Volendam : Really That Bad ?

[jc foster]

        This morning I received an email from a big box travel agency regarding what looked like  a good deal on a 14 day cruise on the Volendam. I called and booked while doing zero research.  Yes, I know my bad. We sail primarily Princess and Celebrity and only have one prior Holland America cruise on the Zaandam about 15 years ago.  I began reading the reviews on this website and they are bad.  They include things like broke heat and air, non flushing toilets, and a host of maintenance issues.  Also poor food quality and of all things poor service which I thought was supposed to be a HAL strong point.  Has anyone here sailed this ship recently and if so whats your opinion?  Thanks

[sambamama]

I have not sailed on her recently, but sailed on her about seven years ago. I've read lots of bad reviews on the Zaandam and the Zuiderdam, but not the Volendam.  I did a 7 day Alaska tour on her.  I have never gone on a HAL cruise where the service wasn't at the very least very good.  The cabins are bigger than other lines, and the ships have less passengers.  I have never been on a HAL ship that had bad food.  The food, IMHO, is always better in the main dining room.  The food has always been good, with a few misses along the way.  Don't miss eating at the Pinnacle!I have over 140 sailing days on HAL.  The ships are older.  I have noticed that, for me, the air conditioning on all HAL ships seems to get warm around 1 am or so, so I ask my stewards for a fan.  Ship toliets can be very finicky.  Don't put things in them that don't belong, and you should be fine. 

 

I loved the Volendam!  Its theme was flowers, and they had flower arrangements everywhere!  Look for reviews elsewhere, or better yet, just go and make up your own mind.

[OlsSalt]

Sounds exactly like the same reports we got when we randomly chose our first HAL ship, back in 2009 - the Maasdsam. Only thing missing was complaining about the Madams funky smells. But we assumed we had signed up for a rusty bucket of bolts and were in for a two week forced march into total misery reading the complaints about the Madam. Instead we fell in love with both the ship and with HAL.  

 

Over 600 days later on most all HAL ships, including the Voldendam,  we continue to love them all.  We are older and we are not into a lot of frills - HAL serves us well. And the smaller, older HAL ships like the Volendam serve us best of all. 

 

But never go on any ship presuming everything will be perfect,  and that reviewers don't have some other agenda or axe to grind. Sorry, you are getting off to a bad start on this cruise. HAL is in the hospitality business and they do want passengers to be happy and cared for - that is the reasonable business model expectation.  

[luvteaching]

Check out @richwmn's new blog on the boards about sailing on the Volendam for the next 134 days. As he goes along I'm pretty sure you'll get lots of information. 

[jc foster]

1 minute ago, luvteaching said:

Check out @richwmn's new blog on the boards about sailing on the Volendam for the next 134 days. As he goes along I'm pretty sure you'll get lots of information. 

 

1 minute ago, luvteaching said:

Check out @richwmn's new blog on the boards about sailing on the Volendam for the next 134 days. As he goes along I'm pretty sure you'll get lots of information. 

Thank you

[sunviking90]

Volendam is the sister to the Zaandam, so if you liked Zaandam you will also like Volendam. She’s had a very nice refurb/renovation in the last year or 2. We were just on her for 18 days and loved it, but I love a smaller classic ship.

Our stateroom (Vista) was in great shape, and the inside and outside rooms have also been redone all with nice new showers. Our stateroom on Celebrity’s Solstice last year looked very shabby in comparison. 

We were on a Hawaii cruise, and did notice as we got into hotter weather our room wouldn’t cool as much, but we weren’t uncomfortable. We’ve noticed this on other cruises into hot climates especially this summer on Princess to the Panama Canal. I honestly suspect that they change the settings so as not to over stress the AC and not allow people to try and cool their rooms to 60f. We were never uncomfortable. 
People we met were in an outside room and said their room wouldn’t cool lower than 71 while we were in Hawaii, which to me is fine. We noticed many of the Lanai cabins on the promenade leaving their doors open, and were also wondering if this was messing with the cooling system. 

