Cruise Ship: Volendam
Cruise Destination: New Zealand and Australia
Cruise Dates: December 2009
Guest Contributor: Bill T
I'd like to give my comments on our recent Holland Anerica Line Volendam cruise round New Zealand and Australia. I started the cruise with no preconceptions about Holland America, or how they may compare to other lines. We have been on several cruises before, all on different lines, to different continents. The cruise was 17 days and over the Christmas and New Year period.
Overview: Let me start off with my thoughts on the ship, the Volendam. In all honesty it is starting to look its age. It might be only 10 years old, but seems more. I would like to say that it has "understated elegance", but that wouldn't really be true. It doesn't really fit into any category. Neither lavish, nor modern. That's not to say it's a bad ship. Perhaps 'bland' would be the best way to describe it. Whilst it is aimed at the family sector, it shouldn't be. We are in our 40s with children, and at times felt quite out of place. Most of the older passengers are clearly uncomfortable with children on the ship, and were not shy in coming forward to say that. If you are a family with children then Holland America is probably not for you.
Now on to facilities. Volendam is a midsized ship, so has most of the necessities, but not in any great numbers or variety. Our cruise included 6 sea days in total, and 3 in a row. We felt that more facilities would have been better, and certainly more activities laid on than they did. Before I go on to my in depth review, my short appraisal would be 5/10. It's not my best cruise experience, not by a long shot. There was nothing terribly wrong with it; we just left feeling the ship, staff, and facilities could have been much better. Now in detail.
Volendam Cabins: here I have no complaints at all. They are quite spacious, with good storage, and perfectly adequate bathrooms. The TV has the usual mix of CNN, ESPN, in-house movies and ship channels showing tour guides, events, etc. There is also a DVD player, and movies you can rent.
Volendam Restaurants: The main restaurant is the Rotterdam, straddling 2 floors on the 4th and 5th decks. The Volendam had both fixed seating, and dine as you wish. We had the latter, which worked perfectly well. We started off the cruise by making prior bookings for each evening, but found out that really wasn't necessary. We were a table of 6 and never had a difficulty being seated as we rolled up. The food in general was excellent, nicely prepared and presented. There was good choice, though the menu did repeat itself on a few occasions. In particular, great effort wad made for both the Christmas & New Year meals.
The Pinnacle is the alternative, chargeable restaurant. ($20 pp for dinner and $10 for lunch.). This was a disappointment. We found the food to be below the standard of the main dining room, which should not be the case. There is a small selection on offer and is limited to 3 courses. (as opposed to the dining room which has a far more varied selection.) The quality of cuisine was just not up to standard. We ordered a selection of steak, seafood and vegetarian. None were exceptional. If you request anything in addition or different to the 3 courses, there is a further charge. We were scheduled to dine there 4 times, but canceled after 1.
Lido Buffet restaurant. Pretty much does what it says. Breakfasts generally are good, with plenty of selection. Lunch was more changeable, some days better than others. On the odd occasion we ate there in the evening we found it to he lacking in imagination, and the least good of the meals. By the lido deck pool there is an all day grill section that offers up burgers, pizza, tacos etc. Useful if you get hungry in between.
Bars: There are a selection around the ship, which have music at varying times.
Pool deck: known as the Lido. There are 2 pools. One is mid-ship with a retractable roof, and other other is open air at the stern. Most of the time there was sufficient seating, with a mix of chairs & recliners. However, there is little entertainment, and this was a recurring theme. Whilst there was a band-stand, there was little to no live music being played on it, nor background music over the speakers. So you'd better like a quiet pool-side experience.
Evening Shows: on 5 nights there were the ship's singers/dancers. Mostly good and polished. Other nights there was a selection of singers/comedians/jugglers. They were mostly poor and pretty second rate. Think amateur cabaret night.
Kids club: This is not the ships best facet. Hours are limited, and you really have the over riding feeling that Holland America is providing it through clenched teeth. The staff are cheery and do their best, but there is only so much they can do. Added to which, note my earlier comment that most passengers are hostile to children on board. We had 2 particularly nasty incidents where our children were lashed out at.
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