Volendam Panama 4-2 to 4-22 review

[SeaGypsy1]

We just returned from a 20-day cruise through the Panama Canal on the beautiful Volendam. This cruise met and beat all our expectations in every respect. The Volendam is an elegant and well-maintained ship. We enjoyed all the Stephan Card paintings and other art works. The floral arrangements were beautiful. Hand sanitizers were very available through out the ship and well utilized.

 

We took a “red eye” out of Las Vegas direct to Ft Lauderdale, April 1st at 11:30 pm, on Delta. We were a bit anxious about doing this as we have never done it before it turned out very well. We probably would have been too excited to sleep that night anyway. The flight was less than 5 hours and uneventful, pleasant. Arrived in Ft Lauderdale around 6:30 am, April 2, lost an hour due to daylight saving time change. We waited at the airport for a couple of hours as it was early on a Sunday morning and nothing was open.

 

Embarkation: A cab ride to the ship and we were greeted by HAL representatives, took us by the hand, welcomed us back and walked us right through the check in procedure. What a wonderful way to start this great adventure.

 

Our Cabin: 7002, it was the first cabin on the port side, up front. It was very quiet, peaceful and just beautiful with all of the SOE upgrades. Neptune lounge is a hotspot and I was able to use my laptop WiFi in our cabin to e-mail our Granddaughters. The beds are the best. The Elemis Bath Products were very nice. We had breakfast on the Verandah a couple of times and really enjoyed it going through the Canal. What a view! Going through the Canal is spectacular, as many have said, Randyk47, Himself and Beth. (Pudgesmom). Yes, we did get up at 5:30 am to see it and spent the entire day watching everything from our Verandah. We even enjoyed the “Canal rolls” nice touch. Thanks for the tip my fellow “CC” members. Mr Jose Luis Fernandez provided commentary and insight about our day in the locks.

 

Room: Adi, kept our room clean and well supplied, always with a smile, including a couple of towel animals. He had a place for everything and everything in its place, making it easy to find things.

 

Neptune Lounge: It is a good gathering place. Regina was in charge and greeted everyone with a smile. She was so helpful, if you asked a question on how to do something, she would reply, “I can do that for you”. She kept everything running like a well-oiled machine. We met Reggie, Regina’s husband; he is a bar tender in the casino, nice man, always willing to help. We enjoyed a couple of cocktail parties with the Captain and the Hotel Manager, in the Neptune lounge. We were able to meet very interesting people from around the world, Holland, Japan, Canada and Australia. A good number of people traveled great distances for this cruise. Suite luncheon was served in the Exploration Lounge, food was excellent and presentation beautiful. VIP cocktail party was held on the 3rd deck.

 

Dining: Herry and Ecco took care of us. They quickly learned our preferences and never forgot to have them waiting for us. They were entertaining as well. The entire team worked together, the service was excellent. The food was good. The waiters in the King’s room for breakfast were very good as well. Futu, Iman, Christian and others were everywhere making sure everyone had attention. Deny, the dining room manager, came by nightly to say hello with his big smile. Johnny, in the Pinnacle was delightful as ever, Danielle the waiter was superb as was his assistant and the food was great, as always. By the way, we had 5 formal nights. So nice to see so many people really dressed for the night. Tuxedos and White dinner jackets, ladies in gowns, it was delightful.

 

Entertainment: Living in Las Vegas we rarely go to shows. We have seen so many. However, this time we did go to see a man named, Donny Ray Evins. He sang all the beautiful Nate King Cole songs. He has a beautiful voice. Everyone on the ship had nothing but praise for this show. I am so glad we did not miss it. He was just elegant and a great personality. Do not miss this show if it ever comes your way. Turns out, he lives in Las Vegas.

 

Itinerary Panama Canal, La Romana, Dom Rep, Cartagena, Columbia, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, Huatulco, Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Long Beach, Ca, Vancouver, B. C., Seattle, Wa. We had 8 sea days and 12 port days. The weather was beautiful, very little rain, seas calm until we left Long Beach on our way to Vancouver, 2 days. The sea was rough, cold and grey. A number of people were suffering from “sea sickness”. Our Granddaughters met us in Long Beach, (they live in Anaheim) we were able to spend the afternoon with them a real highlight of this trip. The ports were all interesting in their own way. Cartagena, Colombia was a pleasant surprise. We enjoyed a tour through “old town” and “new town”. A charming city with beautiful floral balconies. We have been to the Dominica Republic before; the people are very warm and friendly. Cost Rica was beautiful, we took a cab tour through the “rain forest”, it was very dry this time of year but we were able to see many interesting sites, toucans, crocodiles, flowers and beautiful beaches San Juan Del Sur Nicaragua is a pretty port site; Guatemala was very warm. Had a good shopping trip, many hand made items. Huatulco, Mexico is a nice area, sure to be a big tourist destination. Puerto Vallarta was crowded because of Easter and spring break, the same for Cabo. Vancouver is beautiful and we took the “Expo train” all around town. It was fun and interesting, it was a little on the cool side. We met the nicest people that offered to help us without our asking. We would be looking at a map of the “Expo Train” and people walked up to us and offered to help us get tickets and find our way around.

