our trip on Volendam 1/22 - 2/1

[michmike]

Just a few thoughts, as opposed to an extensive review.

 

To begin with, we scored the trifecta on this trip: met sail7seas, loves life at sea AND Hunky Dory all in the same trip. How cool is that?

 

Had chatted with a group of 30 on roll call, but only 8 of us showed up for the get together. Maybe someone had warned the others about our rubber chicken and flying monkeys (see post under the "now that we are all dressed appropriately" thread).

 

Overall things were great.. as Sail mentioned, I thought the food in the dining room was very good, far better than when we were last on Volendam in Nov '04. Our dining room crew of Nono, Febru and Imam did a super job.

 

The explorations cafe / library addition is a big improvement imho. Great fun to sit in one of those easy chairs and read and listen to Jimmy Buffett on the headphones.

 

Food and service in the Lido was good as well.

 

Thought ventriloquist Mike Robinson put on a great show. Ian Finkel on vibes was good as well. Only saw one cast show (H2O) and that reminded us why we generally forego those.

 

No towel animals in our cabin but that is no loss as far as I'm concerned.

 

As for negatives, did have some rough seas the first few days out, but nothing to compare to the 30 ft plus seas we had in '04 so we managed ok.

 

Biggest complaint was that the service in the lounges in general was glacially slow, both in getting someone over to take your order and in then getting the drinks after the order was placed. 15 minutes minimum every time. No excuse for that. Part of the problem continues to be inadequate staffing. We were in the explorer's lounge one nite about 7:30 and the place was FULL and they had ONE waiter on duty. Took us 10 min to get waited on and then another 20 min to get our drinks. Asked the waiter to have a supervisor come see us and we never had anyone come out. He was concerned that we were going to complain about HIM. Reassured him that he wasn't the problem, that mgmt was. Never saw any supervisory presence in any of the bars the entire 10 days.

 

Other problem was the one excursion we booked thru HAL, to go snorkeling in St Thomas. Wife has some mobility issues and we both use canes, but she is perfectly capable of getting on and off the catamaran and getting into and out of the water. What she wasn't capable of was walking the length of 3 ships to get TO the catamaran. There should have been a bus. We decided not to do the tour and to HAL's credit, when I went to the shore excursion ofc to complain, they did refund the excursion cost, although begrudgingly. Lesson learned... next time we'll make arrangements on our own.

 

Continued our bad luck re Half Moon Cay. Was the 5th time we've been scheduled to go there and we've only made it twice.

 

If your travels take you to Curacao you'd do well to consider La Pergola downtown on the water front, for lunch. We tried it on Sail's recommendation and were well pleased. Very good!!

 

Probably the very best part of going was the bread pudding every day at lunch, coupled with afternoon naps most days. The worst part of being back is the absence of those same 2 things.. *L*

 

(and just out of curiousity, does anyone know why they ask for your room number when you eat bfast or lunch in the dining room?)

[grannynurse]

The only time we were asked for our cabin number was when we ate in the Queen's room for breakfast and lunch. They need to make sure that you are a suite passenger. We were never asked in the regular dining room. Perhaps if you were in a suite they would have recommended the Queen's room.

Or, it could have been a demographics survey to find out who eats in the dining room as opposed to the Lido. They may be looking to eliminate the dining room for breakfast and lunch if the numbers are down.

Wondering with you,

GN

[LHC]

Spending 2006 reading reviews and reports to get ready to spend time on the Volendam during the Holiday Season (Dec). Thanks for your report.

LHC

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

 

For the last several cruises we have been asked for our cabin number when we had breakfast or lunch in the dining room. I got the impression that they were keeping track to see if some of us visit there on a regular basis or just drop in may once on a cruise.

[LoveLifeAtSea]

Hello Mike!

 

It was a great pleasure meeting you, your wife and friends! :)

 

I agree with both you and Sail7Seas that the food was very good and I found it to be way above my expectations! And, as you know, we shared Nono, Febru and Imam in the Dining Room and they WERE exceptional!

 

Missing Half Moon Cay was my biggest disappointment, but alas, an extra day at sea was the nice trade off for me since I love sea days!

 

Interesting question about you being asked for your cabin number when eating breakfast and lunch in the dining room. I ate breakfast in the dining room on just one morning, but I don't recall them asking for mine. If they did, I just don't have any recollection of it.

