Just back from the Volendam

[lgarner]

We had a great time! DH (Steve) and I and another couple (Tom and Carol)just returned from the Volendam southern Caribbean cruise on Feb 11. Here is a summary:

 

Steve and I left Virginia on the 30th of Jan and Tom and Carol came down on the 31st. We stayed pre-cruise at the Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale. We booked this through Priceline for $105 per night - a little expensive but we were going during a peak time. The hotel was nice - nothing spectacular but it was fine. We rented a minivan from EZ rental car so that we would be free to see the sites and then pick up Tom and Carol the next day at the airport. Steve and I had breakfast at our favorite crepe restaurant on Las Olas Blvd, took an airboat tour of the Everglades, went to the airport and picked up Tom and Carol and then we all had a great dinner at Charlie's Crabs and just relaxed before the cruise.

 

On the 1st, we drove Tom and Carol to the port, checked all of our bags, and then we returned the rental car to the airport. We caught a shuttle back to the port (supposed to be just for Avis, Hertz and one other rental agency but no one asked us who we rented from.) We arrived at the port and were on board within 20 minutes. Boarding was a breeze even though by this time it was about 12:00 - or the busiest time! Cabins weren't ready so they sent everyone to the Lido. Tom and Carol were already there and had a table for 4 out by the pool. One of the staff was set up to to watch our carry on bags while we ordered drinks and got some food. After we finished our lunch, the announcement was made that the cabins were ready and off we went.

 

We loved the cabin. We had 6214 Verandah deck. The cabin had a nice sized bathroom (tiny tub but it had jacuzzi jets), the beds were two twins pushed together and I have to agree with an earlier poster - they are larger than the Queen size that is promised. The only problem was that I felt like I was falling in the crack - not sure but I don't think that any type of bolster was used between the beds. The sheets were soft but my pillow had a black stain (looked like a mascara stain - I'm sure they were clean but the stain was ugly.) I love the double sheeting! HAL has that part right! I know that everyone has mentioned the Egyptian cotton towels but ours were thin and scratchy. The hand towels and wash cloths were soft but the bath towels were awful - and also had big stains. However, the towels at the pool were very soft! Small thing.

 

The cabin had a full sized sofa, adjustable height table, desk, desk chair, ottoman (with storage space inside - holds wine bottles perfectly!!) a refrigerator, and the best... the verandah had a full size lounge chair and a regular chair and small table. Very nice cabin with plenty of storage.

 

The ship is very pretty and well maintained. The only thing I noticed was that the gold chairs on the side of the crows nest and a few chairs in the other lounges (always the lighter colored) showed dirt and some wear. Not a big deal but I was surpised since the ship was just in dry dock in December.

 

Staff through out the ship were on the whole, the usual HAL friendly crew although neither our room steward nor our dining staff were overly friendly. We loved "Hunky Dory" at the Lido. He said he is not the real Hunky Dory but he is Hunky Dory number two. He always had a smile and a joke. He greeted us by name after the first day. We were not impressed with the cruise director or his staff - they seemed too much like summer camp attendants - a little too pushy and phony. But I'm sure lots of folks loved them. One funny thing I noticed, years ago HAL had the dance hosts (men who were dressed in uniform, who danced with any of the women who were not escorted.) Now it appears that HAL has female dance hostesses. I believe they are part of the cruise directors staff. They were in the crows nest at night dressed in evening wear (they seemed to share dresses as the dresses re-appeared on different girls.) Anyway, these girls didn't just ask the "un-escorted" men, they were dancing with and hanging on the men who were there with their wives. Very strange. As a matter of fact, the one girl came over to Steve and "hit" on him. I told her he wasn't interested but she persisted. He got a laugh out of it but politely told her no. He said that was a first - to be hit on in front of his wife!! LOL It was funny but not everyone would have taken it so well. I saw her later hanging on the shoulder of a man who was with his wife. I did not see the wife at the time!

 

The weather was perfect, seas were smooth. The islands were great. We stopped first at Aruba. We had rented a jeep in advance with super car rental - they did not show up. We called twice and finally they came and got us and took us to their office (in someone's home). They were supposed to have the jeep at the port. We will not use them again. But we had a good day. We made a quick stop at Baby beach - very pretty beach. We went on an excursion we booked on our own (through reports we read on this site) the Atlantis Rhino Rider and that was a blast. They took us to a spot for snorkeling. After the tour we drove around the island and after we dropped off the jeep we visited a jewelry store (it was my birthday on the 1st and Carol and Tom had an anniversary on the 3rd so both ladies made out well.) We went to a casino for and then we went to iguana joes and had a wonderful drink. Mine was a margarita that came in a carafe! Biggest drink I've ever had.

 

Caracao was great. We rented a car and drove around the island. We saw the liquor distillary, did some shopping down town, drove to the tip of the island and saw the dry cactus/lava rock landscape, had lunch at Jaanchis - great restaurant where we tried Iguana - tasted just like chicken!! We saw beautiful beaches and made a visit to a casino.

