Hello From The Volendam

Just wanted to send a quick note from the beautiful Volendam.

Her SOE upgrades are absolutely fantastic. Club HAL upgrades are quite evident and very nice. The kids are having a blast, they don't want to miss a thing and the counsellors are spectacular.

The food is wonderful, the service is just what you would expect from HAL, I can't find a thing wrong.

Anyone sailing on the Volendam in the near future is in for a treat.

Any questions, I'll be happy to try to answer, just ask away.

Thanks for posting. It sounds like you are having a great time. :)

Glad you're having such a good time. What can I say???? We'll be getting on the Volendam as you get off......I'm a total mess of anticipation!

I had read one recent review that expressed disappointment that some things showed wear and tear even though the Volendam just came out of drydock. Have you seen the same? Your impressions?

Glad you're having a wonderful time!

Claudia

Glad to hear that you are enjoying your cruise so far.

Woo-Woo! girlfriend! Great of you to drop in---glad you're having a good time.

You sure know when to beat it out of town---looks like all the snow will be gone when you get back, too. Some folks have all the luck.

Thanks for your update,as we too will be getting on as you sadly get off!!Reading last weeks review was helpful and of course got us even more excited.My only question is what night would you think would be better to go to the Pinnacle Grill??? Either one of the informal or causal??

Also what port have your enjoyed the most ??? Enjoy the rest of your cruise.Hope to hear from yu soon.

Doone,

I'm so excited for you being aboard the beautiful Volendam. It sounds as though the SOE improvements turned out well. Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy each and every moment. I have only 65 days left until we sail, and I can't wait. :D

Glad to hear you are having a good time.

Can't wait for our Panama repo' in Sept'.

Hope they look after her well until then.

Are you at the early or late dining, upper or lower?. We are by choice upper early, any thoughts?

Have fun.

Thanks for checking in, Doone. Can't wait until I can sail on a ship that's had all the SOE upgrades. Sounds wonderful.

Roz

I had read one recent review that expressed disappointment that some things showed wear and tear even though the Volendam just came out of drydock. Have you seen the same? Your impressions?

Randy

The very first thing (and the only thing) we noticed when we boarded the Volendam were the yellow chair cushions at the Lido bar. They were quite stained and it surprised me because the ship had just come out of dry dock.

Other than that, the ship is beautiful.

Toni

Doone-

Great to hear my first HAL ship is more beautiful than ever...

You know ya really never forget the first!!;)

Calm seas and blue skies!!:cool:

Hi doone,

Sounds like you're more than enjoying yourself....:cool: You sure were smart to leave on Friday.;) You missed a blizzard on Sunday in our neck of the woods.

Think of all that shoveling you missed :D Vacations are even more fun when you're in gorgeous weather and it's snowing like heck at home !

Keep on having a great time !

Thanks for contacting us Doone. We are glad you are having a great time on your cruise and looking forward to hearing more.

We go on March 23 and I can not wait! I plan to write a review when I return and hope that you will also. Those of us waiting our turn just love to read them.

Thanks, Rebecca

So happy to hear you are enjoying Volendam so much, Doone. I so agree about her SOE upgrades. I think they made the ship even better......and she was beautiful before them.

I also agree the food and service are excellent. We very much enjoyed our time aboard.

Hope you continue to have a great cruise.

To answer a few questions here, I haven't noticed any wear and tear to speak of. I haven't noticed any yellow chairs, stained or other wise.

Best night to eat at the Pinnacle, well that depends, we ate there last night which was formal/informal (this was new for us), it was, as usual, spectacular.

Favorite port will be tomorrow, St. Thomas, I like to shop here.

Back to the pool.

Can you describe formal/informal night? Sounds interesting. Enough to provide heart attacks for the die-hard formal night lovers.

The formal/informal night was very interesting. I think what we more seasoned cruisers have to do is look the other way. I saw everything from tux's, to suits for the men and cocktail dresses, pants and sweaters/blouses for the ladies, I even saw some shorts on both men and women in the Lido. The Lido is advertised as casual dining, so I guess that's ok. It was different to say the least. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it was fine.

We're in St. Thomas today, getting ready for the Helmut dive, I'll try to check back later as my internet minutes are drawing near here.

doone,

Glad to hear you are enoying! Can you tell me if you spent the day in Aruba at the beach? If so , did you get a day pass? Had you heard about what the beach goers did?

Looking forward to your review whwn you get back:)

Thanks for your postings

No, we didn't go to the beach in Aruba, we took the Aloe Plant and Butterfly Farm tour through HAL. We found it wonderful, and I would highly recommend it.

Daniel, I know you aren't asking about Curacao but I thought I'd share the info I found for Curacao.

We are going to Breezes resort for the day $65pp from 10am-6pm.

Still wish you were sailing with us, we could all go together. Please make sure you check your roll call and sign up for a t-shirt if you're interested. We are real short on time so I need to get the numbers quickly.

Doone:

I am glad you are having a good time on the Volendam. Your comments are always so positive. I know the Volendam is one of your favorite ships and she is one of my favorites also. When you get to St. Thomas, you know the cruise is coming to an end and it will soon be just a memory. Capture each moment and treasure it. "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day!)