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Volendam 11/13-11/23, with pictures!


x lindsay x

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So this trip has been reviewed a few times so I will spare everyone a full blown report. Everyone has a unique experience so I will share some pictures and things that haven't been discussed before.

 

First off, the pictures...

http://family.webshots.com/album/556152675ZqYHsO

 

Now for the commentary...

-I am only 24 (as of last week) and I had an amazing time. I had previously sailed on the Zuiderdam in 2004 so I knew what I was getting myself into with HAL. I was going to go on this trip alone because I desperately needed a break but it turned into a mother/daughter trip. Booked an HH guarentee, upgraded to a C cabin on the lower promenade. I am here to prove those who say that HAL is only for old people wrong. I am looking forward to hitting 25 days on my next trip.

 

-The vegetarian menu. Let me just say if you don't think the portions in the dining room are large enough you should order from the vegetarian menu. I was never able to complete all my courses when I ordered from it, yet when I got the veg meal options from the regular menu I had no problem. The dining room staff were wonderful making sure my dietary concerns were accommodated. I have pictures of the vegetarian menu as well if anyone would like to see it.

 

-Curacao Sea Aquarium. I booked the Sea Lion Snorkel via the Sea Aquarium website since HAL did not offer it as an excursion. Since we were the only ship in port that day I was lucky enough to be the only person in my session (normally they are limited to 6 people). It was a fantastic experience thought I wouldn't really recommend the aquarium to anyone not doing an encounter as it is quite small and not as impressive to other aquariums.

 

-I found that the staff were VERY visible on this ship. The Captain could be found in the Crow's Nest after 11pm or other various bars around the ship simply talking to passengers. The same could be said for the rest of the crew. On the Zuiderdam it seemed like the activities staff were only interested in talking to other crew members, on the Volendam they could be found in the Crow's Nest long after their shifts were over simply socializing with guests. It was a nice personal touch and you could tell they really enjoyed their jobs.

 

-Master Chef's Dinner. I know this has been a controversial topic but let me say I really enjoyed it. I don't know how I would feel about it if I cruised more than 4 or 5 times a year but that isn't a problem for me. Lukman, our head waiter had so much fun, some of the other waiters were not as enthusiastic about it as they were slightly more on the shy side. Plus the brie appetizer was delicious, our head dining room steward even brought it to me the next night since he knew how much I enjoyed it.

 

-Pinnacle. Worth $20? Sure. Worth $30? Not so much. The mushroom ravioli was fantastic.

 

-Dam Dollars. So there were plenty of Sports of Call events during the 10 days where you could earn "dam dollars" to cash in at the end of the trip for HAL merchandise. 5- V dam mug, 10- dam ships water bottle, 15- dam ships hat, 20- dam ships t-shirt, 25-dam ships towel, and 30- dam ships sweatshirt. Some people would go to EVERY event, well I didn't attend them all but after seeing their stacks of the dollars on the last day I assume they didn't miss one. I mean it was a nice bonus for participating for me but people went a little crazy for the dollars and were not pleased when they ran out of certain sizes at the redemption.

 

I guess that's all I have for now. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I could seriously talk about this trip for another 2 weeks.

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Thank you for adding your thoughts. I loved your pictures. s=Some reminded me of things I got to see. But your picture with the sea lion makes me want to go the small aquarium.

 

You were a good sport at the flopping contest. I think you added to the entertainment for everyone. You are a class act!! Were you on the Beno tour too? I thought you looked familiar on the tour but was so in awe of your perfomance from the contest that I never asked if that was you.

 

Cruise on!

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You were a good sport at the flopping contest. I think you added to the entertainment for everyone. You are a class act!! Were you on the Beno tour too? I thought you looked familiar on the tour but was so in awe of your perfomance from the contest that I never asked if that was you.

 

Cruise on!

 

aw that's sweet. I was indeed on the Beno tour with my mom. It was quite funny because for the rest of the trip I had people coming up to me telling me that I should've won. It was hilarious. I am glad I was talked into it by the staff at the last minute.

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So glad to hear you had a great cruise! We love the Volendam but are curious as to how it compared to the Zuiderdam for you? :confused: We tend to stay away from the larger ships but I have always been interested in the Zuiderdam.

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So glad to hear you had a great cruise! We love the Volendam but are curious as to how it compared to the Zuiderdam for you? :confused: We tend to stay away from the larger ships but I have always been interested in the Zuiderdam.

 

I really enjoyed my time aboard the Zuiderdam but at the end of this trip I found that I prefered the Volendam. A few reasons why:

-I never had to wait in line for anything on the Volendam. I noticed this especially during embarkation and debarkation, as well as getting on and off the ship in port. Please note, there weren't bad lines on the Zuiderdam at any point, but the total lack of lines on the Volendam kind of surprised me. Apparently 500 passengers really do make a difference.

 

-The Volendam despite a slightly different layout, simply seemed like a smaller version of the Zuiderdam to me. A bit homier. Both ships were easy to navigate and walking from the ship end to end was never a long haul. The Zuiderdam does win out in my mind with access to the Lower Dining Room, you can simply walk from the DR to the lounge without having to go up or down a flight or stairs as you have to do on the Volendam. But forget it when it comes to the upper DR, they have the Photo Gallery right outside of the entrance so there is always a huge bottleneck.

 

-Kids actually stayed in the midship pool leaving the aft pool to adults on the Volendam (maybe that was just luck).

 

-There is no dedicated disco or club on the Volendam, just the Crow's Nest. I think this worked out better because it spread the passengers out less. Plus I liked the atmosphere in the Crow's Nest better than the dark, small night club.

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