Cindi

Age: 53
Occupation: Self Employed
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: HAL
Name of Ship: Volendam
Sailing Date: April 18th,  2003
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean

HAD A GREAT TIME…Didn't want it to end

My sister and I just got back from the April 18th thru 28th - 10 Day on Holland America's Volendam (Wayfarer itinerary). What a great time and what a beautiful ship. I didn't meet any staff member that wasn't friendly and ready, willing and able to help in any way. I still can't understand how the entire staff could remember our names so quickly.

Sara, one of the officers and a new addition to the Volendam staff always had this big smile on her face and you could really tell she enjoyed what she was doing.

Also met Captain van der Zee. What a great sense of humor as well as very professional. Enjoyed speaking with him and absorbing all of his knowledge.

Met a lot of very interesting people on the ship and had a great time with them. Hopefully we will stay in touch and meet again on the next cruise or one down the road. Thanks for a great time Jim and Ruth (the slipper people), Maryann and John, Richard and Charlene, and Beryl and Mike.

Marco, the video photographer, was always showing up to catch you on his video camera. He did catch me doing the "pole dance", which later in this article will be discussed. I think he was having as much fun as everyone else on the ship.

On each of the formal nights we had an officer who sat with us. His name was Andy and he was the Environmental Officer. It was very interesting listening about his duties on board. What a very nice man and a wonderful dancer.

There were many different age groups on the ship. A lot were families with children, but that was probably due to it being Spring break and Easter weekend. The majority of the people are of mature age and for my sister and I, in our early 50's, it was an enjoyment. There are a lot of activities on board for those who want to join in. For those who don't, they can do whatever.

The 3rd deck is really nice, as it is lined with lounge chairs to sit quietly and read or just enjoy the ocean view, but is also where people go to walk or just take a stroll after dinner.

They have an internet room set up with computers so you can retrieve your emails or send them out to family and friends, or if you have to do a little work from the ship. The cost was about $50.00 for 100 minutes or $75.00 for 250 minutes. It's a lot cheaper than calling from the ship, or using a cell phone. Most of the time my cell phone wouldn't work anyway.

Embarkation and Disemarkation was nothing less than a pleasure and run like a well oiled machine.

When we arrived on the ship at 1:30, they took us to our room. We had a Deluxe Verandah Suite. It was HUGE! Very spacious and loaded with amenities. The verandah was so large it had a round table with 4 chairs and 2 lounge chairs and still there was plenty of room. My sister and I spent a lot of time on the verandah. What a great place to relax. This will definitely be a must on each and every cruise. Well worth the extra money.

As usual, we brought way too many articles of clothing. So we got busy unpacking. We met our cabin steward, Sri. He was a wonderful person and took great care of us. Always checking and making sure we didn't need anything and just basically attending to our every need.

After the lifeboat drill we returned our life vests to the cabin and made our way up to the Crows Nest. This is the best place to be when leaving port. What a view. The staff in the Crows Nest was wonderful. Eva served our drinks and went out of her way to make sure everything was just right. There was also Jay, who too served drinks, but he could make the most fabulous flowers and animals out of paper. I believe its called origami. What a talent he has.

The food was good and seemed to be consistent. They have an alternative dining room called the Pinnacle Grill which charges $20.00 per person. It use to be called the Marco Polo and there wasn't a charge, but that has since changed. The food is excellent. We ate there 1 night. What a treat. We usually ordered room service each morning, and the food was brought on time and still hot. What a great way to start off the day. We usually ate out on the verandah. We also had dinner brought to our rooms a couple nights when we just couldn't bear to get dressed again. Usually this was when we hit a port and had a very long day. The dinners were also brought on time and hot. This was the same menu as the dining room.

The Lido pool was very refreshing. To my surprise, it is a freshwater pool. They have 2 pools on the ship and both are freshwater. Very nice. Edrick served us drinks at the Lido bar. Always a smile on his face and can't do enough for you. He even made my sister and I these little Dutch hats the day before we left. I will treasure them always. The Lido restaurant is very nice with a lovely view.

Our itinerary took us to Curacao, Isle de Margarita, Trinidad, Martinique, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay, and then back home to Ft. Lauderdale.

After 2 days at sea our first port was Curacao and we arrived on "their" Easter Monday. The city is so colorful, but not much was opened that day because of the Holiday. We did however walk through the streets and wandered through whatever shops were open.

Next was Isle de Margarita, Venezuela. My sister opted to go on the horseback ride and I opted to go on the Rhumba tour. My sister said the horseback riding tour was breath taking. She could, at one time on the trail, look down from the mountain and see the Volendam. She said it looked a million miles away. The Rhumba tour Maryann and I went on was nothing less than fantastic. Our guide, Marbella was absolutely the best. This girl could really dance and get everyone on the bus involved. She didn't stop the whole 5 hours. The drivers name was Julio and boy could he dance while driving or standing. He never stopped. The bus that picks you up at the ship is painted all kinds of wild, bright colors. It reminded me of the "Partridge Family Bus". The music is playing and everyone in the bus is doing the "Rhumba". On the trip to the beach for the famous "rum punches", Marbella gave us a history lesson and points of interest about Isle de Margarita. Anyone planning on taking this trip better listen to the history lesson, or they might end up like me and a guy named Ed. We both got the answers wrong and had to dance in front of everyone on the bus. Ed did the Rhumba and I did a "pole dance". The dance takes place while the bus is moving up and down the hills while standing in the front of the bus on the way back from the beach and all the rum punches. What a hoot. I even got a dollar tip. I wasn't sure if that was because they enjoyed the pole dance or wanted me to sit down.

Then on to Trinidad. I'm not quite sure why we stop there. I definitely wasn't impressed.

The next day on to Martinique. What a gorgeous country side. My sister and I opted to go into town and walked around the streets. We passed this wonderful old church and peeked in. The stained glass windows were magnificent. They seem to also be into shoes because there was a shoe store at every corner. They had a craft fair going on in the park and we walked down to it. Some of the hand made items were exquisite.

Then on to everyone's favorite, St Thomas. A woman's shopping paradise. There were about 5 ships in port the day we arrived. The streets and shops were very crowded. Did a lot of walking and way too much shopping. We were going to take the island tour, but the diamonds, liquor, gold and perfume were calling our name. Maybe next time we will take an excursion in St. Thomas, but I somehow doubt it. Thanks John for the great idea on what to get my husband. He loved the camera. He can't wait to use it. And maybe if I'm good he'll let me take it on my next cruise.

After a day in St. Thomas we were out at sea all day and a well deserved rest.

We weren't able to anchor at Half Moon Cay because of the sea conditions, so we cruised slowly, and slowly being the key word here, towards home. It was kind of disappointing not to be able to see Half Moon Cay, but there will definitely be a next time. My sister and another couple we met were going to go parasailing if we were able to anchor in Half Moon Cay. Next time.

We arrived back at Ft. Lauderdale at 8:00 am. Our fantasy had come to an end and it was back to reality. All we can do now is wait until our next cruise. Definitely on Holland America, maybe again on the Volendam (Seafarer itinerary) next April.

Cindi
Criscomia@aol.com

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