Review of Volendam January 2-11, 2006

[Kathyh1313]

This was DH and my first sailing with HAL. We have previously sailed with NCL, RCI, Princess and Carnival. NCL is and remains our favorite line. Carnival is a line we would not choose to sail on again, however this past summer DH “won” a Carnival cruise by being in the top 150 salespersons nationwide with his company. DH is 44 and I am 47. We generally cruise twice a year. DH is a former cruise line employee. I include this “demographic” info to give our point of reference. The review of this cruise is my opinion, experience and observations, YMMV.

 

We set out for Fort Lauderdale on January 1 from Boston via JetBlue Airline and arrived at the Renaissance Hotel on 17th Street for a one night pre cruise stay. Our room was ready upon our arrival at 12 noon. We had an enjoyable “brunch” seated at the bar at the Bimini Boatyard. We relaxed and napped much of the afternoon, watched some football and generally just took it easy. I had begun to develop a cold a few days prior and arriving the day before and getting to relax was wonderful. Dinner was at Bravo Italian Restaurant. Quite good, I would recommend this place. Both restaurants are in the shopping plaza adjacent to the hotel, very convenient. The next morning we slept in, enjoyed a room service breakfast, checked out at 12noon and took a short cab ride to the Volendam.

 

Check in was quick and easy. DH is not a US citizen (yet) and the line for non US citizens was quite short and moved swiftly. The line for US citizens was very long at 12:30 and I am not sure how long others had to wait. This was the first time I was glad DH was not a US citizen! We went through the security check, had our embarkation photo taken and onward to the ship! We were directed to the lido for buffet lunch. I don’t recall what we had to eat, but I do remember thinking that if this was the quality of the food for the entire cruise, I was not going to be happy! The food was just OK, nothing more, nothing less. To be quite honest, in July on Carnival we thought the buffet food was excellent. At 1:20pm, it was announced that the staterooms were now ready.

 

DH and I had stateroom 6174, a veranda suite midship on deck 6, a perfect location, near the midship stairwell/elevators and 2 decks up or down from most of the “action”. We were quite pleased with the size of the cabin. 3 good sized closets on the left, nice sized bathroom with a small bathtub and good storage space in the vanity on the right. The bed was made up as a King. A night stand on either side of the bed with 2 drawers each. (Although in the literature it states queen. We have a queen at home and this bed was definitely larger.) The pictures on the wall opposite the bed were of ducks! Not very attractive in my opinion, but I got use to them but never liked them. Next was the seating area with a full sized sofa, a small chair and adjustable height table. Across from this was the desk/vanity with the flat screen TV with DVD player. There were 9 drawers and that combined with the shelves in the closet was plenty of storage space for us, and we always over pack! In one of the top drawers was a full powered hairdryer, much better than the wall mounted hairdryer in the bathroom. A nice feature is curtains which can be drawn to separate the closet/bathroom area and the sitting area from the sleeping area. I guess that is what gives HAL the “right” to call this a suite! There were 2 waffle weave, terry lined bathrobes for our use, a welcome letter from the Hotel Manager and personalized stationary, a nice touch. Our fruit bowl was missing and was brought to us the next morning. The veranda was marvelous. The largest we have had. It was deep enough to accommodate a full size lounge chair as well as a regular chair and a small table. Other balconies on other cruise lines have not been deep enough for a regular lounger. I definitely enjoyed that the most. Not feeling well, I could relax and lie in the sun, even take a nap, on the lounger.

 

We did not have phone service for the first 5 days of the cruise. I understand that these things happen. However, this was a bit problematic. As I said, I had a cold brewing just before the cruise and it got worse despite much Sudafed. One of the perks of a veranda suite is a telephone concierge. Doesn’t work without phone service. The other issue is that lack of ability to contact room service. My cold kept me in the cabin for most of our first 2 sea days. It would have been nice to be able to pick up the phone and order a pot of tea and some broth, rather than have to send DH to the lido. I also missed the first formal night due to my illness. DH had to track down our cabin steward to track down someone from room service to bring us a menu and take our dinner order. It would have been much easier to just pick up the phone. I guess the thing that irked me the most about this was there was no information from guest services about this issue and no apology. When I inquired about it at the desk prior to our arrival in Aruba, I was told, yes, we know. There is no phone service on decks 6 and 7. When I suggested that a notice placed in each stateroom informing passengers of the telephone service being out and apologizing for any inconvenience, I was met with a blank stare. I would have expected this without having to point it out. I also would have expected, but did not receive a notice stating that phones were now back in service. I think that for a cruise line known for its customer service, this was unacceptable. It’s not that the phones were out, I understand, it’s how it was handled, which IMHO was poorly.