 

In Dominica, we did an excursion on our own with Wacky Rollers. We did the river tubing tour and it was a blast. I highly recommend this. They picked us up at the dock and one other couple joined us from the Carnival Destiny. This tour was not like the ships river tubing in which the tubes are tied together. We floated freely down the river with guides to help us if we got hung up on the rocks. We finished with some fruit and rum punch that really had a punch!! We did a little shopping at the port. Great day!

 

In St. Thomas we docked at Crown Bay which caused us to change our plans - we were planning to go to St. John and rent the dinghies but we got a late start because of the dock location and immigration. So we took a cab to a nice beach where we snorkeled and had lunch and then returned to shop before boarding the ship.

 

The day at Half Moon Cay was perfect. We rented two clam shells and spent the day swimming, snorkeling, eating, and relaxing.

 

We hated for the cruise to end. It was a great experience and HAL seems to have the best service we have found. We have sailed Carnival, HAL, Celebrity, and Princess and we will always return to HAL. The itinerary was great, the cabin was wonderful, service was good, food was good - not great but good.

 

We had great table mates and we enjoyed meeting cruise critic folks on the first day - and seeing them through out the cruise.

 

I know this is quick and choppy, I need to get dinner started! But, I'd be happy to answer any questions. For those of you getting ready to go on this cruise, you will have a great time!!

 

Lisa

[NoNoNanette]

Oh, Lisa!

 

T'was a WONDERFUL review. Many thanks! :)

[SUZYHOFF]

Lisa -

Great review. Thank you. We leave on this cruise 3/03 and can hardly wait. Was the river tubing calm enough for a 58 year old female a little afraid of the water? (me) I am not the best swimmer, but it sounds fun if it is not too fast. Rapids scare me. Also, do you remember the "dress" for the dinners in Aruba and Dominica? We are thinking of booking a table in the Pinnacle but cannot decide which night. One more, how many formal nights? There seems to be a little confusion. Oh, and one more, are there hand held shower attachments? We are also going to have a veranda room on the same deck. Many, many thanks - Sue

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds as though you had a wonderful time.

 

We have eaten at Charlies Crab a few times as they are part of the Friends Program.

[gizmo]

lgarner,

 

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed reading it.

 

 

KK,

 

I got to ask. What is the "Friends Program" ?

[flashdog_1]

Thanks for the review. Question, though: what is rent a dinghie in St. John? (that you didn't get to do). Thanks

[sail7seas]

Dress code for the ten days is as follows:

 

Ft. Lauderdale------------Casual

At Sea --------------------Formal

At Sea--------------------Informal

Aruba---------------------Casual

Curacao ------------------Casual

At Sea --------------------Formal

Dominica -----------------Casual

St. Thomas ---------------Informal

At Sea --------------------Formal

Half Moon Cay ------------Casual

Ft. Lauderdale

 

 

 

 

[james j feller]

Hi LGARNER,

 

We were on the VOLENDAM with you, and i agree that the room stewerd and dining room staff was a little aloof (is that a word) anyway they did their job but were not too friendly, that is a first for us on HAL.

 

The cruise and food i thought was very good ,one of the best cruises i have had in a long while.

 

Now we are on our way to SYDNEY AU. this APRIL and going on a 21 day cruise with PRINCESS up to JAPAN.

 

JIM and MAXINE

[mafig]

thank you for the formal/informal/casual breakdown. very helpful.:)

[rucruizin]

Thank you for the review...we leave in five weeks and reading these reviews gets me more excited (if I need to be?).

 

It's funny you said that about the cruise director and staff. I have had only one cruise director that I cared about in all the cruises I have been on. A couple times they might consider themselves lucky to have still been aboard by the time it was through.

 

Also thanks for the heads up about the female escorts, I always seem to have a problem with people like that hanging on my handsome hubby...I'll make sure I keep him a safe distance from them.

 

This will be our first HAL cruise and we are looking forward to our experience.

 

I have found on some recent, past cruises that the waitstaff isn't as friendly, isn't as???? not sure how to put it. The last couple in particular began as though they might be complete disasters. We have bent over backwards to open them up and have found it to be worthwhile in the end. Not sure how many others out there would be willing to go to some of the lengths we did to make our waitstaff open up and relax.?

 

 

Again, thanks and if you think of anything else us first timers (on HAL) need to know please put it all down.

[lawra09]

Your review was great. We're going on Feb. 21st. You didn't mention the entertainment. How was it? We always enjoy a good comedian.

[the2ofus]

Wow, were you sure those gals were part of the cruise staff? Maybe they were just single gal pax looking for a good time.

 

Have never seen female dance hosts on a HAL ship. We have met a number of very friendly and outgoing young women who were part of cruise staff but never saw any behaving as you described.

[Stevesan]

Speakng generally, the dining stewards diffident attitude is attributable more to lowered staffing levels than indifference. The same appears to be true of the cabin stewards. None seem to have the time to give to their guests that was offered in the past.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Wow, were you sure those gals were part of the cruise staff? Maybe they were just single gal pax looking for a good time.

