Initial (frustrating) impressions of our cruise on the Volendam so far

[LocoLoco1]

I PRINT OFF everything. Air/Hotel/Cruise etc. I Even print screen-shots I take of my Computer Screen. I leave the house with a 3-ring binder of it all. Takes up minimal suitcase space. Came in VERY handy once..

[jeff74]

The charges for Canaletto were reversed last night.  Now I’m just down to needing the OBC fixed.  I’ve already shown them the screen shot of my itinerary with the purchase and have sent a note in the “let us know” section of the app so I’ll wait until our next sea day before bothering anyone at guest services again.

 

 On a different topic for anyone interested, I was told by one of the onboard medical staff yesterday afternoon that they had 3 known cases of Covid onboard (roughly 48 hours after the start of the cruise). 

 

As far as everything else is concerned, the cruise is going fairly well.  Random thoughts and observations:

 

I wish that I was down a bit less at the casino lol.

 
The first bingo event and the library have drawn decent crowds but otherwise you don’t really notice that the ship is close to full occupancy.

We liked the comedian on the second night.

 

 My mom and mother in law have been spending a lot of time at the Effy store much to the delight of the manager there.

 

We’re staying in and ocean view room in the aft of the Dolphin deck and the engine noise and vibrations that happen when docking and leaving haven’t been a bother to us but we did notice a strong fuel smell when leaving Half Moon Cay.

 

That’s it for now for the updates.  Curaçao is our stop for today and my wife, son and I will be exploring on our own since there weren’t any excursions that looked particularly appealing.  It’s a late arrival time and we’re docked from 3pm to midnight so that should limit the amount of financial hemorrhaging that has occurred around the deck 5 midship area for today at least.

[NCTribeFan]

Yep, as much as hate the paper and ink waste, I print out every confirmation of everything that I pre-purchase and take it with me so I have proof of purchase.

 

Have never pre-purchased casino funds.  I may consider doing that before my Rotterdam sailing in the spring.

 

So far, the pre-booked specialty dinners have never been correctly booked.  I tend to go straight to the podium on boarding day to check.  Some times I've been able to get them to straighten it out.  Others, I've had to get my CO maitre d to help.  Others, at GS while there about other issues.

 

They encourage people to book those early, but then they don't get them right and then tell you the time YOU ALREADY BOOKED is full.  That's annoying.

 

I recently booked Volendam for Hawaii next fall.  My first HAL cruise was to Hawaii on Zaandam.  I'm looking forward to that class ship again.

[drowelf]

3 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

Yep, as much as hate the paper and ink waste, I print out every confirmation of everything that I pre-purchase and take it with me so I have proof of purchase.

 

Have never pre-purchased casino funds.  I may consider doing that before my Rotterdam sailing in the spring.

To true, I also take hard copies of all the important reservations, purchases, etc. as well as having soft copies on the laptop that I drag along for emails and other stuff. 

 

Never pre-purchased casino funds either. I just bring the amount of cash that has been budgeted for casino table action. The DW simply charges slots $$, up to her budget, to the room. Its just treated as another charge on the room folio so no additional fees are accrued on those charged. 

[kurtmi03]

We are also on this cruise. Sorry to hear of your troubles but glad they were able to resolve most of them. I ended up with $50 more OBC than I thought I should have but I  am not looking into it. I was too busy trying to find someone to fix the AC in my cabin. I was told I was not the only one with this problem. Finally on day three they gave us a new room that was cool. Hopefully no more trips to guest services. 

[jeff74]

I’ve always liked pre purchasing casino chips just because I avoid having to worry about carrying the cash around pre-cruise.  I wasn’t aware that there was no surcharge for buying chips and having it billed to the onboard account while you’re on the cruise.  That’s a lot better than other cruise lines that charge 5%.
 

 Kurtmi03, I’m glad to hear your AC problem got resolved.  Ours is struggling but has been able to keep the temp at what I would guess to be 76 at the coldest setting.  My wife wouldn’t want to switch rooms anyway because she is generally cold and if we moved to one with better AC we would be arguing over the thermostat 😃.  My mom actually has the opposite problem with her room being colder than ours despite being at the hottest setting.

 

I feel bad for a couple I was talking to earlier today.  They have a leak from their ceiling that has been there for who knows how long since they said their room has mold and smells like dead fish.

 

 

[StLouisCruisers]

We were in 1838 the previous four weeks, and our room was freezing the entire time.  We had the thermostat set at the top of the display, warmest temp possible.  Because we were in the Amazon region we never reported it because I'd rather it be cold than hot.  Our steward brought us some blankets which I would cover myself with when on the sofa reading, doing puzzles, watching TV, etc.  And especially when napping.  Others onboard complained about their hot rooms which you have experienced.  Someone should figure out what's going on so all can be comfortable.  The warmest time we spent in the room was usually around 1 or 2 am, for several hours.  That seems to happen on all ships we've been on.  I wish I knew why.

 

Two doors down from us in 1844 a couple we met onboard had to leave their room mid cruise because there was water leaking seemingly at the door to the cabin through the ceiling/walls.  The carpet was wet.  They were moved down the hall.  I hope no one reading this is in 1844 because things don't get fixed, just move the passengers to somewhere else.

[MISTER 67]

2 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

We were in 1838 the previous four weeks, and our room was freezing the entire time.  We had the thermostat set at the top of the display, warmest temp possible.  Because we were in the Amazon region we never reported it because I'd rather it be cold than hot.  Our steward brought us some blankets which I would cover myself with when on the sofa reading, doing puzzles, watching TV, etc.  And especially when napping.  Others onboard complained about their hot rooms which you have experienced.  Someone should figure out what's going on so all can be comfortable.  The warmest time we spent in the room was usually around 1 or 2 am, for several hours.  That seems to happen on all ships we've been on.  I wish I knew why.

 

Two doors down from us in 1844 a couple we met onboard had to leave their room mid cruise because there was water leaking seemingly at the door to the cabin through the ceiling/walls.  The carpet was wet.  They were moved down the hall.  I hope no one reading this is in 1844 because things don't get fixed, just move the passengers to somewhere else.

We froze also on our recent NA cruise, my guess is that HAL is keeping the ships cold to kill off Covid and Flu germs.

[0106]

34 minutes ago, jeff74 said:

they said their room has mold and smells like dead fish.

A moldy room should not be used by passengers.  Perhaps, it could be used for toilet paper storage.😉

 

Seriously,  what is the best way to request a different room.  I think if I walked in a room like that I would immediately go to guest services.  Does anyone else have a more effective approach?

[LMaxwell]

20 hours ago, jeff74 said:

 They have a leak from their ceiling that has been there for who knows how long since they said their room has mold and smells like dead fish.

 

 

my wife would drag a bed to guest services before living w that.  I'd just bring a pillow to a lifeboat. 

[LMaxwell]

20 hours ago, 0106 said:

 I think if I walked in a room like that I would immediately go to guest services.  Does anyone else have a more effective approach?

 

You have to get GS to involve the Hotel Director immediately and make it known the only acceptable solution is to switch your room; otherwise they will follow protocol of getting maintenance to look for/fix the issue and then house keeping to come clean/deodorize room. That process could take hours, could take days. Should you enter a room that is obviously not fit for your stay and you have reason to believe is unhealthy, push for the Hotel Director to be involved.