March 2009
Roger, Marty, Pat & Gus just got back from a 3 week trip to the South Pacific. After a few days hanging out in Auckland at the luxurious Langham Hotel, they were off for 2 weeks aboard Holland America's 1,400 guest Volendam heading to Sydney.
This is Roger's somewhat unedited report. You should notice (and appreciate) his matter of fact West Point style.
Good Morning,
Yes, the Langham was a great accommodation...Marty and I would go back there in a heart-beat!!!
As regards the Volendam: The boarding and de-boarding drills were very well run and, in fact, the de-boarding operation was the very best we have ever encountered!!
The stateroom was very comfortable and the stewards most attentive...even though they forgot to deliver ice for our G&Ts on three occasions. We did note their names, because of the excellent quality of their duty performance, on the out-processing form.
We did feel that the company over-stressed their in-house shore programs at the expense of providing better over all information for the passengers about the various ports of call....we also felt that their shore excursions were, for the most part, excessively expensive. What we did was get ourselves to the Information office in the middle of the town and then work from there on our own....for example in Burnie (Tasmania) we took the shuttle bus and found ourselves a gentleman (Don Monk) who offered us a tour of the northwest portion of Tasmania in his van....it was a superb tour and the price was right. In a couple of the towns we got ourselves to the Information office and conducted our own walking/shopping tour...we did this in Tauranga (Rotorua) for example. Bottom line: We felt that the ship's shore excursion office could have done a lot more for the passengers who wanted to structure their own programs....we put this on our out-processing form.
It was also "interesting" that when cruising through the National Park the presentations by the on-board commentator (who did an excellent job describing the fauna, flora and geology of the area/region) was followed by VERY loud music....we found this to be particularly disruptive and annoying. Another "interesting" point is that when the Captain addressed the passengers each evening he provided a weather report....he was dead wrong 80+% of the time? He perhaps should consider getting a new meteorologist on his staff or abandoning his attempts to provide a weather forecast?
As mentioned earlier, the dining experience in the Pinnacle Restaurant (the onboard specialty restaurant-see photo) was a genuine treat!!!!! The main dining room was quite good: service, presentation and quality.
A couple of the bars appeared, at times, to be under staffed (the Crows Nest, the Sports bar and, on occasion, the Lido/pool-side bar). And speaking of the Lido bar, the Bloody Marys, the pizza, the brats and the hamburgers were excellent!!! One thing that Gus and I thought missing was a brandy/cognac and cigar smoking area....I'm far from a regular cigar smoker these days; however, for special occasions a good cigar with, for example, an Asbach (which the ship did not stock?) really "makes" a day!!!!!! The Piano bar was the perfect ending to many of our days....and the piano player/entertainer was excellent, but I've forgotten his name!!!
Roger
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