We experienced no plumbing issues at all.

Food is subjective, but we enjoyed most meals in the MDR. I did find the food salty, but I usually do on cruises. We loved the lunch menu, but didn’t enjoy all the dinner menus as much. We felt the food we’ve had on Princess in the last couple of years to be better, but once again subjective. 
We avoid the lido except to grab tea or coffee or an afternoon snack, but be warned the hours are SHORT! Don’t get hungry between 10-11:30 am or 4-5:30 pm. There is NO food except Dive in burgers, or room service. We were wishing we could just grab some fruit, etc, so eventually preplanned better. I think the Lido also closed for Dinner at 8 pm which, so it would be very busy during the open hours.
Loved the ship overall and would sail on her again! Wish we were still on!

 

[jc foster]

6 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Volendam is the sister to the Zaandam, so if you liked Zaandam you will also like Volendam. She’s had a very nice refurb/renovation in the last year or 2. We were just on her for 18 days and loved it, but I love a smaller classic ship.

Our stateroom (Vista) was in great shape, and the inside and outside rooms have also been redone all with nice new showers. Our stateroom on Celebrity’s Solstice last year looked very shabby in comparison. 

We were on a Hawaii cruise, and did notice as we got into hotter weather our room wouldn’t cool as much, but we weren’t uncomfortable. We’ve noticed this on other cruises into hot climates especially this summer on Princess to the Panama Canal. I honestly suspect that they change the settings so as not to over stress the AC and not allow people to try and cool their rooms to 60f. We were never uncomfortable. 
People we met were in an outside room and said their room wouldn’t cool lower than 71 while we were in Hawaii, which to me is fine. We noticed many of the Lanai cabins on the promenade leaving their doors open, and were also wondering if this was messing with the cooling system. 

We experienced no plumbing issues at all.

Food is subjective, but we enjoyed most meals in the MDR. I did find the food salty, but I usually do on cruises. We loved the lunch menu, but didn’t enjoy all the dinner menus as much. We felt the food we’ve had on Princess in the last couple of years to be better, but once again subjective. 
We avoid the lido except to grab tea or coffee or an afternoon snack, but be warned the hours are SHORT! Don’t get hungry between 10-11:30 am or 4-5:30 pm. There is NO food except Dive in burgers, or room service. We were wishing we could just grab some fruit, etc, so eventually preplanned better. I think the Lido also closed for Dinner at 8 pm which, so it would be very busy during the open hours.
Loved the ship overall and would sail on her again! Wish we were still on!

 

Thank you, we got off an Alaskan on the Solstice in September and it is showing its wear.

[Crusin-Suzan]

We did Amazon river cruise last year and Panama cruise on her in a few months!  Yes she is old!   Yes she is not a big ship!  Yes we did have minor problems!  But it’s a wonderful small ship!  Love the crew, food and closeness to crew and fellow passengers!  We do HAL a lot and love their bigger ships but we also have done all the other cruise line and we like HAL the best!

[Bill B]

I've been on the Volendam twice:

 

The first time, my room (3431) was NOT good - broken tiles, mould/mildew and ripped curtain in the shower The medicine cabinet door would not latch shut and kept banging with every wave. Several times I turned on the sink tap and BLACK stinking water came out. Yuck!

 

The second time, 7071 been recently renovated and the bathroom was great (except for when the shower leaked and got the carpet by the desk soaked). Engineering fixed it pretty quickly and all was well.

 

Both times the food and service were very good. 

[CanuckMumof2girls]

 My 2 Daughters and 2 sons in law Sailed on her in September and loved everything! 

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, sunviking90 said:

Volendam is the sister to the Zaandam, so if you liked Zaandam you will also like Volendam. She’s had a very nice refurb/renovation in the last year or 2. We were just on her for 18 days and loved it, but I love a smaller classic ship.

