Holland America Line ms Veendam

Drinks Overview

There were eight bars serving at various hours. The popular spot during the day was the Lido Bar, opening onto the central pool area. After dark the crowd moved between Crow’s Nest, the Ocean Bar and MIX through the evening. A 15 percent service charge was added to all drink orders.

Beer & Wine

The beer list on Veendam was short; aficionados were left thirsty. The usual domestics were available for $4.75, with Corona, Amstel Light, Heineken and Beck’s for $5.25; Grolsch was available for $5.95. But MIX had an expanded selection of beers, including Boddington’s, Stella Artois, Bass Ale and Beck’s on draught.

Wines available by the glass started at $5 for Santa Carolina chardonnay and ranged up to $11 for Labouré roi Pouilly Fuissé on the white side; in between was Chateau Ste. Michelle riesling, Nobilo sauvignon blanc, Rosemount Estate chardonnay. The red wine list included Batasiolo Barbara d’Asti ($7), Meridian pinot noir ($7.50), Wolf Blass cabernet sauvignon ($9) and Les Closiers Châteauneuf-du-Pape ($12). Champagnes included Domaine Chandon Brut ($9.50), Nicolas Feuillatte Epernay Brut ($12) and Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut ($14.50).

Wines by the bottle included a good representation from the Pacific Northwest (where Holland America corporate offices are based).

Mixed Drinks

The ship’s standard bar menu included mojito, margarita, daiquiris, etc.—all of which could be made with the classic recipe or with mango, strawberry, or banana. Cosmopolitans could be made “Sex in the City” style, or with grapefruit, candy apple or apricot liqueurs. Most other signature cocktails had their own twist—the Royal Manhattan used bourbon, red vermouth and a dash of angostura bitters—but there was a Vintage Collection page that handled the classics without embellishments. All of the above were priced $6.95.

Drinks were made with the ship’s house spirits—but call spirits were available for .50 cents extra and “premium spirits” were $1 more. Solo, the call spirits were $5.75 and up.

There was a cocktail of the day, offered at most of the ship’s bars—Grapefruit Cosmo the first day, Champagne Dreams the second, etc. These were priced $1 less ($5.95) for the day.

Drink Packages

Wine Navigator packages offered three bottles of wine for $89-$118 (depending on whether the premium selection was chosen), five bottles was $149-$199 and seven bottles was $199-$269.

Several packages were available for cabin consumption only. These included a gin and tonic package (one bottle of Beefeater gin and three cans of tonic water), Cutty Sark Scotch and soda, Smirnoff or Stolichnaya vodka and tonic, Jim Beam bourbon and coke, and Bacardi white rum and coke; these were priced $30 to $34 each. There were also beer packages: A six-pack of domestic beers was $21 and imported was $23.

Non-alcoholic Options

Mocktails were available at most of the ship’s bars, and included Fresh Grapefruit Not-a-Cosmo, Ultimate Unleaded Margarita, and Cool as a Cucumber; these were priced $4.25. Soft drinks were priced $1.95, while juices by the glass were complimentary at the Lido Restaurant for breakfast, including delicious freshly squeezed OJ (the rest of the day juices were prices $2.75 at the bars).