Worst Cruise To Date
Volendam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 29
Review summary
This was our 6th cruise but first on HA. They had to be short staffed or something. However, if it weren't for good experiences in port, it would have been a pretty miserable vacation. I am not looking forward to cruising again for a long time.Embarkation
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Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Our first port day we set the card out for breakfast in the room the night before. We've done this on 6 previous cruises and have had no issues. However, it just never showed up. Considering we were only in this port for 4 hours, we decided at the 1 hour mark to grab food off Lido and then make our way ashore. The same afternoon, the buffet food did not look appetizing so we ordered from the dive in burgers and hot dog place. It took 2.5 hours. Oh by the way, the buffet on lido closes and isn't open all day so if you miss the window, you are SOL. There is a taco bar on Lido deck that is open most of the afternoon. We got some chips to tie us over and they were stale. There was a 40-50 minute wait for dinner each night in main dining. As someone who eats largely plant based but is not a vegetarian, I found it challenging. Chicken was not in the main dining room for most of the trip. (Though for you red meat and seafood folks you would be happy.) I would feel bad for anyone who is a true vegan or vegetarian as the vegetarian option was usually pasta and had no protein. I even had a stir fry from the lido deck and there was no tofu (which is cheap BTW) or edamame. So my dinner was vegetables and starch. The meat options were lamb or beef, neither of which I eat often. My husband does eat red meat and was more content. I try to avoid Lido but it become a necessity on this trip. It was poor quality and reminded me of a high school cafeteria. Portions were all over the place in main dining. My husband had steak several times. I swear one day it was 2oz and the next it was like 8. Oh and there are surcharges on a lot of things now. The best meals we had were breakfast (I was able to get yogurt and eggs for protein) and the paid meal in the Italian restaurant.
Onboard Activities
The entertainment folks were kind and they tried. Trivia was fun. I used the fitness center a few times. I was frustrated though because I showed up for a class on New Years Day and the trainer ignored me. I made it clear I was there for the class. I realize that only one or two others had shown up but she didn't even attempt to ask who was there for the class and just went about her day. I used a treadmill but was really looking forward to doing an actual class. Oh and some of the classes like Pilates have an upcharge. The other activities were limited to bingo and board games largely.
Entertainment
I found the singer in the lounge to be entertaining. He told stories and did a great job interacting with the crowd. The comedian was ok. I think he probably has to watch his performances because of the mixed crowd on the ships. The dancers were ok. It reminded me of going to my nieces dance recitals.
Children's Programs
We don't have kids
Service and Staff
On day one we were informed that they would only do room service once a day and to pick morning or afternoon. That meant the ice they brought when we were ashore during the day was melted by the time we got back to the room so it was pointless. No turndown service. The one time room service did show up, it took an hour for cheese and fruit and cookies. Don't even think about ordering a coffee with dessert or an orange juice in the main dining. You won't see it. The one night after waiting 15 minutes for my decaf coffee we just left. The waiter was like 'but miss, your coffee'. I did feel bad because he had to run and get it, but we were done with dessert and were headed to a show. They must have been short staffed because those waiters worked their butts off. We also heard a cocktail waitress tell folks she worked 6am-11pm every day. (They had asked her, it was not unprompted.)
Ship Quality
Our cabin had a pretty decent amount of rust inside it. The stewards tried but cups from lido deck would sit 2-3 days before they would get picked up. We didn't get fresh towels that frequently either. They made the bed daily but that seemed to be about it. The ship is very small. I have never got so seasick so quickly on a ship before. The water was calm too. I wound up having to take Dramamine every day on this cruise, which I never do. I heard folks talk about the stabilizers not working properly but not sure if that's true. We also heard more than one family talk about bathrooms not working properly for 2-3 days! The only thing customer service did was say "Sorry, this happens sometimes." The one family had to go to lido to use the bathroom in the middle of the night!
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin was ocean view. It was the larger room I guess? It was fine. I spent some time on the couch watching TV which was nice.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
4 Comments
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