Volendam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I was overjoyed with my recent trip. Everything was so organized which freed me to just enjoy. Thank You for a very relaxing, satisfied trip.

Embarkation was poorly handled, moving people from one line to another without any seemly good reason. Food service was at a level found in most corporately owned restaurants. There was no separate course service - no French service - no service of salad dressings. Requests for any optional items not on the menu became a challenge to the wait staff. Everyone seemed always rushed and there were long waits between some courses. Entertainment was excellent but the show room is too small to accomodate first seating therefore pushing and shoving was experienced by people anxious to see a show. The general mood of those traveling was disappointed in the level of service and the general opinion of those fellow passengers we talked with was that the crew had been so reduced in number that it wasn't possible to give anything like 5 star service.

This was my third cruise with HAL and my first 10 day cruise. As always the experience was true to form for HAL. The crew was fabulous, the stateroom was great, the ports spectacular (with the exception of Martinique - rude), the food excellent and plentiful but the Dining Room service was SLOW. I attribute the slow service to being a fairly new ship (4 months). The issue was ordering and having the first course arrive 20 minutes later and subsequent course late as well. The DR staff was most helpful in speeding things up when they slowed down. The only significant change in the layout of the Volendam from the Veendam was that the piano bar was smaller and a new open lounge had been added to the old space. The Marco Polo alternate restaurant was WONDERFUL. I highly recommend making reservations early. The ship's self serve laundry is now free; as is the Java Cafe. All in all, this new ship is wonderful and the Wayfarer cruise is fabulous, BUT also beware that the longer the cruise the older your fellow passengers become.

Just returned from 1 week Volendam cruise to Alaska's Inside Passage. Happy to report that the Volendam is an excellent addition to HAL's fleet and even improves on the Statendam class vessels. The size of the ship allows good passenger flow and aside from the buffet lines in the Lido restaurant it never felt crowded, even with over 1200 aboard. The addition of more balcony cabins and the third stairway and elevator lobby are definite pluses. The cabin bathrooms are quite good and offer a lot of shelf space and storage. Good closet space as well. The Crow's Nest lounge is a lovely room and was perfect for watching the Inside Passage scenery. Food and service was very good in both the Rotterdam Dining Room and the Marco Polo alternative restaurant. The Internet room is a nice addition as you can send an email from the ship. Entertainment in the main show lounge was quite good. The Copacabana and Broadway reviews were well done. Overall the Volendam is a quality ship and well designed for today's cruising.

The cabins were very large, the cabin steward was very attentive. The food was out of this world and the dining room staff was excellent. They remenbered from the first day how I wanted my meat, that I did not want Blue-Cheese on my salad and that we enjoyed very dry Californian white wine.The ship itself was beautiful and there was great attention to detail. The ship was kept extremely clean and the staff was constantly busy cleaning and polishing.I was a bit worried when I booked with Holland America because I was afraid of an older crowd. I am 31-years-old and I can say that Z-jay made the cruise even more enjoyable by being an encredible D-jay in the Crow's Nest.Embarkation and disembarkation has never been so smooth. The entertainment was the best that I have ever had on a cruise. I had a regular outside room and it was FANTASTIC!I have made cruises on other lines and have enjoyed myself, but have never had such a wonderful experience as on this cruise. I am from now on a loyal HAL customer and will definitely sail exclusively with them...hopefully very soon.

My husband and I were in a group of 8 that went on this cruise last March. We were so happy with the ship, the crew, and the great service that we`re starting to plan the same cruise for next March. I particularly enjoyed the stop in Curacao and the magnificent fireworks display as the ship was leaving the port. The ship itself is absolutely wonderful. Plenty of room in the cabin (when you actually used it). There were so many things to do that we have to go back to do all that we missed on the first cruise.

This ship is classically pleasant and clean. Decor is relaxed and unobtrusive. Service in the dining room and the quality of food were both excellent. We would gladly cruise on this ship again.

Embarkation was fast and they showed me to my cabin which was nice. The cabin smelled of cigarette smoke and the bathroom dirty on arrival. The seafood was delicious and their Italian restaurant was excellent. In the dining room, I had to always ask for something to drink with meals unless I wanted to buy a soda and would bring the free drinks with dessert. The waiter refused to bring melted butter for the crab and told me to use the cold ones. I love the food/service on Princess, they will go out of their way to make you happy.

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.

