Some Observations MS Volendam -- November 23 – December 3, 2006

[cruiserfromohio]

Overall, we had a good time overall, but we noticed degradation in the some of the subtle, but HAL’s self-proclaimed signature, elements. While not a deal-breaker these did cause us to lower the evaluation we submitted to HAL on our comment forms in comparison to the cruise we took on the MS Ryndam in March 2006.

Good things we noticed during our cruise:

• The ship was very clean the and well kept.
  
• The service in our cabin was probably the best we have experienced on any cruise we’ve taken (we taken over 25 on HAL, Princess, RCI and Windstar). Our cabin steward had the qualities we all look for – was easy to find when you needed him and invisible when you didn’t. He did and excellent job of keeping the room clean and promptly servicing the room as soon as we left for breakfast or dinner.
  
• The cocktail service in the lounges was excellent as always.

Things that changed for the worse since March on the Ryndam:

• Drink prices have increased from $0.75 - $1.25 depending on what you order.
  
• There are no fresh flowers in our cabin at start of the cruise. The number of fresh flower arrangements throughout the ship had decreased. There were artificial flower arrangements in some places where fresh flowers used to be. The flowers in the rest room have been replaced by jade plants.
  
• The level of service in the dinning room had markedly decreased. No one – head waiter, waiter, assistant waiter, or assistant dinning room manager – ever held the chair for my wife when coming to the table. Food orders were frequently – once or twice a meal for a table of six people – delivered incorrectly or not delivered at all. There was never a display of the desert tray. The wait staff had to be repeatedly asked for fresh pepper for soups and salads. No one seemed to remember what after dinner beverage – coffee, tea, cappuccino – people took.
  
• The reduced level of service may have resulted from two factors. First we did not have a head waiter assigned to our table. We did have the assistant dinning room manager come by on the third night as say he was “responsible for the table.” He never assisted with service or helped the waiter and assistant waiter with service or clearing the table between courses, and his efforts consisted of glad handing. The second factor was that serving the Staff Captain and his wife fell to the staff assigned to our table. We noticed the Staff Captain was always served promptly and had at least four, and frequently more, members of the wait staff attending to his needs.
  
• Complimentary hot hors d’oeuvres were never served on the lounges during cocktail hour in the lounges. Cold hors d’oeuvres were served after the fourth night. Hot hors d’oeuvres were served during the Mariner reception, but that was the only time we ever saw, or were offered, hot hors d’oeuvres.
  
• The Welcome Aboard and Mariner Cocktail Parties are now called “receptions.” That means HAL no long provides free mixed drinks, just wine and champagne.
  
• There was no Farewell Cocktail Party/Reception.
  
• The first night was a fiasco. Since it was Thanksgiving, there was a special menu, which the wait staff and kitchen staff didn’t seem comfortable with. The menu had dessert choices at the bottom. The waiter insisted we choose dessert at the start of the meal rather than following the usual practice of ordering dessert after the main course. Service was painfully slow. The presentation of entrees was way below HAL’s standards – food almost appeared to be thrown on the plate. Instead of a special Thanksgiving menu, HAL should have used their normal day-one menu and just added turkey as an entree. That approach was used two years ago when we were on the Volendam over Thanksgiving and worked well.
  
• We booked a verandah suite which came with ‘personalized stationary.” It did, all of two sheets. In March, we had at least a half a dozen. Somehow two sheets just seems very niggardly.
  
• The cloth towels in the rest room were limited and frequently not available. Seemed like the towels were stocked once and when the towels ran that was it – use a paper towel or the heated air hand dryer.
  
• Drink service in the show room was very poor. The first night there was a single bar waiter for the entire room! Later in the cruise the number increased to three or four, but it was still difficult to catch their attention and get a drink before the show.

Some changes that we noticed that bear comment:

• In March, there was no Master Chiefs’ Dinner on the Ryndam; there was on this cruise. We both found the Master Chiefs’ Dinner something we’d wish HAL would do without. The menu was more limited than the normal dinner menu. The entire wait staff was diverted from service on several occasions to “perform and parade” around the dinning room. I ordered the roast tenderloin of beef and found it to be totally tasteless.
  
