Early dining and various Volendam notes

[ryansmemom]

mrswynn

 

Thank you so much for posting you review. It seems to me that you took the time to present a fair and balanced review of your experience and to attempt to make the best of circumstances that were beyond your control. Both you and your husband seem to have appoached this cruise with a positive attitude that would have almost guaranteed a good experience.

 

However, there are some limits. Having to endure 10 days in a stateroom left in the unclean condition you described is really deplorable. I beleive you have a very legitimate complaint. I regret that no one suggested that you bring this to the attention of the Hotel Manager while you were on board. (I am not in any way assigning any blame to you for not thinking of this) I do beleive that your room would have been cleaned properly if he knew of your situation. I encourage you to write to HAL so that they are aware of the deplorable service you received on their ship. You are fortunate to have come home with your heath intact after living under those conditions for 10 days.

 

I hope HAL responds to you in a favorable manner. I hope you will give them another opportunity to provide you with a more plesant experience. My husband and I have always enjoyed our HAL cruises. They are not perfect, but we have a positive attitude and expect to enjoy ourselves. In about 2 weeks we will be on the Statendam and we are chomping at the bit and can't wait to get on board.

 

I am sorry that your experience wasn't better. It seems to me, you did everything you could possibly do to make it so. HAL definity owes you on this one. At least in my humble opinion.

 

Linda

[Nanner]

As Bellebaby asked, any idea when the ship will be in drydock? Thanks for the review, it was more evenhanded than many. Nothing wrong with pointing out problems, as long as you also note the bright spots.

 

Also, might I ask what room you were in? With the hot flashes I've had lately, the last thing I want is a warm room. At least we're on the Volendam to Alaska, so opening the verandah door should provide some relief!

 

Thanks for the review, but now I am kind of wishing we had waited the three days and gone on the Zaandam instead. We took our first cruise on her, so my DH wanted to try a new ship. Hope we aren't disappointed.

[Charliesmom]

MrsWynn,

 

Sorry you had such a tough trip. Bad weather and no entertainment is a bummer. I'm glad you had such good wait staff. Did you complain about the mold in the shower and the dirty toilet bowl to the purser's desk (or whatever they call it on HAL?) Your steward sounds like the steward from hell. I would have complained about that, too, especially since you tipped him beforehand. And I would have removed his portion of the autotips.

 

Your Cruise Director could have done a lot to improve the situation had she been more competent - passenger talent shows, sing-a-longs, etc. She also could have changed the venue of the Rosanos since they were so good - or called upon them to perform more shows, asking that the passengers chip in with extra tips for the extra shows.

 

We're going on our first HAL cruise on the Westerdam in a couple of weeks. I hope we have better weather than you had and I hope we have a better experience than you had.

 

Roberta

[mrswynn]

Thank you, all, for your responses. I'll try to give you the information you requested:

Nanner - We were in room #7048. I believe the ship is scheduled for Drydock in April. Sure hope your experiences are better. They did offer a passenger talent show about half way through the cruise and there were three or four trivia sessions lasting 45 minutes each during the 10 days. We couldn't use the balcony during the rough seas as we got sprayed with salt water that stuck onto everything, but the room size was magnificent and the days we were able to use the balcony, we fit four of us comfortably, bringing out the chair and teh makeup stool for extra seating. The balcony was covered, so you got some sunshine late in the day but were protected from the sprinkles, if they came down straight! We had friends in room 1809 and 3303 also. 1809 was a horrible room - check out tealady's remarks in another post. 3303 was too warm.

Cars 1999 - the movies played are those newest to DVD at Blockbuster during the last few weeks - Stepford wives, Manchurian candidate... and the movies in the room would be those fairly new to cable. If you haven't been to the video store or the movies lately, there will be something for you We abstained from both prior to sailing, just in case!

BLStokes23 - We didn't do anything in Barbados, as even the city tours were canceled. There was obviously something going on with the weather. We inquired about options and were told the conditions weren't "safe" to hold any tours. All of the tours through HA were canceled, and our private tour was also. Some members went into town to shop but it rained quite heavily. Sure looked like a beautiful island - we'd like to go back there again some day.

