Volendam and Zaandam

[FrankieSue]

I have noticed that the Volendam and the Zaandam have been docked side by side just off the island of Corfu since mid November.  After searching itineraries, they do not seem to move until Spring 2022…. Any thoughts regarding these 2  ships docked for so long? And what condition will the ships be in when they finally take on passengers? I look forward to your thoughts and comments since I will be sailing on the Zaandam before Summer 2022…

[St Pete Cruiser]

Aboard the NA last month at the "ask the captain" chat, we were told the Volendam and Zaandam would remain in the fleet for now and would be given a wet drydock updating.  They will be used for Holland America's more exotic and longer cruises where the larger ships can't go or would not draw enough guests.

[Sue from Canada]

2 hours ago, FrankieSue said:

I have noticed that the Volendam and the Zaandam have been docked side by side just off the island of Corfu since mid November.  After searching itineraries, they do not seem to move until Spring 2022…. Any thoughts regarding these 2  ships docked for so long? And what condition will the ships be in when they finally take on passengers? I look forward to your thoughts and comments since I will be sailing on the Zaandam before Summer 2022…

I'm booked on the Volendam for March 2023.  I love these smaller ships and hope HAL doesn't sell them.

[FrankieSue]

We spent a lot of our cruising days on the old Rotterdam. I too love those smaller ships with their wonderful promenade deck… fingers crossed they remain in the fleet,  but I dont understand why they are staying anchored for so long. 

[Sir PMP]

You'll never see them again..

[KirkNC]

Since they are not scheduled back in service until the spring, laying at anchor makes sense. 

[terrydtx]

Volendam was our first HAL cruise in 2002 and it was the only cruise we have ever done without a balcony, we had a OV on the Promenade deck. IMHO this is why we would never sail on her again, you have to book at a minimum a Vist Suite to get a balcony. I will not be surprised that both ships are sold off before they come back into service in 2022.

[FrankieSue]

We always booked Vista or better on all our cruise, however in 2020 we did a 32 days cruise on the Rotterdam in an OV cabin on the Promenade deck and we LOVED it.. not only did we have the best balcony on the Ship but we had the flexibility to choose to sit Starboard or Port according to the Sun… we were not stuck on either.. and we were never isolated on our little balcony, we always had people to chat with… just love the Promenade cabins.

[FlaMariner]

Zaandam was our first HAL ship.....got us hooked on HAL but we never went back.....We prefer the bigger HAL ships.....We've gotten spoiled with a balcony now and those old ships have few balcony cabins and the balcony cabins on those older ships are way too expensive for us........

 

 

 

 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I hope they return at some point but I suspect they will be the last to do so. I notice HAL is only sailing their 5 largest ships at the moment although I think the Zuiderdam is starting this month. With ships sailing at 50 - 70% capacity, it makes sense to me to start slowly and "test the waters."

[puppycanducruise]

Our first cruise was on the Volendam, and we have a cruise on her booked for next August.

I hope they don't sell her.🤞

[dawei]

The NA captain's remark, described by St Pete Cruiser, about these ships remaining in the fleet for now sounds like they're not long for the HAL fleet, as SirPMP stated in just a few words.

We sailed on Volendam for her S. America Grand Jan. 2020, arriving back home March 20, just as the COVID pandemic was getting into full gear. We had to skip the last 2 ports, but happily nobody got sick onboard. 

It was our first time sailing on the Volendam, and we enjoyed this ship. Her size seemed perfect for maneuvering around the Antarctic Peninsula where we were fortunate to have 4 sunny days. 

 

[terrydtx]

27 minutes ago, dawei said:

The NA captain's remark, described by St Pete Cruiser, about these ships remaining in the fleet for now sounds like they're not long for the HAL fleet, as SirPMP stated in just a few words.

That's like a University Athletic Director saying, "we have full confidence in our head football coach" and firing him the next day, LOL

Edited December 7, 2021 by terrydtx

[OlsSalt]

We booked the 51 day Rotterdam  London to Singapore and in-depth  Indonesia voyage in an OV cabin because it was the best way to make this fabulous voyage fit our travel budget. The OV cabin was very spacious, lots of extra closet space which was welcome for such a long voyage.  

 

And agree, we learned the secret many OV passengers also know- a few steps down the corridor out the back to the wonderful aft decks. I can see why those cabins book up so quickly when other long exotic voyages are offered. It was a fabulous cruise with the best possible team onboard. Extra bonus was getting to see crew members and their families have reunions at every port stop in Indonesia. 

 

Never sell these "R" class ships short - small enough to have access to all open decks,  so every cabin can great at every price level.

[iancal]

14 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Aboard the NA last month at the "ask the captain" chat, we were told the Volendam and Zaandam would remain in the fleet for now and would be given a wet drydock updating.  They will be used for Holland America's more exotic and longer cruises where the larger ships can't go or would not draw enough guests.

I would take the Captain's comments with a grain of salt.  He is saying what HAL wants him to say. Knowingly or otherwise.

 

The decision will likely be made by HAL's executive team or by Carnival Corporate.   It will  come down each ships' revenue projections, their fully loaded P&L's, capital investment required to bring the ships up to standard,, and HAL's future marketing thrust (if indeed they have one), etc.  It will be  the purview of the execs, the HQ  bean counters, and the marketing folk.  

