Alaska: Volendam vs Nieuw Amsterdam

First time cruisers here, 3 generations (80s, early 50s and 12/16 year olds). The itineraries are the same for June 2018. What is different about these ships, to decide one vs other? We are here for Alaska, not the ship.Thanks!

I have read these threads for months, thank you so much for all the help and insights, the knowledge is priceless!

I have not sailed on the New Amsterdam, but have sailed many times on the Volendam. The Volendam is a smaller ship, very easy to get around, and very comfortable. The Volendam has a wrap around promenade deck, and it is very easy to walk around the ship with chairs to sit and watch the scenery go by. I also found the staterooms and verandas a bit larger on the Volendam as compared to the Koningsdam that I was on in March. There may not be as many eating venues, but if you are looking for the scenery and not the ship, you may find the Volendam comfortable.

We have sailed on both ships. The Nieuw Amsterdam is newer and larger. JMO -- we prefer the Nieuw Amsterdam which also has the Tamarind restaurant.

There is a difference in their itineraries. The Volendam starts her cruises on a Wednesday -- thus she visits the ports on the weekends when there are less ships and not as crowded. The Nieuw Amsterdam starts her cruises on a Saturday.

Do they both sail out of Vancouver? If so, its a tough choice.

I like the N.A. ship better - in fact, its my favorite HAL one.

However, I do like sailing on a Wed to Wed, as there are fewer people in most ports, plus I can get a lower airfare both ways.

If you like smaller, more traditional ships, go with the Volendam. If you like larger, newer ships, go with the Nieuw Amsterdam.

We did Alaska on the NA this past summer with our two grand daughters 17-18, loved the ship. If the itinerary is same then the only thing to consider is the price, if they're both the same then the ship doesn't matter. Enjoy.

Allan

Definitely go with the Nieuw Amsterdam for the sake of the teens! Because it’s a newer, bigger ship, they’ll have access to more fun activities and likely more teens to interact with.

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We sailed on both from Vancouver to AK. NA has better restaurants and entertainment but if I did it over I’d probably choose vol. why? I liked the Wed departure so we hit the stops when other ships weren’t there. Neptune lounge service was better on vol. we were able to book the pinnacle grill 3 separate nights including le cirque. On the NA I wasted 4-5 hrs working with the Neptune concierges trying to get ‘any’ reservations at all. Maybe because the NA has more passengers but it was really a goat rodeo. I wrote Hal a letter expressing my frustration with their IT Systems and processes around this but they never replied. Based on how well we liked the vol I also brought friends on NA so we had 3 Deluxe Neptune suites which cost around $22k in total. The other couples wanted to do celebrity so we’re going to try them next time.

We're looking for some reassurance on the condition of the Volendam - has it been updated recently? We've sailed many times on HAL but never on the Volendam. After reading some recent reviews of it on Cruise Critic, we're worried about booking it for a Panama Canal cruise next January. I tried calling HAL several times, but no one seems able to tell me what updating was done in the last dry dock. Has anyone been on it recently? Can you tell me if the cabins have been updated and if that includes the bathrooms? For example, we read they would be changing out the tubs for walk-in showers in the ocean-view cabins, which would be great if they did that. Thanks for any information... or suggestions on where we could get this information.

We sailed on the Volendam February 2017. We enjoyed being on a smaller ship, but the ship was pretty outdated. I have no idea if there have been updates within the last year, but the rooms and common areas of the ship were in need of an overhaul. We sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam for Alaska in 2016 and really enjoyed that ship! If I had to choose between those two, the NA would be a no-brainer.

Hi keyset222 - thanks so much for replying. Apparently the Volendam was updated in late 2017. We've been on a couple of HAL's bigger ships - the Zuiderdam and the Konigsdam - and they were beautiful, but we really prefer the smaller HAL ships like the Maasdam, Random, Veendam, and the Rotterdam which is similar I think to the V. I was concerned when I read that there were sections of the Volendam where all the cabins had plumbing problems on a cruise in December. Hopefully they took care of that.

We sailed on the Volendam February 2017. We enjoyed being on a smaller ship, but the ship was pretty outdated. I have no idea if there have been updates within the last year, but the rooms and common areas of the ship were in need of an overhaul. We sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam for Alaska in 2016 and really enjoyed that ship! If I had to choose between those two, the NA would be a no-brainer.