Ryansememom - We didn't pursue the hotel manager, as we complained to the front desk and assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that this would resolve the problem. DH and I disinfected the room when we first arrived - I brought two boxes of alcohol wipes and we thoroughly went through everything from the phone to the toilet with our own wipes. I'm germaphobic, so I don't trust anyone else. It was from that point on that I noticed what the cabin steward didn't do, and I cleaned the areas myself. I could not get the mold off the shower tiles. Wish I would have thought of removing the auto tip for him, but then with $50 he probably wouldn't have cared. He was such a personable young man, too - named Yulius - and we were so hopeful that he would take good care of the room. So much for hope, huh?

 

Thank you, all, for your suggestions and comments. I hope your experiences with HA are good ones! After all, we all work hard for vacations and deserve to have the best ones possible, right?

 

Final note... ever since I was a child my dad taught me that.... the worst day on vacation is STILL better than the best day at work... and he LOVED his job until the day he retired! So, that alone keeps one happy to be enjoying vacation time... no matter what happens!

 

Leslie

[mrswynn]

If I had to do this all over again, within the first day or two, I would have approached the cruise director and asked what kinds of activities she was planning. I would have suggested more sing-a-longs (we love them!) and asked if there would be more passenger participation activities. I would have suggested that there be music out on deck, perhaps a happy hour in more lounges, to encourage familiarity with the various lounges, etc., etc., We did suggest to her that Rosario Strings be heard in the Frans Hals lounge, but she explained that they were in the explorers lounge only - and 15 minutes twice per evening in the main dining room. Seemed as though she had heard our request before.

 

One of the things I was most looking forward to was a sing a long in the piano bar - as shown on the HA video promoting the Volendam. Was disappointed that this didn't happen... or if it did, that it wasn't in the program. Perhaps we were listening to Rosario Strings at the time?

 

By the way, Rosario Strings offered a CD to passengers for $20, and they each signed it. Was WELL WORTH the money - we have enjoyed it almost daily since. Would highly recommend anyone traveling on the Volendam to listen to this group and if interested, approach them about the CD. They don't promote it themselves - we had to ask - and were very pleasantly surprised to find that they had one available.

 

Leslie

 

... the last and final note - IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE WE MET THROUGH THE CRUISE CRITIC FORUM THAT WE HAD THE FANTASTIC TIMES WE DID... ALL OF THE CRUISE CRITIC MEMBERS - AND THOSE WE ADDED IN - WILL REMAIN IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS FOREVER. THEY ARE SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE WE HAVE EVERY MET AND WE HOPE TO MAINTAIN FRIENDSHIPS WITH THEM. THESE SPECIAL PEOPLE MADE WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A HORRIBLE VACATION A VERY PLEASANT ONE. THANK YOU, CRUISE CRITIC, FOR ALLOWING US TO MEET THROUGH YOUR FORUMS. THE ROLL CALL BOARDS ARE A GREAT WAY TO MEET OTHER CC MEMBERS AND IT REALLY PAID OFF FOR ALL OF US!!!!!

[Guest tealady]

Leslie,

Thanks so much for taking the time writing this great review!!!

I was a fellow passenger on the Volendam and one of the Cruisecritic gang that met daily. I was going to write a review of my own, but since she has mimiced nearly everything I have to say on the matter, I see no need to do so.

I am tealady mentioned in cabin #1809 so if you have any questions about that one ask away.

[Nancy K]

Having just returned from Rotterdam (11/12/04) I just have to say the service was as it has always been - excellent! I also found the crew as friendly and helpful as always, maybe more so in some cases! I did note though they seem to have more work to do and are probably exhausted!! I don't know whether the Rotterdam is an exception but have 2 cruises booked on HAL for 2005 on the Volendam and Veendam so will find out!

[stanjj111]

I do not understand why it did not go through. Try stanjj111@hotmail.com Thanks for the effort. Regards, Stan

[grammymurray]

:o

 

I am quite surprized by this review as I was on this ship at the same time. We had an inside cabin on the Main Deck and never experienced being thrown around by the bad weather.

