Coming back to HAL or going elsewhere?

[Lovely other]

Finally after over a year of none stop work and work related travel we both have managed to score 5 weeks off in April ...I wanted to go to Japan but Hubby wants to cruise again as he feels we get to compromise more that way (I'm a non-stop destination junkie ..he just wants to chill out) ...

 

We've been eyeing up a few cruises namely Hawaii on Princess, Japan to Alaska on HAL and another Princess one from Bejing to Singapore (I like this one but Hubby isn't keen on going to China ..he's actually Chinese so I'm not quite sure whats going on with him :confused:).

 

So if your still with me this far well done ... even I'm confused.

 

The HAL one probably fits my travel dreams best but I didn't enjoy my last trip on HAL to Norway. We were on the Rotterdam from Amsterdam and found the ship to be too small and in poor condition ...especially as we had a constant problem in our cabin of a raw sewage smell that took 4 out of the 7 days to fix. The cruise from Japan is on the Volendam and includes 6 sea days as a port has been removed from the itinerary apparently ...

 

Can anyone tell me what the Volendam is like, her condition etc ..and also if you've done this particular cruise before how was it ?

 

Sorry if I've gone on a bit ... having a bit of a manic day :p

[SilvertoGold]

I love this cruise. Lots of sea days, the good possibility of some "seas", cool weather for the most part. Suits me very well. Japan is fantastic!

 

The Volendam is and older ship and the same class ship as the Rotterdam, so.........

 

For April:

 

Have you considered a Panama from Ft Lauderdale to Vancouver or Seattle plus Alaska? That would give you a month. The N. Amsterdam does this one: it is the latest and greatest of HAL ships at this time.

 

Or consider an Australia to Vancouver plus Alaska, another month long sail on the Noordam, which you are familiar with.

 

Both these cruises give you chill out time and let you see a multitude of destinations.

Edited January 15, 2016 by SilvertoGold

[Karennella]

But your husband might not want to come to Sydney! Huge numbers of Chinese! Haha my Italian husband is a bit the same with Italy, nearly have to drag him there. Enjoys it when he is there.

[Lovely other]

I love this cruise. Lots of sea days, the good possibility of some "seas", cool weather for the most part. Suits me very well. Japan is fantastic!

 

The Volendam is and older ship and the same class ship as the Rotterdam, so.........

 

For April:

 

Have you considered a Panama from Ft Lauderdale to Vancouver or Seattle plus Alaska? That would give you a month. The N. Amsterdam does this one: it is the latest and greatest of HAL ships at this time.

 

Or consider an Australia to Vancouver plus Alaska, another month long sail on the Noordam, which you are familiar with.

 

Both these cruises give you chill out time and let you see a multitude of destinations.

 

Thank you for your input ...

 

we have looked at all options on HAL for April but the Ft Lauderdale to Vancouver one holds little interest for me port wise and arrives in Vancouver too late to tag on Alaska too as my hubby flies to Dubai on the 5th May .

 

As for Australia ...24 hour flight ...no thanks. Plus way out of my budget ...

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have you looked at the Westerdam's April 2 cruise that does a round trip from San Diego doing Hawaii and Tahiti and Marquesas? -- 33 days

[Lovely other]

But your husband might not want to come to Sydney! Huge numbers of Chinese! Haha my Italian husband is a bit the same with Italy, nearly have to drag him there. Enjoys it when he is there.

 

Funnily enough we have both have had to live in Sydney for work before and I loved it while he hated it. A lot of his family are there though ...

 

I think because he is British born Chinese he finds some Chinese culture difficult to get along with ...he has been to China before and hated it. I've never been :(

[Tom O.]

The Rotterdam and Volendam are the same class of ships. Same size and age. So if you didn't like the Rotterdam, you probably won't like the Volendam.

But the problem you had with a bad smell is unlikely to occur again. These kinds of problems can occur with newer and bigger ships as well.

For me, one of the main attractions to HAL is the smaller ships. I don't like the big ships that the other cruise lines are going to. Too many people, especially while in port.

[Lovely other]

Have you looked at the Westerdam's April 2 cruise that does a round trip from San Diego doing Hawaii and Tahiti and Marquesas? -- 33 days

 

Yes, this would be my dream ...alas too much money :(

[RuthC]

The Volendam is essentially the same size and configuration as the Rotterdam. I was on her for the Japan to Vancouver repositioning last spring, which was shortly after she came out of drydock. There were some interesting changes made to her. One of them was the Explorers Lounge, which was changed into a sort of lecture hall. That was supposed to be redone back closer to the comfortable lounge it had been, but I haven't heard if that ever happened, or seen pictures.

Otherwise, the ship was fine.