• The cruise documents said there would be three formal nights, three informal nights and four casual nights. When we got on the ship, we found there would be three formal nights, one informal night and six casual nights. My wife was a bit put out by what she saw as a significant change in the number and type of nights which threw off her wardrobe planning. In the past, the cruise documents mirrored the cruise.
  
• The Pinnacle Grill was booked up by the end of the first night on the cruise. While we don’t find the Pinnacle Grill worth $60.00/couple, we did hear people upset that they were given complementary Pinnacle Grill meals by their travel agents which they could not use. In talking with the Pinnacle Grill Chief, we found that on Volendam the Pinnacle Grill was limited to 12 people per 30-minute increment with no table turns. A very limited number of people per evening. I guess increasing the price increased the demand, as we had no problem using our complementary Pinnacle Grill meals on the Rydam even when booking on the third or fourth day of the cruise.
  
• We took a cooking lesson in the Culinary Arts Center on this cruise, just as we did on the Ryndam. While this was a good learning experience, hygiene didn’t seem as important this time as it did in March. No one was required to wash their hands. In March the lesson didn’t start until everyone had washed their hands. Maybe this is because the Pinnacle Grill Chief, who taught the class, showed up with dirt under his finger nails.

Some personal observations that reflect personal tastes and preferences that some may see differently:

• The entertainment was average. The ship’s singers and dancers were average at best. The cast lacked strong singers and the shows that were presented just were not that good. The individual artists that were brought on to the ship were very good. There was a comedian, Marty Brill, who was very good. Likewise the magician and his trained rabbit were very funny. Paul Pappas, the pianist was excellent. The vocalist, Annie Francis, was good. She had a wonderful voice; I just didn’t like her choice of material all that well. The other entertainment in the lounges was very good. The pianist in the piano bar was very good, as was the band in the Crow’s Nest.
  
• The food was about the same as March. It was well prepared and well presented – with the exception of the first night and the Master Chiefs’ Dinner. Yes, meat loaf showed up twice, which isn’t my idea of fine dinning, but I heard people complaining there wasn’t enough “comfort food.” We always eat in the Lido for breakfast and lunch and always find the food there tasty and the variety of choices excellent. One draw back to the food is that HAL seems to have changed their Caesar Salad dressing – it is sweeter than it used to be and not be my tastes, my wife’s tastes, or the tastes people at out table who tried the Caesar Salad.
  
• Avoid table #16 in the dinning room. It is a table for six by the first window on the upper-level, port side. The table is such that it needs to be about 12 inches longer or made into a table for four. Doing this would allow people on the left side of the table by the window can get in and out easily. The chair in that position is wedged up next to a pillar making ingress and egress impossible without forcing everyone on that side of the table to move.

On the whole we had a very good time and enjoyed the cruise a great deal. We just wish HAL had chosen to not be ruled by accounts and keep those little touches that differentiated HAL from other upscale, mass market lines. We’ll come back for another HAL cruise, but we’ll look harder at the alternatives before putting our deposit money down.

[happy cruzer]

I enjoyed getting to read your detailed review. You notice many things that some would miss.

 

I think part of your dining room service problem may have been a change in staff. We were on before you in the aft upper level and our assistant dining room manager was excellent but he was leaving the ship very soon for his break. still not an excuse for you questionable service but may be what happened.

 

I am curious about the value recieved. If you compare the cost per person per night of the Volendam cruise to the Rynday cruise, how did the value compare? In my case when I compare the Volendam cruise I just took to the one on Zuiderdam previously, I think HAL actually is providing more value because the service and food had improved between the two and the price stayed very close per night (and there has been quite a bit of inflation in between cruises).

 

I am glad you had a good cruise. We too enjoyed the Volendam and will sail HAL again.

[newmexicoNita]

We just returned from the Amsterdam and some of what you missed, though really not a big deal we also noticed:the flowers or lack of same, and the dining room service. None of this would keep us from sailing HAL, we felt it is still the class of the mass marketed lines and yes, I do consider HAL a mass marketed line regardless of what some may say. NMNita

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we returned from our Oct 24 and Nov 3 cruises, I reported many things that you men tioned.

 

Higher drink prices -- they went up after our Oct 24th cruise.

