Thanks to guest Cheryl Kaufenberg for sending in these stunning photos from her South America and Antarctica cruise.

We sailed on the last of the winter 2013 South America/Antarctica cruises out of Buenos Aires on HAL’s Veendam. Weather the entire time was absolutely fantastic allowing us first of all to spend a day in Stanley in the Falkland Islands before sailing on to Antarctica. A trip to Bluff Cove to see king and gentoo penguins made the day a hit. The four days sailing around the Antarctic Peninsula were filled with plentiful opportunities to experience and photograph both the landscape and the wildlife while the seminars presented by antarctic specialists were highly valuable. There were ample choices of excursions at all ports of call with opportunities plentiful for experiencing what is unique about Uruguay, Southern Argentina, and Chile. For a once-in-a-lifetime experience consider sailing 60 degrees south with Holland America Lines! We really enjoy sailing with Holland America, as it is our favorite cruise line. The captain we had on the Veendam for this particular trip was especially exemplary. — Cheryl Kaufenberg

Antarctica.

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Topics: Antarctica, ms Veendam, Postcards from..., South America | | No Comments

Thanks to guests Arda and Hermann Hazenberg for sharing with us this pretty picture of Veendam near San Blas Islands, Panama.

Topics: ms Veendam, Panama Canal, Postcards from... | | No Comments

I have just returned from a three-week cruise on the Veendam which included a wonderful excursion to Machu Picchu. As usual HAL had organised everything perfectly and it all went like clockwork. The guides were excellent, the Monesterio Hotel lived up to its 5-star rating, the Hiram Bingham rail journey was a great experience and the Inca site itself was amazing. We had a lovely sunny day and because we didn’t arrive until after lunch, the crowds had gone and we managed to get some fabulous photographs. Machu Picchu was on our bucket list and we didn’t want to spend days trekking in Peru, so three days off the ship was a perfect way to do things. Grace, who happened to be the captain’s wife, travelled with us and was an excellent travelling companion, I hope we can keep in touch. — Margaret Morris

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Topics: ms Veendam, Postcards from..., Shore Excursions, South America | | 1 Comment

Here are some pictures and a poem by guests Peter and Bruce about the ship building contest held recently on Veendam. Out of the four in competition they won. It floated, stayed up right, held cargo (12 cans of soda) and got a very big crowd response.

“The Beedam”
by Peter and Bruce

This mighty ship was built by two
Unique because it has no crew
This first class ship is very unique
It took us just one short week

To gather supplies was a job and a half
Because we were told no by the staff
Clint sent us a letter telling us no
But on with the task we had to go

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After Part 1 and 2, here are the last pictures from our day spent repairing a local school in Manta, Ecuador. What a rewarding experience!

Children from the school in Manta, Ecuador, pose for a photo with Veendam’s Captain Bas van Dreumel.

Veendam crew donates toys, bikes and games to Manta’s young, little students.

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Topics: Good Deeds, ms Veendam, South America, Staff & Crew | | 1 Comment

We posted Part 1 yesterday, and here are some more pictures from the day spent repairing a local school in Manta, Ecuador. Kudos to Veendam‘s amazing crew for doing such a terrific job!

Veendam crew installs new roof, curtains and beds in the school’s daycare area. Above are old, below are new.

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On April 21 the crew of the ms Veendam took the concept of “Cruise With a Purpose” literally in their own hands.

Cruise with a Purpose is a designation given to shore excursions that give back to the community or serve a higher purpose than entertainment, and today the crew of the Veendam did just that in Manta, Ecuador. Foregoing free time ashore to explore the port, nearly 100 volunteers from all departments on the ship chose to use their “down time” lifting others up by spending the day doing much-needed repairs to the local school; this institution is a day care and after-school care facility for the many hardworking yet lower income families of the city. A lofty goal was visualized to transform the school into a more pleasant and safe environment for the 80 children that are currently enrolled.

While crew from all departments repaired the roof, fixed the plumbing, renovated and upgraded the kitchen, painted the classrooms and playground and ultimately delivered much need educational games, toys and food, the children enjoyed a day onboard the ms Veendam. They were accompanied by parents and teachers and had a fun-filled day including lunch poolside in the Lido, games with the Club HAL staff and a picture with the captain. Weeks of planning, shopping and donations from vendors have made a difference in these children’s lives, and yet again shown that Holland America Line has a goal of replicating our harmonious life onboard in the ports that graciously welcome us to their shores.

With a supplement of 100 crew members, it still took one hour to offload all the items. We needed two buses and two large trucks to take care of all the transfers.

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Thanks to Ryndam’s Culinary Arts Center Host Sydney Ellis for sharing with us this fun story about a young cruiser with great aspirations!

Last summer on the Veendam, I met a lovely young lady by the name of Gabby. She approached me after a cooking demonstration and was curious about the “Party Planner” (now the Culinary Arts Center Host) position. We chatted for quite a bit and by the end of the conversation, she was determined to become a future party planner for HAL. I gave her my email in case she had any more questions that I could help her answer. Within a few months, Gabby had contacted me and explained that she was sailing aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam in April and wanted to see if it would be possible to shadow the party planner there and see what the job as well as ship life was all about. We arranged for her to get a hands-on experience and she had an incredible time. When she arrived home, I asked if she’d send me a little bit about her experience so that we could share it with the blog. Big thanks to Jacob and Blair aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam for making this one a happy and excited young lady!

In Gabby’s own words:

Gabby Wesley, center, stands between Blair and Jacob from Nieuw Amsterdam’s Culinary Arts Center.

From April 7 to the 14 I got to job shadow party planner Jacob Churchman on the Nieuw Amsterdam for my high school senior project. The experience was fabulous! I met a lot of people and learned new things, from towel folding to cooking demonstrations and much more. Jacob took me under his wing and gave me a behind-the-scene look and got into the details of working and living on a cruise ship.

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Topics: Art, Activities & Entertainment, Food & Beverage, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Veendam | | 7 Comments