JessWright

Apparently, ceremonies for the medallions vary from ship to ship or the decision of the captain. I attended a medal ceremony on the Volendam several weeks ago when returning from Hawaii. It was held in the Crow's Lounge with many mariners in attendance. I have attended similar ceremonies on the past 5 cruises since the Covid pandemic. Hope to attend other in the upcoming 2 cruises in the spring.

The Volendam is about 24 years old, and it is the oldest ship in Holland America's fleet. I sailed on the Volendam, over the Thanksgiving holiday, for an 18-day roundtrip cruise from San Diego to Hawaii. The ship was a pleasant surprise. I have sailed on the Zaandam, its sister ship, many times, but enjoyed the Volendam more. My next cruise on the Volendam is in early April. It is a 15-day cruise from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale via the Panama Canal. I prefer the smaller ships. The trip to Hawaii marked my 51st cruise with Holland America. My ocean view cabin was on the main deck, and it was in excellent condition. I ate all of my meals in the Lido - many good choices; a few not.

I am scheduled to board the Volendam ship to Hawaii on the 22nd. My scheduled boarding is 1:20. However, as a 5-star Mariner with 51 cruises with HAL, I plan to board much earlier.

I sailed on the Zaandam, last month for 11 days starting April 22. It was a repositioning cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal. I was in an ocean-view cabin 3375 - midship - lower promenade, starboard side. It was in a great location, sort of. The problem was that it is under the kitchen. So, I heard a lot of things rolling, things being dropped, etc. until about 1:15 at night, then again around 4:00 am. While I tolerated it, a passenger - a few doors away, said he went up and complained. (I am uncertain if it helped.) Otherwise, I enjoyed the ship and cruise. The Captain was Ane Smit (He is excellent) and the Cruise Director is Daniel Edward (also excellent) until he leaves to return to England in June. I have sailed many times on the Zaandam and love it.

Thanks for the update. I am also planning to sail on the Volendam to Hawaii next November.

I am currently on an 11-day cruise on the beautiful Rotterdam. It is a treat. I attended the Mariners cocktail party around the pool a few days ago. I was also given 2 coupons for drinks to use anytime during the cruise. (I have 30+ tiles in a box at home, so don't care if I get one or not.) I board the Nieuw Amsterdam for a 7-day cruise right after this cruise, so I'll see what happens there. In the meantime, it is just nice being on the Holland America ships again.

I ran into the same problem earlier this year. When I tried to contact my "excellent" Personal Cruise Consultant (PCC) of many years I was told that she was not working there anymore. So, I called HAL's toll-free telephone number for reservations and asked to be assigned a PCC. A Supervisor gave me the telephone number of another excellent PCC. She has help me to complete several future cruises. Do try that approach and lots of luck.

I chatted with my Personal Cruise Consultant today while finalizing a cruise for November 30. During the conversation, she mentioned that there WILL be a Labor Day sale from September 1 - through later next week. So, you may check HAL's website, like I plan to do with hopes of finding something fun.

I've had the HAL Barclay credit card for over 9 years and found it very helpful. I have been able to apply $500 towards 2 different 7-day cruises, and once to pay the total cost of a 7-day cruise. I charge all of my cruises with my Barclay card and expect to have enough points to pay off another 7- or 11-day cruise soon. I don't bother to use points to use for on-board activities. I highly recommend the card.

I sailed on a 9-day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal in May 2022. It was the ship's first cruise since the April 2022 Drydock in Spain. I had an ocean-view window. There were no obvious changes, except one less outlet. (One cannot watch TV and charge a cellphone at the same time.) Otherwise, the cabin seemed the same as my previous 3 or 4 cruises on the Zaandam. It was fine with me. I spend very little time in my cabin. Actually, I have signed up to sail on the Zaandam from Florida to Canada in April 2023.