 

Also, the midship elevators were out of commission for several days. Not a huge problem as we almost always took the stairs.

 

We requested and were assigned a table for 2 at the last seating, 8:30pm. Our servers, Siswanto and Hendri, were excellent. Eloisa, I think that is how you spell her name, was our wine steward. Dinner was of much better quality than the lido lunch buffet. I thought our dinners on NCL were tastier. Overall soups were very salty. Now, I enjoy salt and do not suffer from high blood pressure, but when I looked around at all the “seniors” on board, I thought their PCP and cardiologists would have a field day adjusting their medications upon their return from this cruise! Perhaps that is why HAL attracts this age group, well salted soups! (Please note, the preceding statements are made tongue in cheek)

 

After dinner we made our way upstairs to the Explorer’s Lounge. There we met the bar waiter who would become our favorite, Augustin. A wonderful classical quartet from Poland, the Sonata Strings, played nightly from 9:15 until 12mn. Lovely. We never made it to the Crow’s Nest for disco after dinner as we so enjoyed the Explorer’s Lounge. Augustin made the best flaming Spanish Coffees! Chocolates and Chocolate covered strawberries were served nightly. DH enjoyed a Remy XO. A delightful way to relax after dinner.

 

As I said, the first 2 days were at sea and I was definitely under the weather. The most strenuous thing I did during the 2 days was obtain and watch a complimentary DVD movie from the Explorations Café. DVDs are complimentary to suite guests.

 

Day 3 was our first port of call, Aruba. We had not been here before. I have many friends who vacation here annually. DH and I went on the Atlantis Submarine. I had booked it online directly with Atlantis prior to our cruise. The office was located a short walk from the pier. A 20 minute boat ride to the sub and then a 40 min submarine ride, diving to a depth of 150 feet. We saw many colorful fish, beautiful coral and 2 shipwrecks. Definitely worth doing. After that we headed back to the ship for a quick lunch. Then headed back out with the plan to take a tour of the island. However, this was not to be. In the morning when we got off the ship, we couldn’t walk 5 feet without someone in our face offering a tour. We had declined as we had reservations on the Atlantis. Now, there was no one around offering tours, we could not even find a taxi to get a private tour. Although we were accosted by several young men trying to get us to tour a time share. They were persistent even though we told them we had no intention of buying a time share or wasting our precious little time on the island even with the “great gifts” being offered. Perhaps if we had been on the island a week, we would have taken them up on it. So no tour for us. We walked across the street to Little Switzerland and purchased a matching his and her Movado watch set at a great price.

 

Day 4 dawned with us docking in Curacao. Another island we had not been to before. This time we obtained an island tour right away. A mid sized mini bus and there were only 8 of us so plenty of room to move about side to side to see the sights. The tour guide was wonderful. We spent about 2 hours touring including a stop at the Curacao liqueur distillery and a brief stop at Jan Theil beach. Upon completion of the tour, we asked our guide were we could find some local food. She directed us to the old market in the Punda. In a building behind the bus terminal called the Plaza were several food stalls. We had a nice local lunch of chicken curry roti and conch with tutu. Delicious. After that we caught a local bus and headed to the aquarium. Again, a nice relaxing way to spend the afternoon when one is not feeling well. We then enjoyed cocktail hour at a beach bar next to the aquarium. After several rum punches and some hot chicken wings it was back to the ship. The quality of dinner was getting better each day. Tonight was the opening of Karnival in Curacao. We could hear the music from our balcony, so we just sat with a cup of tea and enjoyed the music. There were fireworks from several spots along the waterfront of the island. Then at sailaway, the captain moved us off the dock and just sat there for a while. Then the big fireworks display occurred! Terrific! We had our own private sailaway party on our balcony enjoying the fireworks and the music from shore. I sat on the balcony as we cruised along the coast of Curacao. There were more fireworks and more music from various points along the shore. DH and I loved Curacao and plan to return.

 

One thing I forgot to mention is that this cruise was a Jazz at sea cruise. DH and I did not know this until we heard Dixieland jazz in our stateroom the first seaday morning. As our daughter goes to college in Lafayette, Louisiana and we have spent time in New Orleans and both enjoy Dixieland jazz, this was definitely a plus for us. Jazz was played all day in the Crow’s Nest, by the lido pool, in the Hudson Room and in the Ocean Bar in the evenings. And some afternoon and early evening performances in the Frans Hals Lounge. Great fun, great music. These events were open to everyone, not just those booked with the Jazz at Sea group. Sweet!