 

Have never seen female dance hosts on a HAL ship. We have met a number of very friendly and outgoing young women who were part of cruise staff but never saw any behaving as you described.

 

Glad to read your observation, 2ofus. I was a little perturbed to read from lgarner's review that there were such 'social hostesses" onboard, because I agree with her comment that it is indeed "very strange." Not something I would expect to encounter on a HAL cruise.

[RuthC]

Wow, were you sure those gals were part of the cruise staff? Maybe they were just single gal pax looking for a good time.

Too bad the Hookers on HAL thread disappeared with the old board. It was a hoot!

 

Have never seen female dance hosts on a HAL ship. We have met a number of very friendly and outgoing young women who were part of cruise staff but never saw any behaving as you described.

There are no female dance hosts on HAL---just male. With all the unattached women on board there's plenty of women for unattached men to dance with.

Kinda like the rest of life. :rolleyes:

btw, m-a m---"social hostess" is something else altogether. Once upon a time there was a social hostess position on every ship.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

btw, m-a m---"social hostess" is something else altogether. Once upon a time there was a social hostess position on every ship.

 

Thank you for the correction, Ruth.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I was going to make the same comment 2ofus did. I can't believe these "girls" were part of the cruise staff! Sounds to me more like some "ladies" looking for a fun time. Did any HAL staff corroborate that they were part of the staff? Just not HAL's style and I think VERY tacky.

 

Thanks for the review, Lisa. I really enjoyed it. We're on this cruise in November and really looking forward to it.

 

One question: I'm not familiar with Crown Bay in St. Thomas. How far is that from Havensight? Is there anything there? I guess it's the luck of the draw where you stop because Mariner just reported they docked at Havensight.

 

Thanks again for the great review! Sure wish they'd ease the burden on their dining staff though.

[KAKcruiser]

Crown Bay is on one side of town and Havensight is on the other. It's about a 10 minute cab ride to town from Crown Bay and then another 15 or 20 minutes to continue to Havensight. Last time I was at Crown Bay there was nothing but I think I read that they were going to build some shops there. Not sure about that.

[tlm]

The shops have been built but there are no tenants yet. In the picture below it's the buildings with the pink roofs.

 

Toni

[sail7seas]

Heather....We docked at Havensight both of our cruises on Volendam but it definitely can vary cruise to cruise, ship to ship.

 

[sail7seas]

Nice picture, tlm.

 

Once they get the shops occupied, it will much better docking there than it is now. The last time we docked there, we really didn't like it very much.

 

[3 Fan]

We also just returned from the Volendam. I will agree that it was one of our best cruises. We found all the staff to be very friendly and helpful. But then I'm friendly with the staff, realize that for my $2-3 dollars a day I don't have a personal servant. I really enjoyed what HAL did to give us the Super Bowl.

Our dress was as follows:

Ft Lauderdale - Casual

At Sea - Formal

At Sea - Formal/Informal

Aruba - Casual

Curacao - Casual/Tropical (Deck Party)

At Sea - Informal

Dominica - Casual

St Thomas - Informal

At Sea - Formal

Half Moon Cay - Casual

I missed not having a future cruise consultant, spent 30 minutes on hold trying to talk with Seattle. Finally e-mailed them. No pricing for 2007 Caribbean or Mexico until March.

My only complaint was lunch at the Pinnacle Grill. Service was ?? Two hours and twenty minutes for lunch. It was not crowded, 8 people total during that time. Took our coffee away when desert was served.

[Rebecca J]

Great reviews, thanks so much for the information about the dress. That is very helpful.

 

Do you happen to know which night was Dutch night and was there a chef's dinner, I think that it is called.

 

We go on the Volendam on March 23 and we are really excited. Your comments definitely helped. We are planning on renting a car in Aruba and Curacuo also.

 

Thanks, Rebecca

[mafig]

We also just returned from the Volendam. I will agree that it was one of our best cruises. We found all the staff to be very friendly and helpful. But then I'm friendly with the staff, realize that for my $2-3 dollars a day I don't have a personal servant. I really enjoyed what HAL did to give us the Super Bowl.

Our dress was as follows:

Ft Lauderdale - Casual

At Sea - Formal

At Sea - Formal/Informal

Aruba - Casual

Curacao - Casual/Tropical (Deck Party)

At Sea - Informal

Dominica - Casual

St Thomas - Informal

At Sea - Formal

Half Moon Cay - Casual

 

Your days seem to differ from Sail7Seas above. Are you sure about two formal nights in a row?

[sail7seas]

I saved the first day's program which lists the dress for the entire cruise and what I typed came directly from that program.

 

I don't understand where "S Fan" wrote Informal/Formal for their second sea day. Which was it? I've never seen the choice offered. Nor, on a ten day cruise, have I ever seen two formal nights in a row unless perhaps because of a Christmas or New Years cruise....to have Christmas Eve and Christmas both formal.