Volendam Review

4.0 / 5.0
592 reviews

Some thoughts on our Alaska cruise

Review for Alaska Cruise on Volendam
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northern dancer 37
6-10 Cruises • Age 80s

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Sail Date: May 2013
Cabin: Large Ocean-View Stateroom

Boarding seemed to take a long time - over an hour standing in line. We must have missed some information for third-time cruisers on HA.Basically, it was an enjoyable cruise, but there were a few glitches. We had dinners in the dining room, and they were generally good quality, and the servings were modest, which met our needs. We enjoyed the afternoon tea, but observed some training lapses. Once, when we were at a table for two, I was served tea before my wife was served. Several times, sweets arrived before the sandwiches. Most disconcerting was when the server tried shaking the jam on to the scones, instead of using a second spoon to dislodge the jam on to the scone. I had this image of the jam ending up in my lap. I fault management, not the servers, for these lapses. Those of us who were prepared for the two formal nights were disappointed that the dining room staff admitted those who were not appropriately dressed, unless jeans and sweaters are now acceptable formal wear.The safe was a pain. To start with, it was locked, so a call for help was necessary. The use of a card with a magnetic stripe struck us as being downright stupid. My wife and I do not always follow the same agenda, so as a consequence, only one of us would have access to the safe. The use of a code that we could both use would seem to be sensible.We are not big fans of the shows, but we did enjoy the dancing in one of the lounges. The Neptunes were very accommodating in playing the tunes we, and others, requested. We also appreciate the classical groups that HA still has on their ships.It was disappointing to this news junkie that only Fox and CNN appeared to be available - the two most unsavoury news sources in North America. Since the passenger list is so international, perhaps HA should consider using something like BBC.For people who hate those high charges for slow internet, two of the communities had quite accessible internet cafes at $5/hr, and the public library in Juneau, on the dock, has FREE internet service for 15 or 30 minutes. Can't beat that price.

Cabin Review

Large Ocean-View Stateroom

No shortage of storage space. Well maintained.

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