Volendam Review - July 6 - 13 Boston to Montreal

[teacherman]

I received a lot of information from this board prior to our cruise, so I thought I would do a report on how it went for us.  We are 3 star Mariners who do 3 or 4 cruises per year on various lines, although we are leaning towards more HAL cruises due to their itineraries and service.  We booked this after a "special" offer from HAL and took an inside cabin on deck 2.  No complaints about the cabin and we slept much longer than we usually do at home.

 

We flew into Boston on Friday, July 5, and took an UBER from airport to the Hyatt Place Seaport.  We very much liked the hotel for our one night stay.  We had a great dinner at Legal Seafoods.  Boarding was to begin at noon on Saturday, so we chose to wait until 1:00 pm and took an Uber to the port.  There was NO line at that time and we were on board within about 15 minutes.

 

We had previously been to all of these port stops, so we did not sign up for any excursions, but just decided to "wander" the streets and shops in each port.  We ended up walking about 3 miles each day and since we had almost perfect weather for the entire cruise, we really enjoyed our visits.

 

Upon disembarkation in Montreal, we exited the terminal and walked about 5 minutes until we were "out of the crowd".  We again used an UBER for our ride to the airport.  Overall, we had a very enjoyable cruise, but I will point out a few things I noticed.  These are totally based on MY experiences on this particular cruise.

 

We enjoyed the size of the ship.  It was smaller but easy to get from one area to another.  Other than the first night in the dining room, it never felt crowded and we never had to wait for an elevator or had difficulty finding a seat in the theater or bars.  It was a full ship with more children than we normally see on HAL, probably because of the summer and most people could easily drive to the port.

 

I was somewhat disappointed in the food offerings, especially the beef.  I found it to be flavorless and tough.  The filet I ordered in the Pinnacle was absolutely poor quality.  It was difficult to cut, but we had enjoyed so many appetizers, that it really didn't matter.  This is the second time I have been disappointed in the Pinnacle, although the service was very good.  We did enjoy the Caneleto.  We booked both restaurants before the cruise.  One thing I noticed was that when we book ON the cruise, we receive a reminder each day of the reservation.  We had paid in advance, so we received no reminders.

 

The last few cruises we have purchased the HIA package.  This time, we decided to just pay as we ordered, and then compare costs at the end of the cruise.  We received a Mariner discount on a wine package for our dinners.  We normally had a few drinks at the various Happy Hours and purchased Starbucks coffee a few times.  I have an International Day Package for my cell phone, so I either used it on port days or found free wifi.  We do not sit at dinner and "play" with our phones, as many people seem to do.  Everything we did added to a very enjoyable cruise, and we came out much better financially than buying the HIA package.  But that is just us.

 

Overall, we enjoyed the cruise and would probably do this one again.  We do enjoy HAL, and already have Koningsdam booked for November.  I will try to answer any questions you may have.  Also, I have not yet received any type of HAL survey, and no one on the cruise mentioned it to me.

[Ellencruise]

HIA is more than just a drink package. Usually included is at least one shore excursion, specialty dining and best at times crew appreciation. I always do the math and although I rarely have more than 2 cocktails and never more than one specialty coffee, I book with HIA for the other perks. Then I don’t owe anything at end of vacation. Just my choice!

[Ellencruise]

4 minutes ago, Ellencruise said:

HIA is more than just a drink package. Usually included is at least one shore excursion, specialty dining and best at times crew appreciation. I always do the math and although I rarely have more than 2 cocktails and never more than one specialty coffee, I book with HIA for the other perks. Then I don’t owe anything at end of vacation. Just my choice!

Sorry to have hijacked and gone off topic a bit here. I took this cruise in June and it was great. Comfortable ship, good food, Wonderful staff.

[iflyrc5]

Thanks for your great review - we board the Volendam on July 27 for 24 days going to Greenland and Iceland.  Looking forward to being back on that ship.  Can you please comment on the selection of books available in the library.

