Really wanting to book a Bermuda cruise for 2012. I have visited there before but flew in and stayed about 15 yrs ago. We are in our mid 40's no children and would love some info from anyone who had cruised there before. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. We usually cruise Princess so this would be our 1st HAL cruise. Thanks!!
Bermuda Cruise questions
- Thread starter rwiggins1
- Start date
Krazy Kruizers
Holland America Specialist
I have not done the Veendam Bermuda cruise.
But several from here have -- hopefully they will be along soon to answer your questions and/or tell you about their cruise.
But several from here have -- hopefully they will be along soon to answer your questions and/or tell you about their cruise.
We were on a Bermuda cruise aboard the Veendam last June . Overall it was a good cruise.
cruising out of New York was very special to us. Seeing all of the NY sites and cruising by the Statue of Liberty
was a special moment to us. we spent 3 days In Bermuda, I thought it was 1 day too much.
we didn't like it at night when the 2 bars had their out doors speakers blasting away.
We were happy happy when the ship left Hamilton.
cruising out of New York was very special to us. Seeing all of the NY sites and cruising by the Statue of Liberty
was a special moment to us. we spent 3 days In Bermuda, I thought it was 1 day too much.
we didn't like it at night when the 2 bars had their out doors speakers blasting away.
We were happy happy when the ship left Hamilton.
Beryl
Trivia Specialist
......from the perspective of a died in the wool Princess cruiser.....
We were on the same cruise as earl. We enjoyed it very much indeed. We chose this particular itinerary because the Veendam docks in Hamilton rather than at Dockyards. We just felt that Hamilton would be so much more central for exploring Bermuda and in hindsight we believe we were quite correct. I did love Bermuda and I would like to go back sometime to do a land vacation.
The Veendam is a smaller ship and we found it very easy to find our way around. For the most part the food was pretty good and I would say that what we ate in the Pinnacle Grill and at Canaletto's went into the excellent category. I will say that the service in Canaletto's was also excellent while the service in Pinnacle Grill was definitely lacking. You should also know that if you wish to use either of these restaurants you need to make reservations prior to boarding or instantly when you get onboard. There were many disappointed diners on this cruise. We did anytime dining in the main dining room and it worked perfectly for us. We were always able to make reservations to suit our schedules. One other note....the Mariner's Brunch was dreadful. The only thing I enjoyed about it was the dessert...at least I think that's the day that they served the Key Lime tart.
We loved our cabin on this ship. We were in A217 on the Veranda Deck with it's wonderful views of the wake. It was roomy, bright and clean, clean, clean. We especially loved the bathroom. I am not sold on HAL closets (I find they are simply not deep enough) but there was plenty of storage for our belongings.
There was nothing extraordinary about the entertainment onboard...in fact I remember nothing about it except that the ship's dance company consisted of 2 women. I would call the entertainment lacking!
Like Earl we had a fantastic couple of pre cruise days in New York city. We rode the subways, saw a small corner of Central Park, ate at interesting spots, rode the Staten Island Ferry and went to a Broadway show (Billy Elliott) that was just wonderful. Next trip to New York I am going to spend all my time with my backside planted firmly in a theatre seat!!
Hope some of this helps you with your decision making!
We were on the same cruise as earl. We enjoyed it very much indeed. We chose this particular itinerary because the Veendam docks in Hamilton rather than at Dockyards. We just felt that Hamilton would be so much more central for exploring Bermuda and in hindsight we believe we were quite correct. I did love Bermuda and I would like to go back sometime to do a land vacation.
The Veendam is a smaller ship and we found it very easy to find our way around. For the most part the food was pretty good and I would say that what we ate in the Pinnacle Grill and at Canaletto's went into the excellent category. I will say that the service in Canaletto's was also excellent while the service in Pinnacle Grill was definitely lacking. You should also know that if you wish to use either of these restaurants you need to make reservations prior to boarding or instantly when you get onboard. There were many disappointed diners on this cruise. We did anytime dining in the main dining room and it worked perfectly for us. We were always able to make reservations to suit our schedules. One other note....the Mariner's Brunch was dreadful. The only thing I enjoyed about it was the dessert...at least I think that's the day that they served the Key Lime tart.
We loved our cabin on this ship. We were in A217 on the Veranda Deck with it's wonderful views of the wake. It was roomy, bright and clean, clean, clean. We especially loved the bathroom. I am not sold on HAL closets (I find they are simply not deep enough) but there was plenty of storage for our belongings.
There was nothing extraordinary about the entertainment onboard...in fact I remember nothing about it except that the ship's dance company consisted of 2 women. I would call the entertainment lacking!
Like Earl we had a fantastic couple of pre cruise days in New York city. We rode the subways, saw a small corner of Central Park, ate at interesting spots, rode the Staten Island Ferry and went to a Broadway show (Billy Elliott) that was just wonderful. Next trip to New York I am going to spend all my time with my backside planted firmly in a theatre seat!!
Hope some of this helps you with your decision making!
