Volendam 8/31-9/7-Part I

[sijid]

Hi, all! This is my review of our SB cruise on Volendam from 8/31-9/7. We were two couples--DH and I cruised previously on HAL and Celebrity, but this was our first trip to Alaska. The other couple had never cruised before.

 

We flew into Anchorage late Friday night (8/29) and stayed at the Extended Stay Deluxe. It was okay. Primarily it was cheap ($126 for the four of us), and since we arrived at 10 p.m. and were leaving at 6 a.m., all we really needed was a bed (well, two beds). They provide a breakfast, and apparently all the homeless folks in town know that, because they were wandering in as we left. The hotel has a shuttle, and if the shuttle is busy, the hotel will pay for a cab, but you have to give them plenty of time--we almost missed our train!

 

We took the Alaska RR to Seward. It was fabulous! The scenery was just beautiful, and we saw some moose. When we arrived at Seward, the Renown folks were there to pick us up for the 6 hour Kenai Fjords trip. The weather was a bit windy, but sunny and warm. It was really a pretty day. The Kenai Fjords trip is terrific. We saw glacier calving, sea lions, and whales. We stayed outside most of the time, although I was a little underdressed for the wind. When we got back, the Renown folks loaded up our luggage and took us to our lodging, which was the Whistle Stop, a converted train car. It has two really nice rooms. Both have a microwave and fridge. For dinner, we went to Thorn's Showcase Lounge. It's about a mile from the Whistle Stop, so we walked. The food was very good, but very expensive. We didn't mind so much, but our friends were kind of grumpy about it.

 

The next morning we went to the Smoke Shack for breakfast. WOW! What a great place! It's tiny, but they might expand next year. Then we headed out to Ididaride. This was great fun. The weather was a little iffy (overcast and spitting some), but we totally enjoyed the sled ride, learning about the dogs and the race, and, of course, getting a puppy fix. By the time we were done with our tour, the weather had turned rainy and windy, so we just picked up our luggage and headed to the ship.

 

As I mentioned before, my DH and I have cruised with HAL before, on the Oosterdam, and on Celebrity Millenium. The Volendam is smaller than either of those ships, which was fine with us. Our friends had nothing to compare it too, so were overwhelmed with the size. We did the usual first-day aboard stuff. We had lunch on the Lido deck, then went to our rooms, which were on Dolphin Deck (Deck 1), outside. The cabins were plenty big enough, with TONS of storage. We were just aft of the forward elevators, and on the port side. We had main fixed seating, at a table for 6, and were very fortunate to find a congenial couple at our table, who we enjoyed having dinner with each evening. The first evening, we had some pretty heavy weather. I looked out my window and saw huge waves, almost to my window. Walking around was a little difficult, but it was great for sleeping!

 

TO BE CONTINUED......

[vbmom87]

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

[sijid]

9/1-College Fjord-Overcast and chilly, but no rain. We were in College Fjord from 6 am to 9 am, so it was another early morning. The glaciers were phenomenal! As far as clothing goes, I had on my silk long undies, a long sleeved shirt, a fleece vest, and a rain jacket, and was totally comfortable. That became my outside uniform for the week. The rest of the day was a sea day. We did some trivia, DH did a cocktail class, and we napped a lot. I went to the Cruise Critic get together at 4:30, which was fun. It was formal night, and I was surprised to see (after reading the boards about Alaska and formal night) that large numbers of people were in tuxes, dark suits, and gowns. We had a great time dressing up and having our pictures taken. Then my friend and I retired to the piano bar for "Name That Tune" and the DH's went to Deck 3 aft for brandy and cigars. A lovely cruise day!

 

9/2-Glacier Bay-another overcast and chilly day, but what great scenery! Our captain was terrific about making sure we saw whatever there was to see. He also kept us completely informed about sea conditions, and what to expect in the immediate future. The naturalist was not so great, so we just pretty much ignored her. We spent large chunks of the day on deck, going inside only for lunch and trivia (the important stuff!). Dress for dinner was "smart casual", which we interpreted as "office casual," and that seemed to be the general interpretation. Another lovely cruise day!

 

9/3-Haines-weather was (wait for it!) overcast and chilly. We did the "Classic Car Tour of Haines" in a 1950-era DeSoto. The guide was quite entertaining. Haines is small, but has some interesting shops, including a place that smokes their own salmon, and a couple of shops that feature the artwork and jewelry of a local artist. I bought a truly lovely silk-screen of an eagle mating dance, as well as some jewelry for Christmas gifts. We also visited the Hammer Museum, which we enjoyed (really, how can you not enjoy something that's so obviously a labor of love?). Back on the ship, we had dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. It was enjoyable, and a step above the dining room, but I have to say, not quite as good as Celebrity's specialty restaurant. I'm not sure I would do dinner there again; maybe lunch.