 

Day 5 was a day at sea. A chance to sleep in and relax! Some random thoughts. We had room service breakfast most mornings. The Bran Muffins are delicious. Available every morning through room service, but not always available in the Lido. The blueberry muffins were much less successful, only one lone blueberry in each muffin. We stuck with the bran. Hot breakfast is also available from room service. We did have breakfast a few mornings in the Lido and the Muselix is great, that and a boiled egg set me up nicely for the day. We ate lunch in the Lido every day except those days we ate on shore. The quality of the lunches also improved as the week progressed. The Bread and Butter pudding was every bit as delicious as is written about, some vanilla sauce and a scoop of ice cream and we were in heaven. I must say, although others have written that the desserts are not all that great, we found them scrumptious! They are less sweet than many desserts, but this is the way I like dessert, less sweet and more of the fruit or chocolate taste. We did not attend the dessert extravaganza. It was held at 3pm on a sea day.

 

The thermal suite in the spa was a $20 per person per day charge. I used it on 2 days and DH on one. The first day I enjoyed the Thermal Suite, both times, morning and afternoon, I was the sole occupant! Very nice. The aromatherapy steam room with peppermint and eucalyptus was just what I needed! However, the second day when I used the Thermal Suite, the scent in this steam room was non existent. I did tell the front desk in the spa but it never seemed to be as good as the first day. The heated ceramic loungers are wonderful. The thallasotherapy pool is nothing more than a small heated spa with not very powerful whirlpool jets, a bit disappointing. There are 2 showers which have cool mist aromatherapy, very neat. Overall the experience in the Thermal Suite was worth the price; I was relaxed and energized at the same time. DH worked out faithfully in the gym daily, sometimes twice in a day. I had intended to maintain my workouts as well, but with the nasty cold, the closest I got to the gym was the Thermal Suite!

 

 

Day 6 brought us to Roseau, Dominica. What a gorgeous island! We took the Rainforest Areial Tram excursion through the ship. Our guide, Rosalyn, was superb. She accompanied us from the dock on the minibus giving us a guided tour of Dominica enroute. She was also our guide on the tram through the Rainforest. This was a wonderful, relaxing experience. At the halfway point we disembarked the tram for a short hike through the rainforest and across a suspension bridge high above a river gorge. Definitely worth doing. When we returned to Roseau we asked Rosalyn where we could get some local food, she said being a Sunday this would not be easy, but she would help us. Well, Rosalyn became our private guide for the rest of the afternoon. She took us shopping off the main street and we found prices to be lower and bargaining better. Many of the restaurants were she thought she could take us were closed, but she persisted and finally found an open restaurant. We never would have found the place without her. So the three of us sat down to a feast of local food, beef, chicken, fish and provision. Provision is a combination of boiled root vegetables such as yams, sweet potatoes, edoes, cassava and plantains. Yummy. This feast for the 3 of us cost only $15! Rosalyn then walked us back to the pier and we exchanged e-mail addresses. I will keep in touch with her and when DH and I return to Dominica, which we most assuredly will, we will look her up.

 

Another random thought. Seas were as smooth as glass most of the trip. A little rocky enroute to St Thomas but nothing intolerable. The weather was also fantastic. Sunny every day. Rain on and off in the rain forest, but some sun while we were in town in Roseau. Also a few passing showers while we were in St Thomas.

 

Day 7 and we are in St. Thomas. Only 2 ships in port, the Volendam and Carnival Destiny. DH and I took a cab to Sapphire Beach and spent the day relaxing on the beach and snorkeling. The snorkeling at Sapphire beach is phenomenal. You can rent gear right at the beach and the reef is only a few feet off shore. Fish are plentiful and the coral is healthy. Other said they saw a sea turtle and a stingray, but we did not. Waitresses walk along the beach if you need beverage, which of course we did. There is also a beach bar and restaurant. I truly enjoyed Sapphire Beach. I have been to Meagan’s Bay several times and Trunk Bay on St John just this past July. I thought the Sapphire Beach exceeded both. A few quick purchases at Havensite and back to the ship for a late lunch.

 

Day 8 at sea. More relaxation and some time by the aft pool. A few passing clouds just enough so it didn’t get too hot.

