VOLENDAM - Review

[SassyGirl]

My mother and I went on the Volendam to the Southern Caribbean (she is 62, I am 39). Previously, we have sailed on Celebrity twice (on the Century to the Eastern and Western Caribbean). We ended up on this cruise last-minute. We were booked to go on the Celebrity Infinity to Hawaii, but the cruise was cancelled due to mechanical problems, so we scrambled to find another cruise to book ourselves on. Since I had read good things about HAL, we decided to try this cruise.

 

We were a little disappointed with this cruise. While we would rate it "good" overall (whereas we would rate our Celebrity cruises "excellent"), there were a couple things that disappointed us. Holland caters to elderly people, and we kind of knew this going in (I had read this on the cruise boards) but we decided to give it a try. The biggest problem with the cruise was that unless you are 65 or older and love sedate, loungy music, there is nowhere on the ship at night to dance (up-tempo). Every night, my mom and me would walk around from bar to bar (I think there are 3 or 4 of them) trying to find an upbeat bar where we could dance and not one was to be found. Worst of all, each bar was playing the same exact type of music (even some of the same songs!) - from the piano bar, to the "Crows Nest" - it was the same thing over and over again - old standards, Broadway songs, jazzy slow songs.

 

There were a couple appealing-sounding nights listed on the activity calendar, like "70's disco night", but they were scheduled at around midnight on nights when we were going into port the next morning, so it wasn't feasible for us to stay up that late. We wished they would have had ONE bar on the ship dedicated the upbeat dance music for the younger crowd or even the older people who still have the pep to dance up-tempo. As I mentioned, my mom is 62, and even she was bored with the loungy bars (a couple other older passengers we spoke with were also commenting on this).

 

There was very little Caribbean music anywhere on the ship - maybe only a couple times we heard some at the pool.

 

Other areas that disappointed us....the food was a bit of a disappointment after experiencing Celebrity cruises. While breakfast and lunch was about as good (and very similar), dinner was a solid knotch below what we experienced on Celebrity. The soups were consistently over-salted, most of the desserts (esp. the cakes) were bland and somewhat dry (altough they always LOOKED like gourmet desserts). Similarly, the dinner entrees were gourmet-LOOKING, but average to good tasting. Nothing blew our socks off. In addition, the experience of eating the main dining room was nowhere near as impressive at what we had experienced on our previous cruises where we felt like we were royalty dining in a gourmet restaurant. On Holland, the experience was more like regular dinining in a decent restaurant. The table setting was less elegant, the service was less attentive (nobody was brushing crumbs off our table or rearranging our utencils at each course, etc.)

 

Another aspect that Celebrity has the edge on is service. On Celebrity, we always felt pampered. On the Holland cruise, while the staff was exceptionally sweet and friendly, the service was not "on top of things" like we were used to. We really noticed a big difference here. For example, on Celebrity, we knew the name of our room steward because he introduced himself immediately and always was checking to make sure we were happy....really on top of things - not a detail was ever missed and it was amazing. On Holland, we were never quite sure who our steward was. He never introduced himself and oftentimes, small details in our room were neglected. For example, things like a coffee ring (stain) on the little table sat there for 3 days before he noticed and cleaned it, a coffee spill on the bed sheets (in a prominant location) went unnoticed and unchanged for 2 days. In the hallway near our cabin, at the elevator, I noticed a dirty balled up tissue (with some blood on it) lying on the floor between the elevators. It sat there for 2 days before it was noticed and picked up. Little things like this were really noticeable.

 

Now, on the GOOD side....

 

The beds were the most comfortable I have ever slept on! Very plush and cushy with WONDERFUL soft cotton sheets that just made you want to do nothing but nap (which came in handy, since the music on the ship put us to sleep) ;]

 

The pool area was particularly attractive with a beautiful, large pool with a pretty dolphin sculpture rising out of the pool, wonderful separate bar/lounge areas with umbrellas and a retractable sun roof which was can be closed during windy or otherwise inclement weather.

 

The shows were very good - the singing and dancing troop was extremely good, the comedians were excellent and generally we felt the shows were a strong point on this ship. Of course, with the exception of one of the comedians who was a little edgy (which we enjoyed), as with most cruises, the entertainment tends to be a little on the "hokey" side, but nonetheless, it was well-produced and very professional.