[terrydtx]

21 minutes ago, Ellencruise said:

HIA is more than just a drink package. Usually included is at least one shore excursion, specialty dining and best at times crew appreciation. I always do the math and although I rarely have more than 2 cocktails and never more than one specialty coffee, I book with HIA for the other perks. Then I don’t owe anything at end of vacation. Just my choice!

I am with you on the HIA package. We are on the Volendam next month for the 11 day Boston to Montreal cruise. We booked early and got the Early Booking HIA bonus with Elite drinks, premium Wi-Fi and prepaid gratuities for the same standard HIA package price. Add in the shore excursion credit and specialty restaurant credits we will come out way ahead with this promo Premium HIA package.

 

To @teacherman thank you for your review. You mentioned the poor beef quality but how were the other entrees including the seafood ones? Did you have a New England seafood night in the Lido? I have seen it mentioned and we are interested in trying it.

Edited July 14 by terrydtx

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing.

[teacherman]

After the first night in the dining room, which is always crowded and confusing, the dining room never seemed crowded.  We had anytime dining and usually were seated at the same table we requested about 7:15.  The only thing I can figure is that a lot of people were doing specialty dining or many of the families with children were eating in the Lido.  And some people actually prefer the Lido for dinner.  We eat there for breakfast and lunch, but my DW will not eat there for dinner.

 

DW eats fish entrees and had no complaints about them.  She had scallops in the Pinnacle and said they could not come close to what she had enjoyed at Legal Seafoods the night prior to the cruise.  There was a Seafood Boil advertised.  I think about $35 pp.

 

The HIA offer did not include gratuities.  If it did, I would have taken it.  They were $17 pp per day, so $34 x 7 days comes out to a significant amount.

 

I did not use the library.  I take a Kindle.  The library is adjacent to the Explorations Cafe, so it is a pleasant spot.

[POA1]

Thank you for the review.

[Ellencruise]

12 minutes ago, teacherman said:

After the first night in the dining room, which is always crowded and confusing, the dining room never seemed crowded.  We had anytime dining and usually were seated at the same table we requested about 7:15.  The only thing I can figure is that a lot of people were doing specialty dining or many of the families with children were eating in the Lido.  And some people actually prefer the Lido for dinner.  We eat there for breakfast and lunch, but my DW will not eat there for dinner.

 

DW eats fish entrees and had no complaints about them.  She had scallops in the Pinnacle and said they could not come close to what she had enjoyed at Legal Seafoods the night prior to the cruise.  There was a Seafood Boil advertised.  I think about $35 pp.

 

The HIA offer did not include gratuities.  If it did, I would have taken it.  They were $17 pp per day, so $34 x 7 days comes out to a significant amount.

 

I did not use the library.  I take a Kindle.  The library is adjacent to the Explorations Cafe, so it is a pleasant spot.

 

my Pinnacle scallops were not good either. Oh well, one bad meal in the bunch of all my other delish dinners in main or Canaletto.

[terrydtx]

39 minutes ago, teacherman said:

After the first night in the dining room, which is always crowded and confusing, the dining room never seemed crowded.  We had anytime dining and usually were seated at the same table we requested about 7:15.  The only thing I can figure is that a lot of people were doing specialty dining or many of the families with children were eating in the Lido.  And some people actually prefer the Lido for dinner.  We eat there for breakfast and lunch, but my DW will not eat there for dinner.

 

DW eats fish entrees and had no complaints about them.  She had scallops in the Pinnacle and said they could not come close to what she had enjoyed at Legal Seafoods the night prior to the cruise.  There was a Seafood Boil advertised.  I think about $35 pp.

 

The HIA offer did not include gratuities.  If it did, I would have taken it.  They were $17 pp per day, so $34 x 7 days comes out to a significant amount.

 

I did not use the library.  I take a Kindle.  The library is adjacent to the Explorations Cafe, so it is a pleasant spot.

I agree, we never eat dinner in the Lido, we want to be served and treated like we are in a fine dining restaurant. I have had the scallops in the Pinnacle Grill and agree they are not very good as I suspect they are frozen which ruins the taste and quality. We have 2 nights in Boston pre cruise, so I hope to find some good scallops there. We are staying in the Hotel Indigo next to Boston Garden.

