Volendam disappointment 4-12-07

[c4me]

Just arrived home last evening from the 4-12-07 Volendam Panama cruise..

Was expecting a beautiful ship full of flowers, friendly crew and other amenities that we sail Hal for, boy were we disapponinted.

 

First of all, we are usually greeted by a crew member directing us to our room, did not happen, so we thought with all the hustle and bustle just an oversight. Did not see our room steward until next day.

 

On the first day, Captain Peter Visser announced that we had a fire in the galley, within 24 hrs, there was another announcement that there was a fire in the engine room. Wow! that sure got our attention, left us very apprehensive as to where the next fire was to be.

 

The ports of call were fantastic, although I took a bad fall in Curacao, the cobblestone walkway is very uneven, it left me with two very bloody knees.

 

The food in the dining room was not what we previously experienced, the quality and variety was missing. Some days our friends and my D.H. could not find anything that was really appealing, and we are not that peticular. Our waiter Mahaputra was of exceptional quality, he could not do enough for the four of us. The staff was cut by maybe a fifth of the normal crew. There were many lines we had to wait in because of not enough help.

 

The captain let us know that the norovirus was present and we should not touch anything, including the clothing on the racks in the boutiques. No self service in the dining room, no therma spa, no jacuzzi pool, no chess in the pool area, you had to ask for salt and pepper constantly. we ask one of the crew just how many cabins were quarantined, and he said aprox. 20, 4 days out. The numbers kept getting larger as the days past, but we could not get a straight answer from anyone as to just how many passengers and crew were affected.

We appreciated the crew countinually disinfecting, although my throat is still scractchy from whatever they were using.

 

After the 6th day into the cruise, our sheets still had blood stains on them from my knees, We did not have our sheets or pillowcases changed at all during our cruise, which I though was very unsanitary, even though we left a note to our cabin steward.

 

Our room was a balcony room which was very accommodating, but the glasses which we used to rinse our mouth out was never washed, just rinsed ,with the toothpaste still on the glasses every morning. ( good thing I brought clorex wipes with me ).

 

The activites were very minimal on sea days, the casino was the most frequently visited spot on the ship, and very tight. The bingo payout was rediculous, on the last day you had to pay $ 10.00 for 1 card or $ 20.00 for 3 cards, and only had one game of coverall.

 

On the 9th day of the cruise they had a game of throwing Dam dollars over the atrium to people below catching them. Well it got to be such a madhouse below with the passenengers pushing and shoving each other, We were told one lady was pushed down hitting her head, she went into an epileptic seizure, having to be air lifted by the coast guard with her husband. Hal should have known better to have a game like this with the given age demographics.

 

All in all, we and many passengers we spoke to were very disappointed in this cruise, I think we should be given shipboard credit on our next cruise with Hal, because of the many things we were denied due to the code red.

 

Coming home from the pier our cab was hit broadside by a bus, and our plane hit a cargo wagon pulling away from the jetway, which really put the icing on the cake.

 

We really did enjoy getting away from our very busy work schedule though.....

[SanDiego Single]

I am very sorry you experienced these awful situations. I hope that your next cruise turns out to be much better and that you might give HAL a chance again.

[Desdemona01]

I, too, am very sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise. We were on the Volendam in 12/06 and had a completely opposite experience. I hope that you have good fortune in your future travels.

 

As far as OBC for the Code Red, it won't happen. Code Red is for your protection. We were on the Westerdam in '05 under code red and we appreciated the extra lengths that HAL went to in order to keep us well. You bet, it's inconvenient and disappointing but it would have been much worse had they not put the ship under code red and allowed us to become ill.

 

thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Jemima]

Did you contact housekeeping about the sheets & glasses?

[x lindsay x]

Wow I can not believe they threw Dam Dollars in the atrium. When I was on the Volendam in November a staff member very jokingly suggested that they make that an activity because it would be the highest attended event they've ever done.