 

Only 4 drinks offered at the Captain's party and Mariner's party (champagne, white wine, red wine and orange juice which I don't consider a drink). Thw first cruise we were allowed to order anything and not be charged for it. I understand that there are suppose to be 8 drinks available without charge, but I have never found out what they are.

 

I commented about the artificial flowers as well.

 

Also mentioned about having only cold appetizers -- both segments.

 

What Farewll Party???

[Krazy Kruizers]

Oh forgot -- we did have 3 formal nights, 2 informal nights and 5 casual nights just as stated in our documents.

[whogo]

Your excellent comment on the assistant dining room manager meshes with our last experience: "He never assisted with service or helped the waiter and assistant waiter with service or clearing the table between courses, and his efforts consisted of glad handing."

 

Our smarmy fellow seemed interested in everything except the dining room service.

[wskon]

Thank you cruiserfromohio for basically saying the samethings that I have been saying. I have posted several times about the November 23rd Volendam cruise - I am sure some are tired of listening to me. Hal did stand out from the rest and it was a very sad experience for me to see them go downhill in so many ways. I am sure I will sail with Hal again but not for awhile... Your review was so good and so true..

 

Thanks, Sandy

[KAKcruiser]

We were on the November 3 Volendam cruise. I noticed many cutbacks. These 10 day Caribbean cruises on the Volendam didn't seem to be selling well and cabins were deeply discounted for the Fall season. I was wondering if they tried to cut corners because of the decreased revenue. If this is true, it would be unfair to people who paid full price. Just a thought.

[cruiserfromohio]

On a cost/day basis the two cruises were about the same. In both cases we were in Verandah suite on the Verandah Deck. A little "better" room in March a "B" category vs a "BB" category in November. The rooms were identical with the exception in March we were midships and November we were aft. Based on the two experiences, HAL still provides excellent value for the money. We just feel that the value was less this time than last. As I said on my evaluation to HAL, "Previous HAL cruises have established a level of expection about the whole cruise experience. Because of conscious changes HAL made between this cruise and our cruise on the Ryndam in March of this year, HAL did not meet our expections because you have lowered your standards." In March, we felt the entire cruise experience was essentially identical to the other six previous HAL cruises we had taken. This time we noticed the reductions in those little things that go into the overall cruise experience. Those reductions were noticeable to us and degraded the overall experience.

 

In case you didn't notice, one of our previous experiences was on the Volendam two years ago, over Thanksgiving. That time HAL hit the mark; this time HAL lowered the mark.

[jascruise]

The Pinnacle Grill... I guess increasing the price increased the demand...

 

 

I have waited almost four decades after majoring in economics to actually see an example of this in action. (Or I may have totally confused this with something else...it's been so long.)

[happy cruzer]

yep, after i posted I saw the Volendam in your list of previous and also that the Ryndam cruise was fairly recent too. I just like to check out the value meter. So you actually ending up getting a little less for your money.

 

I too noticed some artifical flowers. And no hot hors doevers.

 

But we never had meatloaf on our menus. And all service was fantastic. My chair was pulled out for me most nights. It kind of depended on if I came in with the masses or was a bit late.

So our value for a guaranteed inside cabin was FANTASTIC.

 

I hope HAL heeds all the comment cards so they can get back to old form.

 

Cheers.

[wskon]

yep, after i posted I saw the Volendam in your list of previous and also that the Ryndam cruise was fairly recent too. I just like to check out the value meter. So you actually ending up getting a little less for your money.

 

I too noticed some artifical flowers. And no hot hors doevers.

 

But we never had meatloaf on our menus. And all service was fantastic. My chair was pulled out for me most nights. It kind of depended on if I came in with the masses or was a bit late.

So our value for a guaranteed inside cabin was FANTASTIC.

 

I hope HAL heeds all the comment cards so they can get back to old form.

 

Cheers.

 

 

I agree 100%

[Grumpy1]

I have waited almost four decades after majoring in economics to actually see an example of this in action. (Or I may have totally confused this with something else...it's been so long.)

It does seem a bit counter intuitive. My suspicion is that, early on, the Pinnacle wasn't going overall that well so HAL started encourging TA's and groups to offer a "complimentary fine dining experience". It apparently went over well enough that they rasied the price to try to bring demand back in line with supply.