 

Day 9 and we are at Half Moon Cay. The sea is like glass and tenders began operating at 7:45 am. Yea! We have the pink cabana and are happily ensconced, Bloody Mary in hand by 9am. A perfect day and a perfect beach. The water is gorgeous and so clear you can count the grains of sand between your toes. The sand on the beach is as soft as powdered sugar. The beach BBQ was tasty. Only complaint is that the bar closest to the buffet closed at 1pm and lunch was being served until 1:30pm. Seems to me they should keep this bar open at least until lunch is done being served. The day passes all too quickly and we head back to the ship on one of the last tenders.

 

Day 10, here we are back in Fort Lauderdale. No one is called for not settling up their bill and debarkation begins promptly at 8:45am, we are off by 9:15 and on our way to the airport. Our flight was not until 4:30pm, but we are able to get on the 11:45 am flight, thanks JetBlue!

 

Some other random thoughts. We only attended a few shows. The opening night show was good; it provided a brief overview of most of the onboard entertainment. We enjoyed the comedian Mike Lazinski. The comedian in motion, Bob Cates, comedy juggler was phenomenal, truly remarkable. We also enjoyed the flautist, Susan of course I can’t remember her name. The only production show we saw was Gold! I enjoyed it very much, DH headed for the Casino.

 

There was a Dutch Dinner in the dining room complete with Dutch hats. No Master Chefs Dinner this cruise. It’s too bad; I was looking forward to it. We very much enjoyed our dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. DH had the Filet Mignon and I had the Lamb Chops. Chocolate Volcano cake was decadent and DH enjoyed the trio of Crème Brule. A bottle of Jordan Cabernet 2000 and it was a great dinner. DH only disappointment was, although the Reidel stemware added to our enjoyment of the wine, the Remy XO was served in one of those tiny little brandy snifters like in the regular bars. I had encouraged DH to order a Louis XIII, but when he inquired if it would be served in a large balloon cognac glass and was told, sorry, only the small snifters, he declined and settled for the XO. We spoke to Shannon the Master Cellar and he agreed. He has been with the ship 2 months having come over from Silverseas and his quest to obtain fine crystal stemware for cognac has not been achieved.

 

Overall this was a very enjoyable cruise, despite my being sick the entire time. The majority of cruisers were over 60 years of age. However, we were not the youngest on board. The Jazz at Sea added much to our experience. The Volendam is a gorgeous ship, huge fresh floral arrangements everywhere. It is a ship that looks like a ship, understated, refined and elegant. The wrap around teak promenade lined with teak loungers is very appealing. The service was good, but not excellent. I think I was a bit disappointed, I expected more. I expected top notch service all the way. The service overall was very good. But I have had better service on NCL. The handling of the phone outage, or lack of handling I should say, was inexcusable. I expected the quality of the food to be better. Some meals were excellent, particularly those served on the formal nights. The Beef Wellington and Rack of Lamb on the first formal night, which was served in our stateroom, was wonderful. The Surf and Turf on the final formal night was excellent, the Filet tender and the Lobster tail succulent. The parade of the Baked Alaska was fun. But Baked Alaska is a better show than a tasty dessert, no other dessert was offered to us, and yes, I know I can ask if I want something else, but when noticed that I was not eating the Baked Alaska, another dessert should have been offered. It is those small things that distinguish between good service and excellent service. Every crew member remembered our name after just one meeting, calling us Sir Tyrone and Madam Kathleen, which is a nice touch. Hunky Dory in the Lido is adorable. My Dad has always used that phrase that everything is Hunky Dory, so I got to think of my Dad every day.

 

Now, will we cruise HAL again? Yes, perhaps, if the price were right or the itinerary called to us. But we are not HAL converts. DH would like to try a Princess cruise again. I will cruise HAL again as long as Half Moon Cay is on the itinerary. This is the nicest of all the cruise lines’ private islands. I am truly glad that the seas and winds were calm to allow tendering to this paradise. If you are booked on the Volendam, you will not be disappointed. I think I just had my expectations set a little too high.

 

Happy cruising to all, Kathy

[DeClaire]

Thanks very much for your comprehensive and honest review. We're looking forward to our Volendam cruise in Feb even more after reading your review. Thanks again for taking the time to do this.

[mafig]

Thank you for your review. Were there three formal nights on your cruise? How many informal?

[Kathyh1313]

Thanks very much for your comprehensive and honest review. We're looking forward to our Volendam cruise in Feb even more after reading your review. Thanks again for taking the time to do this.

 

You're welcome. It was fun to relive the cruise while writing the review. A few things that I forgot the first time around....

 

Laundry: $12 for a bag, boy we stuffed a lot in there. We did this twice during the cruise and came home with most of our laundry done. Nice!

