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Holland America Line

MS Volendam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Henry Plotkin
# previous cruises: 21 to 30
Date of Trip: November 7, 2003
Itinerary: Caribbean - Southern

The Volendam is a beautiful ship, we were happy with our cruise and for a quiet relaxing holiday we'd go with Holland America again.

The public areas inside the ship are very good apart from the atrium which is generally blah, particularly on deck 3 where it's just a big dark empty space with a grand piano (never heard it played) off to one side, not sure why they don't use the space better, if nothing else, they could add some more shopping, though there is already plenty on the decks above. The public areas outside the ship are also very good, 2 good sized pools, one of which can be completely covered, plenty of deck space, no problems getting a lounger, even at 10am, maybe because the majority of passengers were older and didn't seem to spend as much time lounging around in the sun.

The restaurant is beautiful and we were fortunate to get a table right by the panoramic windows at the rear of the ship. I found the table service a little slow, though both waiters were likeable and seemed to try their best, they accommodated all our special requests. However I wasn't impressed with one aspect of the service, one evening I crunched down on a piece of glass in my Caesar salad and cut myself slightly while removing it from my mouth, everyone was very apologetic and we were provided with 3 bottles of wine as compensation though I was disappointed with the maitre'd who apologized but went on to say when I pressed him on how they were going to prevent it happening again 'These things happen' 'It's a good thing you didn't swallow it'.

The Lido deck buffet area was excellent, good choice and quality of food, lots of space and pleasant helpful staff, I've read complaints about the Lido buffet, but I certainly have none, they must have improved the hours as they seldom seemed closed between 6am and midnight.

We had an inside cabin and found it to be spacious with plenty of closets and a comfortable sitting area apart from the bed, showers were of good size and we were very happy with the whole set-up.

The Frans Hals lounge is well designed with good views from anywhere. Entertainment was basic cruise style, a singer, a magician, a comedian and several dance/sing revues all were ok.

We visited Bonaire, Isla Marguereta, St.Lucia, Dominica, St Thomas and Half Moon Cay (Bahamas). I won't comment too much on the destinations as we never took any of the Holland America planned shore excursions as I generally find them needlessly expensive, there are always better opportunities on shore. We've seen a lot of the Caribbean islands and consider the itinerary average, with two exceptions - Half Moon Cay is probably the nicest beach I've ever been to, well organized and clean - and - if you're into souvenirs, Isla Marguereta has, by far, the best buys.

We were a group of 15 friends and relatives ranging in age from 11 years to 70 years old, as such we were not a typical cross section, the majority of passengers appeared to be 60+ though all age groups were evident.