I have read

[JOHN 57]

At one time, out main dining room.  There were trays of mints, dried fruits and candied ginger.   Plus Dutch Chocolate extravanganz, American bread pudding, Line bread, and butter pudding were served.  I guess, that is all gone now, since the changes.  We are on the Volendam, sailing to Alaska, 18 September 2019 from Vancouver.  First time on Holland America.

[cabinluvn]

We were on the Veendam in January and the mints, ginger and dates were all out by the dining room exit. Sometimes there was someone there to serve you, most times it was help yourself


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[3rdGenCunarder]

On the K in January, there were trays of mints and ginger. Maybe dried fruits were there, too, but I don't remember. The bread pudding was still at the buffet. Its location varies from ship to ship, but it's often in the back of the serving area, on a warming tray. And the custard sauce was still there, too. 

 

Haven't seen the chocolate extravaganza in years. 

Edited March 3, 2019 by 3rdGenCunarder
typo

[tuolumne couple]

 They still very much have the trays of mints, dried fruits and candied ginger, which is nice for after-dinner leaving the dinning room. My husband always grabs a toothpick there too :).. We  never eat after dinner, so the late-night chocolate thing was never my thing. They have bread pudding in the Lido.. one thing i recall about Alaska was the wonderful pea soup served while looking at the glaciers. they also had sweets and hot chocolate and coffee etc. Going through the panama canal they serve panama rolls and coffee too. nice touches. Okay, now you are making me anxious for my next cruise LOL

Edited March 3, 2019 by tuolumne couple
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[tuolumne couple]

11 minutes ago, cabinluvn said:

We were on the Veendam in January and the mints, ginger and dates were all out by the dining room exit. Sometimes there was someone there to serve you, most times it was help yourself


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Yes! The attendant who rings the dinner chimes prior to dinner in the MDR  mans the after-dinner mint, fig and ginger station. He is facing you as you leave the main dining room. Nice touch. I am sure they have this also in the Lido as a help yourself 🙂

Edited March 3, 2019 by tuolumne couple
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[JOHN 57]

thank you all for answering my questions, so outside main dining room. Trays of mints, dried fruits, and candied ginger are still available plus bread pudding available at the buffet.  No answer on dutch chocolate extravanger, so I guess that has been removed. Thank you all.

 

[JOHN 57]

tuoloume couple, thank you.  I will try it out.

[tuolumne couple]

2 minutes ago, JOHN 57 said:

thank you all for answering my questions, so outside main dining room. Trays of mints, dried fruits, and candied ginger are still available plus bread pudding available at the buffet.  No answer on dutch chocolate extravanger, so I guess that has been removed. Thank you all.

 

Happy Sailing! You could always go for the chocolates at Tea, or order some for dessert if you are craving that. Trust me, plenty of chocolate on board, , just not the grand midnight display. Honestly, i only looked at it twice over the years. Take Care!

[JOHN 57]

we will and thank you.

[OlsSalt]

31 minutes ago, JOHN 57 said:

At one time, out main dining room.  There were trays of mints, dried fruits and candied ginger.   Plus Dutch Chocolate extravanganz, American bread pudding, Line bread, and butter pudding were served.  I guess, that is all gone now, since the changes.  We are on the Volendam, sailing to Alaska, 18 September 2019 from Vancouver.  First time on Holland America.

 

Agree, they are all still  there. The big chocolate buffet in the Lido in the evening has been replaced with the parade of chocolate desserts and goodies passed out by the crew after the last Gala night.

 

 I think you will find most of the lovely traditional aspects of HAL cruising are alive and well on the Voldenam, including the library space - though no longer staffed or supplied as it had been in the past. Love these older, smaller tradtional HAL ships like the Volendam and her sisters.  Enjoy your cruise.

[JOHN 57]

thank you, we will try it out.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Dutch Pea Soup on our Alaskan cruises was served out on the decks as well as in the Crow's Nest.

 

The person serving the ginger, etc., has been referred to as the "Yum Yum" man.  He looks like the Philip Morris man from years ago on TV with his red outfit.

 

Some ships keep the bread pudding behind the dessert counter and you have to ask for it.

 

Many ships now have a chocolate "show" where the waiters go around the atrium about 9 - 9:30 with trays of chocolate items on the last Gala night.

[twodjs]

Most of the ships have the Chocolate Surprise (servers offering a variety of chocolate munchies) around 10 pm on the deck with the BB KING lounge. Oops...not a surprise anymore.

