The Volendam is only three years old, and is just similar enough to the Ryndam and Maasdam that I got confused at the differences. Basically, it was mostly the same, but stretched about fifty feet. This gave the spa more room, and the piano bar was larger and arranged differently.
There were hundreds of Trekkers aboard, most with families. I was surprised to find the average Trekker age to be a bit older than myself. In addition to the ship's normal activities, there were several days worth of Trek-only activities.
One feature of all Holland America ships is the sliding cover over the Lido pool. This proved to be a boon in Alaska, as it was occasionally rainy and always chilly. They did open the cover in Glacier Bay, but by then it was sunny and fairly warm.
Our cabin was adequately large - the couch made into a bed large enough for an adult, and there was adequate drawer and closet space. The bathroom was large enough to hold all our stuff, and the hot water was as hot as I like it.
Room service was a major problem. After we found out that the Lido evening hours were rather limited, we had a number of room service orders. Sometimes the phone rang thru fine, but more than half of the time they didn't answer at all. After a few tries, we had to call the front desk. The first time we tried this, they transferred us to Room Service...where it rang and rang and rang. Finally, we convinced the front desk people to take our order. Another time, my son's order took almost an hour to arrive - he called them after 50 minutes and ranted, and the order arrived a few minutes after that. A number of times they got the order wrong - a Club sandwich instead of the ordered BLT, or they forgot the milk or juice. This type of service was rather surprising given the newness of the ship and staff and Holland America's reputation.
This will be our last family cruise on Holland America - we just had too many problems that seemed to indicate an overall lack of quality control, as well as an only half-hearted attempt to accomodate children.
Copyright © 2008 by Dana Cline
Last updated on 7/8/2008
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