Review of Volendam, S. Caribbean, Nov 13 thru 23

[happy cruzer]

Volendam 11/13/06 to 11/23/06 Southern Caribbean

 

About us: So you can know our perspective, we have been on around 15 cruises on different lines. Our ages 45 and 52. Semi retired professionals. Our cruises are usually about the ship and the food, the ports are usually secondary.

 

Ship: We had cabin 2554. We had booked a guarantee inside and were assigned 2554 inside cabin 3 days before sailing. 2554 is a handicapped cabin that I am sure HAL held as long as possible in case a handicapped cruiser need it. This cabin was larger than average with a great sitting area.The storage in this cabin was huge with an extra closet. The bed and linens were fantastic.

 

The glass feature in the atrium and the spiral staircase will not impress folks used to the atriums on the bigger ships. We were very comfortable in all the lounges. None were any smokier than usual. The Ocean Bar and the Crow's Nest featured ballroom type music to dance to which we always enjoyed. the Crow's Nest was usually only half full so lots of room to dance. The general atmosphere on this cruise was laid back. Live music in the lounges was geared to the big band and dance classics; only found pop tunes in the aft pool area and in some of the recorded music mixes played in the Lido areas. Pool games and high energy activities were at a minimum. HAL provided opportunities but there were very few volunteers. Most people seemed to be into relaxing more than partying.

 

The passenger mix on this particular cruises might have been as high as 50% from Europe. We enjoyed this diverse group. There were all age groups represented. I thought the majority of passengers were couples in their 50s or 60s. There were also a few families with young children and many seasoned travellers too. Overall a nice mix.

 

Unique highlights for the Volendam and for HAL, are the Culinary Arts Center and the Explorations Cafe/Library.

 

The culinary Arts Center is area with a wine display and an area in the Wajang Theatre. The wine area hosts wine tasting with a fee usually associated. There is often a person there to help answer questions about wine offerings onboard to help with dinner selections. The Culinary Kitchen that is set up behind the theatre screen is really wonderful. This area hosted two types of experiences - one is a for-a-charge hands on class of about 12 people and the other is a demostration. For the class, you make reservations early at the front desk. For the demo you find the time listed in the daily program usually at 10am. For the demo, go a little early, you sit in the theatre, there is a very nice video pre demo, then the curtains open to show the exhibition style kitchen, the chef will do about a 20 minute preparation demo of two items, you will be given a sample of one at the end and the menus for the items prepared.

 

The Explorations Cafe/Library is an area set aside for the library and internet access. It also included listening stations for music and current magazines. It has very nice comfortable seating and lighting. There is a coffee bar with reasonable charges and pastries served free to the coffee purchasers.

 

We also really enjoyed the gym area and the wrap around promenande deck with teak chairs.

 

The crew was also a highlight. The crew is very cheerful and fully engaged in with the passengers. They greet you sincerely and warmly in the hallways as well as when doing a service for you.

 

Food and Beverages: We thought HAL was at their usual high standards. EXCELLENT. We really enjoy fine dining in the traditional style with congenial company.

 

On HAL the options are mainly room service, the Lido buffet, the Rotterdam dining room, Terrace Grill, and the Pinnacle Grill. There is also other chances for a quick bite, like hors devours in bars at night, late nite snacks, and afternoon tea.

 

We enjoyed room service for breakfast each morning and twice for lunch/snacks. There was room service order form left on the bed next to the nightly chocolates each evening. Our order was delivered perfectly on time and HOT each morning. But they do provide exactly what you order for example if you want butter or cream cheese, make sure it is listed. The room service menu has about 10 items available 24 hours a day, then they add about 6 more items for 12 to 10pm service, and any time the dining room is open at lunch or dinner you can order from that menu too. So there is a great variety of food available including cookies and milk.

 

We are not big buffet folks so we were perfectly happy with service, selction and quality of the Lido. There was a short line at the main hot food line at most times. But if you were interested in having a full hot meal, this was the line for you. A greeter would have a tray with two plates ready for you, then you selected your bread and salad, then you would be served the remaining items of soup, hot food, sliced roasted meats, and vegetables. Next stop would be the beverage area for water, coffee, or tea (8 kinds of juice provided in the mornings). Then you would find a table to your liking that would already have a napkin and silverware for you. Seating was not crowded. The dessert and ice cream were in a different area which allowed you to get those seperately. There were seperate food areas like the sandwich line. Sometimes when I just wanted a quick bite with no wait I would just go to the area with the shortest line and get a bite there. The Lido works slightly differently for dinner. At dinner, you go through the first part of the line to get your starters, then you see what the entrees look like and order one which is brought hot to your table a few minutes later. The lido menu in the everning is a subset of the main dining room.