[elmorejj]

Returned yesterday from the last sailing of the Volendam and have to agree with the OP of this thread. I was so dissapointed with this cruise. I know food is very subjective, but on the whole, the quality and variety has gone way down IMO. I eat very little meat, and previously have always found some alternative that I could enjoy. On this cruise the fish dishes were abyssmal. Serving perch, cod, rockfish, monkfish is not my idea of fine dining. Several times the fish was so dried out, it was inedible. On one occasion, the fish.........monkfish..........couldn`t even be cut with my knife. Pastas were only so so. The last night, they served tagliatelle, with fresh mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes. What was presented to me was a dry mass of pasta which evidently had been sitting awhile as it was totally stuck together and I couldn`t even separate a few strands with my fork. Topping this was three marble sized bits of mozzarella. When the waiter saw that I wasn`t eating, he asked if he could bring me something else, I politely declined and started to leave the DR. Here comes the manager, who by the way had never stopped by out table all of the cruise, I politely told him that the chef should be ashamed to send that pasta out of his kitchen. OTOH food in the lido at the various stations, eg. pasta bar, Asian bar, sandwich bar were quite good, being cooked to order. On the main buffet line there were only a few choices, meat loaf was served 3 times, and roast chicken every day. Desserts were awful. Muffins, cupcakes, cookies and brownies, along with one type of pie and the ususal bread pudding which I didn`t eat once on this cruise......too dry. There was a fruit cobbler,crisp or crumble every day which was good..I will probably be submitting other comments as people from this cruise post..........jean:cool:

[HoneyGV]

I enjoyed getting to read your detailed review. You notice many things that some would miss.

 

I think part of your dining room service problem may have been a change in staff. We were on before you in the aft upper level and our assistant dining room manager was excellent but he was leaving the ship very soon for his break. still not an excuse for you questionable service but may be what happened.

 

I am curious about the value recieved. If you compare the cost per person per night of the Volendam cruise to the Rynday cruise, how did the value compare? In my case when I compare the Volendam cruise I just took to the one on Zuiderdam previously, I think HAL actually is providing more value because the service and food had improved between the two and the price stayed very close per night (and there has been quite a bit of inflation in between cruises).

 

I am glad you had a good cruise. We too enjoyed the Volendam and will sail HAL again.

 

I too was on the cruise that got back on Thanksgiving day and I was very pleased with everything on our cruise. I thought the food was excellent, was happy they did away with "Dutch" night and we had fresh flowers all the time. I had no problem with the Pinnacle, although I only went there on the first night because we got it gratis because of AMEX.

I felt our cruise was the most relaxing that I've taken this year and can't wait to go again.

I do know that on our cruise there were quite a few personnel who were getting off the ship and ending their "tour". Our concierge, Regina, was on her last voyage and was very happy to finally getting home to her little ones. We had quite a discussion about her sailing again and she said she didn't think she would be back and would be looking for a job on land. I don't know how she fared when she got home and was greeted with bad storms. I hope she fared well.

Anyway, our cruise, the food, the spa, and everything else we took part in was great. The service was wonderful as usual.:)

Oh, we were supposed to get together with other CCers but got tied up the day we were supposed to meet so I DO regret missing meeting the other CCers.:(

[HoneyGV]

Oh forgot -- we did have 3 formal nights, 2 informal nights and 5 casual nights just as stated in our documents.

 

Hi, you booked an S suite, didn't you? I thought someone said before we went on our cruise that at the suite luncheon the drinks were sparce and had to be paid for or something. (I don't drink much alcohol, so I didn't notice), but there sure was plenty of different alcoholic beverages to choose from and no one had to pay for them. Maybe I got the "occassion" confused with another that I probably did not attend.:confused:

[HoneyGV]

I have waited almost four decades after majoring in economics to actually see an example of this in action. (Or I may have totally confused this with something else...it's been so long.)

 

LOL, I was just thinking the same thing! :D

[Roz]

Jean,

 

I actually LOST 2.4 lbs. on my Volendam cruise :eek: . Food was definitely not the highlight of this ship. Interesting remarks about the fish....I thought the Dover Sole and the pan-seared cod were 2 of the best entrees I had, along with the braised short ribs and osso buco.

