendam.

Sorry I've been busy....the ports are Tampa, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Road Town Harbor, Tortola; Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; Soufriere, St. Lucia; Isla de Margarita (Guamache), Venezuela; Kralendijk, Bonaire; Oranjestad, Aruba; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Tampa, Florida ...I did look at some of the off short excursuions and they looked pretty interesting...some pleaces like Barbados, Aruba & Cayman I've been to...