Can Someone tell me about Volendaam

[Tim24]

Could someone please tell me about the people that go on Volendaam and what the the recreation / restaurants / bars are like. Thanks.

[doone]

I have sailed the Volendam once and we enjoyed her so much that we are booked on her again next March.

The Volendam is a perfect size, IMHO, not too big, not too small. The food and service in the dining room we found to be excellent. We enjoy having breakfast and lunch in the Lido and found this to be excellent as well. We did, however, have breakfast one morning in the dining room and were disappointed, so now we eat those two meals in the Lido.

We haven't experienced the Pinnacle Grill on the Volendam, but did on the Rotterdam. We enjoyed it so much, that we're booking the Pinnacle on the Volendam, at least once.

We enjoy the Crowe's Nest for before dinner cocktails. There are other lounge areas that you can enjoy as well that are just as nice as the Crowe's Nest.

We find the cabins on all our HAL cruises to be well appointed and work really well for us, as a matter of fact, when we board a HAL ship, we feel like we're at home.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions about the Volendam, please ask away.

[RuthC]

The passengers on the non-Vista style ships tend toward an older demographic, but also tend to be well-travelled and energetic. They are an interesting lot. My HAL-assigned roommate a couple of cruises ago had at least 25 years on me, and was still out dancing when I came toddling in at 2:00 A.M.

As for the lounges: as doone said, there's the Crow's Nest for pre- and after-dinner drinks. There will be a combo with later-era music. Late night it will become the disco.
The Ocean Bar will also have pre- and after-cocktails. The music here is for dancing; a slightly earlier era than the Crow's Nest.
Explorers Lounge is after-dinner drinks; a string trio or quartet plays classical music (and requests, usually).
The Piano Lounge should be the venue for music from the 20's-50's (or so).

There will be daytime activities such as team trivia, scattagories, pictionary, the ever-popular Bingo! :rolleyes: , ship building.

That help?

[sailorbill]

Sailed on the Volendam twice. First was an 18 night Panama Canal cruise in November, and second was a 7 night Alaska cruise in June. The passenger mix was very different for the two cruises. On the Panama Canal cruise the passengers in general were older, quieter, well traveled and more formal. Many were frequent repeat cruisers with HAL. There was only twelve or so children on board. The passenger mix on the Alaska cruise was more varied with many families. There were around 150 children on board. Formal nights were a joke. So, a lot depends on where you go, when you go and for how long.

As to the Volendam itself, it is one of eight medium size sister ships that are a very nice size; big enough to have the essiential amenities of the large ships, but easier to get around and not as crowded when in port. The full circle promenade deck is a giant plus. Standard inside and outside staterooms are larger than Princess, RCCL, Celebrity and other lines, and size does matter. Arrangement of the public spaces is good with the exception that the kitchen is just forward of the lower level of the main dining room. To get past the kitchen to the other public spaces on that deck you have to go up a deck and then back down. A minor irritating feature. The arrangement of spaces on the lido deck is particularly nice.

I am not a fan of Holland America's lead interior decorator, and although I found much to like on the Volendam, I found as much to dislike. In general I felt the interiors of the ship were dark and the lighting too dim.

There are several bars and lounges that are mainly used for before and after dinner drinks. HAL does not seem to attract much of the party hardy bunch. Unless you book a big band theme cruise, there is not much happening after 11 p.m.

Organized onboard daytime activities for adults are mostly of a subdued nature; no rowdy pool games, wet t-shirt or hairy leg contests. Bridge, bingo, trivia, dancing lessons, recent movies and lectures are the norm.

Food is sort of middle of the road as cruise lines go; better than the budget lines but not as good as the upscale or luxury lines. (HAL is a mainstream cruise line despite their self promotion as a premium line.) Individual items range from good to excellent depending on your personal preferences. The service on board was excellent and is one of the strongest features of Holland America ships.

I thoroughly enjoyed both cruises on the Volendam and will sail on her again for an itinerary I like at a time I like at a price I like.

Bill