 

I doubt very much if any decision will leak out.  The very last thing HAL wants is blabbing employees who cause future cruisers not to book on these ships.  They want the bookings even if the ships are history.  It will give HAL the opportunity to secure the business and move a good portion of those booked customers over to replacement ships.   

 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by iancal

[Florida_gal_50]

7 hours ago, FrankieSue said:

We spent a lot of our cruising days on the old Rotterdam. I too love those smaller ships with their wonderful promenade deck… fingers crossed they remain in the fleet,  but I dont understand why they are staying anchored for so long. 

I think it's pretty easy to understand.  None of hals ships are sailing full right now for the sounds of it.  Why bring more ships on that they can't fill?  If I had a choice between sailing on an old ship or the pinnacle class the pinnacle class would win every time.  I have sailed on both of these ships and I don't feel like I'm missing anything.  I'm speaking only for myself.  The usuals don't need to pile on.

[OlsSalt]

5 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I think it's pretty easy to understand.  None of hals ships are sailing full right now for the sounds of it.  Why bring more ships on that they can't fill?  If I had a choice between sailing on an old ship or the pinnacle class the pinnacle class would win every time.  I have sailed on both of these ships and I don't feel like I'm missing anything.  I'm speaking only for myself.  The usuals don't need to pile on.

 

I think a lot depends on how long a cruise is, where is the destination, how many at-sea days and even time of the year when preferring a smaller ship or larger ship.  Smaller ships work best for the long cruises. Shorter bus trip type cruise can be done on any  size ship. 

[Florida_gal_50]

2 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

I think a lot depends on how long a cruise is, where is the destination, how many at-sea days and even time of the year when preferring a smaller ship or larger ship.  Smaller ships work best for the long cruises. Shorter bus trip type cruise can be done on any  size ship. 

Yes, absolutely.  A larger ship wouldn't do for a long cruise.  I "think" Hal is just doing 7-10 day cruises (Plus B2B) right now but I may be very wrong on that.  I think if Hal had one of those ships doing a 50 day cruise right  they'd be almost empty, especially since I see some folks post they don't want to cruise until the mask mandate is over. 

[drowelf]

Nobody, except the folks in the C-Suites are going to know if or when the ships will leave the fleet. If past performance is any indications, bookings will continue to be taken for any available cruise on these ships, until the actual sale is an inked contract. That is when you and the majority of the employees, will hear about your cruise being cancelled, shifted to another ship or some other action. Seen it happen on multiple lines over the last few years. 

[iancal]

I would think it depends on whether HAL believes/forecasts that these ships can  meet the revenue and profit targets set by HAL and by Carnival Corp.  

 

This will be the decision fulcrum.  HAL is a for profit business.

[shank63]

Our first HAL cruise was in 2018, 7 days on the old Rotterdam.  In January of 2020 we did 7 days on the NA and did an onboard booking for a future cruise on the old Rotterdam.  We had decided that the larger HAL ships were not for us.  Since the old Rotterdam was sold and our deposit was refunded, we assumed that we would not be returning to HAL.  This year, we discovered a 2022 Volendam cruise with the itinerary that we had scheduled and scratched, 14 day voyage of the Midnight Sun.  The size of the Volendam was the primary that we booked it.  We are not interested in sailing on cruise ships with 4,000 other passengers, so we will stick with the smaller ships.  While the business model of Carnival, RC and X are for mega ships, there are others that only offer smaller ships.  If and when Volendam and Zaandam are sold, we will be ex-HAL and looking at the Viking and Oceania itineraries.

[FlaMariner]

1 minute ago, shank63 said:

We are not interested in sailing on cruise ships with 4,000 other passengers, so we will stick with the smaller ships.

 

Agree.  No "condo of the seas" for us....Check out the new Rotterdam....the passenger capacity is only 2,668......way under 4,000!

[KirkNC]

I wonder how port restrictions based on ship size will enter into the equation.  It seems more common today that ports are deciding they don’t want multiple mega ships in port.  And you don’t have to be too big to be excluded.  Just look at Bora Bora’s recent 1,200 passenger limit.  Some ports are also limited by the characteristics of the port (channel, dock space etc.).  HAL might not care but they could find themselves locked out of a lot of ports if the continue the the direction they have been heading lately.  I forget how many ports of call HAL lost when they sold the Prinsendam but it was a surprisingly large number.  I think @kazu has quoted the number before.

[Florida_gal_50]

I trust that hal is doing the right thing for it’s survival.  I doubt very much they are considering which ports they’ve “lost” whatever that means.  I’m pretty sure it’s all about dollars and cents like it is for most business, like it or not.

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, iancal said:

I would take the Captain's comments with a grain of salt.  He is saying what HAL wants him to say. Knowingly or otherwise.

 

What comes out of those gentlemen's mouths when such questions are asked is "company speak".  Once in awhile, one will get a "personal" originated answer from a ship's Senior Officers, but, I then wonder if they then consider if they need to update their resume.  

 

21 hours ago, FrankieSue said:

Any thoughts regarding these 2  ships docked for so long? And what condition will the ships be in when they finally take on passengers? I look forward to your thoughts and comments since I will be sailing on the Zaandam before Summer 2022…

 

I have no doubt that if Volendam and Zaandam return to service that they will have both exterior and interior areas that will be of their previous quality.  For HAL to do less, would be a stupid business decision.