Volendam Memories

[Vict0riann]

We disembarked the Volendam on March 3, after a wonderful 4 weeks on m/s Volendam, the Far East and Asian Adventure, and an adventure it was. We felt like intrepid explorers as we boarded in Hong Kong, anticipating 4 stops in Vietnam, one in Cambodia, 3 in Thailand, 4 in Malaysia, and visits to the Andaman Islands, Singapore, and a double overnight in Myanmar (Burma). The cruise ended in Singpore. HAL had not had a ship in Thilawa (for Yangon) for over 10 years, and our captain told us we were also the largest passenger vessel to make it up the Rangoon River, occasionally with only one metre of depth beneath our keel! This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for me - I do believe heat and hate use the same letters for a reason! There are many cruises I would repeat, and have, mainly to Europe, and I don't think I would do this one again, but I'm glad I did it this once.

 

My DH said he had never seen a ship that had been better looked after. There was continual cleaning and painting going on. Our staterooms were on the Lower Promenade, so perhaps that explains why we spent a lot of time on our "private" full verandah, and could see all the maintenance activity that was going on.

 

The crew were, as usual, always cheerful and helpful. We met a number of old friends from previous cruises, and hope to meet up with them again on future ones! Our mighty leader on this adventure, Captain James Russell-Dunford, an Englishman, was all business as this was the first voyage to new ports. The Front Office did their best, but were inundated with paperwork, particularly to do with the Indian bureaucracy, and visas for Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. They will also have to organize their port descriptions, as the Explorer booklet informed us that Georgetown was the site of Napoleon's exile and a station on the way to the Falklands! We did feel a bit like guinea pigs.

 

The food was quite different to what we have experienced on other cruises. It focussed to a large extent on the cuisine of the area we were sailing in. We had "night markets" and Asian barbecues on both legs of the collector's cruise instead of dessert extravaganzas, and most meals had Asian dishes featured. It was all very interesting. We ate in the Rotterdam Dining Room frequently, even for breakfast and lunch. Occasionally, dinner was quite slow, we noticed in one section of the room especially, so we tried to avoid that area. (We had open seating.) There were 5 of us in our family group, but we usually sat at larger tables, so we could visit with other passengers, too.

 

We had a great Cruise Critic group from our roll call. We had two Meet & Greets, and an informal "Farewell Get-Together" at the end. We had a lot of shore excursions organized for, from the 5 of us, all the way up to 21, so we made lots of new friends. I'm sure we will stay in touch.

 

The Volendam in Halong Bay, Vietnam

 

[Copper10-8]

Capt. JRD; Staff Capt. Nick Sunderland; HD James Deering; GRM Frances Tolentino; CD Bruce Allen Scudder pretty much a very experienced dream team!

[erewhon]

Thank you for your Volendam memories, and sharing your photo.

Is that fog or air pollution in the photo?

[ozcruizer]

Thank you for your Volendam memories, and sharing your photo.

Is that fog or air pollution in the photo?

 

We love the Volendam! We did a similar but shorter cruise on her in 2012 from Sydney to Hong Kong. Like the OP, I dislike humidity and for that reason it will probably remain a once-in-a-lifetime cruise, but all the same, I'm sooo glad we did it.

 

I will leave it to the OP to say whether it was smog or fog but I'm pretty sure it would have been fog as it's quite a pristine area. Halong Bay was one of the highlights of that cruise.

 

Ozcruizer (45 days to cruising the Mediterranean on the Noordam)

[Vict0riann]

Thanks, Copper. We also had a very good Security Officer, who looked after us well. When three passengers almost got left behind in Port Blair (I think the Captain would have left without them, they were so late, but the officials there would have had fits, I'm sure; three aliens on Indian soil without passports!), the Security Officer spent his time going back and forth from the ship to the terminal building searching. (When they did eventually appear, they got a rousing welcome back, you can be sure!)

 

I apologize for the photo of Halong Bay and the Volendam - it was a grey and misty early morning, but the one full photo I have come across so far of the whole ship. In the ports I never seemed to be able to get the whole ship in the frame!

 

Here's the Atrium on the 3rd deck - where we would meet up for tours.

 

 

Flowers at the Front Office

 

 

The Lido Restaurant

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by Vict0riann

[Copper10-8]

Thanks, Copper. We also had a very good Security Officer, who looked after us well. When three passengers almost got left behind in Port Blair (I think the Captain would have left without them, they were so late, but the officials there would have had fits, I'm sure; three aliens on Indian soil without passports!), the Security Officer spent his time going back and forth from the ship to the terminal building searching. (When they did eventually appear, they got a rousing welcome back, you can be sure!)

 

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That's good stuff (to hear) Ann! I really like VODM, one of my favorite ships and a great crew! Nice pics! :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

Love your pictures.

[Beejay4016]

We did Singapore to Hong Kong on the Volendam in January of 2013 and absolutely fell in love with her.

 

The fog at Halong Bay was incredibly thick when we were there, but we strolled along the waterfront up to the markets and lunched in a cafe on the beach. It was so cool, and the people were delightful. We would easily go back to Halong or Hoi An, but South Vietnam was too hot and humid for us, even though we often travel to Singapore (Singers to people from here) and Hong Kong. Having said that, cruising on those tropical nights is a magical experience. Thanks for sharing great photos of the atrium - we couldn't manage anything that good.

