Volendam Review

Beautiful ship with tasteful decor, well maintained, friendly service

Review for Asia Cruise on Volendam
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kuhnau
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2018
Cabin: Large Ocean-View Stateroom

I was attracted to the itinerary which had 9 ports: Singapore, Thailand [2], Cambodia [1], Vietnam [4] and Hong Kong. The voyage was 16 days: January 16 - February 1, 2018.

This would normally be the dry season for southeast Asia but at least half the days were overcast but fortunately with minimal rain. Our veranda stateroom was roomy with recently updated bathroom with high quality amenities including shower wall dispensers for shampoo, conditioner and soap, ample high water and water pressure. Our stewards were competent and friendly. I enjoyed very tasty food in both the Lido and formal [Rotterdam] dining rooms, did not use the extra fare Pinnacle grill. The average age of the passengers was 65-70, with no children among the 1400 passengers, a primary thing to consider if you dislike unsupervised, badly behaved kids running around. The excursions were well done and reasonably priced. So why the three star rating?

In every room of the ship except the library and stateroom, from early morning breakfast to late night, ceiling speakers emitted canned music [yes even in the formal dining room] 90% of which was pop vocal. The amplitude was unpleasantly loud for my ears. I had taken the Zuiderdam on a west Caribbean cruise a year earlier and there was no canned music on that trip. I can only assume that Holland-America in its wisdom decided to imitate cheaper entertainment and lower class restaurants that feel pre-recorded music is necessary to create a "carnival" [no pun intended] atmosphere. This was my 4th voyage on HAL including two early trans-atlantic but unless they cut the canned music, I will seek other means of travel.

Cabin Review

Large Ocean-View Stateroom

Cabin DA

Clean, comfortable, roomy, well maintained

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