Update on the Volendam, 1/15 - 1/24

The horrible shock of being off the Volendam is finally wearing off, and this is just a quick highlight of our trip. I'll publish a full review soon, but I know when I was anxiously waiting for departure day to arrive, I lived for new postings that said ANYTHING about the beautiful Volendam, and I want to repay some the the joy I found in reading those posts. So here are the high (and a very few low) points:

The Volendam is in beautiful shape. Sure, I noticed a tiny tear on our couch that had been sewn up, and there was a small crack in the frame of the TV set. But our room, and the ship in general, was immaculate. No mold, no dust, no dirty underwear from a departed guest lurking anywhere in our room. Our balcony glass and railing was washed clean of salt every day. The public areas were equally immaculate. The crew was constantly cleaning, vacuuming, and polishing every inch of the ship. Howard Hughes himself would have been comfortable in any area of her - due, in part, to hand sanitizers in every corner.

The crew was wonderful. They seemed busy, but we didn't run into a single person who wasn't friendly and seemed happy to see us. The service was outstanding. Waiters that served us in the Pinnacle remembered us at high tea, and were gracious and friendly. The waitress in the Crows Nest remembered our drink choices from our visit on Departure day when we came back 7 days later. The size of the staff may have been cut, but they never showed it in any way.

The food was excellent, everywhere we ate. We ate in the Pinnacle 3 times, and the volcano cake was perfect every time. I still dream about it. The dining room had a great selection, served promptly by our charming and attentitive waiters. The Lido was awesome, a huge selection of fresh choices, all delicious and hot or cold as they should have been. Anyone who went hungry should be sent to their room for a time out (and room service was always on time, hot and good, and exactly what we ordered).

The captain was a doll, very witty and charming. Dottie, the Cruise Director, was very efficient, even though I did agree that her voice wasn't the most melodious I've ever heard. So sue her.

The hot stone massage in the spa was the very best massage I've EVER had, bar none (and I consider myself a massage expert). If I could have fit Kari in my overstuffed suitcase, I would have. She didn't try and oversell products; in fact, on my second visit, she didn't try to sell me anything at all. Everyone working in the spa was delightful.

We got our Mariner tiles, along with a great Marnier reception, with wine, bloody marys, juice and champagne. They served great snacks, and the GOOD mixed nuts, with no peanuts. There were 2 people at the reception with over 700 days on HAL, that should say something.

Yemin was the best room steward we've ever had. He was almost invisible, except when he would pop out of another room to say "Good Morning, Mrs. Cathy!" We always came back to a spotless room (and, as I was traveling with my best friend Joan, 4 suitcases, and a frightening amount of cosmetics, hair products, and shoes, this was no small feat.) We never had a single complaint about him or his service.

The stops were awesome. Dominica was the most beautiful island I've ever seen. We took ships tours on Dominica and Barbados. Both were perfect, without a glitch. Worth every penny.

The Pinnacle was one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten in, on ship or on land. Great food, great service. (Did I mention we ate there 3 times?)

Were there any lows? Well, they did make us get off on the 24th. The unlimited laundry cost $70 instead of $49, as I had read on another post. But, there was unlimited pressing for $30 for the whole cruise, and they lost money on us for that service. We didn't win big in the casino. And we were too full of wonderful food to stay up and watch the shows.

Those are our highlights, and I promise to work on the full review. I got my pictures developed today, and have been happily reliving the trip all afternoon. If anyone has any specific questions in the meantime, I'd be happy to answer. I kept a journal, and saved all the daily newletters and spa and fitness information, so hopefully I can answer as accurately as possible.

If you have a Volendam cruise booked, I'm jealous. If you're thinking of it, don't wait! It was my best cruise ever! :D

Cathy

Wow!:D

Sounds like a very lovely trip!!

Thanks for sharing it with us....

we are counting the days here until we board the Zaandam, the Volendam's "sister" ship.:cool:

Thanks so much for such a complete review. I really enjoyed reading it. :)

What was the excursion you took in Dominica?

Cathy, is it possible the price difference on the unlimited laundry is the difference between a 7 and 10 day cruise? Calculated that way it is $7 per day and would sound about right. We were in an S category on our first cruise and it was included so I don't know what the price would have been.

Great review - so glad you enjoyed yourself. Volendam is still our favourite ship.