Our stateroom (Vista) was in great shape, and the inside and outside rooms have also been redone all with nice new showers. Our stateroom on Celebrity’s Solstice last year looked very shabby in comparison. 

We were on a Hawaii cruise, and did notice as we got into hotter weather our room wouldn’t cool as much, but we weren’t uncomfortable. We’ve noticed this on other cruises into hot climates especially this summer on Princess to the Panama Canal. I honestly suspect that they change the settings so as not to over stress the AC and not allow people to try and cool their rooms to 60f. We were never uncomfortable. 
People we met were in an outside room and said their room wouldn’t cool lower than 71 while we were in Hawaii, which to me is fine. We noticed many of the Lanai cabins on the promenade leaving their doors open, and were also wondering if this was messing with the cooling system. 

We experienced no plumbing issues at all.

Food is subjective, but we enjoyed most meals in the MDR. I did find the food salty, but I usually do on cruises. We loved the lunch menu, but didn’t enjoy all the dinner menus as much. We felt the food we’ve had on Princess in the last couple of years to be better, but once again subjective. 
We avoid the lido except to grab tea or coffee or an afternoon snack, but be warned the hours are SHORT! Don’t get hungry between 10-11:30 am or 4-5:30 pm. There is NO food except Dive in burgers, or room service. We were wishing we could just grab some fruit, etc, so eventually preplanned better. I think the Lido also closed for Dinner at 8 pm which, so it would be very busy during the open hours.
Loved the ship overall and would sail on her again! Wish we were still on!

 

Or the problem might be people leaving their balcony doors open in those areas. The ac ducts are set up for the air to flow into the rooms and then out to the hallways with the room having a very slight positive pressure. If a balcony door is left open more air will flow into the rooms with the open balcony doors, and less to other cabins along that duct. End result less effective AC.

[RuthC]

2 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

We noticed many of the Lanai cabins on the promenade leaving their doors open, and were also wondering if this was messing with the cooling system. 

It most certainly was. 

[lakedweller64]

Not sure the volendam has lanai cabins that open onto the deck.maybe wrong but don’t think so.deck 3 is all ov rooms.

[Bill B]

10 minutes ago, lakedweller64 said:

Not sure the volendam has lanai cabins that open onto the deck.maybe wrong but don’t think so.deck 3 is all ov rooms.

 

Does sunviking90 have the Volendam confused with the old Rotterdam?

 

[cbr663]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

Or the problem might be people leaving their balcony doors open in those areas. The ac ducts are set up for the air to flow into the rooms and then out to the hallways with the room having a very slight positive pressure. If a balcony door is left open more air will flow into the rooms with the open balcony doors, and less to other cabins along that duct. End result less effective AC.

 

Another problem is HAL over rides the AC setting in your cabin at night, effectively turning off the AC.  We noticed it when we sailed prior to COVID and recently on the Koningsdam in Nov we noticed it again. 

[sunviking90]

12 minutes ago, lakedweller64 said:

Not sure the volendam has lanai cabins that open onto the deck.maybe wrong but don’t think so.deck 3 is all ov rooms.

Volendam does have Lanai cabins midship on deck 3. I was just on it. Zaandam does not. I personally don’t see the attraction of these cabins. They are smaller than the OV’s on deck 2 and 1 and are priced fairly close to the Vista suites.

[Bill B]

2 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Volendam does have Lanai cabins midship on deck 3. I was just on it. Zaandam does not. I personally don’t see the attraction of these cabins. They are smaller than the OV’s on deck 2 and 1 and are priced fairly close to the Vista suites.

 

You're right! Lanais on the Volendam are Cat. CA.

[sunviking90]

5 minutes ago, Bill B said:

 

You're right! Lanais on the Volendam are Cat. CA.

