Volendam

JULY

The Volendam was an excellent first cruise experience. We loved the attention of the staff, the size and comfort of our room, the destinations and excursions on the trip and the specialty food choices. The staff was so pleasant and helpful. Each member of the team made us feel welcomed, seen and appreciated. It was such a pleasure to meet them and we appreciated their attention to details for us. The specialty dining places- the dining room, the Canaletto, the Pinnacle Grill were amazing! The choices and the staffing were so incredibly accommodating and provided food that we can never replicate. So good! The staff that took care of our room was so kind and we loved all of the special information and candies they left behind. It was so fun to come to the room to see the bed made or pulled back. We are not used to being so spoiled. It was amazing and special. Our couple minor concerns are the rotating choices of food in the Lido Deck buffet. The first couple of days were great but then it was the same choices throughout the week. I would like to have seen some variety in the main dishes. The other concern was the social activities. There were limited choices. I do not have a specific recommendation for changing this. We did not feel super socially connected. But we made our own fun! There is a lot of nickel and diming on this trip. Everything is tipped and expected. We did the upgrade in drinks but still felt that everything was additional. We are paying a tip each day per person in the room and then additionally tipping for drinks. It added up to a sizeable bill at the end of the week.

DECEMBER

V365 voyage. The cabin stewards served me well. There was no refrigerator and I was keeping medicine cool with ice. Sam and August (Agus). Did a great job refreshing the needed ice.

SEPTEMBER

We are loyal Holland cruisers because it offers great itineraries at fair prices, demographics of passengers are compatible

AUGUST

The ship was awesome, the staff could not have been more accommodating, the food was great..lots of things to do at all times...they kept you informed on a daily basis of what was happening. Very impressive!!

JULY

Very nice room. The first night when I pulled back the sheet, there was a washed Kleenex laying on the bed. Were given ship credits of $100 each along with cancelation of an excursion at $35 each. Wow, $270!! Did not know we would be charged gratuities of $16 per person per day. Was glad we had credit to pay for that! We were also told that we would be arriving in Juneau 3 hours early due to a medical issue. So using up our credits shopping was cut short. Also didn't know that the whole next day, as we traveled to Skayway that we would not be able to use our ship credits to shop. I heard others left behind large amounts of credits also. Use your credits wisely and fast. Maybe these credits should also apply to the many land shops owned by Holland Am in these port towns.?? We were also told the $70 for the canceled excursions would be coming back as dollars in our account vs ship credit. Still waiting on that.

APRIL

The entertainment was mediocre and one comment from a fellow cruiser that was on the 72 day cruise proceeding ours was "what entertainment?" On his trip before it was far better. The food choices in the main dining room were lacking. It is our first cruise that 40% of our choices were an extra charge. Lobster was never offered for 14 days without paying extra but turkey was offered twice as a choice. The food that we had was very well prepared and in good portions. The meals we had in the specialty restaurants were excellent. The food choices in the cafeteria were great and delicious. We found all the staff and crew members to be beyond excellent and well trained. We were always greeted with a smile and there were many instances we were greeted by name which was a nice personal touch. obviosly

MARCH

Holland America had delivered an experience of a lifetime. The entire South America experience was beautiful and amazing. The Antarctica viewing and experience was unbelievable and will never be forgotten. The captain navigated the Antarctica and the Amazon with unbeatable skills to ensure optimal pleasure and safety. Very nice "pillow gifts" on Gala nights to pleasant & helpful staff.

OCTOBER

<div>Volendam is just coming out of 2 week dry dock and this cruise was her last one before the dry dock. Overall, I love the Volendam. I would definitely recommend a balcony suite for future guests. Deck 6 was perfect access up or down to places I wanted to go (the gym and the bar!) Ship is getting upgrades in dry dock. Volendam does show her age in many places but, to me, has a wonderful, older, cruise ship feel.</div>

AUGUST

Loved the wildlife connection with the park rangers and the deck spotting. Kids club should include a meet and greet with the captain to make them feel special and included. More rooms needed to be offered for my kids to feel comfortable in the ship on at sea days. Less movies to “entertain” kids in the kids club. Entertainment was varied and very professional(especially the Italian string quartet).

AUGUST

It was a very nice cruise. Loved getting so close to the glaciers.

JUNE

We had a great first cruise experience with Volendam. The service was impeccable and the staff ever so friendly! Food was delicious and beyond our expectations!

JUNE

Everything was very enjoyable and Edward Infanti was extremely helpful. My husband was very sceptical about going on the trip but throughly loved it and we will go again ????

APRIL

Good trip overall

MARCH

For my first cruise, this was grand. The journey through the Canal Zone was the reason I was excited to go - and it didn't disappoint. The other ports of call were a bonus. Especially enjoyed the Mayan ruins of Mexico, Antigua, Guatemala with it's active volcano; Costa Rico and the Old City & Fort of Cartagena.

DECEMBER

<div>All the employees of the ship were hard working and kind. Our stateroom had minor leaking problems but guest services department promptly corrected problems and were apologetic. Overall we had a wonderful trip and highly recommend to our friends.</div>

DECEMBER

<div>Had a great time!</div>

SEPTEMBER

Great trip overall.

SEPTEMBER

<div>Many thanks to my agent for her friendly, knowledgeable service to us. She contacted us weekly and offered good advice and suggestions.</div>

JULY

We were on the ship for just three days, but everything was wonderful. We look forward to sailing again with Holland America for a longer cruise. The accommodations, and staff were very helpful and attentive. We were very pleased with our short stay aboard your beautiful ship.

JULY

This was a great start to our land/sea trip to the Yukon and Canada. I liked doing the sea segment first. The land segment from Skagway to Dawson City aligned with the path of the gold rush. It also saved the best parts, Denali and the Alaska Railway for the end. The weather for the whole trip was great.

JULY

Older ship needs updates to cabins and decor on the ship. No outlet in bathroom which was small. Only outlet in cabin in sitting area. Very inconvenient. Ship not recommended but land portion was excellent

JULY

<div>Very nicely organized. Not good clarification regarding gift certificate. Most the people lost money including us. Will try again</div>

JUNE

This was the first cruise we had ever been on so we decided to do it all, land and sea. It was first class and the way.

MARCH

cruise lines are cutting corners to cut costs, not a good idea.

MARCH

join in all the activities or just chill out enjoy people watching eat, eat, eat gather with friends shopping

APRIL

Really enjoyed the cruise

APRIL

Having completed a cruise on the Zaamdam prior to the cruise, we noticed that the quality of the food was not as good. The food was not bad but could have been better.

FEBRUARY

<div>WE LOVED HAVING OUR TRAVEL AGENT TAKE CARE OF OUR DETAILS FOR THE TRIP. ALL WENT PERFECTLY.</div>

JULY

Would definitely cruise on a HA ship again, more than satisfied with this trip