Vlendam 10 day - just back - brief report

[DFD1]

With all that has already been written about this cruise, I'll try and be brief...

 

EMBARKATION: From the time we walked into the embarkation hall until we were in the Lido sitting down to lunch was 20 minutes. That's good enough for me anytime.

 

DISEMBARKATION: We were off the ship and driving away from the terminal by 8:50am. Best disembarkation we have ever experienced on any cruise line.

 

THE SHIP: The Volendam was clean as a whistle, looked beautiful, never felt crowded, She is a beauty and we look forward to sailing on her again soon.

 

STATEROOM: All of the SOE improvements were in place except for the flat screen TV. New bedding, bathroom linens, make up mirror, etc. The flowers and fruit were in place. Air Conditioning just right all week. Stateroom steward friendly and efficient. No complaints.

 

FOOD and FOOD SERVICE: Dining room waiter (Gusto) and assistant (Hata) were friendly and attentive. Assistant was spread a little thin, but the waiter made up for it. He served 18 guests. We did not want for anything. The food was generally just fine. We did not notice any particular change from previous HAL cruises.

 

LIDO: The Lido experience was good all week. Some food was more to our liking, but that's normal.

 

MEATLOAF: We did not see any. There was a "comfort food" item on the dinner menu each night and it was so noted on the menu.

 

PORTS OF CALL: HMC was crowded. We shared it with the Oosterdam. We had a clamshell and could have sold it half a dozen times for $l,000. The new shore excursions were in place. We went back on board for lunch because the shore lunch was overrun. No complaints though. We had a great day there.

St. Thomas is St. Thomas. We were one of only two ships there so that helped.

RoadTown is not much of a place unless you want to get your yacht resupplied or get out on the water. We took the Virgin Island sail away and had an absolutely GREAT day. Good snorkeling, good small beach, great time sailing across the Drake Channel. The other good thing about RoadTown is the beauty of the approaches to it by sea. Coming and going from there was really beautiful.

Dominica was quaint. We docked right in town. End of pier was main street. Mountains and streams were wonderful. We want to go there again.

Barbados,,,,We took the Rhino Rider inflatable boat excursion and went snorkeling. Had a great time. To give you some idea of how old the passenger list on this cruise skewed, we were two of only 4 people on this excursion. Not many Rhino Riders on this cruise. LOL

Nassau was Nassau. We think it has seen better days.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Ordinary at best. I just don't understand why HAL doesn't just hire some good musicians and vocalists and let them just play and sing. Why do they always have to do such silly routines. I feel like they think I'm a retarded 3 year old when I'm in most of these onboard shows.....except for the cast show which is usually marginally better....All this IMO.

 

TIPPING: We liked not having to deal with the envelopes on the last day., but I still prefer the old tipping system. I'll leave it to HAL to deal with their employees. We did not think our service was particularily diminished by the new policy. (This in contrary to what I expected and had indicated here on previous posts before we went on this cruise. I was pleasantly surprised.)

 

OVERALL: We loved this cruise. Could not find much to complain about. Would go back in a heart beat. My confidence in HAL was not diminished by this cruise experience in the least.

 

ONE MORE THOUGHT: This was the oldest cruise we have ever seen. The average age must have been close to 70. I felt like a kid again. Now, don't get me wrong. I like older people. I AM ONE.

 

I'm sure others will give you a more complete report. We had a great time.

[Charlie2na]

Refreshing to hear all was well. Thanks...

[boards]

Thank for the reassuring review. All negative reviews we have read were beginning to make us think twice about whether to continue with schedule cruise late in the new year. I am sure by the time we do cruise there will be more changes and I hope for the better. I argee about the entertainment, while we enjoyed it on our Zaandam (2003), certainly there was room for improvement.

[DFD1]

Contrary to the way it may apprear, I do know how to spell Volendam.....LOL

[DFD1]

Boards. We've been cruising since 1965, when I was a wee lad. In my opinion HAL still runs a great cruise for the amount of money it costs the passenger. Sometimes after I have read about a dozen posts here, I log off feeling like all is lost at HAL. That is simply not the case.

[doone]

Thank god for this refreshing review. I, too, thought that HAL had been lost, but have been re-assured after this review and Pilot who happens to be on the Volendam now. Can't wait for my Zuiderdam cruise on March 12th and then board the Volendam March 20th for 10 more days, AAAAHHHHHH.

[elmorejj]

Thanks for your great review, so nice to hear good things for a change. We leave Friday, and I for one am going with an open mind, open eyes and an intention of having a great time for 17 days...thanks again.....jean :cool:

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the brief report.

How was the air-conditionig? Cabin cool? Public areas cool?

[DFD1]

Krazy; The AC seemed just fine. Not uncomfortably cold except in the Lido on one side...and not all the time even then. We did not detect any especially hot areas on the ship although I'm sure there were some.