Thank you! lol. I love being right. 😀 

[TRLD]

12 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

 

Another problem is HAL over rides the AC setting in your cabin at night, effectively turning off the AC.  We noticed it when we sailed prior to COVID and recently on the Koningsdam in Nov we noticed it again. 

Been on many HAL cruises and have not experienced that at all.

 

The way many ships ac works is that there are large air handler feeding duct that serve an area of the ship. All the control in the room does is to determine how much air from which duct enters your room. Basically think of it as controlling a vent that determines how much cold air and warm air enters the room. turn it warmer and the cold vent closes and the warm  duct opens more.  

 

While they might change the setting on the air handler they do not do anything at the room level. Might also be others on that duct leaving balcony doors open or more people turning their temp cooler pulling more air from the cold duct.

Edited December 22, 2023 by TRLD

[Susanmaz]

We were on the Volendam last spring. It was absolutely wonderful. Vista suite size was great. It’s smaller, with everything easily accessible. The crew is amazing. Food was excellent. So different from the Pinnacle class Kdam we were on prior, which was busier, more crowded and had ruder passengers. Never had a problem with the bathrooms or with the ac.

[JessWright]

The Volendam is about 24 years old, and it is the oldest ship in Holland America's fleet. I sailed on the Volendam, over the Thanksgiving holiday, for an 18-day roundtrip cruise from San Diego to Hawaii. The ship was a pleasant surprise.  I have sailed on the Zaandam, its sister ship, many times, but enjoyed the Volendam more.  My next cruise on the Volendam is in early April. It is a 15-day cruise from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale via the Panama Canal.  I prefer the smaller ships. The trip to Hawaii marked my 51st cruise with Holland America. My ocean view cabin was on the main deck, and it was in excellent condition. I ate all of my meals in the Lido - many good choices; a few not.  

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

 

Another problem is HAL over rides the AC setting in your cabin at night, effectively turning off the AC.  We noticed it when we sailed prior to COVID and recently on the Koningsdam in Nov we noticed it again. 

 

Chengkp59,  (former Chief Engineer on ships) often answers these  technical concerns,  claimed this is not the case. It would be too inefficient to re-cool an entire ship if they shut it down as many have long claimed to be the case - HAL being too cheap, etc, etc.

 

I suspect instead it might be your own circadian rhythm kicking in, along with the comforter which may be too warm for your own tastes in these closed system,  air pressure controlled cabins. Some people have the stewards take out the comforter and just leave the duvet cover empty, for their own cooler night tastes.  You could try that.  

[REOVA]

We find temperature is also affected by where you are in the world and which side of the ship the sun is while sailing. 

 

We haven't sailed Volendam but have on sister ships and love the smaller ships. You will find many "problems" on the older ships if you focus on them. And 2 cabins will have totally different experiences on the same ship (heat, plumbing, etc) as will 2 passengers have subjective opinions on the same cruise. We always sail with an expectation that it won't be perfect and if we don't like something, we make a comment, or try another item. The crew will try to help you enjoy your cruise. If you communicate (nicely 😉). 

[terrydtx]

We are booked on the Volendam next August from Boston to Montreal. Our first HAL cruise was a Panama Canal in 2007 and we loved the ship and her small size. Next year we booked a Vista Suite so we could have a balcony. We booked this cruise for the itinerary over Celebrity and Oceania ones.

 

You can find negative reviews on almost any cruise ship if you look long enough. We did a cruise on the Koningsdam last month and loved the ship, food and the crew. I had read many negative reviews on the K'Dam but they didn't deter us from booking the cruise.

[DaveOKC]

We were on the Volendam about 6 months ago for 12 days (Alaska and West Coast).  I thought the ship was in very good condition, better than I had expected.  The only issue I heard of was that the AC was running very cold in the aft sections of the ship..  I would not be afraid to sail on her.  And the crew was fantastic!

 

Only negative is that being a smaller ship there are fewer dining options.  Positive note is that there is less walking involved.

Edited December 22, 2023 by DaveOKC