 

9/4-Juneau. This is the day we were really looking forward to, because this was the day of our Harv and Marv photo tour! Weather was overcast and chilly, with a little occasional mist, but no wind, which it turns out was important. We were picked up by the van, and taken to Auke Bay. We were on Jay's boat, the Merlin, which holds 6 people. This was the highlight of our trip! We saw eagles, sea lions, seals, and lots and lots of whales. One whale surfaced about 20 feet from our boat. As some else mentioned, Jay was constantly on the radio communicating with other whale-watching boats so he would know where the whales were hanging out. We wound up staying in one area with 5 or 6 whales and a bunch of sea lions playing in the water for about an hour. I cannot recommend this tour too highly! Jay was an absolutely great host and guide, and the flexibility provided for with only 6 people was just perfect. He asked us if we wanted to stay where we were and take pictures of the whales, or go look at the rest of the area, and we chose to stay put. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have been possible with a bigger tour. We returned to Juneau tired and happy. That night was the second formal night, and again, almost everyone was dressed up. It was DH's birthday, so the dining room stewards sang to him, and he got a cake, which we shared with the table. We finished off the day with more "Name That Tune," and the boys had more brandy and cigars. Life on a cruise ship sure is tough!

 

TO BE CONTINUED.....

[sijid]

9/5-Ketchikan. We were awakened by the voice of the Captain telling us that if we looked outside we would see something we hadn't seen all week--the sun! It was a glorious day in Ketchikan, which gets 30 days of sun per year. We were so fortunate to experience one of them. The only excursion we had planned for the day was the Ketchikan Duck, an amphibious vehicle. We went on a tour of the greater Ketchikan metropolitan area, including the salmon stairs and the Married Man's Trail, then went straight into the water. The tour guide was good, and the driver let people "drive" once we were in the water. That being said, I'm not sure that Ketchikan is big enough for a Duck tour; there really isn't that much to see, and it can be easily seen with a walking tour. One of the really fascinating things about Ketchikan is their "stair-streets." These are essentially stairs that lead to houses perched on the side of the hill, and the sidewalks that run in front of the houses. They're considered regular city streets, with the city responsible for snow removal, trash pickup, and any other regular street maintenance. After the Duck tour, we wandered around a bit. We found a smoked salmon store, and a home-made candy store called "Ketchicandies." OUr friends, who are avid photographers went back to the salmon stairs to take pictures. This was a short stop, although the captain apprently put his pedal to the metal, and got us there about an hour and a half early. Anyway, we had to be back aboard by 7 pm; one of the ship's crew didn't get the memo, so we wound up waiting for about 45 minutes. I still don't know if he ever made it back, or if we just left without him. After dinner, we did our now-normal routine of ladies to the Piano Bar for "Name That Tune" and men to the deck for cigars.

 

9/6-Sea Day. Back to overcast and chilly. I thought this would be a pretty lazy day, but the Captain kept telling us about orcas and porpoises, so we spent a lot of time on deck. We played our final game of team trivia and won--Yay!! Dinner was the Master Chef's dinner. It was relatively entertaining, but the Baked Alaska didn't have sparklers, and we were all thinking about all the packing we needed to do. After dinner, we had one final "Name That Tune" and one final cigar.

 

9/7-Vancouver U.S. Direct--what a great invention! We had room service breakfast, then got loaded on to the bus. Our bus driver gave us a quick tour as we drove through the city. We went through a totally painless customs stop, and were at our gate in the airport a full 4 hours before our flight. Our cruise was over until next time-sigh.

 

Summary--we had a great time, and can hardly wait to do it again. Our cabin steward, Hidy, was unfailingly responsive and friendly. Our friends, who had not cruised before, ask me incredulously "How often do they clean the room?" Our dining room steward, Indra, exemplified good service with an extremely winning smile. The ship was lovely.

 

Time to start planning the next cruise!

[vbmom87]

Great review. We, too, enjoyed the Volendam in June on a NB cruise. It is great to relive those memories.

[CC Help Michell]

Thanks for a nice review. We really enjoyed our round trip on the Volendam in June -- and we also played team trivia, and Name that Tune with Randall nearly every night! Thanks for bringing back fond memories. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great review.

 

So glad you had a great cruise on one of our favorite ships -- Volendam!!