Following the Stampeders to Dawson City

Volendam Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

MarianH

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 11

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Glacier Bay Inside Passage Alaska (Vancouver Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 01, 2009

Ship: Volendam

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 15 years ago

Review summary

Not the newest ship and fewer amenities than Princess and Royal Caribbean but quieter and more laid back. We were disappointed that our "partially obstructed view" was actually fully obstructed by a large bulkhead and we were not able to move to another cabin. Overall the staff were friendly and helpful, the ship was clean and the 4 day trip from Vancouver to Skagway was enjoyable.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food in the Lido Buffet was disappointing at dinner so we opted for the dining room where the food was hot and well presented.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Sorry, but I find the on board entertainment boring, would much rather have more movies and presentations on the area in which we are travelling (not the spiels meant to sell land packages).

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff was friendly and helpful, English was second language for many room stewards and servers but they did their best to help with our questions. Captain Bols offered some unitended levity when he suggested that if your child fell overboard you should not report it because it would generate too much red tape. His numerous reminders to wash our hands began to smack a little of preschool, but on the positive side, we did not get sick.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Casino needs to be larger, it was hard to get on the slot machines most evenings. The slot tournaments are a nuisance, they do not bring in new players and prevent those who do want to play from getting on many of the best machines.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

We are Mariners and booked a Guaranteed Outside, Partially Obstructed cabin but were distressed to find a large bulkhead fully obstructed our view of anything other than the deck. We immediately went to the customer service desk but they were unable to provide an alternate cabin, in future we will book a specific cabin to avoid this problem.

Ports of call

Juneau, Alaska

3 out of 5

Nice that the ship docked right in town so there was no cost to go and browse the (numerous) gift shops and jewellry stores but basically it exists only for the tourists from the ships, no authenticity.

Thumbs Up 0

Skagway, Alaska

3 out of 5

A little more of the historical value of the rush for gold can be seen here, but once again, jewellry and souviener shops outnumber anything else 10 to 1. Best part was the trip on the White Pass and Yukon RR which departed from Skagway.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: White Pass & Yukon Railway.

Pros: WP & Y Rail Road from Skagway to Carcross

Cons: Not enough time in Fairbanks

Recommends Volendam? Yes!

1 Comment

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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