 

The only HIA that includes gratuities is the Early Booking Premium HIA promo, which we have since we booked almost 2 years ago for our cruise next month.

Edited July 14 by terrydtx

[hhalliv]

Here’s a random question that I’m not sure OP can answer, but I’ve got a cruise coming up on Volendam, and noticed they seem to have a few “theme” nights in the Lido buffet.  One of them appears to be a “Steak Night.”

 

My question is does anyone know when they have steak in the Lido if you can request it cooked a certain temperature, or is it essentially all cooked the same way?

[Nodakboiler]

You can get steaks cooked to order in the Lido

[Dancing Shoes]

Hmm....Starbuck's coffee aboard the Volendam.  I like it and it was not offered on the Rotterdam last year.  Available at Dutch Cafe?

[Blackduck59]

2 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Hmm....Starbuck's coffee aboard the Volendam.  I like it and it was not offered on the Rotterdam last year.  Available at Dutch Cafe?

Volendam doesn't have The Grand Dutch Cafe. On her sister ship (Zaandam) the special coffees are served in Explorations cafe, I would assume Volendam is the same.

[Ellencruise]

Coffee bar in library on Volendam

[Cruising Is Bliss]

6 hours ago, Ellencruise said:

Zaandam & Volendam still have the coffee bar on a low deck, in the Explorer’s Lounge, which is a passenger gathering place with tables, comfortable seating, and the library. In other ships this space was remodeled into music venues as part of adding the Rolling Stone and BB King conversions. Also part of those changes on other ships, coffee and the shore excursion desk were shoehorned into the Crow’s Nest.

[GonzoWCS]

Thanks for this information.

 

Cheers

[albingirl]

On 7/14/2024 at 2:20 PM, terrydtx said:

I agree, we never eat dinner in the Lido, we want to be served and treated like we are in a fine dining restaurant. I have had the scallops in the Pinnacle Grill and agree they are not very good as I suspect they are frozen which ruins the taste and quality. We have 2 nights in Boston pre cruise, so I hope to find some good scallops there. We are staying in the Hotel Indigo next to Boston Garden.

 

The only HIA that includes gratuities is the Early Booking Premium HIA promo, which we have since we booked almost 2 years ago for our cruise next month.

Go to Legal Seafood in Boston.  Never disappoints.

[League3056]

We were on this exact cruise with you, staying in an Oceanview, also on deck 2. We had our two kids (ages 11 and 14) with us. We're only 2* mariners. Even though we are younger than the typical HAL demographic (I'm 42, hubby is 47), we have decided that we like a lot of things about HAL compared to some other cruise lines, namely the food quality and the non-party atmosphere with deafening music pumping by the pool, etc. I hope you don't mind if I add some of our observations about this cruise onto your thread, rather than starting a whole new thread.

 

While it was still a very enjoyable cruise, this was our least favorite HAL cruise so far. The food quality/taste just seemed a little less than what we're used to. The Pinnacle Grill was a big disappointment. None of our 4 steaks were cooked to the requested temperatures, and I would have sent them back were we not in a hurry to try to catch a show. The Lido was a bit of a mess, crowd-wise, even on such a small ship. The lines were so long at breakfast that we usually skipped it and just ordered room service. In general, I don't like HAL's way of doing buffets. I can appreciate that having the crew serve you *might* decrease the odds of norovirus spreading, but on the other hand, since there's still plenty of self-serve things on the buffet, I'm not sure it helps all that much. But having the crew serve everything slows things down SO much. I'd love if they had a self-serve section where you could just grab the basics like scrambled eggs, bacon, etc., for yourself. Sometimes access to self-serve items like bread or fruit was blocked by the lines for people waiting for custom-cooked things like crepes or omelettes.

