Had heard lots of great things about Holland America; was very pleased with them!
Volendam Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 63
Review summary
Thrilled to have finally been able to visit such a gorgeous region of North America! This cruise with Holland America was my first one with them, and I will definitely book with them again at some point in the future!Embarkation
Extremely easygoing!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Almost everything I ate in the MDR was excellent; some starters, even for being starters, were VERY small and made me glad I chose to order two starters! Sandwiches in the buffet could have had more than one slice of meat, but the various sweet treats in the buffet more than made up for that lack of protein. š
Onboard Activities
Opted not to take part in any activities, but I'm not gonna take off any stars when that was my choice. When I wasn't eating or exploring in port, I just relaxed in my cabin by reading and watching movies and TV shows. The on-demand movie selection was fantastic!
Service and Staff
Excellent service from everyone all around! My room stewards were always very happy to see me, and even hugged me goodbye on disembarkation day. All the waiters were very polite and did a wonderful job with their service every night. Guest services personnel were so very helpful; they even adjusted the hold amount on my debit card because I didn't wanna have almost $400 put on hold when I had bills that needed to be paid pretty soon!
Ship Quality
The ship was extremely easy to navigate due to its small size. A beautiful ship that I found to be so clean all around.
Cabin / Stateroom
I like a firm mattress, but I think the mattress was actually a little TOO firm this cruise. The lights in the sitting area were too dim for my liking, so I not only had the lights in the sitting area on, but also the lights behind the bed so the room could be bright enough for me. Loved the abundant storage space, and my room stewards kept my cabin looking spotless!
Ship tip
Volendam is not even 800 feet long, so the up/down ship motion can be pretty rough when sailing in the vicinity of a low pressure weather system. Bring motion sickness remedies!!!
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Really enjoyed it here, and hope to return with more time allotted in port. I saw a section of the actual Berlin Wall near the ship terminal! I took a nice walk to Fort Allen Park, and learned some World War 2 history there that I'm not sure I ever learned before!
Spent some time at the Boston Common. Can't believe it was founded in 1634! There were some really nice war memorials and a really cool sculpture called "The Embrace," which represents MLK, Jr. and his wife.
I loved being in French-speaking Canada for the first time! It was so neat being able to make out what some things said. The city is gorgeous, but oh, man, some of those hills are incredibly steep! The steep walk was worth it, though. After leaving for Montreal, the ship went under the Pierre Laporte Bridge, which was a very thrilling moment for me because it was my first time where a cruise ship passed under a bridge and blared the horn!
Lovely city! Walked down Bellevue Avenue and saw the exquisite mansions. Definitely wanna return here.
Visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which actually had free admission that day! I absolutely loved all the models of various ships and ocean liners; of course, my favorite part of the museum was the "Titanic" exhibit, as I am a HUGE fan of the ship and the 1997 film!
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Didn't get as many pictures as I was hoping for, but I went for a nice walk on the Victoria Park Boardwalk, and spent some time inside St. Dunstan's Basilica, which was so incredibly beautiful!
Charming little city. Wasn't much to do because it was a Sunday, but I had a lovely walk around. The giant fiddle at the ship terminal was pretty awesome! There was a man near the terminal who was selling jewelry and coins, and he let me have a coin for free!
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Disembarkation
Incredibly quick and easy! Did the self walk-off and was on the shuttle in no time!