Another Cruise on the Volendam

We flew into Montreal on Friday, June 20 and stayed at Humaniti Hotel, a beautiful newer property. Saturday, we took an Uber to the ship and boarded about 1:00. We dropped our carry-ons in the room and then spent a couple of hours strolling Old Montreal and having lunch. Sail away was at 7:00, as the next Port was Quebec City and it isn't very far. We had done the Volendam 7 night from Boston to Montreal last summer, and decided to do this 10 nighter as it had several different ports. The problem was that we had nice weather in Montreal, Quebec City, and Portland. In all of the others we had very "cool" temperatures (40s and 50s) with a lot of rain. In some of the ports, there is not really much to do unless you take a shore excursion. When we reached Boston, we selected the last departure time (9:00) and took Uber to the airport, which is very close. Despite the weather, we had a very enjoyable cruise. We had an inside cabin (we usually have a balcony) and slept so well that on 2 days we actually slept through the breakfast serving time. The crew was very good and the food, for the most part was very enjoyable. There was a Happy Hour each day from 4 to 5, and it was well attended. The biggest change I noticed from last summer was the entertainment. We enjoyed a very funny comedian (everyone was laughing), a good song and dance ensemble, a hilarious magician/comedian who did 2 shows and I still am trying to figure out some of his illusions, an amazing pianist, and, best of all, Breton Thunder, who are a "rock" band from Nova Scotia. They did 3 different shows. I have always found Holland to be somewhat lacking in entertainment, compared to other cruise lines, but I went out of my way to find the cruise director and thank him. The entertainment was totally different from what we experienced on Volendam last summer. There was also a classical trio (played some concertos and some rock and roll), the house band, and a piano "sing-a-long" lady. All were extremely talented. Volendam is a smaller ship, but a lot of entertainment was available. If the itinerary was good, I would not hesitate to cruise on her again. Being smaller means it can go places the larger ships cannot. Except for the rain, it was a very enjoyable cruise.

A wonderful experience

We were a group of 4 .Embark was a breeze we were on the ship within 20 minutes and allowed in our rooms immediately. Yay. We ate at the buffet and wandered the ship. The safety drill was smooth and very easy. Not at all like the one I experienced in 2013. We met our room stewards, who were very helpful. My room mate and I both carried cpaps so having only one outlet in our room was a problem. We mentioned this to our steward, he immediately disappeared and came back just as quickly with an extention cord and power strip and set it up. We let it slip we loved towel animals.. and he made sure we had then nearly every nite.. and they were quite creative. Some made us laugh. The distilled water we ordered was in our room waiting. Our steward checked in with us on a regular basis to see if we needed anything and sometimes would catch up with us in the halls to make sure we had a wonderful day. Dinner.. all but two evenings were in the main dining room. We found the wait to get into the dining room was excessive. 45 minutes.. and once we were seated it was a 20 minute wait before our waiter filled our water glasses, bread basket or a drink order taken. More than once we had to prompt our waiter after a lengthy wait to clear the table and bring deserts. There were lots of empty tables, but the MDR seemed to be short staffed and even disorganized. The staff was pleasant tho. We ate one evening in the Pinnacle, the service was excellent but we thought in general the food was better prepared in the MDR. Breakfast, lunch and one dinner was in the Lido. I was not really impressed. I thought in general the food was flat tasting and there could have been a little more variety. The pasta salads were tasteless. Again the staff was great. Not to be forgotten.... I loved seeing the yum yum man... (actually a yum yum lady) and having the digestive treats offered again after dinner on one of our last nites. Activities.. I attended the Breton Thunder shows and loved them. And I loved the informalness and warmth of the World Stage. I wish all cruise ships had this. We enjoyed the string trio.. Tho there seemed to be enough to do and a good variety of things to do.. The afternoon tea was a treat and we met some wonderful folks. Some of my favorite things were the coffee bar and all the places I could hide away and read. I never felt crowded on the ship. Our trip was port intensive so we did not have as much ship time as I am used to. I loved that the staff would randomly check in with you and chat for a minute or two .. it felt like I was a old friend and cherished guest. Our room was spacious and clean.. we had a couch in the room, which was nice.. the best part was the full sized shower.. We had a window room. Disembarkment was very smooth and efficent. Once we were called it was a very very short time that we were off the ship. Last but not least I want to give a shout out to our room stewards Ayre and Andre ( Indonesia), as well as Denise and Rodan.. and special thanks to Andre (Brazil) for very smoothly dealing with an excursion payment snafu, his calm and professionalism was phenominal. .

The perfect ship for a Canada New England cruise.

We absolutely love this ship. Launched in 1999, she has aged well. Volendam is a small ship by the standards of today but that is what we like: 1,400 + passengers that will not overwhelm the ports that she visits. She is small enough to pass under the bridge along the St Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec City. The food in the main dining room was outstanding, and the desserts: expect to carry some extra pounds home and wear stretchable pants. The crew, friendly as only the Indonesians and Filipinos can be on every ship that which we have sailed. The Lido bread pudding at lunch, the fresh baked rolls every morning are not to be missed. The entertainment is a bit weak in the evenings but the library on board is extensive and up to date. Even without a have the "have it all package", the cost of specialty coffee and alcohol is less than on Celebrity. We sailed the same itinerary in May and just can't get enough of this itinerary and this wonderful ship.

A Super Experience!

A great experience aboard the Volendam to places we had never been before. The crew was great; the Captain was awesome, giving us extra glimpses of places whenever he could; even announcing when a whale was spotted! Everyone was so friendly and helpful. We loved the food. Such a nice variety and choice of dishes. My only criticism would be that smoking is still allowed in the casino which was unpleasant even though we did not use the facility. Since it’s in an open area, the smoke does drift. Other than that, it was great. We were in an unobstructed ocean view. Although we usually prefer a veranda we felt it wasn’t necessary for this trip since it would be cold for a large portion of the journey. Still got great views from our window of icebergs passing by. Plenty of room and storage. Cabin crew was terrific! We will choose Holland America again.