Service was good overall, though we never knew our stateroom attendants' names until the last night when they stopped by to say goodbye (and get tipped) and I asked for their names in response to their request that I fill out the survey. When we first met them, they didn't give their names or ask us if we had any preferences, like our HAL attendants usually have. We barely saw them, but they did do a good job of servicing the room. We did have an issue with our bathroom smelling like stale urine, which we mentioned on the first day. They cleaned the floor, twice! .. but a bit of an odor still persisted. The coffee shop baristas were nice, but never followed my requests. I'd ask for a cappuccino with half the normal amount of milk, and I'd get a full cup, or I'd ask for decaf espresso at night and had to watch carefully because we were almost served regular espresso, and that would have made for a rough time. I ordered the upcharge Halibut XO in the MDR twice. The first time, it was AMAZING. One of the best things I've eaten at sea, and would hold up well to most land restaurants. I was dying to have it again, so I got it on the last night. This time, it was missing the brothy, brown, umami type sauce that had come with it the first time and had made it so magical. It had no sauce at all. I asked for the sauce to be added. The chef was apparently confused and sent out a cup of the red stringy topping stuff. That still wasn't right, so the maitre'd took the whole plate back to the kitchen. I finally got my dish after the rest of the family had finished their meal, and it still wasn't right. It was sauced, now, but not with the right sauce. The flavor was totally different and not what I'd been dreaming of, but at this point I decided to move on.

 

Thankfully we didn't struggle with any AC issues like I've read that some have on the Volendam. However, the beds were less comfy on this cruise than on our other HAL trips.

The ship was in quite good shape overall, certainly not feeling too "old" for her age. It's very clean and well-kept. Yes, the staterooms could use a little sprucing up in some aspects, but I wouldn't hesitate to book HAL's older ships. (We've previously also loved the Noordam). It was very nice to have almost no wait for elevators, ever, and to often get an elevator all to oneself and a direct trip to whatever floor you needed.  We love the promenade on the older ships too. The cafe/library was such a big and lovely space. I loved that there was so much open space, and that there was never any trouble finding a nice place to sit. The selection of books in the library was very good; I didn't have time to read any myself, but I admired the taste of whoever is curating the collection because there were quite a few books I'd read and loved on the shelves. Small ships are so nice for the ease of embarkation/disembarkation, getting around, lack of crowds, etc. 

 

We felt the entertainment could have been better. Was a shame to miss Breton Thunder all week due to, I believe, one of the band members being sick. Abby, the solo guitarist, has a beautiful voice. The casino was small and pretty smoky, so that literally stinks if you're a nonsmoker like I am. I'm glad we went and I'm sure we'll be back on HAL again soon, though this cruise was more of a mixed bag than I'm used to with HAL. 

I did laugh when the cruise director Kristen was giving her weather report for Sydney as they were letting us know the gangway was ready, and it was *completely* wrong. We looked it up, and best we can figure, she must have been looking at the forecast for Sydney, Australia, as it was certainly NOT "currently 55 degrees outside with an anticipated high of 66" -- I believe it was actually more like 76 at that time, and it was going to be a quite hot day, somewhere around 88 degrees for the high. 

Hope this is helpful to some of you!

[terrydtx]

9 hours ago, League3056 said:

We were on this exact cruise with you, staying in an Oceanview, also on deck 2. We had our two kids (ages 11 and 14) with us. We're only 2* mariners. Even though we are younger than the typical HAL demographic (I'm 42, hubby is 47), we have decided that we like a lot of things about HAL compared to some other cruise lines, namely the food quality and the non-party atmosphere with deafening music pumping by the pool, etc. I hope you don't mind if I add some of our observations about this cruise onto your thread, rather than starting a whole new thread.

 

While it was still a very enjoyable cruise, this was our least favorite HAL cruise so far. The food quality/taste just seemed a little less than what we're used to. The Pinnacle Grill was a big disappointment. None of our 4 steaks were cooked to the requested temperatures, and I would have sent them back were we not in a hurry to try to catch a show. The Lido was a bit of a mess, crowd-wise, even on such a small ship. The lines were so long at breakfast that we usually skipped it and just ordered room service. In general, I don't like HAL's way of doing buffets. I can appreciate that having the crew serve you *might* decrease the odds of norovirus spreading, but on the other hand, since there's still plenty of self-serve things on the buffet, I'm not sure it helps all that much. But having the crew serve everything slows things down SO much. I'd love if they had a self-serve section where you could just grab the basics like scrambled eggs, bacon, etc., for yourself. Sometimes access to self-serve items like bread or fruit was blocked by the lines for people waiting for custom-cooked things like crepes or omelettes.