 

It was fun to watch the Patriots beat the Jaguars on the big screen TV in the Casino Bar. Although it was formal night, we just had to change into comfortable pants and our Patriots Super Bowl champs T shirts, Dh wore 2004 and I wore 2005. Go Patriots!

 

Drinks are very reasonably priced. DH and I had my version of a super premium Cosmo made with Tanqueray 10 Gin, Gran Marnier, fresh lime and a splash of cranberry. Paid only $6.50! Here in the Boston area we can pay up to $12 and more for this cocktail. The bartenders made this drink to perfection, muddling the fresh lime and measuring the 10 and Gran Marnier to perfect proportions. I always like my dirty ice on the side to keep the drink chilled. The bartenders remembered when we asked for our "usual". A very nice touch.

 

I am sure you will have a wonderful time as did we.

 

Enjoy, Kathy

[Kathyh1313]

Thank you for your review. Were there three formal nights on your cruise? How many informal?

 

There were 3 formal nights and 2 informal nights, the other 5 were casual. Our documents stated 2 formal and 3 informal. DH had only brought 2 dress shirts and 2 ties to go with his suit. I had brought only 2 formal dresses however, one of my dresses for an informal night would have been suitable for formal. As I got sick and we ate in the stateroom the first formal night, problem solved.

 

However, I was not happy that the documents conflicted with what was listed in the daily program the first day for 3 formals. DH and I always follow the dress code. (with the exception of the Patriots playoff game after dinner) Had he needed to, he would have worn the same dress shirt and tie on 2 nights, but not have been happy about it, he likes to look dapper and has 2 closets full of shirts and ties! And I have plenty of formal wear. We would have brought 3 outfits each if the documents had stated thus. If I were to go on a 10 night cruise again, I would bring 3 nights of formal wear no matter what the documents stated, better safe than sorry.

[doone]

What a great review. I am sailing on the Volendam in February with my entire family and can't wait. It will be my families first time on the Volendam and my 3rd. I think she's a spectacular ship with an even more wonderful crew.

 

Its funny you said Hunky Dory is in the Lido, he was on the Zuiderdam last March when I sailed on her, we thought he was an absolute delight. I am thrilled to know he's on the Volendam, my nieces and nephews will enjoy him.

[the2ofus]

Kathy, thank you for a thoughtful and balanced review. We enjoyed the Volendam in October. I agree that sometimes there is a slip-up that HAL does not handle well, and communication about a non-critical but potentially irksome problem that might impact some pax is probably their weakest point. I have always found that keeping people in the dark about a problem escalates their irritation. Providing information that a problem has been identified and some plan of action and time frame usually produces a more accepting response.

 

It seems that even though the phone situation bothered you, you made the best of the situation and did not let it overrule the many positive aspects of the cruise.

 

As many have said, food is very subjective. Your comment about the salty soup amused me, as my DH was on a sodium-restricted diet due to Meniere's disease. He loved most HAL food because it was NOT overly salted so he could enjoy it and not worry about a Meniere's attack. The one exception was the side dishes in the Pinnacle Grill, which he, and I, found to be extremely salty on both the Westerdam and the Volendam.

 

Ah, yes, the Spanish Coffee! What a great show when it's done right, and so tasty! The Explorers Lounge and Spanish Coffee were my special treat to myself on several evenings.

 

I hope you will find another HAL itinerary to your liking and will sail again with HAL.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for posting your review. Sorry to hear that you had a bad cold for the first couple of days.

 

I am surprised to hear that the Volendam had telephone and elevators problems considering that she was just in dry dock a couple of weeks before your cruise.

 

That was one thing we loved about the Volendam and the fireworks on Curacao - the captain actually makes an effort to move the ship away from the pier so that you can really enjoy them.

 

We were on the Volendam Mar 2005 - no hats in the evening on Dutch night.

[SANDY BEACH]

I'm not familiar with Spanish coffee. Please elaborate.

[mafig]

What evening did you eat in the Pinnacle?

 

Was there a reason for your selecting that particular evening? DR menu?

[Kathyh1313]

I guess I figured there would be some kinks coming out of dry dock. Sometimes the time frame is too short, and just like your car, you fix one thing and another problem is uncovered.

 

I am too happy to be on vacation and have time alone with my husband to let irksome problems spoil my good time! I do wish and certainly had expected that HAL would have responded in a much more professional and customer service oriented manner.

 

The hats were fun on Dutch night. Both DH and I wore ours throughout dinner as did most of the guests.

 

I keep remembering little things I forgot to include in my review.