 

This would be a nice combination of busy, followed by relaxing. Except for the fact that you lose several hours heading east, as opposed to gaining time when you head west, it was a great cruise.

[kazu]

We just sailed on Oceania Riviera (my live thread is on the O board and my comparison thread on the HAL board) in November.

 

We are scheduled to sail on the Westerdam on April 2nd, (the cruise KK is talking about) and very glad to be back on HAL. enough said ;)

 

the grass is not always greener on the other side unless you move straight to luxury.

[Lovely other]

The Rotterdam and Volendam are the same class of ships. Same size and age. So if you didn't like the Rotterdam, you probably won't like the Volendam.

But the problem you had with a bad smell is unlikely to occur again. These kinds of problems can occur with newer and bigger ships as well.

For me, one of the main attractions to HAL is the smaller ships. I don't like the big ships that the other cruise lines are going to. Too many people, especially while in port.

 

I liked the Noordam very much and found the size to be just right ...I don't like the huge floating resorts either. I think the feel of the Rotterdam was just a little off somehow, maybe not helped by fellow passengers seeming a little off too ...not the usual happy HAL crowd we expect .

[Lovely other]

The Volendam is essentially the same size and configuration as the Rotterdam. I was on her for the Japan to Vancouver repositioning last spring, which was shortly after she came out of drydock. There were some interesting changes made to her. One of them was the Explorers Lounge, which was changed into a sort of lecture hall. That was supposed to be redone back closer to the comfortable lounge it had been, but I haven't heard if that ever happened, or seen pictures.

Otherwise, the ship was fine.

 

This would be a nice combination of busy, followed by relaxing. Except for the fact that you lose several hours heading east, as opposed to gaining time when you head west, it was a great cruise.

 

How dare they change the explorers lounge !!! That is my favourite part of any HAL ship ...

[Vict0riann]

We were on the Volendam in June in Alaska, after the dry dock, and found a lot of changes on her, some good, some not so good. I posted a thread with some befores and afters, if you are interested, here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2225930

 

We really like the Volendam, great crew, and we really like the size. (Our previous time on her had been in the Far East).

 

You've been on Rotterdam twice, so she can't be all bad!:D:D

[Lovely other]

Ruth C ...I did a quick search of the Volendam post dry dock and I can see what you mean about the explorers lounge ...what on earth were they thinking!

 

However the showers look lovely and I read an interesting comment that the air conditioning was now silent ...a huge bonus for me as its one of those things that drives me nuts . Overall she looks in much better condition than we found the poor Rotterdam in last September ...

[RuthC]

...what on earth were they thinking!

Clearly, they weren't. Someone in Seattle is taking stupid pills, and they are working as prescribed. :rolleyes:

[ScottishMaid]

We were on the Volendam from September 23 2015 Seattle to Australia. The Explorer Lounge must have been redone. I expected a wood floor and uncomfortable chairs as in your photo but there was carpeting and lots of upholstered easy chairs. It was nearly full every evening for Adagio.

[OlsSalt]

We did a long Volendam cruise from Singapore to Japan last year and it was fabulous.

 

Loved the ship and the itinerary. Loved also watching the larger Princess ships having to dock much further away down river at several ports because they were too big to go closer in where the Volendam could go.

 

But if you did not like the Rotterdam, you would not like the Volendam. Same class of ships. Stick with what you know works best for you and your own cruising history. HAL works for some, but not for others.

[HarR]

He-Cruise, you-Japan: Diamond Princess is doing Full Japan itineraries.....

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[iancal]

There continue to be cutbacks on all of the mass market lines, including HAL. Check out the reviews carefully and read carefully between the lines. Discount both the cheerleaders and the complainers.

 

We no longer select a cruise ship based on cruise line. Too many inconsistencies make it a bit of a crap shoot. We select by ship, itinerary, price, etc. Cruise line comes after that for us. We don't care what it says on the funnel. We care much more about the inside.

 

I think this is especially true with HAL given the nature of their fleet. It is aging and there are several different types of ships in the fleet.

 

Like any other cruise line HAL has some good ships and some that are not quite as good. It all comes down to your personal preferences. Don't transpose the attributes of one ship onto another, or one cruise onto another.

Edited January 16, 2016 by iancal

[Jade13]

Take a look at Celebrity Millennium. Celebrity may be in Japan during your time period.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Jade13

[Jade13]

[quote name=iancal;48779992

 

 

I think this is especially true with HAL given the nature of their fleet. It is aging and there are several different types of ships in the fleet.

 

 

Like any other cruise line HAL has some good ships and some that are not quite as good. It all comes down to your personal preferences. Don't transpose the attributes of one ship onto another' date=' or one cruise onto another.[/quote]

 

 

Great advice iancal. Agree.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Jade13