Loved your comments on the Captain. Next time I speak to him I will have to tell him "I hear you're very witty and charming". He'll like that but we don't want to give him a swelled head do we! ;) :D

Hi Peaches,

In Dominica, we took the Rain Forest Drive and Emerald Pool. It was fantastic! The walk to the Emerald Pool might be a little difficult for anyone with limited mobility, but it was fine for the average cruiser.

Sierrachick, I'm sure you're right about the price difference for the laundry. Either way, it's a good deal, and they did a beautiful job with whatever we sent down. Everything came back clean and pressed, and either hung on hangers or neatly folded in a wicker basket. I wish my laundry at home came out like that!

Cathy

Cathy, thank you for your short review of the Volendam. I just love that ship and I board her on March 20th. I can't wait.

Thank you also for that tour information on Dominica, I am planning on booking that excursion today and now can't wait.

Looking forward to your full review of the beautiful Volendam.

Thanks for the review. Four weeks from today we will be doing back-to-back cruises on the Volendam.

Having been to Dominica a few other times - did the Forest Drive and Emerald Pool we haven't decided what we will be doing there yet.

Cathy - Thanks for the review. We are booked for our 3rd Volendam cruise in October -- reserved a verandah suite. So happy to hear she's still in good shape. I love that ship. I understand that they have replaced the matresses and covers with the Euro top matresses and duvets. Is this correct? Again, thanks. It's reasurring to know that this lovely ship has apparently not changed. Aren't the floral arrangements gorgeous?

Hey Cathy - great review! Mike and I were glad that we finally were able to run into you and Joan on the cruise. Have to agree with you about the Captain - we've had the pleasure of sailing with him 3 times now - he's a very entertaining man!

The only "low" on our cruise was us being unable to tender to Half Moon Cay. I was really looking forward to the beach and the barbecue, but after watching the waves crashing on the rocks, I definitely think it was in our best interest NOT to tender ashore.

Hope you had a safe trip home - Beverly

Welcome Home. So happy to hear you had such a good time and enjoyed Volendam so much. She's a beautiful ship.

Thanks for your nice review.

I'm so glad that you enjoyed the Volendam, my favorite ship. We are looking forward to cruising again in May this year and in April of next year on the Volendam. I have to agree that Captain Charly is a sweetheart, and the crew seem very happy indeed.

Thanks Cathy, for a lovely review I so enjoyed reading it, it took me right back to october last and our first cruise which we took on the Volendam, I have not been able to post a review for some reason there are problems, anyway to think that I had reservations about this ship, after I booked I then started researching and uncovered some terrible reviews I was nearly in tears as there were seven of us traveling anyway to cut a long story short I found this website and asked the dreaded question "should I cancel " the response was great everybody said " nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo " dont cancel the Volendam is a beautiful ship and they were right we had the best time and on the last night I asked my mum what she thought of the Volendam compaired to the QE2 (she has travelled many times) she said everything about it was better and she was not just being nice, We also did the Rainforest and Emerald pool but just walked to the end of the pier and there were lots of guides waiting, we went for half the price of the ship tour and saw a lot more of the culture Ohhhhhhhhh that Emerald pool was so refreshing our guide Skippy only had one leg you should of seen him skip over those rocks amazing. On the last night of the cruise I bought a lottery ticket and you guessed it I won a weeks caribbean cruise for two(what a shame cant take the kids:rolleyes: ) I am so lucky our only dilema now is which ship can measure up to our beautiful Volendam? sugestions please for western caribbean april/may. Thanks

Julie:cool:

Thanks for sharing! We can't wait to board her on 3/20/05. :)

Hi Beverly! It was so nice to meet you and Mike, and I agree, missing Half Moon Cay was the only real disapointment of the trip. However, after talking to one of the photographers about 3 that afternoon (she had taken a tender to shore and was STILL seasick) I didn't feel quite so bad.

We were lucky, Detroit only got about 10 inches of snow, and we were able to get home with no problems. I hope our friends Ken and Bonnie from Boston were as lucky!

Take care,

Cathy

I am glad you enjoyed the Volendam. I enjoyed her too. I have been on this wonderful ship three times and I hope to be on her many more times.

Himself

Thanks for your review post on the Volendam it sounds like you had a great time. We just booked on her today for the end of March and she sounds great, we've never been on her before but like the stretch S class. This will be our first Verandah cabin and we're really looking forward to it. Thanks again.

Thanks for the review Cathy. We are sailing on Volendam 3/20. Like someone else mentioned after we booked I came across all sorts of negative reviews about her. It's very reassuring to read your review and others' comments as it is our first time on HAL.:)

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