 

Afternoon Tea: The first time was held in the upper level of the Rotterdam Dining Room. It was very disorganized. We were told to sit at any empty table, so DH and I took a table for 2. The first waiter by offered us sweets. Hmmmmm. Then we waited and waited and waited for a waiter to bring us tea, several passed without stopping. DH finally stood up and practically had to tackle the head steward for a pot of water, took a while longer to get the tea bags and we were never offered cream. We were never offered savory tea sandwiches or scones. But we did get another round of sweets. The waiters seemed to walk around in a daze, very unsure of themselves. When I inquired about savories and scones, I got a shrug of the shoulders. Hmmm, not very good. DH had never been to an afternoon tea and now he says he will never go again! Since I enjoy afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton and the Boston Harbor Hotel, I had hoped to introduce him to this wonderful afternoon relaxing experience.

 

The second tea, which I attended alone, was held in the Explorer's Lounge. As soon as I was seated, tea was offered, followed by savory tea sandwiches, then scones with jam and whipped cream followed by sweets. I was also offered additional hot water for my tea pot. 3 others joined me at my table and they were served promptly and in the correct order. This was very nicely done. There were even small cloth napkins at each place setting. This one was so much better organized I am not sure why it was so disorganized in the dining room.

 

A Royal Dutch High Tea was not held on this sailing. I have never been to one and was looking forward to it. I guess that gives me reason to return. Tea was served on multiple afternoons in the Explorer's Lounge and one more time in the Rotterdam Dining Room. I only attended 2.

 

The bed and pillows in the stateroom were superb! Soft yet supportive, ahhhhh. As I spent quite some time in bed with my bad cold, I truly was appreciative of the upgraded bedding. We did not have a duvet but the bed was triple sheeted and the linens were soft and luxurious.

 

We booked our Pinnacle Grill night shortly after boarding. I just chose the night of St Thomas out of the air. I had seen the first daily program and St Thomas was listed as an informal dinner. I thought it would be nice to dress up to attend dinner in the Pinnacle, but not miss a formal night in the main dining room. I was not aware of what the menu was in the dining room on that night and I did not check it out to see what it was we missed.

 

Spanish Coffees are served in a sugar rimmed wine glass. There are 3 different types of liqueurs used, which of course, I can't remember! The first addition of Brandy is warmed and then flamed, while the glass is flaming, small additions of cinnamon and nutmeg are gently "bammed" in, creating sparkles of light and color. After the flames die down, the other liqueurs are added to the wine glass, then freshly brewed coffee from the Explorations Cafe, followed by a generous topping of thick and freshly whipped cream. Delicious. They also have mutilple other specialty coffees available or they will add you liqueur of choice.

 

I will keep adding to the review as I remember other small details.

 

Please ask if you have any specific questions. I am checking the board frequently to ward off post cruise depression. :o

 

Happy cruising, Kathy

[snow4sandtoo]

Thank you Kathy for such a great, lengthy review. Looking forward to doing the same cruise Feb 20-can't wait and reading yur review made us want to be there sooner! However, as you might have heard one-third of our vacation is the planning,one-third the trip and the remainder the memories.My only question is was there a Bar B Que on Dutch night??? When we were on the O the Dutch night was the same as the Bar B Que and we missed out as we did not know.We too sat all though dinner with the hats on ,sort of different.Regards Liz

[Kathyh1313]

Thank you Kathy for such a great, lengthy review. Looking forward to doing the same cruise Feb 20-can't wait and reading yur review made us want to be there sooner! However, as you might have heard one-third of our vacation is the planning,one-third the trip and the remainder the memories.My only question is was there a Bar B Que on Dutch night??? When we were on the O the Dutch night was the same as the Bar B Que and we missed out as we did not know.We too sat all though dinner with the hats on ,sort of different.Regards Liz

 

Hi Liz,

 

You are welcome.

 

No deck BBQ on this cruise. I had heard there would be one the night we were in Curacao, but I never read about it in the daily program. Just another reason to return! I whole heartedly agree with you about the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule of vacation fun! I spent the last 6 months researching and planning.

 

Enjoy your cruise in February, Kathy

[doone]

Liz, I believe you will be embarking the Volendam on the 21st of February, not the 20th. The Volendam is in Half Moon Cay on the 20th, I know this because I am sailing her on Feb. 11th - 21st. Your going to absolutely love the Volendam, she's spectacular!!!!!

 

Last year when we were in Curacao, there was a BBQ on deck. We have always enjoyed this and hope its still going to happen on our cruise.

[SANDY BEACH]

Kathy, I think I will definitely try the Spanish coffee. Sounds great. Thanks for the reply.

