terrydtx

I see you did a cruise in 2013 on the Zaandam, the sister ship to the Volendam, how did you like the ship for that cruise? We have sailed on the Volendam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Eurodam, Noordam, Oosterdam (twice) and Koningsdam and found each ship to be very different and we liked them all. When we book a cruise, our first priority is the itinerary and then the ship available for that itinerary. That is why we are booked on the Volendam in August.

Last November on the Koingsdam we booked CO, fortunately for us, as the lines ever night to enter the MDR were down the hallways past the CO dining room. The most we ever waited to be seated in the CO dining room as 10 minutes. The cruise was 100% booked and there were crowds everywhere. We would never sail on a Pinnacle class ship now without CO for that reason. We will be on the Volendam in August, and we booked CO for the cabin upgrade, but we may enjoy the special lines for CO to enter the MDR.

That actually says 140-319 sqft. If you cruise much you should subscribe to Cruise Deck Plans. Its cheap for lifetime and has much more information on cabins and decks along with actually pictures from past guests who post on the site. I use the site to check out any cabin before we book. Cruise Deck Plans, Ship Layouts & Room Details - Cruise Deck Info

According to the Cruise Deck plans website, on the Volendam Interior cabins have 182 sq ft and the OV cabins have 197 sq ft.

We got the midship Vista Suite we would have booked without CO by booking lowest level of VS and the difference in cost paid for the CO add on cost.

We booked our upcoming Volendam cruise with CO for the free upgrade and other nice amenities, not having the CO dining room was no problem on this cruise.

We had the same location on the Koingsdam last November and loved the location. Never noticed any smoke and noise was never to the level to be bothersome. I would book the same cabin again. The only smoking issue we had on the ship was from the casino which was so bad we never could enter the casino and the stairwell next to it.

I agree with you about only sailing on the PC ships with CO. Last November on the Koningsdam we had CO and every night the line to enter the MDR was running down the hall past the CO dining room. We were so glad we had CO. The food and service also seemed to be much better than the MDR.

Oceania has much smaller ships and they are not that much more expensive than Celebrity and Princess. We are booked on the Oceania Marina for an 18 day cruise for $200PP less than the 14 day Celebrity cruise that was canceled after we booked.

Are you on the August 20th Boston to Montreal cruise with us?

Not totally true, the Volendam does have verandah cabins called Vista Suites on deck 6. We are booked in one in August from Boston to Montreal. We love the smaller ships of HAL, no crowds, fewer kids and exceptional service. The smaller Volendam is perfectly suited for the NE/Canada cruises as she can get into ports the bigger ships can't.

If you look on your invoice from HAL you will have something like this that shows all of your HIA amenities.

Glad I could help. We will be on the Volendam in August in a Vista Suite. Our first HAL Cruise was on her in 2007.

Here is a picture of the tub shower in a Neptune Suite and a diagram of the suite.

Sorry my bad it seemed to be evaporated canned milk.