Volendam Amazon river! Just off

[Crusin-Suzan]

Just got off the Volendam for 28 days!    Was fantastic but the food was bad!   We never complained because it is not the crews fault!   The deal with what they are dealt!   We ate in The steak house three times!   All three were not worth it!   Steak was horrible!    Did we complain?   NO!   Did in their survey!   
 

But Amazon cruise was wonderful!   For such a unique cruise there was no naturalist aboard!   So sad!   Did complain about that!  But we totally enjoyed stopping at all the places!   Once in a life time!  

[oaktreerb]

You have a great attitude.  Thanks for reporting how much you enjoyed the itinerary!

Edited December 18, 2022 by oaktreerb

[VMax1700]

17 hours ago, Crusin-Suzan said:

Steak was horrible!    Did we complain?   NO!  

Always bring it to the servers attention and then as far up the seniority ladder as necessary.   Would you not complain about bad food in a landside restaurant?

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

18 hours ago, Crusin-Suzan said:

 

Just got off the Volendam for 28 days!    Was fantastic but the food was bad!   We never complained because it is not the crews fault!   The deal with what they are dealt!   We ate in The steak house three times!   All three were not worth it!   Steak was horrible!    Did we complain?   NO!   Did in their survey!   
 

But Amazon cruise was wonderful!   For such a unique cruise there was no naturalist aboard!   So sad!   Did complain about that!  But we totally enjoyed stopping at all the places!   Once in a life time!  

My experience is that the crew would rather hear about complaints at the time, when there is a chance they can make amends. rather than later, when they get the survey results from their bosses, and have no chance for a mid cruise correction.

 

What was wrong with the food?  Some problems are the crews fault - e.g. was it cooked correctly, not served hot etc....others are not - menu items - quality of food purchased etc...

[Loreto]

19 hours ago, Crusin-Suzan said:

 

Just got off the Volendam for 28 days!    Was fantastic but the food was bad!   We never complained because it is not the crews fault!   The deal with what they are dealt!   We ate in The steak house three times!   All three were not worth it!   Steak was horrible!    Did we complain?   NO!   Did in their survey!   
 

But Amazon cruise was wonderful!   For such a unique cruise there was no naturalist aboard!   So sad!   Did complain about that!  But we totally enjoyed stopping at all the places!   Once in a life time!  

Thanks for reporting!  We did this itinerary twice and would book if HAL would offer it again...so far no.

Glad to hear it was successful for the most part.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

16 minutes ago, Loreto said:

Thanks for reporting!  We did this itinerary twice and would book if HAL would offer it again...so far no.

Glad to hear it was successful for the most part.

The Zuiderdam is going in Jan 2024 - as part of the World Cruise - Right now that segment is 55 days.  Keep an eye on this as they may offer shorter segments in the future.

[Tampa Girl]

20 hours ago, Crusin-Suzan said:

 

Just got off the Volendam for 28 days!    Was fantastic but the food was bad!   We never complained because it is not the crews fault!   The deal with what they are dealt!   We ate in The steak house three times!   All three were not worth it!   Steak was horrible!    Did we complain?   NO!   Did in their survey!   
 

But Amazon cruise was wonderful!   For such a unique cruise there was no naturalist aboard!   So sad!   Did complain about that!  But we totally enjoyed stopping at all the places!   Once in a life time!  

What about the main dining room - was the food bad there, as well?

[Crusin-Suzan]

None was the crews fault!   Steaks were warm and cooked correctly!   Just very chewy!   And I mean very!   Main dining was not bad!   Just repeated the same every day!   Brisket called 10 different names!   Chicken called 10 different names!   Just not HAL standards!   

[AFNavigator]

42 minutes ago, Crusin-Suzan said:

None was the crews fault!   Steaks were warm and cooked correctly!   Just very chewy!   And I mean very!   Main dining was not bad!   Just repeated the same every day!   Brisket called 10 different names!   Chicken called 10 different names!   Just not HAL standards!   

Any personal issues with COVID onboard?  I came across a couple walking in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday who said they just got off your Amazon cruise.  They asked me if we had any COVID issues on the Nieuw Statendam that we had just disembarked.  They asked because they said the Volendam had had "a number of COVID outbreaks" (their words exactly) over the 28 day cruise.

 

I replied I hadn't heard of any outbreaks on the NS but had overheard a gentleman at guest services discussing rather emphatically that his wife had been self quarantining all day due to testing positive with a self test but had received zero assistance from the medical staff.  The couple apparently had contacted the medical center after seeing the positive self test but had received no assistance since the self report.

[Mary229]

Restaurant steaks are true cuts.  They have a slap of beef and cut steaks from that.  There are always some bad cuts from that slab and you should most definitely say I received a bad cut please bring another.  
it is lack of training or budgeting by the kitchen but without the turn back they will never learn.  

[VennDiagram]

On 12/17/2022 at 7:08 PM, Crusin-Suzan said:

For such a unique cruise there was no naturalist aboard!

 

That would be such a disappointment 😞 We'd have felt we were missing out on a lot, without a naturalist onboard.  I'm glad it didn't diminish your enjoyment!

[Crusin-Suzan]

5 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Restaurant steaks are true cuts.  They have a slap of beef and cut steaks from that.  There are always some bad cuts from that slab and you should most definitely say I received a bad cut please bring another.  
it is lack of training or budgeting by the kitchen but without the turn back they will never learn.  

3 different times in the Pinnacle!   

[Crusin-Suzan]

5 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

Any personal issues with COVID onboard?  I came across a couple walking in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday who said they just got off your Amazon cruise.  They asked me if we had any COVID issues on the Nieuw Statendam that we had just disembarked.  They asked because they said the Volendam had had "a number of COVID outbreaks" (their words exactly) over the 28 day cruise.

 

I replied I hadn't heard of any outbreaks on the NS but had overheard a gentleman at guest services discussing rather emphatically that his wife had been self quarantining all day due to testing positive with a self test but had received zero assistance from the medical staff.  The couple apparently had contacted the medical center after seeing the positive self test but had received no assistance since the self report.

If they did we were unaware of it!  Masks were not mandatory!   

[StLouisCruisers]

1 hour ago, Crusin-Suzan said:

If they did we were unaware of it!  Masks were not mandatory!   

 

Yes there was Covid onboard.  We first noticed our next door neighbor being visited by medical for testing, then a CC friend's husband tested positive, and another couple we met had one of their waiters test positive.  We wore our masks as much as possible but most people didn't take the Captain's pleas to heart when he mentioned cases going up.