We did the 10-day seafarer itinerary, boarding on 11-12-01. Fortunately, we elected to upgrade to a balcony mini-suite prior to departure but our traveling companion(s) did not, and were not able to upgrade after boarding. The mini-suites were excellent -- VERY large, well appointed and maintained. However, the outside staterooms were large but "bland". There is a distinct separation of "classes" on this ship, which I found disturbing. We've been on Celebrity and Princess and did not find this to be the case. All wait staff were excellent -- knew your name and drink after the first night. Although there is a "tipping not required" policy on this line, we TIPPED the excellent staff. The alternative dining was exceptional and we managed to enjoy this dining facility for three nights. Would have eaten there every night if the ship would have allowed. Although the trip/ship were great, will do Princess again next time.

Being on a cruise for the first time in September 2001 (Alaska) Volendam with HAL, I didn't have anything to compare it with, but I just returned from Mexico (April 2002) on the Sea Princess (Princess Cruises) and wanted to give a comparison. Volendam's dining experience was much more outstanding, including the first rate food, compared to much to be desired poor quality food on Sea Princess. Our stateroom (just an inside with 2 port holes) was much larger, more closet space and a bathtub/shower compared to a tiny corner shower on Sea Princess. Volendam had a wonderful selection of free ice cream at the Ice Cream bar where you had to pay a fee at the Hagendaz Bar on Princess. Dessert extravaganza on HAL was outstanding and a wonderful experience. The "no tipping" policy was a relief not to have to worry about tipping, although we did tip because the staff was so wonderful compared to Princess which automatically charges your shipboard account $10 per person per day for tips. Volendam had superb entertainment but not a lot of selection far as the time to see the shows. Where Princess had 2 different types of productions to choose from, including comedians. The Jacuzzi/pool stayed open very late compared to HAL closing at about 9:00pm.Sea Princess had a floral shop to purchase flowers for special occasions: birthdays, anniversary's, etc. Sea Princess had more activites that you could participate in. The spa treatments were more affordable on Sea Princess and they did a better job of doing my hair on formal nights than HAL. There was a safe and small refrigerator in the room which we utilized both. However, all in all, we had a wonderful time being on vacation and enjoyed spending quality time with our special loved one. A-L-O-H-A

Z=Jay the d-jay thanked our group for making her job easy. she had a chance to party with The King, Lady Emma, Duke of Earl, Rockin' Grandpa (Elwood), Mazie, Prince Tom and myself Hollywood.For 10 nights, King's Court was held starting in the Ocean Bar and ending in the Crow's Nest with Z-jay. Our group got bigger each nite. I will sail the Volendam again. The crew, from the cabin steward, to z-jay, was top of the line.As far as embarkation, Audra went out of her way to help me when I told her I needed to mail my daughter her car keys. Also, when I couldn't find a stamp, the lady at the concession stand said she would mail keys back to Indiana. The food was great also.

Let me start by saying this was my 14th cruise experience, and second on HAL. I had severe reservations about sailing on HAL again, as I had a bad experience with the Westerdam, where I purchased a "run-of-the-ship" booking, and ended up with the worst, noisiest cabin I have ever seen. Still, since the Volendam was a newer ship, and the cabins looked good on the Internet virtual tour, and I specifically booked an outside cabin with a large window, thinking this problem would be solved. Of course, when I get to my cabin, I have two portholes! Another problem which was not solved, and was in fact WORSE, was the overall inconsistency and lack of interesting activities and entertainment on this ship. My wife and I (and apparently many other cruisers, based upon complaints I've heard) enjoy Karaoke, both watching and performing. This ship had NO KARAOKE MACHINE on board, with one of the staff intimating to me that the majority of the passengers don't seem to mind (I read this to mean the predominantly older folks). There was also a passenger entertainment night on board. Since I sing and play piano, I was asked to participate, but with no rehearsal, and signups on the same day as the event, I declined. HAL simply does not see fit to involve passengers in the entertainment aspects of their cruises as much as Carnival, Royal and the other lines. Comedian/magician Leo Ward deserves mention, as he was simply excellent; the Volendam orchestra was very good, as well. They also had a very good piano singalong/name-that-tune feature in the piano bar with Ken Bevan. But some of the other entertainment left much to be desired - a juggler who often dropped balls, and a singing troupe that did a Tom Jones/Vegas-style tribute by singing Englebert Humperdinck songs! I spoke with cruise staff on these issues, and they explained that HAL contracts with another company, and any issues I had with the entertainment should be taken up with them. Totally unacceptable! In general, the cruise staff on HAL seems uninterested in providing a good time, and are inflexible as to the activities (for example - there was NO VOLLEYBALL on board the ship), as if to say "this is the way we do it, take it or leave it." All of the wait staff and service on HAL are attentive and excellent (perhaps, at times, too attentive - I often felt badgered into purchasing a drink!). Occasionally, the time gaps between courses at dinner were rather large, but the food was good (though, interestingly, not as much selection as on othe Westerdam cruise I took in Jan. 2001). Ports on the Wayfarer cruise were quite interesting, and while the excursions are expensive, we took them because of our unfamiliarity with the ports, and the assurance that we would be returned to the ship promptly. The catamaran cruise in St. Lucia deserves special mention. You get to see two ports (Castries and Soufriere), and it's a nice feature to have a tender pick you up after seeing the entire Island while sipping delicious free rum punches!