While I was suprized by the differences in service since the no tipping rule was taken out, I was not overwhelmed by a bad change. The staff at times didnt seem interested in being helpful, but they were ready when asked. If mrswynn needed her sheets changed she should have contacted the housekeeping department for help. If the floor was wet with cleaning solution she should have asked for it to be cleaned up!

I do agree that there is little to do on rainy days, and there should be more interest taken in providing some other activities. But then again, many people enjoy just doing nothing but relaxing, playing cards, visiting, or sea watching!

This is the 8th Holland America cruise I have been on, 3 to the Eastern Caribbean, and only once have we been to Half Moon Cay, but we hit it another time on a Panama Canal trip. I was disappointed but then I am the one who made the reservation at this time of year, so really who is to blame? We cant change the weather!

The food was good, some of it different, but if it was always the same we would be bored with that feature.

Nothing is perfect, although I would challenge the remark about the Volendam show cast...Yes they are young, but the featured shows were beautifully costumed, danced, and sung. And the orchestra was fantastic! And the other entertainment was well presented and we had a great time!

[grammymurray]

I have never ever seen a stained anything on any Holland America ship...what kind of ship are you looking for? your ideas of perfection do not exist....perhaps if you had shared a table with someone, found someone to converse with after dinner, or just taken a walk around you would not have fallen asleep...and there is always something going on somewhere! I cannot believe you have taken this cruise and found nothing good about it....

[gizmo]

I have never ever seen a stained anything on any Holland America ship...what kind of ship are you looking for?

I have. It was on the Volendam. The ship was about 3 months old. There was a BIG stain on our carpet in the cabin. Sailed on the Volendam a year later, in the same cabin, sure enough the same big stain was there. Sailed again the following year, same cabin. Mr. Gizmo asked me if I wanted to bet if the big stain would still be there. I didn't take him up on it. When we opened the cabin door our eyes went immediatly to the area with the stain. You guessed it, it was still there. It was a little lighter, but you couldn't miss it. :D

[xpcdoojk]

So, Gizmo, what should HAL do about the stain, replace the carpet? So, everytime some drunk passenger spills red wine and lets it stain the carpet. HAL should immediately remove the carpet? I just wonder because if the stain was so terrible that it made the room unliveable why would you book the same room 2 more times. :confused:

 

jc

[doone]

I have seen HAL replace pieces of either ripped or stained carpets on alot of my cruises. They cut out the area where the rip or stain is and put in a new piece. Not sure why they didn't do it in the cabin Gizmo was talking about, but yes, they do replace pieces of carpet.

[mrswynn]

My, Grammymurray, you sound as though you own the Volendam! I'm happy for you that you enjoyed your wonderful cruise and that the experience was fantastic. Did you take the time to write a full review of your trip so that others could experience the same fantastic things you did? You ought to do that. I wrote a full review of MY experiences. I traveled cheap and low once and didn't experience any movement of the ship - should probably do that again. On this trip I paid for a mini suite on the top floor for passengers and the experience was quite dramatically different. That's why I took the time to write MY experiences. The Volendam holds over 1400 passengers - I would not expect that everyone had the same experience that I did - but many of the cruise critic members who were on the ship with me have posted their opinions also.

 

On a final note - I never posted an opinion on this board to offend anyone. An opinion is just that - MY OPINION. You may disagree and if you do, you should share YOUR opinion - but I would hope that in the future opposing opinions would be shared in positive manner - and not quite as offensive as your posting, madam.

 

I can see why some of the CC members have asked that their postings be removed from these boards. No one wants to be hung out to dry. I have used the opinions of the CC members to assist me in booking my past cruises and have found the information to be most helpful. If everyone wrote nothing but "hearts and flowers" about their experiences, it wouldn't be an accurate rendering of life aboard the ship. I like to see what others have to say, then I make my own decision and choose the trip I want to take. In the case of the volendam, after reading about the wonderful ship, purchasing the DVD and VCR from HA regarding the ship itself and the Caribbean cruises, I was extremely surprised with my personal experiences. I wish I would have been able to view a cruise memory video (the ones they sell that capture your cruise) BEFORE I went - it was far more realistic about the activities, etc. Howevwer, even that video wasn't entirely true. In fact, the $40 video that I purchased (I ordered the DVD but was given the VCR as the DVDs weren't available) showed the ports we were SUPPOSED to go to - sunny skies (obviously not our trip) and staff/areas of the ship which were either NOT the Volendam or were previous views as the color schemes are changed - so that wasn't even accurate. On past cruises, the cruise video I've purchased had been shot during our trip and didn't contain 'canned' materials from the line itself. Do you perhaps think that's an indication that there wasn't enough 'action' to fill up a 15 minute video after 10 days on the Volendam?

