Volendam Trans Canal mini review

[ldog]

We've been back from out San Diego to FLL cruise for a week now. It's all starting to be put in perspective so I thought I'd do a mini review for you.

 

We are in our late 50's and this was our fifth HAL cruise. We have mostly cruised in Europe, except for one Caribbean cruise which we won't repeat. The attraction of this cruise was the Canal itself and the time of year suited our schedules.

 

Firstly let me say that we had a great time. The service and efficiency of the HAL crew are unbeatable. Our steward, Diez, and our dining staff Buddi and Ben were so good at what they do. We had the nicest wine steward - Elizabeth - what a great smile and personality!

 

The itinerary included a nice mix of 'touristy' ports in Mexico with some new ones - Puerto Chiapas near the Guatemala border, Puntarenas in Costa Rica and Cartagena in Columbia. All were well worth the visits. We knew the weather would be hot and humid but it was more so than I expected. We survived by drinking more cervezas:D. We took a mix of ship's excursions and DIY tours.

 

The Volendam is a very pretty ship but it is showing signs of wear and tear. There were a myriad of little things that either weren't working or barely working. None of them were deal breakers but they were irritating.

 

For instance, the tv channels repeated the same shows at the same times every single day. We were informed that it was a 'Hard Drive' problem. The big wall map that shows the ship's route outside the Ocean Bar showed the next cruise (FLL - Canal - FLL) for the first few days and then when it showed our cruise it was in an incorrect grid. (I can't figure out how to explain it better but it showed the route but out in the Pacific Ocean). It stopped working after the canal. One door at the Lido Aft deck was broken for the entire 15 days. The Culinary Arts Kitchen was woefully lacking in equipment for the classes - one measuring cup and set of spoons for 12 people. The deck chairs at the aft pool were in very sad shape. At least four were broken and the others are gungy and decrepit. There were only four or five umbrellas for the tables at the aft pool. There were at least ten tables. There were some air conditioning and plumbing issues. There was a waterfall in the show lounge one evening. the speakers aft weren't loud enough during the canal transit and nobody could fix them all day.:confused:The billing computers were down for 3 days but, not surprisingly, were fixed before we arrived in FLL.:D We only received one Mariner tile and didn't get our 50 day pins.

 

I'll repeat that none of these things were major and they certainly didn't ruin our holiday but it was surprising after what we were used to on our previous cruises.

 

That said the food was generally very good. DH had bread pudding every single day and I had smoked salmon for breakfast. We ate in the Pinnacle twice because the first time was so good. No Dutch night but there was the Master Chef's dinner which doesn't enchant me. We had main sitting upper at 8 pm and really enjoyed that time. We had a fabulous table of eight that gelled wonderfully.

 

The lecturer was interesting. The entertainment was generally very good highlights were Annie Francis - singer, John Davidson and a young British violinist whose name escapes me. There were only three production shows for a 15 day cruise but the ones we saw were good.

 

We booked another cruise on the Statendam for February and two more future cruise credits.

 

Any questions please ask.

[earl_m]

thank you for the review.

[starysacz]

Some of the same problems on the Veendam last week. A/C out for two days and dirty throw pillows.:mad:

[starysacz]

Thank you for the mini-review. Very interesting.

[gizmo]

Thanks for taking the time to write you review. I enjoyed reading it. :)

 

The ship certainly needs some work.

 

The wall map that showed the ship's route was screwy when I sailed on the Volendam last Dec. :eek:

 

What was Puerto Chiapas like ?

[ldog]

Puerto Chiapas was very interesting. I couldn't find any private guide info so we booked a HAL shore excursion - Tapachula City & Izapa Archaeological Site cost $59.

 

When the ship docked the pier was all set up with a dance stage and marimba band. There were more than twenty you dancers to greet us.

 

There is a pretty welcome centre that had a few shops and an entertainment 'well' that had performances all day - those same dancers and others.

 

Our guide was a charming young woman who had taken the day off from her English teaching job. She said that we were the sixth ship to ever stop there.

 

We went through Tapachula almost to the Guatamalen border to see the archaeoligical site. It was barely developed but you could see the temple areas and the contest grounds where the ancients played a game that required hitting a ball through hoops with their hips (as I understand it). After that we went to the city museum which was small but interesting and then had a walk around the central square and into the city hall to see some interesting stained glass windows. We couldn't go into the church as they were celebrating mass.

 

We then went to a Tilapia fish farm and gardens where we were told about the fish and got to feed them. Then back to the ship - about four hours.

 

Tapachula was very Mexican and not at all prepared for tourists or shopping (which is fine by me). They didn't have any facility to accept USD and nobody was helping people find an ATM. There wasn't any time for individual wandering anyway.

 

The cruise centre had some good shops and bars and an outdoor bar and swimming pool that we saw passengers and crew using. It looked very nice.

 

An hour before departure we were treated to another dance and marimba show on the pier. It was wonderful!

[ldog]

Puerto Chiapas was very interesting. I couldn't find any private guide info so we booked a HAL shore excursion - Tapachula City & Izapa Archaeological Site cost $59.

 

When the ship docked the pier was all set up with a dance stage and marimba band. There were more than twenty you dancers to greet us.

 

There is a pretty welcome centre that had a few shops and an entertainment 'well' that had performances all day - those same dancers and others.

 

Our guide was a charming young woman who had taken the day off from her English teaching job. She said that we were the sixth ship to ever stop there.

 

We went through Tapachula almost to the Guatamalen border to see the archaeoligical site. It was barely developed but you could see the temple areas and the contest grounds where the ancients played a game that required hitting a ball through hoops with their hips (as I understand it). After that we went to the city museum which was small but interesting and then had a walk around the central square and into the city hall to see some interesting stained glass windows. We couldn't go into the church as they were celebrating mass.

 

We then went to a Tilapia fish farm and gardens where we were told about the fish and got to feed them. Then back to the ship - about four hours.

 

Tapachula was very Mexican and not at all prepared for tourists or shopping (which is fine by me). They didn't have any facility to accept USD and nobody was helping people find an ATM. There wasn't any time for individual wandering anyway. Some passengers were disappointed but we found it a refreshing change from Cabo, PV and Acapulco. Everyone was very friendly and, I think, we were a curiositiy to the townspeople.

 

The cruise centre had some good shops and bars and an outdoor bar and swimming pool that we saw passengers and crew using. It looked very nice.

 

An hour before departure we were treated to another dance and marimba show on the pier. It was wonderful!

[takemewithyou]

What was your impression of disembarkation? I am sure your have read my review (very lengthy :eek: ) and my experience with signature express baggage on our cruise. Did it go pretty well for you?

 

Did you experience any problems with the toilets not working? Ours didn't work for 6 hours that last day at sea but I figured it was beyond their control because someone must have flushed something they shouldn't have.

 

Also, agree with your impressions of Puerto Chiapas. They really rolled out the welcome mat for us. It was very nice.

[jjb415]

Thank you so much for posting your impressions of the Volendam. Gizmo says the map wastn't working in December 2006, and it wasn't working in May 2007 either. Aboard my Alaska sailing, most weaknesses were with the service and not the physical things aboard the ship. My experience with the Front Office, Waiter, and Room Steward were the worst in my 106 days with Holland America. But, I too, have signed up for another sailing and will sign up for many more in the future. What can I say? The fantastic always outweighs the weak points.

 

Thanks again and I'll keep reading!

 

:)

[gizmo]

Idog,

 

Thanks for the information on Puerto Chiapas. The port sounds interesting. :)