The prospect of four consecutive sea days doesn’t exactly thrill me. Not that I have a problem with motion sickness or anything like that. I just get bored! I know people who cruise just for the pleasure of being on the ship. They don’t really care which ship it is or where it’s going. I’m not one of those people. My selection of a cruise is mostly based on the destination, with the exception of an occasional Caribbean cruise taken for the sole purpose of escaping the cold. As I stated earlier, I want to see and do as much as possible in each new port. On sea days, I don’t find much to occupy my time. I have no interest in most of the shipboard activities (galley tours, bingo, line dance lessons, etc.). I did participate in the trivia challenges but that consumed less than an hour. So I found myself wandering around a lot. Fortunately, most of the sea days were concentrated at the beginning of this cruise, when my enthusiasm level was highest. So I took the time to get to know the ship.The Volendam is a perfect size, in my opinion. I like smaller ships as compared to the megaships which seem to be the new standard. I usually prefer a balcony stateroom, although I travel alone since my wife died a few years ago and don’t spend much time in the cabin. It’s just nice to have when you want it. However, on this trip it just didn’t seem worth the considerable extra cost. I booked an outside cabin on Main Deck, just aft of midships.
This was a great location, out of the main traffic flow but convenient to both the midship and aft elevators and stairs. The Volendam is in pretty good shape, considering that she’s nine years old. My cabin was fine, with plenty of closet and drawer space for all my “stuff”. My steward, Touluse, was excellent and provided the standard of service I’ve come to expect from Holland America personnel. I found out later in the cruise that his contract was up and that he was disembarking in Auckland. He was professional right to the end of his trip. Plus he made great towel animals!I mentioned that I had participated in a “roll call” for this cruise. On the first sea day, Greg had organized a “meet and greet” for the twenty-five or so passengers on that roll call. The ship had reserved a section of the Crows Nest for our group and provided coffee, tea, juice and cookies free of charge. It was a great way to get to know your fellow cruisers and I feel that I have some new friends as a result. I also purchased an internet package on the first sea day - $100 for 250 minutes. I thought this was pretty expensive but I didn’t want to be completely out of touch with my friends for two months. E-mail would be better than nothing. However, the response time was somewhere between “slow” and “really slow” so the minutes dwindled very quickly. As a result, I purchased a second package of minutes just about mid-way through the cruise. A suggestion to others: bring a laptop if you plan to use the ship’s internet service. You can compose messages off-line and only sign onto the internet long enough to actually transmit them. You’ll save a lot of money.
This was my first cruise using the “As You Wish” dining option. It’s perfect for me! I’m not a big eater and I never know when I’ll be hungry and this option gave me total flexibility. I had read some criticism while doing my research but HAL must have ironed out the bugs in the system. Greg and I typically went to the dining room around 7:00 pm and we were always seated immediately, usually at a table for six or eight. Service was fine and the pace was about the same as fixed-seating dinners. We also ate in the Lido restaurant quite a few nights and, although it was served buffet style, waiters were there to carry trays to the table and get drinks. I also took advantage of room service on multiple occasions. The menu was extensive, service was quick and the food was good. In fact, I believe that the food quality was better than on previous Holland America cruises. It just seemed to taste better, not quite as bland as on previous trips. One last thing: if you like hamburgers and fries (and I do), don’t miss the Lido grill. The food was excellent, although a little slow at times since they cook everything to order.
That’s about all there is to say regarding the ship itself. By the end of the fourth sea day, I believe that I had seen every inch of the thing. Tomorrow we get back on land. Hopefully, it’s Honolulu but at this point I’ll take any island the captain can locate!
No comments:
Post a Comment