If you enjoy lighthouses and seeing the leaves turn, consider taking this cruise. Ship was the right size. Food was good.

Great itinerary, and we had perfect weather. So we were very happy with this trip. Love the veranda deck on the Volendam. It was a smooth sail.

We enjoyed this cruise. The ports of call made up for the disappointing food on the ship. May be we would try a larger HAL ship in the future.

The cruise was fair and the ports visited were very nice. The painting of the ship while in service is terrible. Apparently the cruise line is more interested in making a profit than putting guests at risk due to fumes sucked into the HVAC system (oil based nautical paint can cause health issues). If you need to do necessary maintenance, take the ship out of service for a few days.

My family and I recently completed the Holland America (Volendam) cruise from Montreal to Boston. This was our 7th cruise, but first with Holland America (HAL). Never again. This was the worst cruise we have ever taken. We had issues with every nearly every aspect of our cruise. This includes: The Casino, The Spa, Excursions, Guest Services and Dining. Over the first several days, I spent over 6 hours getting issues resolved including: overcharging our cabin account, not comping items we were promised, not issuing credits, rude service, being called a liar, rarely being able to use the dining room, even though we had anytime dining and much more. On day 4, another passenger suggested I send a message to speak with a hotel manager. I submitted that at 7 a.m. on Day 4. At 5 p.m. on Day 5, I still had not been contacted by a manager. I went to guest services (this was easily my 10th trip there) and was told they often took 2 days to reply, as they had a lot of complaints. Upon returning to my cabin, still with no real resolution from HAL, I found my wife in tears. She was distraught over the horrible cruise and the treatment we were being given. My children asked to go home. This has NEVER happened on a cruise. Ultimately, I did speak with Eduardo late on Day 5. He listened to my families horrible experience. I noted to Eduardo that many of the people I spoke to informed me that they had been comped or received steep discounts on their cruise. We paid over 8k for our cruise and spent another 6k onboard between the Spa, Casino, shops etc. We clearly intended to relax and had no issue paying for that experience. We definitely did not feel like we were valued as a family who spent quite a lot of money on the HAL cruise. (14k was ALOT for my family). Ultimately, Eduardo decided that as compensation for our experience he would offered us a free dinner at the HAL Steak restaurant, a $240 value. I told him that was insulting, after our trip was ruined and my family wanted to leave. It was especially insulting, after another passenger we had made friends with, told us they were given a $1000 ship credit for 1 minor issue with housekeeping. Eduardo, said he did understand the dinner offer was insulting and that he would get back to me. 24 hours later, he phoned my room and said HAL was willing to give me a $250 credit. At this point, my family and I were done with the HAL cruise. We only had 1 day left to endure. I told Eduardo that $250 was as insulting as the dinner, but we were done so do whatever. The next day we left the cruise in Boston. We will never cruise with HAL again. I will ensure every person I know, hears about our experience and the way we were treated. It appears that HAL cares more about its comped passengers, rather than families who spent close to 15k with the cruise line. This is unfortunate, as we intended to start a relationship with HAL and book future cruises, our next being Alaska. We will now book that cruise with a competitor as HAL clearly did not care enough to even make a real attempt to make this experience right. Lastly, and just to reiterate that HAL does not care. I completed the HAL after-cruise survey (clearly negative based on our experience) AND I filed an official complaint with HAL. Both asking for a corporate manager to call me back. 10 days later and that has not happened. Avoid our experience. Use a different cruise line.

Ports were interesting and ship was ok with excellent service. It definitely caters to a more mature population.

Lovely stops of quaint Canadian sea villages and so clean compared to their American counterparts. Be sure to have a lobster roll on land.