Some folks dub Holland America Line’s upscale but low-key style of cruising as “all-a-bored.” A friend of mine who sailed on one of the line’s ships years ago said it was the first time she had been on a cruise where she didn’t feel guilty about going to bed early. “After 10 p.m., there wasn’t much to do on board anyway,” she said.
Indeed, Holland America ships lack the gimmickry — such as cavernous arcades, sports bars and soaring, bustling atriums — common to the newest batch of vessels. And you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people in the disco at midnight. I know; I counted.
But where some passengers see a glass half empty, others see it half full. Including me, in this case. Though I’ve toured a number of Holland America vessels, I hadn’t sailed on one until my recent cruise aboard the 1,440-passenger Volendam, the newest and largest ship in the fleet. And I can attest that the experience is, yes, sedate, but also altogether genteel and comfortably pleasant. Most of the line’s passengers appear to have found nirvana on Holland America. Many, in fact, migrated from other lines to this one — and never consider going back. “I love the attentiveness and attention to detail,” said one previous passenger.
The Volendam is stunning. Perhaps because the 63,000-ton vessel is designed on a human scale, it feels more like a well-appointed Manhattan apartment than a cruise ship. And while all its public spaces are well-utilized, there’s an amplitude of uncluttered space that is refreshing.
As with other Holland America ships, Volendam maintains the allure of Old World classic oceanliners. It is not so much decorated as accessorized. Gorgeous antiques and works of art are perfectly integrated throughout.
Volendam’s $3 million art collection — much of it from Turkey, Asia, Indonesia and, of course, Holland — is an attempt “to recognize the places we go,” a ship’s hostess told a small group of passengers on an art tour.
Big, bold and beautifully sculpted Florentine fountainheads, such as a Bacchus by Gilbert Lebigre, adorn each landing of the aft staircase. Volendam’s most priceless piece of art stands outside the casino: an authentic Renaissance marble fountain. In some cases, Volendam’s furnishings seem like art, like the pair of bright M&M-hued leather chairs — red, yellow and blue — that punctuate an aft elevator vestibule on Deck 8.
And, oh, the flowers! Holland America spends $2 million a year for fresh flowers across the nine-ship fleet, and they add an intoxicating presence.
The Volendam has uncommonly commodious cabins. Even my lower-category outside cabin had a sitting area with a couch that seated two people. Two storage drawers were under the bed. There was one welcome proletarian touch on the ship: self-service launderettes on three lower passenger decks.
I had heard that Holland America’s food had improved, so expectations ran high. Unfortunately, Volendam’s cuisine widely missed the mark, and it runs counter to the ship’s luxury ambience. I found the fare only fair, and at a buffet lunch, some salad items — roasted peppers, for example — were partially frozen.
The selections, though, are wide and varied. The ship’s large, easy-to-navigate Lido food court sports pasta and stir-fry stations, ice cream bar and self-serve dessert section, full salad bar, and lots of hot and cold food choices. A nice touch: custom-made sandwiches on freshly baked breads.
Indeed, Holland America is a generous line. Caviar accompanies dinner on some nights in the Rotterdam Dining Room, and one afternoon’s lunch included grilled lobsters at a poolside buffet. In addition, an Indonesian lunch and Dutch dinner are offered. But the Dutch menu seemed mainly composed of American-style dishes with Dutch names. Caribbean-style dishes are nearly non-existent, mainly because they are too spicy for the ship’s largely older passengers. The alternative restaurant, the Marco Polo, serves Italian fare.
Our mornings usually began with a rich brew of double espresso and sweet rolls in the Java Bar. Specialty coffees are complimentary shipwide, but this affable spot, with its comfortable cafelike ambience, quickly became our watering hole of choice.
Holland America’s signature chocolate extravaganza, offered once each cruise, began as an accident. Years ago, someone mistakenly added an extra zero to an order for 500 pounds of chocolate. Culinary pragmatism transformed the extra tonnage into what now has become the line’s most anticipated fete.
I could have worked off the calories in the ship’s enormous and well-equipped gym. (The Volendam spa, though, is modest by standards of some other new vessels.)
But I chose mostly sedentary options. Not hard to do on a vessel where passengers typically are on the (very) far side of 50. Of the pleasant areas I staked out, the Lido pool with its retractable magrodome was among the ship’s prettiest locales. The pool bar, graced with deep-blue umbrellas, resembles an outdoor cafe, set with navy-blue wicker tables and chairs with butterscotch-yellow cushions. It was a perfect place to while away afternoons at sea. And, here, attentive waiters carrying trays of iced tea proffer it even to passengers in the pool.
The ship has many intimate and dramatic nooks and crannies, and except for The Web Site — a cyber space with eight computers that was originally slated to be the Puzzle Room — nothing of a high-tech feel. It’s simply a pleasant way to see the world.
On-board diversions are, indeed, minimal. But I hardly missed having a VCR since the ship’s bona fide movie theater shows first-run films — and offers bags of free fresh popcorn.
The headliner show in the dramatic main theater featured Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana.” The 55-minute production is mostly tepid lyrics, music and choreography leading up to a hit song, performed without much virtuosity. More than a few passengers left early.
But the ship offers plenty of options ashore, with more than 50 excursions to choose from on 10-day Caribbean cruises.
The Volendam alternates two 10-day itineraries from Ft. Lauderdale. It calls at Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Guadeloupe, St. Thomas and Nassau; or St. Kitts, Martinique, Trinidad, Dominica and St. Thomas and the line’s private island. Brochure rates for inside cabins start at $1,689 per person, double.
In mid April there is a 17-day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal. Starting May 8, there will be 7-day cruises in Alaska. (hellip)