 

The ports of call on this cruise were really great and we enjoyed all of them.

 

In ARUBA, we took a jeep safari tour through ABC tours which took us off-road to the wild/scenic side of Aruba, making several stops along the way. It was exciting and the scenery was amazing!!!

 

In CURACAO, we got off the ship and found a tour guide who took a small group of us around the island on a 2-hour tour and then dropped us off at Kokomo (?) beach. We were really impressed with Curacao, with the beautiful and quaint architecture, and the beach was extremely beautiful and enjoyable.

 

In DOMINICA, we took a tour offered through the ship - "Rainforest Drive and Emerald Pool" and it was also enjoyable. Dominica is a EXTREMELY lush island and I think the best tours on this island focus on seeing the natural beauty.

 

In TORTOLA, we took a ship-sponsored tour to Virgin Gorda and the Baths. Another very enjoyable trip. The baths are so otherworldy and amazing - it is a place I will never forget and a trip well worth taking. After we got dropped off at the end of the tour in Tortola, I did some shopping.

 

Unfortunately, the weather was bad on our last day so we missed HALF MOON CAY. The ship did dock, and started tendering some passengers in, but after a couple hours, they decided the weather was too inclement to continue tendering and all passengers were returned to the ship. From the ship, it looked like it would be a beautiful island to visit, though, on a nice day (great place to have a beach day).

 

So, all in all, we had a good time and would rate this cruise as a "7" on a 1-10 scale. I don't think we will sail on Holland again, but it was interesting to see how it compared to Celebrity and let's face it.....anytime you can get away on a cruise, it is a great experience. Having said that, for future cruises, we will stick with the cruise line we have had an excellent experience with.

 

My advice to anyone thinking of booking on Holland is this. If you are 65 or older and love a very low-key, sedate experience, you will like this cruise. I'd estimate that 85% of the passengers on this ship were 65 or older. If you want more options like some upbeat dancing, or other more energetic activities, book on another line.

[peaches from georgia]

 

....I'd estimate that 85% of the passengers on this ship were 65 or older. If you want more options like some upbeat dancing, or other more energetic activities, book on another line.

LOL. We are 66 and 65 and I've got to tell you, we felt like the youngsters on this cruise and DH didn't like that aspect of this cruise at all. It was a much older and infirm crowd than on any other HAL cruise we have taken, including a 10 day Rotterdam, a very comparable cruise.

 

DH's taxi driver to the golf course in Aruba asked him what the heck he was doing on the MS Infirmary- their nickname for the ship! :D

[gizmo]

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed it. :)

 

I am sorry to hear about the service. :(

[ekerr19]

Well, we are 44 and 43 - so spring chickens I guess! I never really noticed the demographics on our cruise - other than there seemed to be a lot of cranky folks.

[doone]

I was on the Volendam with Ekerr and I didn't feel that way, perhaps it was just the week you chose to sail the Volendam. Unfortunately, that can happen on any ship, any cruise line, any time. I am 47 years old and have been sailing HAL for well over 20 years and yes, there are older people who sail on my cruises, but probably not as many as you had on yours as Peaches point out in her post.

 

I am sorry you didn't experience the service that I felt I got on the Volendam. My table steward was always there to brush away the crumbs, his assistant was always there with a smile. They both seemed not to talk too much, but that was ok, they seemed to be a little on the shy side, but they did their jobs very, very well.

 

I will only say about the food that I found the food on my Volendam cruise to be excellent, but then again food is so subjective that what I like, you may not and visa versa.

 

My cabin boy, Ronald, introduced himself to us, he was wonderful. Nothing ever went unnoticed.

 

I hope some day you give HAL another try, they really are a great cruise line, but then again, I do sail HAL for the relaxed atmosphere that the have.

 

Thank you for your honest review, I enjoyed reading it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did back-to-back cruises on the Volendam - Feb/Mar - and loved it - yes we are in our sixties. And we do love being with the older crowd. We loved the music in all the lounges - in fact I mentioned that it was the best that we have had in along time.

