My wife and I recently returned home from one of the most memorable cruises of our lives. This was our 7th cruise and our 3rd in succession with HAL. All of our cruises have been enjoyable but HAL just seem to be the perfect match for us. However, this was our 1st cruise on the Volendam, and I must say, the Volendam is the 'BEST KEPT SECRET' in the cruise industry!
As we arrived at the pier in Ft. Lauderdale, embarkation was a breeze. Since we arrived about 2:00 p.m. there were very few lines and we were quickly on our way up the escalator to the waiting lounge where we received the customary photo-shoot, and on our way across the gangway to the Volendam.
She is a mid-sized ship of 63,000 tons, built in 1999. She will be going into dry dock in December 2005 to be refurbished, but I can't imagine what HAL can do to improve this ship except for new carpeting and perhaps brighter colors in some areas. Otherwise, the Volendam is very ELEGANT. She is the perfect size, easy to find your way around, and one of the very few ships that has a 10 night itinerary out of Ft. Lauderdale that visits Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados, and Half Moon Cay. It doesn't get any better than that. Our cabin A6170 w/balcony was perfectly located at mid-ship, with easy access to the mid elevators. On our way to our room, we met our smiling Cabin Steward, "JABARR" who already knew our names. (Don't ask me how!) He assisted us with our 'carry-on' bags which merited him a handshake (with something in hand) and from that point on, there was nothing we wanted that "JABARR" would not do for us. Our room was kept IMMACULATE; fresh towels, clean wine glasses, ice-bucket kept full on its shinny silver tray, fruit bowl replenished daily with sparkling silverware and cloth napkins, and every night we returned to our room to find cute little animals-shaped towels on the bed with milk chocolates to form their eyes; a very nice touch indeed.