HAL - ms Veendam - Page 3 - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

jstducky · 12-06-2005, 03:53 PM

Atrium

The original Jacob's Ladder was the biblical Stairway to Heaven. The version you will find in the ms Veendam's atrium is a spangled three-story spiral of cut crystal, climbing from floor to ceiling, more luminous and flamboyant than your (or Jacob's ) wildest dreams.

jstducky · 12-06-2005, 03:55 PM

The Veendam's cruise calendar from now until March 2007 is as follows:

December 2005 - April 2006 - Caribbean
April - May 2006- Panama Canal
May - September 2006 - Alaska
September - October 2006 - Panama Canal
October 2006 - March 2007 - Caribbean

jstducky · 12-06-2005, 04:01 PM

Click here for a virtual tour of the Veendam including the following rooms:

Atrium
Library/Internet Cafe/Card Room
Pinnacle Grill
Beauty Salon
Lido Pool and Bar
Rotterdam Dining Room
Crow's Nest Lounge
Lido Restaurant
Reuben's Show Lounge
Fitness Center
Neptune Lounge
Penthouse Verandah Suite
Verandah Suite
Deluxe Verandah Suite
Inside Stateroom
Outside Stateroom

Copper10-8 · 04-06-2009, 02:28 PM

m/s Veendam (1996-present) Built in 1996 as ms Veendam by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Marghera (Venice), Italy for Holland America Line. She is the fourth ship in HAL history to bear the name Veendam and the last of the four ships in the 'S' class (Statendam, Maasdam and Ryndam are her sisters). She was named after the town in the northeastern Dutch province of Groningen ('veen' means 'peat' in Dutch).

The four ships are just about identical, having only small changes in their internal layout. However, each one has a different decorative theme. Veendam has the distinction of being the first HAL ship built at Fincantieri's Marghera yard (all of HAL's new-builts since then have been constructed at Marghera). Her three sisters had all been constructed at the builder's Monfalcone yard.

After running technical trials in the Adriatic, she was handed over to her owners on 1 May 1996. She then commenced a transatlantic crossing, with crew but without passengers, to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. under the command of Captain W.H. Eulderink. After a christening and naming ceremony there by her godmother, actress Debbie Reynolds, on 15 May 1996, she commenced her inaugural/maiden ten-day cruise. Her "area of operations" has been the Caribbean, Alaska as well as European itineraries. For a while, Veendam had the distinction of being routinely commanded by a non-Dutch, and more specifically, a British captain. In addition, she was the only HAL ship not homeported in Rotterdam until 10 January 2006 when she switched from a Bahamian flag and registration (Nassau) to a Dutch one (Rotterdam - see pics below).

In April 2005, Holland America Cruise Line announced a program of up-scaling their cruise ships, cruise line image and passenger cruise experience called the 'Signature of Excellence program'. This enhancement program included stateroom amenities, luxury beds and bed linens, a Neptune Lounge, Pinnacle Grill, Explorations Cafe, Greenhouse Spa & Salon, and a Culinary Arts Center on all ships and the extension of the gym out and above the bridge. In addition, changes were made for non-adults including newly expanded youth facilities with the "Club HAL" program and the Loft and the Oasis for teens. After a dry-dock period in Freeport, The Bahamas, from 3-28 January 2006, Veendam initiated her SOE program on a western Caribbean cruise in late January 2006

In August 2008, HAL announced further enhancements to, as well as new features on, five of the line's most popular ships as part of its ongoing Signature of Excellence program. Over the next two years the four 'S' sisters as well as the lead ship of the 'R' class, ms Rotterdam, will undergo extensive dry docks to create new venues, new staterooms and new decor. The 18-month, $200 million program began when Veendam entered dry dock #3 on 2 April 2009 at the Grand Bahama Shipyard at Freeport, the Bahamas.

While in dry dock, the ships’ aft deck will be expanded to create "The Retreat" and a new bar concept called "Mix". All existing staterooms will be upgraded and new staterooms will be added. The ships also will have new lanai staterooms that open on to Lower Promenade Deck’s exterior teak deck. Spa staterooms near the Greenhouse Spa and Salon will have special amenities.

The last of the five ships, Maasdam, is slated for completion in late 2010. Passenger capacity of the five ships, based on a two per cabin, will be increased to 1,350 for the 'S' class and to 1,404 for the Rotterdam.