[snow4sandtoo]

My mistake!! In the excitement of thinking about the cruise was a day early. We are flying to Fort Lauderdale on the 20 of Feb.You can understand my excitement to escape this weather. Today is cold at -10C however it is al least bright and sunny.In general the weather this winter has not been too bad,we were on the plus side last week and for mid Jan. that is unusual!!

I understand in Curacao fireworks are great to see when the ship depars port.Enjoy your cruise!!Liz

[CaliforniaAC]

Hi Kathy,

 

Thanks for answering questions!

 

We will be on the Volendam in March. I am working on renting a car from Avis. They have multiple locations and mention 2 docks in Curacao for the cruise ships. I would assume that they will know where to pick me up, but do you know which one the Volendam docked at, and if they normally dock at the same one every time? Avis has locations at the Curacao Mega Pier and the Cruise Terminal Mall at the Hendrik Pier. They both have their own phone number.

 

Thanks for your review. I am definately going to try a Spanish Coffee, and watch for Hunky Dory at the Lido!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Kathy, I don't say this lightly ... this was such an amazingly written review that you literally wrapped me in your experience. Are you a writer? Thank you so much for taking the time to go into such detail. Even with the glitches and some disappointment because HAL didn't quite meet your expectations, it sounds like you had a good time despite your cold.

 

I am stunned that your reaction to the lack of phone service was met with apparent disinterest. Even when they don't fix problems, I've always found that the people at the front desk are more than accommodating, very sympathetic and always apologetic.

 

We're taking this itinerary in November on the Volendam and I'm really looking forward to it. We have a favorite Aruba beach to visit, we'll have to think about Curacao and Dominica because we've done the rainforest tour, but it's such a heavenly island, isn't it? HMC is always a favorite ... we had the turquoise cabana the last time, but think we'll not do it this trip.

 

I got so caught up in your cruise that I began to ache for November. Being one of those "older" people, I don't like to rush time;) .

 

I hope Sail7Seas sees this review because she's on this itinerary in about a week and I'm sure she'll enjoy reading it as much as I did.

 

Thank you again for this. I couldn't take my eyes off the page ... it's that good.

[Kathyh1313]

We will be on the Volendam in March. I am working on renting a car from Avis. They have multiple locations and mention 2 docks in Curacao for the cruise ships. I would assume that they will know where to pick me up, but do you know which one the Volendam docked at, and if they normally dock at the same one every time?

 

We docked at the Curacao Mega Pier. I am not sure if this is where the Volendam docks everytime. It is a little distance from the "main" part of town.

 

Thanks, Heather. No, I am not a writer. I am a Registered Nurse, have been one for 25 years working most of the time in the ICU and the past 2 years as a Nurse Manager. Perhaps it is all those years of writing notes on my patients, if it isn't written, it isn't done. Or all those evaluations I write for my 170 employees! I am glad you enjoyed my review. I have certainly learned a quite a bit from reading the information you have posted on this board.

 

I work too hard and have way to stressful a job to let some problems interfer with my good time on vacation. Even though I had a bad cold, which kept me confined to the cabin for the better part of 36 hours, I read a trashy novel, watched a silly movie, relaxed and napped on the veranda and in the comfy bed and then, was served "formal dinner" in my yoga pants and t shirt sitting on the sofa. How can I complain?!? I think not!! Not having phone service for a 5 days was a bit of a bother, but, hey, I lost 3 pounds! If I could have ordered room service snacks....who knows?

 

Enjoy your cruise in November. I really do need to get another cruise booked!

 

Kathy

[seashell]

Kathy,

 

did you stay at Roseau or did the boat move to Cabrits. We are sailing the 1st and have been trying to find this out. Some of us are still debating what excursion to take and that will influence what we do.

 

Thanks for the review. It's good to know that i need to bring 3 formal outfits. I don't like suprises like that.

 

michelle

[CPeters40]

Hi Kathy,

I really enjoyed reading your review! So detailed! I'm going to print it out! I was on your cruise, and had a room just down the hall from you (6138). I didn't even notice that the phones were out of order! I used mine the first afternoon, to order ice, and that worked just fine. And then, for a wake up call, for when we were in port worked fine too. We didn't miss the elevator not always working, since we only had to walk 1 or 2 flights to get to where we needed to be.

Also, we had "Hunky Dory" (I believe his real name is Azziz), as our busboy, and he was just charming! We got a either a joke, and origami figure, or song broadway songs every single night! What a treat! For those going on trip, he hands out the trays on the Starboard side of the Lido for breakfast and lunch every day, and he's always talking.

