smalldog Posted March 5, 2011 #1 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Hi All, has anyone experienced both Volendam and Zaandam recently and can tell me how the two ships compare? I'm thinking not just the actual ship, but condition of rooms and facilities, attitude of staff, expertise of cruise director, types of activities offered, attitude of captain, etc etc. Would appreciate any thoughts! thanks! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiberkid Posted March 5, 2011 #2 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Hi All, has anyone experienced both Volendam and Zaandam recently and can tell me how the two ships compare? I'm thinking not just the actual ship, but condition of rooms and facilities, attitude of staff, expertise of cruise director, types of activities offered, attitude of captain, etc etc. Would appreciate any thoughts! thanks! :) Just got off of the Zaandam a few days ago & the Volendam about 18 months ago. Cabins - both about the same size Volendam - no issues at all. Zaandam - a/c did not work for 4 days - after 6 reports we finally got an engineer up & he fixed it in about 2 minutes. Was perfect after that. Toilet overflowed with clean water so they just adjusted the drain, so then it did not hold any water so there were some sewer gas smells. All in all it was just fine. Both ships had tons of storage. Cruise Director/Entertainment Volendam - can't remember him- entertainment below standard Zaandam - was Eric Dowis - best ever. We have never had a CD better than him. Entertainment - Excellent. Front Desk Staff/Explorers Excellent on both Cabin Stewards Volendam - excellent Zaandam - acceptable Captain Volendam - awesome & very personable Zaandam - stand offish. but remember they are 3 months on & 3 months off, so you may have a different Captain. Dining Room-Lido staff Volendam - acceptable Zaandam - excellent - always smiling & joking and happy. Ships conditions acceptable on both Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchByAssociation Posted March 5, 2011 #3 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Hi All, has anyone experienced both Volendam and Zaandam recently and can tell me how the two ships compare? I'm thinking not just the actual ship, but condition of rooms and facilities, attitude of staff, expertise of cruise director, types of activities offered, attitude of captain, etc etc. Would appreciate any thoughts! thanks! :) Between the two I have a slight leaning toward Zaandam The staff is wonderful and decor just seems to "work" a little bit more. They're both great and I've been on both several times. Activities are a little more standardized (not entirely though) but of course the Cruise Directors may take 15 different spins on the same activity across the fleet, so take that how you will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalldog Posted March 5, 2011 Author #4 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Just got off of the Zaandam a few days ago & the Volendam about 18 months ago. Cabins - both about the same size Volendam - no issues at all. Zaandam - a/c did not work for 4 days - after 6 reports we finally got an engineer up & he fixed it in about 2 minutes. Was perfect after that. Toilet overflowed with clean water so they just adjusted the drain, so then it did not hold any water so there were some sewer gas smells. All in all it was just fine. Both ships had tons of storage. Cruise Director/Entertainment Volendam - can't remember him- entertainment below standard Zaandam - was Eric Dowis - best ever. We have never had a CD better than him. Entertainment - Excellent. Front Desk Staff/Explorers Excellent on both Cabin Stewards Volendam - excellent Zaandam - acceptable Captain Volendam - awesome & very personable Zaandam - stand offish. but remember they are 3 months on & 3 months off, so you may have a different Captain. Dining Room-Lido staff Volendam - acceptable Zaandam - excellent - always smiling & joking and happy. Ships conditions acceptable on both Hope this helps Excellent comparison! Thank you for taking the time to do that! :) I have been on Volendam twice and had same captain both times - didn't realise they changed (but I guess they have to have a break like ordinary mortals!) He was an excellent captain, Peter Vos I think his name was. Always told us what was going on, and handled the ship very well in some rough weather across the Tasman Sea, hardly felt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalldog Posted March 5, 2011 Author #5 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Between the two I have a slight leaning toward Zaandam The staff is wonderful and decor just seems to "work" a little bit more. They're both great and I've been on both several times. Activities are a little more standardized (not entirely though) but of course the Cruise Directors may take 15 different spins on the same activity across the fleet, so take that how you will Thanks, yes it is subjective - we all appreciate different things. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clr0806 Posted March 5, 2011 #6 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Volendam is going into dry dock in a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted March 5, 2011 #7 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Volendam is going into dry dock in a few weeks. Is that good or bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holacanada Posted March 5, 2011 #8 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Is that good or bad? Where this dry dock take place ? Holacanada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holacanada Posted March 5, 2011 #9 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Is that good or bad? ... and Where this dry dock take place ? Holacanada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchByAssociation Posted March 5, 2011 #10 Share Posted March 5, 2011 ... and Where this dry dock take place ? Holacanada SIngapore. Not sure exactly where in SIngapore though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted March 5, 2011 #11 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Where this dry dock take place ? Holacanada At the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore from 01-13 APR 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clr0806 Posted March 5, 2011 #12 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Is that good or bad? Rooms will be updated and she will be spruced up! Not sure all that will be done but the rooms for sure will be updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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