Volendam
Sail date:
We recently return from Alaska on the Volendam. What a beautiful ship. The food was good. The ice cream bar and sandwich bar were excellent. I was very surprise with the language barrier.The embarkation was the worst of all the cruises I have taken(10 of them).The ship over-all was disorganized especially the front desk and the dining room. The shows and cast were good. Our room steward was Excellent. He had a wonderful attitude. Most of the staff was new and not very friendly or out going. HAL caters to the older folks.(Which is fine) I would recommend taking a walkman or C.D.player because they don't play upbeat music. My parents and aunt had a wonderful time. This was my third time to Alaska but my first with HAL. I believe that given some time they will workout the rough spots. (I noticed alot of burned lights throughout the ship.) If you miss getting shore excursions on board most all port have vendors outside with the same kind of tours at a cheaper price. (I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE GLACIER POINT WILDERNESS SAFARI IN SKAGWAY, IT WAS WELL WORTH THE 200.00 DOLLARS.) Over-all I would give it a 3.5 star. The ship has alot of personnal space throughout the ship.