[puppycanducruise]

Glad you had a great cruise.

We have fond memories of the Volendam, it was the first ship we sailed with HAL.

Welcome home.

[northernphoenix]

Glad you had a great cruise.

We have fond memories of the Volendam, it was the first ship we sailed with HAL.

Welcome home.

 

 

The Volendam was our first cruise (Alaska, Inside Passage ). We instantly fell in love with HAL, and the Volendam was the best introduction to the fleet. We have since enjoyed the Rotterdam, and Eurodam. The Statendam will be our next home-away-from-home, in August. Thanks for the lovely photo memories.

Marilyn

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[shrimp56]

If you don't count Paquet's Rhapsody aka Statendam IV, Volendam was our first HAL ship. That's when we fell in love with dark-blue hulls. Our captain was Peter Bos, an amazing man. We were lucky enough to have him again on Veendam.

 

We are anticipating the Volendam Kobe/Vancouver repo in April 2015. I'm so excited that I keep forgetting the other two cruises we have booked before then.

Edited March 12, 2014 by shrimp56

[DaveOKC]

Capt. JRD; Staff Capt. Nick Sunderland; HD James Deering; GRM Frances Tolentino; CD Bruce Allen Scudder pretty much a very experienced dream team!

 

Will James Deering still be onboard the Volendam in May?

 

DaveOKC

[Copper10-8]

Will James Deering still be onboard the Volendam in May?

 

DaveOKC

 

He's scheduled to, yes

[Vict0riann]

Thanks for all your comments - and, talking about security, in the Straits of Malacca, objects quietly appeared on both sides of the deck, I'll post photos below. There was usually a sailor nearby, too, on watch, and hopefully with ear protection nearby. Passengers didn't have a "piracy" drill, but there was a special drill for the crew, and I happened to go past a crew area and the stewards were sitting on the floor with their life jackets on! I remember from one of the world cruise blogs that passengers around the Horn of Africa had a drill where they were told to go into the corridors and sit on the floor, so I imagine that is what it was all about. Adventure!

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping that Copper will be able to tell me all about it!

Edited March 12, 2014 by Vict0riann

[Copper10-8]

.........................

I'm hoping that Copper will be able to tell me all about it!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device

[Vict0riann]

Thanks, Copper. I guess if its usefulness has been questioned, it's just as well we never saw a pirate!

 

I wasn't crazy about the Atrium on Volendam, it seemed the central artwork looked like a lighted candy cane! I did like the Rotterdam Dining Room, especially the beautiful wrought iron chandeliers.

 

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by Vict0riann

[DaveOKC]

He's scheduled to, yes

 

Thanks - I will have to look him up then, as I sail on April 30.

[aliaschief]

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience..

 

Volendam was our first Dam cruise and got us hooked on cruising. Would love to sail on Her again.

[Sir PMP]

Yes, this ship is ready for the World Cruise!!

[RevNeal]

I boarded the Volendam on February 3rd in Hong Kong for the first half of this cruise -- 14 days through to Singapore. It was fabulous, and the Volendam herself is looking VERY good, indeed, even though it will be 15 years since her Christening this November 12th.

 

Here's a photo I took of her while she was at anchor in Halong Bay, Vietnam. I was on one of the last few tenders to return to the ship after a day-long trip to Hanoi.

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by RevNeal

[RuthC]

We are anticipating the Volendam Kobe/Vancouver repo in April 2015. I'm so excited that I keep forgetting the other two cruises we have booked before then.

If you've booked this cruise, come on over to the roll call forum and join the small group. We aren't too active yet, but most surely will become more talkative as the time to cruise grows closer.

[PathfinderEss]

Great photo of the Volendam all lite up, thanks Rev Neal for posting it.:)

Edited March 12, 2014 by PathfinderEss

[RuthC]

I boarded the Volendam on February 3rd in Hong Kong for the first half of this cruise -- 14 days through to Singapore. It was fabulous, and the Volendam herself is looking VERY good, indeed, even though it will be 15 years since her Christening this November 12th.

Nice to see you posting here, Greg. You've been missed.

And so nice to read you think the Volendam is in such good shape. I'll be on her to Alaska this summer, and am looking forward to it.

[Vict0riann]

Hi, RevNeal! The cruise was great, wasn't it - and thanks for posting the picture.

 

Another area we enjoyed on the Volendam, mainly because of all our new friends, and also because of "happy hour", was the Crow's Nest. We had never spent much time there on other cruises; it always seemed crowded, and we weren't part of the crowd, but this time we partied hearty!

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by Vict0riann

[rkacruiser]

The Volendam holds a special place in my heart as well. My Celebrate Retirement cruise from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale followed by the Volendam's Maiden Asia Pacific cruise in 2002, really my favorite of all of my cruises. Most recently was the 2012 repositioning cruise from Auckland to Sydney to Vancouver. Also, one of the best cruises I have enjoyed. She is a beautiful ship with the floral decor motif and a darn good seaboat as well!