On Board the ms Veendam

Day 3: Boarding the ms Veendam

Traffic in Buenos Aires



We had a leisurely morning in Buenos Aires, and went for a short walk around several blocks adjacent to our hotel before boarding the bus which took us to the pier.

The port of Buenos Aires is a huge commercial shipping area and it was fascinating to watch the big cranes move the containers around.

This photo shows the Costa ship in the background. It seemed to attract more families, and, after Montevideo, we did not see it again, so it probably headed north to Rio. We were congratulating ourselves that we were on Holland America, and laughed later when we found out that both cruise lines are owned by Carnival!

We boarded the ship, and spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and getting to know our way around the ship.

A 'cutaway' view of the ms Veendam

The Veendam is one of Holland America’s smaller ships, with capacity for only 1200 guests.  We were on the lower promenade deck (Level 6), which made it easy to access the outdoors for photos.  Decks 4-12 were accessible to guests, and included a large two-level showroom, a smaller theatre, meeting rooms, numerous lounges (each of which provided different musical entertainment in the evening), a library, shops, a casino, spa and gym, a smallish pool and several hot tubs.

Food was available in one large restaurant, open all day, and several other options, as well as the formal two-level dining room. Our group was booked for the early seating at 5:45. As we had a number of tables, we had the opportunity to dine with all of the members of our group over the 12-day trip.

Our tables were located on the upper level.
Note the netting under the lighting. We wondered if it was there
 to catch any glass that broke in high seas.

The service throughout the trip was excellent, with almost 600 staff. We enjoyed the different animals, made of folded towels, that greeted us each night. The meals were very good, with little waiting in line at the Lido. The gourmet meals in the dining room were amazing, with four courses each night – two appetizers, an entree and a dessert. It was often hard to choose between the selections. Everything was excellent – prime rib, tenderloin, seafood, duck, great soups, both hot and cold (a favorite of mine was a cold pear soup!) – and the portions were ‘right-sized’, so that we felt satisfied without feeling ‘stuffed’.

Caroline and George, from Oregon, and Julia, from California

Barb and Lloyd with Betsy, from California

Evening meals provided great opportunities for extended conversations with our travel companions. Lots of interesting stories, and always laugher.