It’s On My List

It’s February 3, day 10 of the cruise, so I decided it was time to finish and publish my “first impressions” post. Sorry, it’s turned out to be a long post!

The Ship

I love the size of the Volendam. My cabin is on deck 2; one deck up is the Lower Promenade, which has a nice, wide wooden deck that allows you to walk all the way around the ship. 3.5 laps equal a mile, so I am striving to get my 2 miles/day in. We’ve had some relatively high seas (more on that later) and with the promenade being on such a low deck, I generally need to clean the sea spray off my glasses after every walk. Not that I am complaining! It is wonderful to be so close to the smell and the feel of the ocean.

The main dining room is on deck 4, and the Lido buffet is on deck 8, so never too far from my next meal. Most events – music, trivia, enrichment talks and classes, are on decks 4 and 5. The Crow’s Nest, on deck 9 at the front of the ship, holds a variety of events and provides nice panoramic views.

There are two pools and a few hot tubs. There is lots of open space, with the aft pool area being one of my favorites. The main pool has a retractable dome, so I am wondering if it will remain open for swimming when we get to Antarctica.

There is a library, a game room, a large theater and two small theaters. There are several bars that offer a variety of entertainment. There are a few shops that sell everything from souvenirs to high-end cosmetics and jewelry, as well as basic necessities like deodorant and sunscreen. There also is a small casino. There are plenty of places to find a quiet seat for reading or writing, especially with the ship just over half full. I’m getting pretty good at finding my way around at this point.

The Food

The food has been very good – some particularly excellent chilled soups (watermelon gazpacho! mango gazpacho!) The buffet is excellent. There is a lovely young woman who will put together a salad exactly how you want it – from greens to toppings to dressings. There are pasta and stir fry stations that will make your dinner to order. Generally, whatever is on the main dining room menu is also available in the buffet, so if you want a quick, informal meal you will still be very well fed. The only thing that hasn’t been great are the desserts. Which, to be honest, is just as well. The breads and breakfast pastries, however, are exceptional. The Lido coffee is passable but not particularly good. There are two coffee bars, though, so I can indulge in an Americano or cappuccino when I want delicious coffee.

Room service is free, and available 24/7, which is nice, although the menu is very limited. I also learned not to order scrambled eggs from room service. They must be made from a powder, and I found them to be inedible.

The Dive-In is the pool deck burger place, and the burgers are delicious. The only pizza is in the buffet, and it is pretty good, but I do miss the poolside pizza that Princess has on their ships. I also miss the Princess International Cafe, which is so handy when you are hungry outside of normal mealtimes. On Holland America, breakfast ends at 10:00AM, lunch ends at 2:00PM and dinner ends at 9:00PM (8:00PM in the buffet). The burger place is open from 11:00AM-6:00PM. There is sometimes tea at 3:00PM, and late-night snacks in the buffet from 10:30PM – 11:30PM.

Sometimes I find that if I eat a late breakfast, I don’t want lunch but would like a small sandwich or some fruit and cheese in the late afternoon. Or if I have a burger when I get back from an excursion (like I did today) I won’t want dinner before 8:00 but may want a snack around 9:00. Oh, well, I am getting plenty to eat in any case. And, again, room service will bring me a cheese plate or a club sandwich whenever I want one.

Enrichment

I am so pleased with our cruise director, Daniel Edward, who is a Cambridge-educated travel writer. He gives excellent presentations on every place we visit, with a mix of history, culture, and practical information. There also is an astronomer onboard, although I haven’t been to one of his lectures yet. And there is a woman who has given talks on a wide variety of topics – I attended her pirate talk.

There are bridge classes, dance classes, tai chi, and crafts (none of which I have attended) as well as watercolor and drawing classes, which I have attended. A creative writing instructor is joining us in Buenos Aires. There is a knitting group, a walking group, religious services, meet-ups for singles, veterans, LBGTQ folks, and lots more.

Entertainment

In addition to all the enrichment programming, there is generally a show in the main stage theater every night. So far we’ve had a pair of guitarists from Brazil, a comedic singer (it works – he’s very funny), another guest singer, and a couple of shows from the onboard reparatory company, who are very talented.

There is a string trio that plays in one of the smaller theaters. Although that is not usually my thing, I have sat and listened, and they are excellent. You also can hear them from the library, where I sometimes sit for staring-at-the-ocean time, which is lovely.

There is a singer/pianist in the Ocean Bar, and a sing-along pianist in the Mix Bar. There is another band who plays at various venues, including the Crow’s Nest and the pool decks. For such a small ship, it is a really nice variety.

Overall Experience

A++ The service has been excellent. Staff is very friendly and helpful. My cabin is serviced twice a day, with a chocolate on the pillow at turn-down.

The ride has been a bit bumpier than I expected, but there were a lot of storms with strong winds in the Caribbean. Hopefully it will smooth out. It hasn’t made me seasick, so that is good. But it was rocky enough two nights ago that it kept me awake. In general, I am sleeping well, but when we dock in port it sounds as though the anchor line is dropping from behind my headboard. That’s fine though – I won’t ever oversleep and miss an excursion!

The other passengers have been overall great. I’ve played trivia with a few different people, had shared tables at breakfast and lunch (still being an isolationist at dinner, sometimes I just don’t feel like making conversation). There are lots of Americans and Canadians, some folks from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and lots of other places. I’ve met a lot of very nice and interesting fellow travelers.

This is my first “Grand Voyage” and I had read about “pillow gifts” which are cruise line swag that are given to passengers on long voyages. Since I am not on for the full Pole to Pole World Cruise, I didn’t expect to receive any gifts. So, I was delighted to find a lovely tote bag on my bed on the second night of the cruise,

But wait – there’s more! The tote bag was filled with practical items for the voyage – a rain poncho, a sun hat, a cross-body bag, a card holder, and a power bank.

There’s lots more to write about, but my battery is getting low since I’m sitting out on the pool deck. So tune in again for Costa Rica and Panama!