[hammybee]

It's time to make some lemonaide out of this vacation. You did not get sick with the virus ! I am sure those who did would gladly have changed places with you, your sheets and dirty glass. I am however, sorry that it did not live up to your expectations.

 

The tossing of the dam dollars sounds like poor judgement on someone's part and I have no doubt HAL's legal staff will be hearing more about it. It's an interesting case. The cruise line creates a silly activity. Some pax become too aggresive and someone gets hurt. I suspect this will be the very last time this game in played onboard any ship.

[newmexicoNita]

wow, I am sorry to hear you had such a bad cruise, our case, last Nov/Dec was quite different. I did expect more flowers etc but it certainly didn't interfer in anyway with our cruise enjoyment. It was great the captain let you know about the virus. As for your linens, we had the opposite experience. I had a leg injury that occurred prior to sailing and about the second night it did do some bleeding. The next day our linens were fresh and clean. As for food, we always found something that excited us. In fact after 20 some cruises that was the only one where I ordered 2 entrees. I only did it one night, but I just couldn't decide, they were both so good.

 

I do hope this was just an isolated situation and your next cruise will be just what you had hoped for. NMnita

[R&CCruisers]

We were on the Volendam for 15 days in February and had no complaints about our cruise but no Code Red either. I don't believe HAL will (or should) give you a discount because of that even though you were inconvenienced and denied use of some facilities. Be thankful you did not get noro!

 

We found staff to be friendly and helpful and food to be very good. And as far as being escorted to your room upon boarding, that is not always possible if you board before rooms are cleaned and ready.

 

Hope your next cruise is a better one!

[DFD1]

I, too, am sorry your cruise was not up to your expectations.

 

I rarely read a review of a negatie nature about the Volendam. I've always felt that she was one of HAL's best "crowd pleasers" so I'm sorry to hear that she let you down.

 

We have sailed twice on the Volendam and are looking forward to being on board again this coming December.

[c4me]

Yes, I am ill from the ship, I thought it might be from the disinfectant irritating my throat for the last 4 days, but the past two days I've become quite worse, coughing all night last night and throughout the day, if I do not improve tomorrow I'll visit my doctor.. We did leave a note for the housekeeper about the sheets, but it was ignored??? did not want to get him in trouble.. We don't expect an osc, but it would be a nice guesture on Hal's part.

[Sundagger]

I was on the Volendam immediately preceding this cruise and had an exceptional voyage. I can imagine how a Code Red would impact a person's enjoyment, but it isn't the cruise line's fault. They were really emphasizing using the disinfectant when I was there - even having staff standing at the entrance to the dining room, doling it out and making sure *everyone* used it. You couldn't leave or enter the ship without using it.

 

I arrived at the pier before 1:30 when the rooms were ready, so didn't get an escort to my room, but I was met there by my cabin steward. We got along very well. I had never received towel animals on HAL, but there was a veritable zoo this time. He first made an elephant, then a walrus (I think), then a monkey. It wasn't having the animals that was significant, but it showed his interest in attending to his guest(s) - and I did a little decorating of them myself. And he didn't use towels from my room - he must have gotten them from the stockroom. The only things I've gotten in the past were some origami items from a young woman in one of the lounges.

 

I was pleased, not ecstatic, about the food in the dining room. Always had something of interest, although it definitely was blander than on my previous HAL cruises. The only unsatisfactory item was the "filet mignon" - which was unlike any I've ever seen. But I did get a somewhat better replacement. My DR steward was the best I've encountered, and the Asst. DR Manager was very attentive. The only long line I found was for the "dessert extravanza".

 

I didn't see the Dam dollar tossing, but there was an event in the Atrium that consisted of "fishing" from the top level for items on the bottom floor. There didn't seem to be a lot of activities scheduled, but I don't normally participate in them anyway, so I'm not a good judge.