[catl331]

You might find the mint/ginger/fruit cart unmanned on the lower level with Open Seating, but manned on the upper/Fixed level.  We haven't seen/heard chimes since we were on the Prinsendam 6 years ago. (The P'dam has only one level MDR.)

[OlsSalt]

4 minutes ago, JOHN 57 said:

thank you, we will try it out.

 

We were on her sister ship Zaandam for a 14 day Alaska last year and it was a terrific itinerary - a fabulous cruise. Is that the same one - the 14 day one that you are looking at on the Volendam.  Though since you are leaving from Vancouver, this might be the 7 day one -but often that ship leaves midweek which takes you out of the normal 7 day RT weekend to weekend crowds the other ships and cruise lines offer. If so. that too will be a bonus choosing this ship.

[OlsSalt]

4 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

The Dutch Pea Soup on our Alaskan cruises was served out on the decks as well as in the Crow's Nest.

 

The person serving the ginger, etc., has been referred to as the "Yum Yum" man.  He looks like the Philip Morris man from years ago on TV with his red outfit.

 

Some ships keep the bread pudding behind the dessert counter and you have to ask for it.

 

Many ships now have a chocolate "show" where the waiters go around the atrium about 9 - 9:30 with trays of chocolate items on the last Gala night.

 

The Chimes Master is now in a white, more traditional uniform - no more Philip Morris look with the rows of gold buttons.

[tuolumne couple]

12 minutes ago, JOHN 57 said:

tuoloume couple, thank you.  I will try it out.

 Also, If you get the chance, have lunch at the Pinnacle Grill and dinner at Canaletto. You will not regret it! 

[OlsSalt]

On the Zaandam we had salmon chowder on one of our multiple glacier viewing days- wonderful. I came expecting the pea soup but stayed for several servings of the chowder.   Delicious. Recipe recently posted here.

[JOHN 57]

Hello and thank you all. OlsSalt, our cruise is for 7 days, sailing 18 Sep on a Wednesday.  Going to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikin.

[OlsSalt]

7 minutes ago, JOHN 57 said:

Hello and thank you all. OlsSalt, our cruise is for 7 days, sailing 18 Sep on a Wednesday.  Going to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikin.

 

That was the route for our first and early HAL cruise too- got us hooked on this cruise line and now we are up to nearly 500 days onboard. Hope you get the same feeling.  Does your cruise leave midweek?

[JOHN 57]

Hello OlsSalt, our cruise leaves 18 September on a Wednesday from Vancouver.

[OlsSalt]

15 minutes ago, JOHN 57 said:

Hello OlsSalt, our cruise leaves 18 September on a Wednesday from Vancouver.

 

You miss the weekend  crowds - good pick. There have been horror stories in the past with 5 big ships trying to go through Canadian customs on the same day when they all jam up at the end of the Alaska cruise season - in Sept? 

 

If you are new to cruising, I always find it interesting to see what other ships (and their size)  will be in port on those same days - and will chose the least impacted itinerary when all  things else being equal. There is also a terrific online guide for these ports called "Tom's Guides" which offers very detailed do-it-yourself options in each of these ports. Not commercial, just his own personal experiences with these ports with clear photos showing where to go, how close to the ship and where the local transportation stops are located.  (Highly recommended - the local bus round trip to Totem Bight State Park in Ketchican)

 

Just talking about this brings back so many good memories - even if we ran into cold and rain each time we neaded... north to Alaska. Going back ourselves again on the Maasdam this summer on our way over to Russia and Japan. 

Edited March 3, 2019 by OlsSalt

[JOHN 57]

Hello, thank you for information.  We used Cruise TT. which gives date and time in port.  Vancouver 3 ships, Juneau 3 ships, Skagway 2 ships, Glacier Bay 2 and of course only 2 ships allowed per day, Ketchikan 3, and Vancouver 2.  Counted the Volendam as part of 3.  We have always wanted to go to Alaska, and the price was right.  We are hoping for the bottom of South America someday, have already been to Southern Europe, but we flew.  Have been unable to sell my wife on 2 weeks.  We also plan on a cruise to Hawaii someday.  Looking over Tom's guides

[CruiserBruce]

And the 14 day route is leaving on Mondays this year, not mid week.

[JOHN 57]

thank you CruiserBruce for the information