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Holland America Line

MS Volendam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Dan Smith
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: December 12, 2000
Itinerary: Caribbean Southern

The Volendam, a new ship, is an excellent middle- of the -road cruse. Many of the features of this ship compare to the 5 star ones. I have been cruising for two decades and formerly was a devotee of Royal Viking a 5 star+ ship,( 700 or less passengers), and this was my first trip in a long time on another line. I was pleasantly surprised. The value for the fare was outstanding...enough to forget any shortcomings as trivial.

The public areas were well designed and appointed. The pool are was a but busy and noisy due to the dome roof. The bars and casino were fair to excellent. I would have liked several smaller cooling pools scattered about to disperse the crowds. The charge of $2.50 for soft drinks seemed a bit high and I thought it might have been nice to offer a glass of something on our sailing rather than for $5. It sort of seemed cheap to me...

The food was very good for a ship of this size. The standout was the excellent lunch buffet which out classed dinner. I enjoy Asian food and spices but found only a minimum of spices available. However, a casual comment to the waiter resulted in an incredible array the next day..Wow I was impressed at how eager to please the staff was The Dinners were good and above average and there were some true creations offered by the kitchen.. providing you did stray from the menu sugestion of the chef. The dining room was outstanding in decor and the staff very efficient and pleasant. The only fault was that many of the passengers did not subscribe to dressing for dinner and expressed an likeness for beer over Claret. The Speciality dining was very good and very good. Here the atmosphere was very good and prompted a more formal crowd. The wine list was very high quality and I say that having lived in the Napa Valley for 20+ years.

Cabins were large and well appointed. Everything worked too. My wife was very impressed with the bathroom..twice the size of any other ship I had sailed on. And it had a real bath tub, well a 3/4 size tub but very nice. The soundproofing was very good.

The entertainment was fair but the focus was very ethnic and seemed to pander to a specific group. It got a bit tedious at times and I would have preferred a better more broad base focus I think where a ship boards has a lot to do with how the staff crafts the atmosphere, so choose according to your own likes. Remember however, that the cruise is prime and all the rest is frosting.

As on all cruises the shore trips are contracts and that the mark-up is over 100%. As an example I took my wife and 2 friends on a tour of the town and beach stop for 1/2 day via cab total cost for the 4 of us was $65.00. The same trip by tour was $45.00 per person = $180 . It's simple to find lots of tours from the local cabs and operators that didn't get the contract with the ship and will sell you a tour for what the ship line paid ! You can also take a copy of the ships tour options and ask local cabs how much they will charge to do the same.. you will most always be very surprised and pleased. If you plan a full day and want to really get a bang for your buck ask for a box lunch from the ship.. they are great and fit in a fanny pack. In this way you can save your a lot of expense and spend where you want more freely.

The longer the cruise the older the passengers. On this cruise the ship had a full load of 1250 folks. The average age was mid 40's. There were a fair number of children and only a few adults who acted like them. I must admit to a bias, that of feeling cruises are for adults who are seeking out time to enjoy themselves in a quality experience. If a child is thrust into this bastion of luxury then what has he to look forward to when he is an adult? There is merit in anticipation rather than instant gratification.