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Volendam Cruise Review to South America
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 59
Review summary
Will not take another cruise on this ship as we feel it is very outdated. Have cruised several years on Holland America but sadly disappointed with the way this cruise turned out. Always do a private balcony but feel like our money spent was not deserving of what our experience was.Embarkation
Rated mediocre after our month long cruise.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We have always spoken highly of the dining room and Lido food but sad to say this was our last cruise on the Volendam.
Onboard Activities
Trivia was enjoyed but must be held in a bigger venue. Bingo was fun and enjoyable. Exercise on deck three, walking a mile was great every day. Feel like their must be more games to play for couples. On the Oosterdam (which we have taken numerous times) there were fun games to keep us entertained on sea days.
Entertainment
Volendam entertainment crew was good but in 30 days we only had the pleasure of seeing them 3 times. Enough of the comedians, most were tolerable at best. How about hypnotist, magicians, mentalist ? Maybe a talent show from the Volendam guests?
Service and Staff
Our room stewards were awesome! Very accommodating and helpful in every way possible. Waiters were pleasant as well as ship personnel.
Ship Quality
Did not realize how old this ship was when we booked. No USB ports, plugs-ins for our laptops and phones was very inconvenient. Not being able to access the dining room from the other decks was a total drag. Very odd layout. Areas were clean and maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
Again, the lack of USB ports and outlets to plug in were disappointing. Room adequate but very tiny TV with louse reception. Inquired at the beginning of our trip and was told that ALL tv's were the same quality as we were watching. To find out later in the trip from fellow passengers that even the inside cabins had wall mounted LARGER TV's with crystal clear pictures was so frustrating! The selection of movies was not what it was on the Oosterdam. Very bad set-up for us that enjoy the watching first run movies in the privacy of our own stateroom. We paid for the comfort of having our own private balcony, but did not feel like this was up to standard on this cruise ship.
Ship tip
Bring good walking shoes, be open about the food quality and try to attend activities.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Puerto Chiapas (Tapachula), Mexico
Disembarkation
Had expedited class and was off in a flash!!!!