 

There was a previous thread about the problems - the fires, the code red - but the poster seemed to be able to take it in stride. That was during the cruise - I haven't heard the end result.

[Copper10-8]

Holy Moly!:eek: or better yet..........Ach du lieber (himmel)! (Oh, for the love of heaven!) - Where to start?:eek: Fires, cobblestone falls, code Reds, cab crashes, aircraft vs cargo cart collisions. (I think you're lucky you didn't fly Jet Blue back and found the nosewheel facing the wrong direction after take off and your emergency landing filmed live on CNN;) !)

 

Firstly, I'm very sorry that your cruise on Volendam did not live up to your expectations! Sounds to me like Mr. Murphy made himself at home in the PH on your cruise and even followed you from ship to port to airport. After all that, I appreciate the positive things you had to say!

 

Just a couple of cents:

 

White glove escorts to your cabin - still happen at times on some ships but not in the frequency it used to, plus "early boarding" has kinda taken it's place (don't know what time you boarded and/or if cabins were available yet/did you go to lunch in the Lido instead? - definitely no escorts to cabins after lunch)

 

Code Red is, well...........Code Red. Certain things are changed, but they are changed out of necessity to protect the remainder of the pax and crew. We experienced it on Ryndam 3 weeks ago. You make the best of it, you adapt, improvise, and think about the big picture! i.e. "that could be me laying in front of that plastic throne in my little bathroom on both bloody knees saying hi to Ralph more than once and hoping and praying that things don't depart my body from additional orifices!:eek:" Code Red/Norovirus is unfortunate and even more when it strikes your ship but there is nothing (well that's not exactly correct,......almost nothing - wash your hands more than usual!) you and I can do about it. I'm sorry, but I don't agree with you that HAL should be paying anyone..... compensation (there's that word again) in the form of OBC when you find your ship under Code Red after someone brings Noro bad stuff onboard with them.

 

Now, IMHO,...... bloodys sheets, Ach du lieber, should be changed. If you pointed that out (wrote a note) and it wasn't done (I believe it's normally only done once a week) I would have contacted the GRM and insisted on it (I don't think your room steward would have gotten in caca).

 

Also, so solly but, if the captain doesn't want to tell us, we as passengers, are not entitled to know just exactly how many pax or crew are affected with Noro bad stuff. That falls under the category "Need to know" BTW, outstanding move on your part on those clorex wipes! As they say in Holland "Hiep, hiep hoera" for them wipes!"

 

I agree with you 100% that throwing "Dam dollars" down from the Atrium is a silly game that (can) carry negative consequences! I mean, ever stand in front of elevator doors during dinner hour and/or disembarkation? Sounds like someone (the Cruise Director or his staff??) didn't think that one through!

 

Certainly hope your next cruise is a better one!! Hope you and your knees are feeling better soon!!

 

PS

 

Would you mind very much letting us know when (date/time/port and ship, s'il vous plait) your next cruise will be?;)

[c4me]

Copper your first paragraph made my evening, I needed something to make me smile this evening..we did arrive at the pier around 3:00 pm, our plane was delayed in Atlanta for 2 hrs because of the storms in fll. Yes it did seem that Mr. Murphy was following us throughout our cruise.. we were very cautious driving home from airport, just knew something bad was going to happen.

 

Next cruise will be mediterranean next April, will notify you.....LOL

[Copper10-8]

Copper your first paragraph made my evening, I needed something to make me smile this evening..we did arrive at the pier around 3:00 pm, our plane was delayed in Atlanta for 2 hrs because of the storms in fll. Yes it did seem that Mr. Murphy was following us throughout our cruise.. we were very cautious driving home from airport, just knew something bad was going to happen.