 

The Rotterdam dining room is where we choose to have most of our meals. We did not do breakfast there on this trip. We did many (about half) our lunches there. We never had a problem getting seated promptly. Several times we requested a table for 2 and were always cheerfully accomodated. Service was polished and friendly. Water and bread served promptly. The menu each day includes 3 appetizers, salad, 2 soups, and 7 entrees to choose from and the choices were different at each day. A seperate dessert menu was provided with 3 desserts and ice cream selections. Coffee, espresso, or cappucino can be ordered with dessert.

 

Dinner in the Rotterdam was the main event of the day for us. We had the 8:00 seating in the upstairs area. Our area was too hot; there had been an earlier report on Crusie Critic of the heat problem and we should have changed tables earlier that we did on night six - so the point being, if there is something amiss at your table be sure to request a change. The night our group finally requested a change it was provided promptly with no fuss.

 

On the first night we had our assigned table (some ships do open seating the first night). We were seated at a table for 6, far aft near the windows. We met our tablemates and immediately hit it off and knew that we were in for a great time. We met the waiter and assitant waiter, Gede (pronounced Good day) and Hendry and the area manager Sadu; all from Indonesia. Service was spendid. I often ordered two items from the same category and no items from some. I told Gede the second night that I would be trouble; his very serious and sincere response was "Madam is no trouble". It doesn't get better than that.

 

The dinner menu in the Rotterdam includes 3 breads, 4 appetizers (some hot, some cold), 2 hot soups, 1 chilled soup, 2 salads, and 7 entrees which cover pasta, fish, beef, game, poultry, and vegetarian selections. This is followed with the dessert menu of 3 nightly specials, a no sugar added dessert, 5 flavors of ice cream, a sundae, a fruit plate, and a cheese plate. Tea, coffee, espresso, or cappucino is served. The hot food and beverages were served at the proper temperatures. Most items were excellent, a few were very good and we had one or two misses. But with all these choices, we always had a fantastic meal. The service was very quick and precise, we could have been finished easily in 1 hour and 45 minutes but since we had great tablemates we always took at least 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes.

 

In general the main cruise lines are cutting back their wine service staff. HAL still has wine stewards in the main dining room but they are stretched really thin. Our steward was still able to provide exceptional service. We ordered two white wines from him and brought our red wines with us. One night he went out of his way to make sure our wine found us when we had planned to dine at the Lido but ended up back in the Rotterdam. Again, it was "no trouble".

 

The drink staff in the lounges and on deck are helpful but not pushy. HAL has drink of the day for $5, a mock cocktail of the day for $2,75, and a martini of the day for $5. If you want a souvenair glass it is 1.95 more, if you don't want the glass be sure to order the drink in a regular glass. The drink of the day came in a large "water" glass and had plenty of alcohol and fresh fruit in it. I really enjoyed the Cucumber Lime Smash and the Pool Side Car. Cold hors d'oeuvres are served in the bars at night, usually a seafood, cheese, and meat selection.

 

Terrace Grill is a casual area near the Lido Pool midships. There is a small buffet for tacos, pizza, hamburgers, and hotdogs.

 

The Pinnacle Grill is the specialty restaurent. Their specialty is Sterling beef. The menu is tailored to reflect the Washington state region. The atmosphere and the table setting is superb. The food and service equalled the dining room (which says alot for the dining room). We recommend it if you are looking for a change from the dining room.

 

We never did any of the late night snacks. I did go to the dessert buffet. It included about 1/2 chocolate items including a chocolate fountain. The desserts are served by a staff member which slows things down a bit but keeps the display looking good and sanitary.

 

HAL does a good job of afternoon tea but it is a quick affair usually only 30 minutes which is plenty of time as long as you arrive on time. We had high tea in the dining room. For the high tea, you line up and a server will serve you finger sandwiches, scones, and sweet treats of your choice (the line can get long but it moves and it is worth it) then you are seated in the dining room. Servers will bring you hot tea and iced water. The Sorgento Strings provide music. Very dreamy. The Explorer's Lounge is the venue for the afternoon teas. The tables are pre-set with plates, cups, and silverware. Servers bring trays of finger sandwiches, scones, and sweets to the individual tables. The servers bring the tea pots and tea bags to the tables.