 

Forget the desserts. I didn't even bother with them in the Lido, and most nights in the DR I had sorbet, which was very good.

 

The staff was incredible on this cruise, and that was its saving grace.

 

HoneyGV, we missed you at our little get together in the Crow's Nest.

 

I prefer the decor of the Zaandam to the Volendam. The music theme on the Z is a little quirky, but that's what give it its charm.

 

Roz

[Toschie]

"The vocalist, Annie Francis, was good. She had a wonderful voice; I just didn’t like her choice of material all that well."

I felt so sad reading that you did not enjoy Annie 100%, we thought she was just the very best when we encountered her on our cruise in October, we enjoyed everything she sang and found her extremely versatile and a very amusing Aussie to boot. In fact would go as far as to say "Annie rocks" and if you are fortunate to be on a cruise with her you are the luckiest people in the world.

[Roz]

Toschie,

 

I posted this on one of the other Volendam threads:

 

"Annie Francis needs help with her repetoire, IMO. Yodeling??? I was surprised at how strong her accent comes thru in her singing."

 

So I guess you'll have to feel sad for me also. :D I'm going to turn up the volume of Keith Urban on my iPod. Now there's an Aussie singer.

 

Roz

[newmexicoNita]

Returned yesterday from the last sailing of the Volendam and have to agree with the OP of this thread. I was so dissapointed with this cruise. I know food is very subjective, but on the whole, the quality and variety has gone way down IMO. I eat very little meat, and previously have always found some alternative that I could enjoy. On this cruise the fish dishes were abyssmal. Serving perch, cod, rockfish, monkfish is not my idea of fine dining. Several times the fish was so dried out, it was inedible. On one occasion, the fish.........monkfish..........couldn`t even be cut with my knife. Pastas were only so so. The last night, they served tagliatelle, with fresh mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes. What was presented to me was a dry mass of pasta which evidently had been sitting awhile as it was totally stuck together and I couldn`t even separate a few strands with my fork. Topping this was three marble sized bits of mozzarella. When the waiter saw that I wasn`t eating, he asked if he could bring me something else, I politely declined and started to leave the DR. Here comes the manager, who by the way had never stopped by out table all of the cruise, I politely told him that the chef should be ashamed to send that pasta out of his kitchen. OTOH food in the lido at the various stations, eg. pasta bar, Asian bar, sandwich bar were quite good, being cooked to order. On the main buffet line there were only a few choices, meat loaf was served 3 times, and roast chicken every day. Desserts were awful. Muffins, cupcakes, cookies and brownies, along with one type of pie and the ususal bread pudding which I didn`t eat once on this cruise......too dry. There was a fruit cobbler,crisp or crumble every day which was good..I will probably be submitting other comments as people from this cruise post..........jean:cool:

That certainly doesn't sound like what we got on the Amsterdam last week. As for the desserts, they weren't outstanding, but certainly more than brownies, cookies, etc. NMNita

[Krazy Kruizers]

HoneyGV

 

On our Volendam Oct 24 cruise we were able to have drink that we wanted at the Captain's Welcome Reception aand the Mariner's Party. That was changed for the Nov 3 cruise. We were offered only warm champagne, warm white wine, red wine and orange juice.

 

When we got home I leanred that there was supposed to be a choice of 8 drinks offered on the tray -- but I still haven't been able to find out what the other 4 offerings were suppose to have been.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes we were in an S suite.

 

At the suite get-together, VIP party, and suite buffet we were able to get anything we wanted to drink.

 

However, on the Oct 24 cruise, there was a bean counter marking down every drink order at the VIP party and very little choices of drinks.

 

At the Nov 3 VIP party, there were a lot more choices and no bean counter.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did not care for the desserts either. Many evenings we had nothing.

 

Tried the b read pudding once -- too dry -- never finished it.

 

The best bread pudding - JMO - the chocolate bread pudding on the Amsterdam.

[elmorejj]

During the suite get together first night, they came around with the tray of pre poured drinks, you could order another type of drink if you wanted to. At the VIP party, it was open bar, and hot Hors D`oeuvres, also the Suite Brunch was outstanding.......the best yet. Excellent variety of food and drinks:cool: