This is our 13th cruise and our second on Holland America (HAL). The cruise was excellent and we plan to sail HAL more in the future. We stayed with friends in south Florida for a few days before our cruise. Our friends dropped us off at the pier in Ft. Lauderdale. The check-in was very quick and painless. We were on the ship within probably 15 minutes - the quickest and easiest cruise check-in we have experienced.

Ship: The Volendam is an older vessel but well maintained. Our cabin was large with a double bed and we even had a bathtub. The cabin steward was one of those you rarely saw but the room was always taken care of. He must have sensed us leaving the cabin.

Food: My wife and I are not food critics therefore the food tasted excellent to us. We did like the "As You Wish Dining" program. In the past, we preferred the traditional early seating dinner; but, were wait-listed for this cruise. We decided to change to the "As You Wish Dining" and were very pleased. This allowed us to enjoy the sitdown dinner at our convenience. We will utilize this option on future HAL cruises. Read more