 

The one consistent compliant about HAL food venues is that the Lido is closed at times. It is closed from around 4pm to 6pm and again after 7:30 except for the late snacks around 11:15pm. If you keep that in mind, you can work around it with the room service just order the service with enough time for delivery. But if you are used to other lines buffet hours you might get disappointed to find the buffet closed.

 

Show room: The show room was not crowded on the nights that we attended. The seating is very comfortable. The ship's singers and dancers were good. Their dancing was excellent. Paul Pappas was a headliner pianist that we really enjoyed. We enjoyed the crew show, it's not professional; but it is very entertaining. We missed most of the other shows. We attended one of the Exploration Lectures given by Jean Pierre Andrieux. We enjoyed the lecture, it's a bit dry but if you are

interested in the topic, you get a first hand view. Jean Pierre had years of experience working as a port agent in Newfoundland and gave three lectures.

 

Ports: Aruba had three other ships in port and had rain in the morning. We had thought to rent a vehicle here to tour but decided against touring on wet roads. Easy to walk off the ship to shopping. Curacao only had the Volendam in port. We spent the day walking aroung the lovely town of Willemstad. We did a bit of shopping and had a drink sitting looking over floating bridge and pastel architecture. Dominica was the only new port for us. We took a private tour with Beno that we saw reviewed on the Dominica page of Cruise Critic. The tour was the highlight of our port visits. We visited the Emerald Pool early before it got crowded which really made the day. I took a dip in the pool and it was really nice - cool, not cold, and pristine. We also visited Mr Nice's Fruit stand, Trafalgar Falls, and an overlook of Roseau. At St. Thomas, we shopped in the Havensight area. Plenty of stores for a 2 hour shopping trip;many of them the same as in the downtown shopping area. We did not get to tender into Half Moon Cay because of high winds. The forecast was for more high winds, rain and cold weather so we left the area rather than wait to see if the wind might die. We were all disappointed but you can't control the weather. We were refunded the port fees and treated to a glass of champagne after dinner.

 

Summary: We really had a wonderful cruise. We enjoyed all the special HAL touches; mainly the great dining, the wonderful staff and quiet elegant atmosphere.

:)

[sswitenki]

Wonderful review! Thanks for taking the time. One question. YOu say the Lido is closed after 7:30 except for late snacks around 11:15. I thought the Lido served dinner? Surely they serve later than 7:30pm? What time does the Lido open in the morning for breakfast or things like sweet rolls and coffee?

[localady]

Thanks for the review. My family and I are anxious to sail the Volendam for a holiday cruise in 25 days. Great to hear that you enjoyed the food and the service!!:D

[Kathyh1313]

Wonderful review! Thanks for taking the time. One question. YOu say the Lido is closed after 7:30 except for late snacks around 11:15. I thought the Lido served dinner? Surely they serve later than 7:30pm? What time does the Lido open in the morning for breakfast or things like sweet rolls and coffee?

 

Dinner hours in the lido are quite limited. On our cruise it was 6pm-7:30pm.

[NoNoNanette]

What a lovely critique! Thanks for taking the time to write it! :)

[cigarman]

Happy, very well written review, it makes me miss being there. Beno really did do a wonderful job with his guided tour of Dominica, a very beautiful island. Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for your review.

[happy cruzer]

Hi, I looked in one of the my daily programs for the Lido hours:

 

Continental Breakfast 7 till 11

Buffet Breakfast 7:30 till 10:30

Lunch buffet 11:30 til 2

Deli & Salad bar 11:30 til 5

Ice cream 11:30 til 5, 6 til 7:45; 11:15 tile 12:15

Casual Dinner 6 til 7:30

Late night snack 11:15 til 12:15

coffe and te availa 24 hours

 

My review may seem a little incomplete but I thought I was already getting carried away. and I intend the review to be posted to the review page for the Volendam. I probably will be adding little snippets of info that are more of interest to HAL longtimers to the this the Hal page.

 

Here's a very interesting thing that happened.

 

I mentioned that we had the heat problem in the dinning room and on the night we were moved we had a very exciting time.