Acept - our cabin steward came to us within a half hour of our arrival at the cabin and introduced himself. We didn't dare leave anything on the coffee table - the first night we left our reading books there and re moved them to the table stand - and it was that way all through the cruise. The couple nest to us on our second segment mentioned that they left a pair of shoes out by the sofa and Acept put them away in the closet. He had us trained very well!! And we loved it!!!

Sorry your cruise wasn't up to your expectations.

[peaches from georgia]

'T' was our cabin steward. He introduced himself immediately, but seemed quite shy to begin with. That only lasted a few days until he got to know us and then he was very friendly. I mentioned to him half way through the cruise that DH had medication at night that he has to take with either applesauce or an apple and, as we had run out of the applesauce we had brought with us, I had to be sure to remember to get an apple from the Neptune each day.

 

From then on when we retired not only had 'T' put our 2 chocolates out on the pillow, but there also was an apple on DH's bedside table. :D

[2rg]

It sounds like you were on the same cruise and same tours we were on. I agree that the ship seemed to have an older crowd but felt they were active oldsters. I'm 60 and felt I was in the younger 25% of the pax. We thought the food was excellent, our only other crusie was on Brand X and food was one of our biggest complaints about them. Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise and also hope you'll try HAL again.

[Sweetdreams]

Though I'm fairly new to this board, I have to smile to myself each post I read with complaints of cruisers about the "old age" of their fellow pax. My last cruise was about 30 yrs. ago when I was single. At a mere 19 yrs. of "age" I'm sure my three girlfriends & I were among some of the youngest but never felt like the babies on the ship. We had two couples that were from Palm Springs next to our table at dinner each night. Sharing the adventures of their port visits would blow us away each night. They biked, hiked, swam, snorkeled, hopped bars & boy did they shop till they dropped.

It was only the last night that they revealed their ages-75+!!! Sure they were seasoned travelers but age did not matter to them & I bet they all cruised till they were 100+! Also, they would treat us to a different wine each night to accompany our dinner. I look back now & think they just got alot of pleasure at watching us taste & explore each well thought vintage they were so accustomed to themselves. As I near the half century mark of my life, I feel even more respect for those who continue to travel and live their lives to the fullest. I think if you go on any vacation with the right attitude, you will have a good time. There is so much in life that we cannot control but we can wake up each day being thankful that we have what we do & make the most of it.

Not pontificating just expressing my opinion.

[Classynfun1]

Great post Sweetdreams! :D

 

At 26, I really admire those in the older set who not only have the desire to travel, but the energy to go for it full force! I definitely hope to be like that in my golden years!

 

Reading Grumpy and Slinkie's tales on the Prinsendam inspires me.

[Sweetdreams]

Classy,

Glad you agree. My family has cruised with HAL for three generations. I don't know the exact number of cruises total but they also cruised other lines to experience other itenararies. They always came back to HAL for consistency, value and and atmosphere of shipmates that were respectful & friendly. No matter where you vacation or for that matter spend your "free time"-having respect from the individuals you share space with is important.

My grandparents took their last cruise 6 mos. before they both died. The last two they took they never even got off the ships. They took about 25 cruises in total & loved every of them. I don't understand why people complain about others that are not doing them harm.

 

And I couldn't agree with you more about Grumpy & Slinkie-they are an inspiration-though I do not consider them "old". I just hope my DH enjoys this cruise because I'm already dreaming about the next one.

[Himself]

My observations were best stated by Doone

[dakrewser]

Sweetdreams: Excellent post reminding us that there's much to learn from other people no matter their age. Like you, I learned about wines ahile barely into my 20's from older folks with vast experience. I learned so much that I went into the business for 15 years - primarily to feed my habit for fine vintages and more education!

 

Now I also find that I learn a lot from youngsters as well. Did you know that many cars have widely divergent designs for their exhaust pipes? Neither did I until my 2-YO grandson became fascinated with them. We now take walks just to explore the many possibilities that exhaust pipes can offer!

 

Yet, at "almost 60," I find I'm still learning things from experienced older folks (such as my 79-YO neighbor who often seems more active than I :rolleyes: ).

 

Judging someone by their age is no different than judging them by any other attribute over which they have no control - sex, race, ethnicity, etc. Ageism affects us all, not just the very young or the very old.