I will not go into too much detail, just list the likes and dislikes and overall opinion of the ship. Embarkation & disembarkation is one thing that HAL do very well. Always quick and well organised. Only negative, they need more signs in Auckland so you know exactly where to go. The Volendam has everything you need but is starting to look a bit tired in places. A huge amount of restaurants to ...

The Volendam was chartered on this cruise by Atlantis Events, a US based gay and lesbian travel operator, and timed to arrive in Sydney on the day of the Mardi Gras parade. Accordingly, I haven't included any comments about entertainment as this was specific to this cruise. Summary: an acceptable 4 star experience (even though my comments below look more critical than that) but overpriced for ...

This cruise I travelled solo, as I was cruising just to surprise some friends/coworkers who were on the ship. My regular job is as a Musician in the entertainment department. I flew from Adelaide to Auckland via Melbourne with Qantas and Jetstar. I thought the combined Qantas booking, and Jetstar being a subsidiary of Qantas, would have let my baggage be checked through, but it wasn't, I had to ...