 

Anyway on night six, one couple in our party could no longer take the heat of our table no 37 that was far aft in the dining room next to the windows. So they requested we be moved, they went to a table of two and the 4 of us remaining went to a table on the rail about 35 feet directly forward of the old table (I think the temp at the new table was around 76 whereas before it was closer to 88). Well about 20 minutes later we start smelling an "electrical fire" smell, shortly after we see smoke coming from many openings in the ceiling. Not alot of smoke but smoke none the less. Most people in the dining room started noticing it. Everyone sat quietly for about 2 minutes and then service resumed but there was still new smoke coming out. Well the four of us decided we would leave the dining area until we knew the cause of the problem. We went to the lobby area near the entrance and waited. In about 5 minutes we had three officers arrive and do some investigating. In about another 5 minutes, one came over to us and told us that an ac unit had a belt come off and burn up. I guess the ac unit was overloaded trying to keep the dining room cool and malfunctioned. so about 15 minutes after we had gone to the lobby we retook our new seats on the rail and finished a great meal.

 

I thought two things very interesting:

1. The great majority of the passengers did not seem to mind continuing to sit in a large smokey room and finish their dinner.

2. The staff did not seem to take any action until about 10 of the passengers rose and left and the dining room.

 

Those were my observations. No one but about 10 of us seemed concerned about a possible fire??? I mean I do admire handling the situation in a calm manner but I think sitting a smokey area with limited exits for 15 minutes is a bit strange. But it all turned out ok. and did not ruin my trip.:)

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my review!:)

[MercedMike]

Volendam 11/13/06 to 11/23/06 Southern Caribbean

We did not get to tender into Half Moon Cay because of high winds. The forecast was for more high winds, rain and cold weather so we left the area rather than wait to see if the wind might die. We were all disappointed but you can't control the weather. We were refunded the port fees and treated to a glass of champagne after dinner.

 

Summary: We really had a wonderful cruise.

 

LOL --

 

Now how many times on this board have we seen something like this:

 

"HAL -- NEVER AGAIN!! We will never cruise with HAL because of the way we were treated on our cruise. We had been looking forward for months to lounging on the beach at Half Moon Cay, but our ship didn't even get there! They said something about winds, but I think it was because it would have cost them too much to run the tenders. What is a little wind? Everybody on the ship was very upset but our complaints were ignored. And then they offered us free champagne after dinner! What an insult! Why do they think a glass of champagne makes up for a whole day at the beach that they cheated us out of! I tried to complain to the main desk but they were very rude and just said that it was the Captain's decision. What kind of passenger service is that? I have written HAL demanding that they refund us one-seventh of our cruise fare since our cruise was completely ruined by missing one whole day out of seven!"

 

Somehow -- there is a little difference in attitude! Thanks for your great review and your ability to take things in stride and still have a GREAT cruise!;)

[jsocpa]

just a brief note on the smoke in the dining room, we were seated near the front of the dining room (had absolutely no temperature problems by the way) and the staff reacted immeadiately to the smoke. The dining room staff immeadiately notified the officers and crew that would be able to determine the problem. At no time did we feel our safety may be threatened.

[thomasale]

A review that I generally concur with. We were at Table 33 upstairs along the windows. I never thought to ask to be moved as we enjoyed our tablemates immensly. I loved our trip.

[Sueseb]

Thanks for the great review. Only 15 more days and counting. I do hope the AC in the dining room is fixed. Sue

[happy cruzer]

just a brief note on the smoke in the dining room, we were seated near the front of the dining room (had absolutely no temperature problems by the way) and the staff reacted immeadiately to the smoke. The dining room staff immeadiately notified the officers and crew that would be able to determine the problem. At no time did we feel our safety may be threatened.

 

Well, you may have the answer there. It may be a matter of perspective. The front and sides maybe did not big problems. I think the aft was getting whatever ac it got through the front so I am sure it was cooler in front. And the smoke may not have been very thick in front; but it was enough smoke to cover the entire upper dining area and it came from an area directly behind our seats.

 

When you are about 5 feet from openings that have smoke flowing out with about 300 people between you and an exit, it looked a little different.

 

Just one of those curious things. I have been in buildings where a fire alarm went off and no one moved until someone came to tell them it was a real fire.

[auntdana]

do you have any meus or daily programs to post?

[seafun]

You did notice that this review is two years old, right?

I noticed because I was on the Volendam about that time in 2006 (for a wonderful cruise!) and I know she's not in the Caribbean now.

I saw you ask for the menues on another thread -- here's a link to a menu thread -- hope it's the ones you're looking for. Happy cruisng! :D

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=847851

[aussiedisneyfan]

Ahh, that explains it, I didn't even look at the review date. I thought she should have been well on her way to Australia by then. Or I think even here or NZ