I think the "High Tea", should have been served in the dining room, to give a more formal feeling, so I just skipped it.

I was disappointed they didn't have a midnight buffet. Wonder why this has been discontinued?

The Jazz at Sea was a definite plus, but I did miss the poolside Caribbean music. No real pool activities that I noticed on this cruise.

I was very pleased with the library--a great selection of book, especially newer titles. And the listening stations to hear music was fun. And I enjoyed all the trivia challenges, and prizes, and it was a great way to meet many of the guests.

I enjoyed all the shows from the Balcony. It was a brand new cast, and I think they did a really great job, for being the first time, and having to learn all those songs.

Fun having a plasma TV and DVD player. For people going on this cruise, there are movies on 2 channels every day in your room, and the movie listing is in the book in your room. Also there is self serve washers and dryers, $2 to wash, and $2 to dry. (We didn't use these, so I can't tell you how they worked.) In that room, there's an iron and stand, if you need to touch up some clothing. The internet is 75 cents a minute, with a one time $3.95 fee. None of the other cruise lines have this $3.95 fee--what's with that?

We brought our own commuter type coffee cups, and would fill them--easier to carry back to the room, since we never tried out the room service.

Thanks again for your great review!

Chris

[Kathyh1313]

Kathy,

 

did you stay at Roseau or did the boat move to Cabrits. We are sailing the 1st and have been trying to find this out. Some of us are still debating what excursion to take and that will influence what we do.

 

Thanks for the review. It's good to know that i need to bring 3 formal outfits. I don't like suprises like that.

 

michelle

 

 

Hi Seashell,

 

The ship stayed docked at Roseau all day. I believe all aboard was at 3:30 for a 4pm departure. On the originally itinerary, the ship was scheduled to move to Cabrits, but when we got the documents it listed all day in Roseau. This worked out great because it gave us more time in Roseau.

 

Kathy

[Kathyh1313]

You're welcome. It was fun to write the review.

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise as much as we did.

Our phone never worked until day 5. No dial tone, no nothing. I had brought a travel alarm clock with me and I am glad I did as we could not dial in for the wake up feature on the phone.

 

The front desk indicated that cabins on decks 6 and 7 were affected. Maybe it was not every cabin on these decks.

 

There were no midnight buffets per se but the Lido buffet was open every night from 11:15pm-12:15. At the time I didn't think much about a midnight buffet as there was food available. But now that you mention it, not to have a gala midnight buffet with all the ice sculptures and fruit and vegetable carvings was strange. I usually go to take a look, but not eat. DH and I got light snacks and sometimes dessert in the lido around mn before we retired for the evening.

 

I kept a thermal pot from room service to fill at the lido for my tea. I drank quite a bit of it this cruise. It was nice that there was a variety of herbal and fruit teas. Helped with my cold.

 

Happy cruising, Kathy

[lgarner]

Great info Kathy - thanks.

 

I will be cruising with Michelle on Feb 1 (thanks michelle for telling me about Kathy's post).

 

The info about Dominica is very helpful. Did HAL offer any explanation about the change in itinerary? Or the change in formal nights? I was expecting three formal nights but our docs say two. I think, thanks to your review, I will plan for 3 formal nights just in case.

 

The laundry bag deal sounds good to me - was this offered about mid-cruise? Just trying to plan in advance.

 

The port info for Curacao is helpful. What about in St. Thomas? I have heard Crown Bay but not sure.

 

For all who have done this itinerary before - are the fireworks displays due to carnival or a particular night? We will be there during carnival but its a Sunday so just wondering if the fireworks will happen.

 

Heather in Fl, what is your favorite beach in Aruba?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Lisa

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa, the beach we absolutely love on Aruba is Eagle Beach. It's just down from Palm Beach and much less crowded. There are hotels along there and the taxi took us to one someone had told us about. They had wonderful thatch umbrellas and the guys there (for about $5 a chair) will bring chairs over for you. It is a heavenly beach, hardly anyone there, the sand is like soft powder and the sea is a color not to be described. Absolute heaven. If you email me at the link in my signature, I'll send you a link to the hotel we went to (we were asked not to tell the world about it so I try not to talk about it too much).

 

About Dominica, I talked with HAL about this awhile back. When you look at the HAL itinerary they show it as one stop only. When you look at the itineraries offered by various agents they show 2 stops...Cabrits and Roseau. HAL told me it has always been one stop and they had no idea why the TA's show anything different. So who knows? But that's the story they gave me.