 

Next cruise will be mediterranean next April, will notify you.....LOL

 

C4me; you're my type of person!! All kidding aside, hope your next cruise is a great one!!:)

[willowoodf]

DH and I were on the same cruise as C4ME, and we had a totally opposite experience. We loved the cruise! It was unfortunate we were under Code Red, and it DID somewhat affect our enjoyment of the ship, we DID feel it didn't quite match up to our usual Holland America experience, BUT, and it is a big BUT, it was STILL a great cruise. Yes, I was disappointed I only was able to use the Thermal Suite once, but we didn't let that color our whole view of the cruise.

 

We even had the same dining room waiter as the OP, Putra. Putra is amazing. Always a big smile on his face. He's going to get married in June! I have to disagree with the food on the menu, also. There was always something that sounded great to me on the menu - sometimes more than one thing, and I even had to order two entrees one night! I thought that the food was very good, very varied and the presentation was very nice. I didn't have the filet, so I can't comment on that. The only filet I recall was on the surf and turf night, and I don't like lobster so I didn't get it.

 

About the bloody sheets - now those SHOULD have been changed. I wonder if possibly your steward's English wasn't very good and he couldn't read your note. Or maybe he didn't read it because he thought it was some personal note between your DH and yourself and thought it was private. Did you actually ASK the cabin steward face to face? We once had a cabin steward that spoke hardly any English, and he didn't understand me at all until I actually SHOWED him what I needed to have done. Once he understood he was quick and eager to do what I wanted. He just didn't understand me at first.

 

It is very sad about the Atrium/Dam Dollar incident. I heard from a witness that people were stepping over the convulsing person to retrieve those dollars! I think that activity definitely needs to be stopped.

 

"The activities were very minimal on sea days". Were you on the same ship I was on? DH and I were commenting to ourselves that we didn't understand how people found time to do all the things going on. OK, there isn't rock climbing or water slides or wet T-shirt contests, but that isn't the HAL experience. Thank goodness!

 

Your glasses weren't clean?! My gosh, why didn't you say something to your cabin steward, and if they still weren't clean, you need to bring that to the attention of the head of housekeeping or even the hotel manager. We had a small problem we brought to the Mr. Mahn's attention, and it was attended to within a very short time.

 

I'm sure you can always find people that are unhappy with anything, but the people we hung with and talked to were happy with the cruise. Of course everybody wishes that the ship had been healthy and all the usual amenities were available, but we all made the best of it had had a good time anyway. We had several people at our dining table for 10 that got sick during the cruise (we only had the full 10 people for the first two nights!), but 8 out of the 10 people agreed they had a great time, with the other 2, who were the oldest and the sickest, still smiling, but not quite so enthusiasticly.

 

I'm so sorry about the cab incident and the plane incident! I'm really surprised that there aren't a lot more accidents at that pier! I closed my eyes as our cabbie whipped around through the traffic! (He told us he was from New York, so he was used to it!!) I'm also sorry about C4ME's fall. That could not have been pleasant.

 

So I guess I will just conclude by saying that there are two sides to every coin. What C4ME considered a disappointing cruise, DH and I very much enjoyed. We all agree that the ports were fantastic, but we'll have to agree to disagree about our enjoyment of the ship experience.

 

Mary

[hammybee]

So I guess I will just conclude by saying that there are two sides to every coin. What C4ME considered a disappointing cruise, DH and I very much enjoyed. We all agree that the ports were fantastic, but we'll have to agree to disagree about our enjoyment of the ship experience.

 

Mary

 

Again and again we see that no two pax experience the same cruise the same way. Neither are right or wrong. They each had different reactions to the same experience.

[gizmo]

C4me and Willowoodf,

Thanks for the reviews.

 

C4me,

I understand what you are saying about the food. I always thought the food was good until my last cruise on the Volendam this past Dec. There was more than 1 night we had a hard time finding something to order. The quality was not near what it was before and the selections left a lot to be desired. One night we ate sandwiches in our cabin because the menu was so unappealing.

[Krazy Kruizers]

WOW - you certainly will have some vacation that you won;t forget for awhile. Two fires - Code Red - taxi accident - plant accident.