 

I will agree with you that I did notice that at certain times there were less bar staff in a couple of areas. But, I also noticed that when the bar staff was available that there were less drink orders being taken.

 

LOVED the Signature of Excellence enhancements!! Now I know what everyone has been raving about since these changes have started taking place!

 

All in all, I had a fantastic time onboard the Volendam! With so much talk these past months about the changes HAL has been implementing, I was very happy to experience just as wonderful a cruise experience as I always have onboard a Holland America ship!

[Rebecca J]

Mike and Love Life, thanks for letting us know about the Volendam. I am cruising on March 23 and of course counting down the days. I get in a fever of excitement as the time draws near for any cruise, but especially this one. I am glad to hear the improvements have made a difference. I was on the Zaandum two years ago and loved, loved loved it. Did anyone check out the new cooking demonstation area? Thanks Rebecca

[LoveLifeAtSea]

Rebecca, I also sailed the Zaandam prior the the Volendam and loved her as well! But, the Volendam is such a beautiful ship that you'll love her as much, if not more, than you love the Zaandam.

 

I did not check out any cooking demonstrations, so I can't give you any feedback on that.

 

I hope you enjoy this beautiful ship as much as I did!

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your nice report, Mike. It was a pleasure meeting you and Carol and your friends. Your 'half in the bag chicken' cracked me up.

 

Funny how you mention Imam. He was our dining steward on Veendam last January. We thought him a terrific waiter and made comments about how good we thought him to be......and we have loads of waiters to compare him to. :) When we boarded Volendam in October, we saw him the first day in Lido in his new white uniform. We were so thrilled for him he had been promoted. Funny how you would have been seated in his section. Does anyone have a bigger smile?

 

I so agree about how nice the Explorations Area is. They did a wonderful job designing and building it. IMO A disappointment for me was when we went there one afternoon after exercising looking for an iced coffee, there was no decaf. I only drink decaf and when all the steward could offer was to brew hot coffee and pour it over ice that didn't sound very appealing. How watery would that have to be before he got it chilled? I suppose they don't get many requests for it.

 

I really liked the changes in Lido. The stations concept is great for someone who knows they just want a sandwich or a plate of pasta. The separate salad bar area is a bit smaller than it was in the past but still very complete. Lots of choices and everything always so fresh and crisp.

 

We sat at the bar in Ocean Bar each evening (I think you saw us there a :) Few :) times. ) Because of it, we had good bar service from Venus and Cesar (bartenders). We enjoyed them every evening and they took very good care of us. We never stopped at the Explorers Lounge other to stand for a few minutes and listen to the music.

 

We'd return happily to Volendam anytime and hope to sometime soon.

 

[KAKcruiser]

Is the Queens Room having breakfast AND lunch again for suite passengers? They used to have both, then discontinued both, then started again with just breakfast. Has lunch been added?

[sail7seas]

I know they are using the KING'S Room for breakfast although we never went. I think maybe also for lunch but am not sure.

 

[ghisl]

Thanks for the review. Have never sailed HAL but I'm booked on the Volendam for Alaska Sept 06. Can hardly wait. Would love to hear your thoughts on your cabin. I have an inside on Lower Promenade Deck booked.

[Rebecca J]

Thanks Susan, my husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary on this trip so it is very special to us. As I said I am getting extremely excited just thinking about the wonderful ship, the food, the relaxation and the pampering. Every day I check the boards to see what I can glean. Any information about your trip is greatly appreciated. I am going to try to post a review when I return because it means so much to those that are waiting to go to read about the adventures of others. Rebecca

[VernaF7449]

Thanks for the information on the Volendam - I am also on the March 23 cruise and got my documents last week. Glad to hear all the good things about the ship and the cruise -I am looking forward to 10 days of fun, relaxing, pampering, meeting new people, and perhaps a couple of adventures!

 

I will also be on an inside cabin on Lower Promenade deck - this will be my 1st inside cabin experience, but since I am going solo I could not really justify the added expense this time. I can leave on the TV to the ship-cam channel for a view outside (a friend suggested I do this at night as well - that way the "sunlight" will wake me up!). Besides I figure I am just a few steps away from the promenade, a really big verandah!