 

Just my opinion, of course - but I thought I'd give 'Grammy' something to comment on in the future.

 

Good day, all!

[gizmo]

So, Gizmo, what should HAL do about the stain, replace the carpet? So, everytime some drunk passenger spills red wine and lets it stain the carpet. HAL should immediately remove the carpet? I just wonder because if the stain was so terrible that it made the room unliveable why would you book the same room 2 more times. :confused:

 

jc

You are twisting around what I said. Someone said they never saw any stains on the ship. I answered that I did and told my story. Where did I say the room was unliveable?

Did you bother to look at my icon?

[michmike]

good to see that we still have those HAL loyalists with blinders on who can't STAND to have anything but inane posts about how wonderful everything was. HAL will need them around in the future when those of us who have discovered that, at least on SOME occasions, the emporer truly IS naked, decide to give X or other brands a try.

 

If you have nothing to contribute to the thread other than to contradict what others clearly state is THEIR perception of what the trip was like,then perhaps it's time to dust your knick knacks or to read a good book and leave well enough alone here.

 

I was ON Volendam with Mrs Wynn and her opinions reflect what many in our crusie critic group of 16 experienced and/or felt.

 

Strikes me that grammymurray could benefit from a brisk after dinner walk.. a LONG one.. off a short pier..

 

Hi Leslie.. don't let the *@#*@ get ya down.

[doone]

I am sorry you didn't have a more positive cruise experience on the Volendam. Sounds like alot of the problem was the weather and nothing special planned onboard.

 

I have sailed the Volendam and will sail her again next March and truly find her to be a wonderful ship. When I have been on her, were there things that went wrong, of course, that can happen on any cruise line, on any ship.

 

I do have to say, HAL isn't for everyone, that's why there are other cruise lines out there. Perhaps you can find one that will fit what you want out of your cruise experience. For me, HAL is what I want, fun in the sun and relaxing.

[mrswynn]

Thank you, Mike, for your words of encouragement. We truly enjoyed our time with you, Carol, Ed and Carol! What fun we had together - and we loved watching Ed in the Elvis contest on the ship's video.

 

We're planning on the Celebrity Mexican cruise 10/31 - perhaps Michael has sent you a note? Have you sailed with Celebrity before? Would be interested in your comments.

 

Take care and give our best to all,

 

Leslie and Wynn

[Two Ells]

Having recently returned from a ten day cruise on the Rotterdam, and our sixth cruise on HAL, it was upsetting to see how busy the reduced wait staff was trying to take care of all their tables. We remember when the waiters knew your names and if you weren't eating your entree, they'd quickly bring you another. Our waiters were too busy to know their own names, never mind yours. New cruisers wouldn't know the difference, but the Mariners noticed and it was the subject of conversation at the repeater's noontime cocktail party. The rushing and rattling of dishes hardly lent to the "fine dining" advertised in the catalogs......at times it sounded like a school cafeteria.

It's truly sad the way HAL has cut corners........they had a wonderful product and get around all the cuts by saying they are giving the passengers what they have asked for.....great marketing! I suggest you write to the CEO if you are dissatisfied and not depend on HAL to read these message boards.

[Himself]

I was on the ship at the same time as was yourself. I didn't notice the room being too warm. I had no complaints. I hope you got to hear the Rosario Strings and I hope you enjoyed them half as much as I enjoyed them.

 

Himself

[Winks]

Sounds like you could use some fiber in your diet, MichMike. Obviously, if anyone disagrees with YOUR opinion, they should take a long walk on that short pier. Quite an open mind there, I dare say. How does that other adage go? Ah yes, don't the door hit you in the butt on the way out.

[stanjj111]

I can read your messages okay. Thanks for trying. Could you try stanjj111@netzero.net ? Regards,