Caribbean Cruise Lines Q&A

admin answers:

Steve Ramm

Age: 60
Occupation: CPA
Number of Cruises: 1

I delayed in posting this awaiting a response from Holland America re: a situation you will read about later in this review but didn’t want to delay the post much longer since there are no other reviews of this cruise for 2005. So bear with me if this is not as detailed as it should be.

This was our first “cruise” other than the one we took on the Yangtze about 10 years ago. That was a river cruise and only had 150 passengers. We are not into going to the Caribbean as we don’t do sun so Alaska interested us. And we wanted to see scenery.

We received a brochure from Grand Circle Cruises, which included a 10 night trip with 7 nights on the Volendam. We figured that seven nights would be best to try “cruising”. Though we booked in January, the highest level available was the Main Deck or the Promenade Deck (one above the Main” and all the Verandas are above that. So we settled for Main and – based on advice from friends – requested not to be assigned the higher Promenade deck because the walking track goes by your window and it’s recessed. The main deck windows (we definitely wanted an outside cabin) were large and flush with the outside. We were VERY happy with it.

I guess I can say right now that were very happy with 99% of the Volendam experience (more on the 1% later).

We knew – from other reviews posted for prior years – the Volendam was not new (In fact it’s the third HA ship with that name. And, in December, it will be modernized (over only two weeks!) with a major emphasis on gourmet food.). But we liked the fact that it was not a MEGA-ship! It only has 1400 passengers and it was small enough that I could go from level 3 to level 7 and to the other end of the ship in under 10 minutes to catch different views. Also, we knew that the Volendam was not a “Party boat”. And service was a bit more formal. That is something disappearing from the cruise industry and we wanted to experience it before it is gone. We made the right choice.

Remember as you read this that I’m reviewing the ALASKA itinerary. The sun goes down at 11pm in early June and rises at 3:30 am! So there is plenty of time to see the great scenery. Hence, they don’t have a lot of on Board activities. Every evening there is a “show” but it’s mostly “show tunes” or a magician. The “older folks” enjoy that. I say “older folks” when I’m 60 because I mean those in the 75plus range. HA draws an older crowd. My guess is 50% of passengers are over 50 years old and 75% over 40. School wasn’t out yet but I only saw 4 children – plus a baby – on board. But I liked this pace and everyone I met was great! Oh, back to onboard activities. There is a casino but usually pretty empty and everyone hit bed by 1pm or so because they wanted to see the scenery the next morning.

Food, plenty of it and quite good for the number of folks they serve. Served Dinner is by seatings and the first day there was lots of frustration as couples who booked together for their vacations found that they had different seating times!). You meet with the Maitre ‘D the first afternoon (take a number and wait 30-40 minutes) but they will usually accommodate you. We were just a party of two and so were able to get a private table. At breakfast and lunch in the Dining Room they seat you wherever there is space so you get new dining partners which I enjoyed. Also, the buffet on the Lido deck is always open for dinner and you can sit where you want. While I thought food was good it was still from a steam table so I ate less meals there.

They also have the Pinnacle Room which an “optional” choice for dinner. It has own kitchen and staff. This is a $20.pp extra for dinner (but only $10.00 on the first night… And I suggest you try it!). We had formal service and the largest and best Porterhouse steak I’ve had in years. Some folks on ship complained that they didn’t want to pay extra but we felt by avoiding the overpriced and highly hawked cocktails, we spent our funds more wisely!

The two formal nights were also fun. You don’t need a tux; just a nice jacket or suit. (The rest of the time, you can wear as casual as you want.)

The room was much larger than I expected and there is more closet space than you can use! The ONLY defect in the room is that there is – unbelievably – no CLOCK. So bring one with you! And refill your water bottle in the Lido, or expect to pay for new ones each day.

So we didn’t have a Veranda. Guess what? We didn’t miss it. It was too cold to sit outside many days and there was plenty of room on top deck where you had a 300 degree viewing angle. And if your Room was on the wrong side of ship you missed the wildlife and some of the Glaciers. So if you don’t get a Veranda, IMHO, don’t worry.

We also chose the Vollendam because it’s small enough to get into areas where larger ships can’t and ALWAYS docked right in the center of the port towns. So you could get off and on and off and on. Some larger ships n

admin answers:

I am 18 right now and the last cruise I was on was with a friend. We went Eastern Caribbean with NCL and had a great time.
It really depends on your sons interests though. For us, all we wanted to do was go to the beach and relax, so our itinerary worked. We also liked NCL because we are Canadian (legal ages vary between 18-19) and the legal age on-board is 18 if you sign a waiver.
We also liked it because we were able to go dancing at night. The teens clubs on all ships basically go to age 17, which doesnt leave much for people ages 18-21 to do at night.
In addition, the food and entertainment was great on NCL.

I would also say to check out Royal Caribbean – they have a lot of innovative things on their ships like icerinks and flo-riders (surf simulators), and even more neat things on their Oasis class ships. Personally, those are a bit too big and expensive for what my family likes, but the Freedom class ships are very nice too.

Carnival is nice , great food but it feels very Las Vegas. They would have a great time here.

Are you surprising him? You could always ask what ports appeal to him more, and then choose a cruise based on that. You could also check out ships and pick your ship, and go wherever its taking you.
Also, http://www.cruisecritic.com is a great way of looking at reviews of the ships so you get a better idea of life on-board.
Hope this helps!

admin answers:

I have cruised on several Royal Caribbean ships that have the ice show and I have seen the show twice. The show is free but there are no reserved seats, Its all first come first served. The ship will announce the day and time that tickets will be available and you can go to that place and get the free tickets. However, since its open seating and first come first seated you should get to the show room about 30 minutes before the show starts to get in line and wait for the doors to open. The first time we saw the show we arrived about 10 minutes before show time and ended up sitting on bar stools on one side of the show room. We could see but the seats were not very comfortable.

The show is run twice during a 7 day cruise on different days. You have to decide which day you want tickets for when you pick up your tickets. The ice show is fantastic, great skating and very colorful. Do not miss it.