We attended Palm Sunday services, Pastor Terry, had a full house in the Frans Hals lounge, a big highlight of this cruise was attending Easter Sunrise Services, on board at sea over looking Cabo San Lucas. Firmin van Walle graciously supplied over 200 chairs for attendees. All the chairs were quickly filled and additional chairs supplied. . A fantastic turnout and beautiful service performed by a visiting Pastor from Sydney, Australia with assistance from his wife and fellow passengers. With the sun rising, the sea and Cabo before us, it was a beautiful site. We had Communion and a few passengers read the scripture. This service was first rate. What a memory.

 

The Mariner awards party was so big they held two get-togethers; the first one had over 800 in attendance, the second group was smaller and all the passengers had over 100 days. We do love HAL. We met a lovely couple from Canada, Donald and Donna; they were receiving the platinum award for 700 days on board a Holland America Ship. She had the gold pin awards made into earrings and she wore them that night. They were booking the same cruise for next year. Also met two fun ladies traveling together, Eileen from Victoria, Canada, and Bernadine from Idaho. They met on a previous cruise and booked this one together. We became fast friends. Eileen has over 325 days and Bernadine is playing catch up in a hurry, she is in her mid 80’s, leaving this cruise only to jump on another in June.

 

Black and White Officers Ball was a lot of fun, well attended. The dance floor was crowded and everyone looked elegant. We danced the night away. Easter bunny made an appearance with a bag of goodies.

 

One morning we had the alarm go off and an announcement of a fire in the incinerator at 4:30 am. The Captain came on moments later and said it was contained and all was well. We had 3 mandatory lifeboat drills.

 

Staff and Crew on the Volendam: They really are the best on the seas. They do not have no in their vocabulary. I will mention a few that we know to be outstanding indeed, they are all outstanding. This is what keeps us all coming back repeatedly. They are like family.

 

Our Captain: Captain Wieger van der Zee, he is funny, great sense of humor a lot of fun to sail with and always got to our ports early even when late arriving tour groups delayed us. We saw him leave the ship in Puerto Vallarta, dressed like a tourist, shorts, cap, and incognito. His big smile gave him away.

 

Hotel Manager: Firmin van Walle, he is the consummate Hotel Manager. Everywhere at all times. He is very hard working with his attention to every detail. An elegant gentleman with a lot of class, gracious, funny, warm and has a great sense of humor. Personally checking all details to make sure guests are safe, cared for and happy. He invited us to dinner on a couple of evenings and we had such a good time that the hours just slipped away while we were laughing and talking. He made us feel welcomed like an old friend.

 

 

Guest Relations Manager: Frances Tolentino, She was very visible, approachable, warm, friendly and genuine in helping you with whatever issue or concern you may have. I was very impressed with her. We have never really met or interacted with a Guest Relations Manager and did not this time. She just made herself available to assist us in getting information.

 

Cruise Consultant: Aimee Supp, they do not always have a cruise consultant on board but on longer cruises, you may find one. If you are ever lucky enough to find her on board you are in for a treat. She is very kind, patient, accessible and just truly a class act. We did book another cruise with her. Very pleased with the research she did and the information she presented. She hinted at some changes in the on board booking, favorably. She asked questions about other cruise lines and their on board booking credits, she did take notes.

 

There are many others just too numerous to mention as I am afraid that I have already made this review too long. We had a wonderful time. They just keep getting better. We met so many interesting, nice people from all over the world and we were afforded the time to get to know them. This is one of the best aspects of cruising, meeting new friends. We met a fellow Cruise Critic member (logoladytcs) and had a great time visiting with her and her friend, Barbara; they are a lot of fun. We talked with many people that were sailing together; one couple met on a previous cruise and liked each other so much that they booked one to be together, one couple was from Australia, the other from Los Angeles. The Australians were going to spend a few days in Los Angeles with the other couple, staying at their home. Life long friendships begin on HAL cruises.

 

Disembarkation: HAL is so good at this, really organized. We were off the ship and in our cab to the airport within 20 minutes. Boo Hoo! I did not want to leave; Volendam is going to Hawaii for 18 days then to Alaska. We met a couple from Canada that will be on for 65 days, Caribbean, Canal, Hawaii and Alaska. Sounds like a plan to me. This was a dream come true to go through the Canal and yes, I would do it again.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Thank you, Sea Gypsy, for an outstanding review. You are a class act yourself. I would love to be able to do a full Panama Canal transit someday! In the meantime, I enjoy my cruises vicariously, through wonderful writing such as yours:)

[doone]

I enjoyed your review of the beautiful Volendam. We throughly enjoyed her as well for the 3rd time this past February.

 

Now, back to reality!!

[Logoladytcs]

Seagypsy

 

It was our pleasure to spend some time with you and your DH on the Volendam on the Panama Canal cruise. You are as gracious in person as you came across in your review.

 

Sorry to hear about your rough seas on the way up to Vancouver.

 

What a wonderful time we all had - I'd wouldn't have changed anything.

 

And of course, I am now planning the next one!!!

 

Barbara

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you took the time to write about your wonderful repositioning cruise on the Volendam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tija, what a wonderful review. Your writing style is great:) I am so glad that you and DH had souch a wonderful cruise and you were well taken care of. We too have taken the Red Eye from Las Vegas on 3 occasions and have been very fortunate that all plans also worked well. Like I had told you DH and I talked about you two every evening and it is amazing how fast the 20 days went by. Now it is back to reality and planning the next cruise:D