Service was good overall, though we never knew our stateroom attendants' names until the last night when they stopped by to say goodbye (and get tipped) and I asked for their names in response to their request that I fill out the survey. When we first met them, they didn't give their names or ask us if we had any preferences, like our HAL attendants usually have. We barely saw them, but they did do a good job of servicing the room. We did have an issue with our bathroom smelling like stale urine, which we mentioned on the first day. They cleaned the floor, twice! .. but a bit of an odor still persisted. The coffee shop baristas were nice, but never followed my requests. I'd ask for a cappuccino with half the normal amount of milk, and I'd get a full cup, or I'd ask for decaf espresso at night and had to watch carefully because we were almost served regular espresso, and that would have made for a rough time. I ordered the upcharge Halibut XO in the MDR twice. The first time, it was AMAZING. One of the best things I've eaten at sea, and would hold up well to most land restaurants. I was dying to have it again, so I got it on the last night. This time, it was missing the brothy, brown, umami type sauce that had come with it the first time and had made it so magical. It had no sauce at all. I asked for the sauce to be added. The chef was apparently confused and sent out a cup of the red stringy topping stuff. That still wasn't right, so the maitre'd took the whole plate back to the kitchen. I finally got my dish after the rest of the family had finished their meal, and it still wasn't right. It was sauced, now, but not with the right sauce. The flavor was totally different and not what I'd been dreaming of, but at this point I decided to move on.

 

Thankfully we didn't struggle with any AC issues like I've read that some have on the Volendam. However, the beds were less comfy on this cruise than on our other HAL trips.

The ship was in quite good shape overall, certainly not feeling too "old" for her age. It's very clean and well-kept. Yes, the staterooms could use a little sprucing up in some aspects, but I wouldn't hesitate to book HAL's older ships. (We've previously also loved the Noordam). It was very nice to have almost no wait for elevators, ever, and to often get an elevator all to oneself and a direct trip to whatever floor you needed.  We love the promenade on the older ships too. The cafe/library was such a big and lovely space. I loved that there was so much open space, and that there was never any trouble finding a nice place to sit. The selection of books in the library was very good; I didn't have time to read any myself, but I admired the taste of whoever is curating the collection because there were quite a few books I'd read and loved on the shelves. Small ships are so nice for the ease of embarkation/disembarkation, getting around, lack of crowds, etc. 

 

We felt the entertainment could have been better. Was a shame to miss Breton Thunder all week due to, I believe, one of the band members being sick. Abby, the solo guitarist, has a beautiful voice. The casino was small and pretty smoky, so that literally stinks if you're a nonsmoker like I am. I'm glad we went and I'm sure we'll be back on HAL again soon, though this cruise was more of a mixed bag than I'm used to with HAL. 

I did laugh when the cruise director Kristen was giving her weather report for Sydney as they were letting us know the gangway was ready, and it was *completely* wrong. We looked it up, and best we can figure, she must have been looking at the forecast for Sydney, Australia, as it was certainly NOT "currently 55 degrees outside with an anticipated high of 66" -- I believe it was actually more like 76 at that time, and it was going to be a quite hot day, somewhere around 88 degrees for the high. 

Hope this is helpful to some of you!

Much better cruise review, pointing out the flaws and the pros without making it a rant. Thank you, we will be on the Volendam next month.

[teacherman]

I do not mind you adding to my review, as long as you tend to agree with me.🤣  You also agree about the Pinnacle and missing the Breton Thunder performance.  And you added some more things that I did not experience.  The more information and different points of view help prospective cruisers in making a decision.  I do recall the Sydney weather MISforecast.  Maybe you are correct because she was really off on that.