Holland America Line ms Veendam

Explorations Café

We loved Veendam’s multi-purpose coffee lounge, where upgraded java options were available for a fee, along with light snacks (at no charge). This was also the ship’s library, which we found to be reasonably extensive in size; guests were asked not to remove the travel guides and a small collection of magazines from the café (the bookcases were locked up each evening). There was always a puzzle out on a table and the daily New York Times Digest (in print) was stocked here. A collection of Scandinavian leather couches and comfy loungers were in high demand—finding an empty lounger was a challenge most hours of the day.

There were 11 shared IBM PCs available for those who wanted to surf the internet at the usual exorbitant sea-faring rates. The computers offered free access to nytimes.com, which we took advantage of when CNN didn’t do the trick.

Food

The café has a small deli counter for between-meal snacks. We found pound cake, cookies, brownies and delicious “energy bars” (oatmeal cranberry or almond), and other goodies through the day.

Drink

All the standard espresso drinks were available, and quality was good. Baristas automatically fill orders in to-go cups, but could be requested in ceramic cups. Prices for hot and iced drinks ranged $1.60 for a 12-ounce Americano to $2.55 for the caramello latte; the 16-ounce size were .50 additional. Tazo tea drinks (including chai tea lattes) were also available. Spiked coffee drinks included Irish Coffee (with Bailey’s Irish Cream), Icy Bourbon Mint (bourbon, crème de menthe and chocolate) and coffee nudge (crème de cacao and brandy)—these were $6.25 to $6.50.

Additional Details

The basic price for internet access was .75 per minute, plus a one-time $3.95 charge for account activation; this same fee structure applied to WiFi access for laptops. Various packages were available that brought the price down—100 minutes for $55 (.55/minute), 250 minutes for $100 (.40/minute), etc.

The café served from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.