Tell me about the seating on the Volendam

[JeannyJ]

I have been doing all kinds of searches to see if I can find any posts about how HAL ships are for big and tall passengers. My husband, and I, will be on the Volendam in July and as excited as we already are we're a little nervous about how accomodating HAL ships are for for people like us. He's a tall guy and has basically accepted he'll have to duck in the shower and that his feet will hang off the end of the bed, and as a large person I'm expecting bruises from  theatre seats with narrow seats and arms that don't move, and dining room/buffet seating that is the same. I know lots of cruise lines have adjusted their rooms and seating to make their ships more accessible for larger people but I can't find anything about the Volendam or HAL in general. Am I in for a cozy/tight trip to Alaska or will we be ok?

[kurtmi03]

We were on the Volendam in December and we were comfortable. I can't speak to your husbands height as I'm only 6'1, but the beds are normal length. I can speak to seating as I'm definitely wide at about 360 lbs. I was comfortable in chairs in the Lido and MDR. I didn't ask for one but there are chairs without arms in the MDR. In the showroom there are some bench seats so there are no arms. Same in the Pinacle. I always sat on the booth side of the table (no arms).  I hope this helps ease your mind a little.

[JeannyJ]

1 hour ago, kurtmi03 said:

We were on the Volendam in December and we were comfortable. I can't speak to your husbands height as I'm only 6'1, but the beds are normal length. I can speak to seating as I'm definitely wide at about 360 lbs. I was comfortable in chairs in the Lido and MDR. I didn't ask for one but there are chairs without arms in the MDR. In the showroom there are some bench seats so there are no arms. Same in the Pinacle. I always sat on the booth side of the table (no arms).  I hope this helps ease your mind a little.

It does, thank you!   We're celebrating our 25th anniversary on board, and it's our first trip without our kids in about 17yrs so I want to be sure we can enjoy the cruise without our usual trip concerns.

[Navybikermom]

If it’s still similar to its sister ship, Zaandam, then the theater (main showroom) has some unique seating arrangements. There are love seats scattered here and there, and occasional chairs with tables. Definitely not movie theater style. 

[ottahand7]

Agree with previous post. There are different seating arrangements in the Main Stage.  Less so on deck 5.  Plenty to choose from for extra legroom.  Feet will hang over the end of the bed, less a problem in an ocean view than in a Vista suite.