The Volendam crew worked very hard to make our cruise a special one and the staff succeeded doing so. It is the lack of management (or lack of understanding passengers on higher level) that has puzzled us. The only truly hard-working managers were the main dining room supervisors and manager, daily helping out during lunch in Lido and at evenings at the Rotterdam Dining Room.
We personally brought some issues to the Hotel Director via a handwritten note and we were invited for a chat the next day and also three other department heads called our cabin. Unfortunately a part of our complaint was translated incorrectly and some members of staff approached us, which became it little embarrassing during our holiday. First off all it showed that management only moved the problem on to the staff (and washes their hands?) and secondly we did not want to appear to staff that we were complaining about them (as we were happy with their services). To us it seems that the amount of staff is cut back and I feel guilty that during my vacation some staff were actually running for me, in order to serve our table with wine or meals. You can really see that cabin stewards and waiters are cut back in staff and I do not get a 'happy vacation feeling' about this!
Some challenges: Lido is set up for meals with clean loose cutlery/napkin and glasses, so no one knows if the table is taken, and if not, if everything is clean on the table is clean or dirty. For a buffet restaurant it is not a smart thing to do.
Cabin is wheel chair equipped, making it a little wider.
Bathroom was renovated, room was not. Furniture and wall paper chipped or marks from being old (has nothing to do with cleaning standards).
Lighting was very bad (old energy saving bulbs that only glow yellow)
Emergency button is behind the pillow, when I read in bed, the switch went off every night and many times 2-3 times.
Balcony is slightly larger as it has a little extra at the aft corner.
Very quiet cabin.
Easy access to big shopping mall and transport
Booked via local taxi company which is placed in the terminal. You receive a proper receipt and special phone number in case you may questions on the driver's behaviour (which acts like a quality guarantee). Great service, highly recommendable as we had a Malay driver with Chinese descent and we received an excellent historical tour and eventually a little beach treat.
You receive a beautiful view of the entire island and eventually we went swimming the sea and beach & water are truly stunning!
The best agency, best tour guides, cars, drivers, really fantastic time!
Very professional and guide & driver managed to drive around the crazy traffic without getting us stuck! Guide explained the first hour of driving into town about the Malay culture, politics, tax & school systems, etc.