Volendam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

All and all, the views were amazing. The cost of the cabin and the general lack of regard from the staff were the biggest detractors (Except for Lance, he was awesome). The food quality was decent, but the specialty dinning hidden fees defeated the point of it. The shore excursions were high dollar, and we were glad that we did the train.

We had a wonderful family time and enjoyed every minute. The ship had great entertainment and activities. I loved the size of the ship without 10,000 people! It was exceptional. This was my first cruise with Holland America!

I booked this trip to celebrate my 70th birthday with my two grown daughters. Had I known that I could do this directly with Holland America and not through Cheap Cruises with a travel agent who 1) only worked from 5:00pm - 2:am, 2) was great until I paid in full, 3) didn't respect what I tried to tell her regarding my missing passport (she was very cavalier regarding this problem) and would promise to call me at certain times and not call, etc. She kept telling me not to worry about the lost passport -- that she could get it expedited 2 weeks before I left. All I had to do was call the Passport Office in Chicago and make an appointment. I kept telling her that this was stressing me out and that I was afraid there would be no appointments. "Oh, you might have to drive somewhere if that happens," she said. I'm 70 years and this didn't seem to enter her mind that having to drive somewhere might not be an option. So 14 days out we call and sure enough no appointments in Chicago! and...they said I had to call back tomorrow as they wouldn't make appointments unless it was 13 days out! Obviously, she hadn't done this as much as she claimed. I called the next day and was then told, "No, Chicago is completely booked. Let me see where I can get you an appointment. Oh, you can go to Aurora, Colorado on June 25 at 10;30 am. Don't be late." We had tickets to fly from Chicago to Vancouver the next day. Well, this wasn't going to happen, as I knew that kind of stress would make me sick (cold or such) from traveling like that. I realize that losing my passport is my problem but I truly feel that she should have given me names of companies that could expedite passports. Luckily, I found one, but it cost me a lot of money and would not have cost as much had I known about them (they are international) and done this sooner. This woman (India McKnight) in my humble opinion is not organized, incompetent and rude (always had an excuse and never could apologize for anything). She is the reason I will never use your company again.

A very memorable cruise experience that we shared with our 15 year old grandson.

This is our second cruise and first one to Alaska. Though we got sick returning home, I would not trade anything for such wonderful experience. I praise Lord for giving us great weather and a safe trip. Thank Jennifer Thomas at Cheapcaribbean for booking us quiet and convenient rooms. Thank airlines and airport workers to be on top of everything to help everyone's vacation, Thank HollandAmerica crew and staff for an epic trip!

Glad we did it for the scenery on a smaller ship and an inside cabin was perfect as our viewing was done elsewhere. Bring reading material. Have low expectations for entertainment, food, and dining service.

Wonderful time on Alaska cruise. Holland America certainly knows how to make the best of Alaska.

1. Impress on this cruise ship which offers daily Catholic mass celebration. 2. Suggest to have unlimited photo package

Alaska is a place that should be on everyone’s bucket list. As a diehard beach resort person that hates the cold with a passion I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this trip as much as I did. I am now team Alaska and Holland America is one of the best to get you there and explore it with. With the exception of my food restrictions and limited dining options, this was one of the better cruises I have been on.

It was a very relaxing cruise with great food, great entertainment and great service!

We had a nice time on this ship. Its older and we heard of some toilets not working and water on the rooms floor. We did not experience any issues however. Great crew and bar service.

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.

This was the worst cruise I’ve been on across the board. This was my second time on Holland but my 16th cruise overall but my last on Holland. This cruise did not even compare to my first experience with them. The boat is old and should be retired. Water leaks all over the boat, no working Air conditioning in majority of the cabins on board, worst menus and food I’ve been served ever and such few staff that they are so overworked you can see it on their faces. They were cancelling events probably to conserve energy. Meals in the MDR were taking 1 1/2-2hrs just to get your main course. Hardly any activities and you never saw or heard from the cruise director. No communication as to where to go for port of call days which only caused chaos when getting off boat.

I went on this cruise because I wanted to go to the Panama Canal. I did not know Holland America cruises are tailored to the elderly. The excursions were great. Everything else - food, drink, services, etc were typical of any other cruise line.

The ship had so much trouble with stabilization. The rocking was miserable. Activities were cancelled and the weather was not the problem. Problems with air too. I know people that slept with cabin doors open due to heat. We were given a fan.

Decent itinerary…interesting. Many of the ports I haven’t been to.

5 stars ! review says less its a glitch.awsome ship design (a bit dated,but that added to the vibe in a great way) easy to get around and quite efficient a good feeling ship. clean and well maintained ship. I have been several ships and the quality of the service on the volendam is unmatched. the small size of the ship adds to the experience. the crew and passengers become friends very quickly and call you by your name. great experience 10 days is not enough.

A very nice way to get to know the Amazon river and its huge forests, in an area bigger than Western Europe.

Excellent itinerary. With the exception of two days, the weather and seas made it a wonderful experience. The staff on the Volendam was outstanding as usual. There were issues with the specialty restaurants that we have not experienced in many past voyages with HAL. For example, in some cases food was cold/barely warm and on one occasion not edible. Sometimes service tended to be very slow. It seemed that there weren’t sufficient numbers of staff. Management issues involving the main office in Seattle were painfully slow and required far too much passenger scrutiny to assure the accuracy of their responses.

We would like to thank: Imam and Muz, room stewards Rebecca, Angelika, and Nyman, shore excursions Antoni, dining room and crew Alex, Future Cruises Fernando, Beverage Manager