 

We have been on 3 out 4 ships the past year that were in Code Red and never did we get any shipboard credit and we did not expect any either.

[jascruise]

...and it is a big BUT...

 

Mary,

 

I have resumed dieting, so it hopefully will get smaller.

 

 

We also had an opposite experience from the OP. Will post comments when I get a chance to compose some relatively coherent thoughts.

[the2ofus]

It really is amazing how differently people can experience the same cruise. If I had been C4me, I might have been disappointed with some aspects too. Seems when Murphy's law comes into play, the problems just multiply.

 

However, WE had a GREAT cruise!! Of our entire table for ten in the DR, none of us became ill or was injured. Of course the glass of wine with dinner and all the laughter might have boosted our immune systems.

 

All ten were more than pleased with the selection, presentation and quality of the food. I'm the country bumpkin of the group so I might have been easily impressed. Others, experienced international travellers from big city environments, still thought the food was great.

 

The two fire alarms early in the cruise were a bit un-nerving, but the captain was quick to inform as to what was going on. It was reassuring to see how quickly the crew went into action with full fire response equipment. The first alarm was due to smoke from the crew galley and the second from a small fire in the engine room. They were careful to inform us that neither was quickly dismissed until they were fully investigated over several hours.

 

As a retired health care administrator, I thought the infection control measures were impressive. Since the cases multiplied several days into the cruise, it was clear that passengers were not using proper handwashing technique. I was told that crew members were not becoming ill, just passengers. The captain reminded us at least twice a day how important handwashing was. I was disappointed that I could only use the thermal suite two days out of the trip. However, the charge was fully refunded so, in a sense, I came out ahead.

 

The Lido food lines were sometimes long because everything had to be served to you. I noticed that managers were working the food lines as well as the usual dietary staff. But there is only so much that staff can do. Serving food takes time. Serving that specific piece of fruit right there takes even more time and patience. Usually a thank you with a smile brought a responding smile. Avoiding the busiest times in the Lido helped me avoid frustration.

 

I was impressed that the CD's staff and other non-dietary staff volunteered to help serve coffee, juice and desserts on the Lido to help speed service. When I thanked them, they replied that on the ship they were all one family and were pleased to help.

 

All in all, I'd sail again in a heartbeat with the fabulous crew on the Volendam.

[Copper10-8]

Can one of you please advise who the C/D was opn this cruise?

[the2ofus]

CD was Savannah Rye originally from Liverpool and she was great!! Full of zest and vitality. Seemed to be well-liked and respected. She attended our Meet & Greet and stayed around talking with our group for a long time.

 

The HM Mike Mahn put in an appearance also, but was needed elsewhere so didn't stay. Beverage manager Nigel Thomas helped me with a small glitch in the arrangements, then came by to make sure all was in good order.

 

By the way, the captain was Pieter Visser and his special flag was flying every time we were in port. I think he may have left the ship on the 22nd in Ft. Lauderdale because his flag was not flying that morning.

[Copper10-8]

CD was Savannah Rye originally from Liverpool and she was great!! Full of zest and vitality. Seemed to be well-liked and respected. She attended our Meet & Greet and stayed around talking with our group for a long time.

 

The HM Mike Mahn put in an appearance also, but was needed elsewhere so didn't stay. Beverage manager Nigel Thomas helped me with a small glitch in the arrangements, then came by to make sure all was in good order.

 

Thanks for that info, the2ofus! Haven't heard about Miss Rye before! Much obliged!

[Copper10-8]

By the way, the captain was Pieter Visser and his special flag was flying every time we were in port. I think he may have left the ship on the 22nd in Ft. Lauderdale because his flag was not flying that morning.

 

Are you talking about this flag?

[jascruise]

Are you talking about this flag?

 

That's the one. Does this signify that the Captain is a veteran of the Dutch Navy? Captain Visser was wearing decorations, presumably military, on his whites on formal nights.