Smoking on Volendam

[robntawn]

Greetings,

My wife and I are booked on the Volendam for an Alaska cruise on 8/10/05. I have been reading these boards for the last few months and have gleaned a lot of useful information. I am hoping you can help us once again...

I would like an honest assessment of the smoking policy and adherence to that policy on the Volendam. While I respect the right of others to smoke, I cannot stand the smell and it would really put a damper on our vacation. Where, exactly, is smoking permitted? Are the lounges and casinos quite smoky? Is there a FUNCTIONAL non-smoking area in the public areas?

Thanks for your help!

[ekerr19]

Well, this is a tough one, imo. The casinos I've been in on just about every ship are pretty smoky. There are smoking and non-smoking sections of the bars/lounges - so you may be ok there. There is no smoking in the main show lounge or dining room.

The outside Lido pool area is separated, one side smoking, one side non-smoking. We have seen people sit in the smoking sections (and it is clearly marked) and complain about people smoking around them, go figure.

On our Maasdam cruise, the people in the cabin next to us were heavy smokers in the cabin and you could really smell it - especially in the hallway.

You will find people smoking outside on the decks as well. In my mind, you will encounter smoke - there is just no real way to avoid it completely. Most smokers are respectful of the designated areas - but some aren't.

Hope this helps.

[Sailboater]

The casino on both the Zaandam and Statendam cruises we took got quite smokey in the evening. If you want to avoid the smoke, early afternoon seemed best. Other than that one area, I rarely smelled smoke anywhere except walking past active smokers on the smoking side of the Lido pool and outside one stateroom in one hallway we used.

The reports of smokey public rooms seems to vary -- some cruises just have more smokers on board than others. You can usually avoid them unless you want to play in the casino and there is no "non smoking" area in the casino.

[Peggy Sue]

Sailed the Volendam last month. Casino, sports bar and piano bar .. lots of smoke in the evening. The sports bar is right next to the casino and the piano bar is right around the corner from the casino..so it's a fairly concentrated area wherre smoking is really noticable. Other than this area, we really didn't notice much smoke around the ship. There is one side of the open deck area that is designated smoking. We avoided it and were very happy in the smoke free area. We didn't have smokers next to our cabin, so no problems there. show lounge and dining no smoking allowed...so nice clean air for all .. It really wasn't bad at all..unless you want to go to the casino. The casino is small and it would be rather difficult to section off a no smoking area..people are always moving around the available slots and there aren't that many tables. We found most passengers who smoked to be very considerate of others. The explorers lounge, where the rosario strings played each evening was smoke free.

Enjoy your cruise, The volendam is a beautiful ship!

[Melianne]

We returned from sailing on the Zaandam 12/18. Never have I breathed so much cigarette smoke!

Previous occupants left our cabin extremely smoky. The bedding, the upholstery, the curtains and ESPECIALLY the shower curtain were embedded with smoke. The first morning we asked for a "deep cleaning", which helped the problem. Smoking in public areas was very heavy. Because the ship is smaller without high ceilings in most of the lounges, the smoke really seems to accumulate.

I know that on deck there is SUPPOSED to be a smoking and non-smoking side of the ship, but no one seemed to follow this "rule". I'm not even sure any of the smokers knew it existed. The hanging ash cans were moved all over the deck and were not limited to just one side.

We liked the Zaandam well enough, the crew was great, the food was terrific, we met wonderful people, but THE SMOKE, at times, almost ruined it for us. We couldn't escape it.

[doone]

I was told one time that you could smoke anywhere outside, but in the Lido Pool area, that's where the smoking was one side and non-smoking the other side. Am I wrong on this??

[ekerr19]

I was told one time that you could smoke anywhere outside, but in the Lido Pool area, that's where the smoking was one side and non-smoking the other side. Am I wrong on this??
doone-

The Lido has the designated areas - also, we noticed on the Maasdam that the Aft pool area was also designated one side smoking, one side non... I didn't notice anyone moving ashtrays or anything like that - but I guess it wouldn't surprise me.

I believe there was no such designation on the Promanade deck - there are the ashtrays hanging on both sides - but I could be wrong. :)

[doone]

I know inside pool area of the Lido does, but I am talking outside pool area, aft.

[ekerr19]

I know inside pool area of the Lido does, but I am talking outside pool area, aft.
Yes, one side of the Aft pool area is non-smoking and one side allows smoking. At least that's the way it was on our past two cruises (Noordam & Maasdam).

Thanks for the info on our price reduction - I hadn't checked lately, when our TA called HAL, they said they weren't showing a reduction...:confused: I had to print out the lower pricing and fax it to my TA - worst thing, it was on their own website. :eek: