Third time's a....Holland America?! Alaska review/compare

[DnA2010]

I know there are people who are open to looking at other options regarding cruising due to cost, availability, whatever so I thought I'd do a bit of a review as requested on our recent trip to Alaska on Holland America's Volendam. We got off the ship yesterday.
I think I will break into sections and then add on.

These are the sections I am thinking off- let me know if there is something I miss as I go and I can add it-
-History/our group
-Departure
-Cabins
-Food
-Service
-Cleanliness
-Kids/Teen activities
-Entertainment
-Ports
-Disembarking



History/the Group:

Our party consists of my family- DH, DD13, DD11months and myself- DH and DD and I have done 2 cruises-RCL's Oasis of the Seas and then DCL's Fantasy. We loved both of the cruises, honestly pretty darn equally. We also have my sister, her husband, and their 11 month DS. And we have my mom, who had decided that she wanted to get us all together and wanted to see Alaska. We are from BC and my sister Alberta, so they flew to BC where we live and we all drove to Vancouver. My sister's family, and my mom have not cruised before.
So my mom was paying for this cruise, and had a set budget which I was working with- I could have afforded to pay extra on top to say cruise Disney, but wasn't really an option with my sister, having been off work on maternity (I went back in July) and the other criteria I was working with was visiting Glacier bay and preferably round trip Vancouver. Budget wise I believe I was finding Holland, Princess, and NCL in my budget. After some research, the 7 day Holland on Volendam fit the criteria and budget, and I was able to secure 3 interiors together. As we needed 2 cabins that would fit 3 (annoying as the babies didn't need beds but such is) ocean views weren't an option if we wanted to stay close (which we did as Grandma monitored the babies in the evenings once they were in bed)

Cost for our 3 cabins - Aug 16 departure, 2 that had 2 adults and a 11 month old and one cabin of 1 adult and 1 13 year old- around 11K Canadian - this was booked in July- if we booked the same cabins right now for next year, it would be around $12,300 Canadian, and as a bit of a comparison, I have priced the same week, same people and similar inside cabins for 2018 on DCL and it would be around 19K Canadian- I know Disney's prices are best at opening, and I'm not sure if their prices for 2018 have gone up much already, but anyway that's the numbers as they stand. The DCL would cost me even more as I'm using xe.com to compare the US cost to CAD, and I would loose a couple more % I'm sure due to exchange.
So really, we are talking around 7-8K difference.

Itinerary- same ports, HAL does the run into Glacier Bay.

Size of ship:
Wonder- 2400 passengers
Volendam- 1432 passengers



Departure:

We stayed the night before with family in Surrey. We used a shuttle service to get all of us and our luggage to the port- very much recommend Apex Shuttle/Limo service- cost was $105 each way for the 8 of us, and they had 1 car seat and stored 1 of our car seats and had it at pick up- this was important to me, that our babies could be secured. My husband is a paramedic and goes to a lot of car accidents- I think that's all I need to say there. As our driver was very early, had bottled water, loaded all our bags etc, I tipped 20% so total return for the shuttle (prob an hour drive?) around $250. Pulled right into the bag drop area and dropped the big bags.

We were dropped off around 11 and visited with some of my sister's friends till we headed to the terminal around 11:45- this whole processes was super quick and simple- into the terminal, lots of pleasant people to show the way, right into the the short line, which only really gave us time to fill out the sickness card and then we were at an agent- quick check in, cards in hand, and we were directed through the passageway and onto the ship- no boarding wait or groups, just right on- whole process maybe 20 minutes? Photo I took at boarding shows us getting on just after 12. No greeting by name, but lots of friendly people around, letting us know we could drop bags in our rooms and that that the buffet (Lido) was serving. It was nice to be able to head there and drop bags.

Be back in a bit for more

 

[Off to Neverland 7]

Following!

 

[Shazzie B]

And me

 

[DnA2010]

Cabins-
So we had 3 interior aft cabins, starboard side. 2591, 2695, 2699- on RCL we had an interior balcony and on DCL we had balcony on deck 10. My DH and I have done one cruise just the 2 of us that we had an interior (Freedom of the Seas from RCL)
Size- in comparison to the interior we had on Freedom, these were surprisingly bigger! there was def more room on either side of the bed which was nice, full side tables. Even when we had the playpen down for the baby to sleep in, we could get by to the door. We just popped the playpen on the couch when we weren't using it. The room steward asked if we wanted it taking down, but we said not to bother with naps and that.

Storage- lots and lots! More than we needed and we had lots of stuff. I will try to add some pictures, but off the top of my memory, there was room under the beds for the suitcases, 2 big drawers in the bedside table, 3 closets, one which we only kept the stroller in, the other we hung stuff (lots of wood hangers) the other had shelves. Lots of storage in the bathroom (which was a good size) huge shelf under the sink and counter, and the mirror opened for storage and we didn't even need/use.

Only 1 plug in, but we had a splitter so that helped. We didn't use our phones at all as we wanted to be totally unplugged (and didn't get around to adding a US plan), so mainly just used for hairdryer and baby monitor.

Lets see what else about the room- so size- good, bathroom size good, no tub (I believe the interiors are the only ones that don't have a tub) we had brought a blow up bath for bathing the baby, decor a bit dated but we expected that, as this ship is heading to dry dock after the Alaska runs, bed was fine, pillows ok, playpen for baby fine. No issues with the safe, you set it with a regular card.

Ah another thing, we found the rooms were very sound proof! We had 2 babies (the only ones on the ship for our cruise!) and could barely hear the other ones when they cried- you had to really listen, and our baby cries loud when she does cry!

Given someone was in the rooms in the daytime when the babies napped, it wouldn't have been nice to have a window, but it was fine.

The room was holding up well for it's age, the furniture was fine, the only major sign of age we saw was the tiles in the shower were a bit bleh and there was this crazy old school hair drying I think on the wall (I hope I got a picture) but the couch seemed pretty new, the stool at the desk was new.
My BIL gets super hot and found his room a bit hot, but the staff happily brought him a big box fan.

Given they were interior rooms, we didn't feel like we were on top of each other which was nice.

 

[vacationer1954]

lots of friendly people around, letting us know we could drop bags in our rooms and that that the buffet (Lido) was serving. It was nice to be able to head there and drop bags.

We're taking Holland America to Alaska next year and one thing we understand is different is that the dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day, as well as the buffet. Did they indicate to you that that was an option as well?

 

[DnA2010]

We're taking Holland America to Alaska next year and one thing we understand is different is that the dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day, as well as the buffet. Did they indicate to you that that was an option as well?

Yes the MDR was also open on embarkation day- I bet it would be a good option although we didn't find the buffet too busy (more on food coming up)

 

[mevelandry]

*watching this thread* (thanks for the review!!! If you have pictures, feel free to share them).

 

[DnA2010]

*watching this thread* (thanks for the review!!! If you have pictures, feel free to share them).

I will try to get some pictures added- I think I have to upload to another site first correct?

 

[bcwife76]

Following! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[mevelandry]

I will try to get some pictures added- I think I have to upload to another site first correct?

When I post pictures I simply upload them here. with the "upload a file" button.

 

[steves100]

Only 1 plug in, but we had a splitter so that helped. We didn't use our phones at all as we wanted to be totally unplugged (and didn't get around to adding a US plan), so mainly just used for hairdryer and baby monitor.

That would be a HUGE issue. We used to use a power switch on Disney, but they are now outlawing them. Not sure how you dont use your phone, at least for pictures. But once your kids are older you will have no choice to charge things (phones, laptops, tablets)

: )

 

[vacationer1954]

We used to use a power switch on Disney, but they are now outlawing them.

I thought that they're only banning multi-socket extension cords with surge protectors.

 

[steves100]

I thought that they're only banning multi-socket extension cords with surge protectors.

The guys checking have no clue, mine was a standard power strip, they did send it back to me though : )

 

[vacationer1954]

We always bring a two-pronged extension cord. No ground = No way for there to be surge protection.

 

[bfamily5]

Following along! Our next - next will likely be HAL or X , those 2 seem to be comparable in terms of service but better pricing and , most of all, Canadian currency!!

 

[DnA2010]

Only 1 plug in, but we had a splitter so that helped. We didn't use our phones at all as we wanted to be totally unplugged (and didn't get around to adding a US plan), so mainly just used for hairdryer and baby monitor.

That would be a HUGE issue. We used to use a power switch on Disney, but they are now outlawing them. Not sure how you dont use your phone, at least for pictures. But once your kids are older you will have no choice to charge things (phones, laptops, tablets)

: )

we had the splitter that made 2 spots and we found that enough- with only using phone for a few pictures here and there, it only needed a bit of a charge here and there and could do that when baby was napping. I'm sure cruise lines will have to increase outlets as demand has certainly gone up. There may have been more, we just didn't look very hard

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I will try to get some pictures added- I think I have to upload to another site first correct?

You can drag & drop, or copy & paste photos directly into your posts. One note, however, the photo size must be smaller than 1MB to do this.

 

[DnA2010]

Food:

Overall the food was awesome- honestly it was! It far exceeded RCL and DCL- I was scared I was going to get food that was catered to seniors, but that was not the case- absolutely everything was seasoned, cooked well, and good quality. Meats were quality and well cut, nice variety of things like cheese, breads, and fruit. Sauces and seasonings were from scratch- nothing tasted boxed or bagged, even when at the buffet we saw things being created (hollandaise sauce, crepe batter, whip cream etc) We like food, especially interesting food and were not disappointed.

I will break things down a bit now-

Buffet- we ate most of our breakfasts and some lunches at the buffet-

Breakfast- you name it they had it, and it was cooked well and tasted great...there was a good selection of breads and pastries, then an express hot section with bacon, turkey bacon, small sausages, sausage patties, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, mini quiche, hard boiled and soft boiled eggs, bangers (english sausages) fried tomatoes, beans etc etc, then next door they did 3 types of pancakes, french toast, cooked eggs to order- you'd think it would take forever but it didn't, and we were there in what would be peak times too! There was also an omelette station with tones of fillings- lots of meats, including shrimp, salmon, cheeses including goat and feta, as well as a waffle station that had a feature waffle each day (mmm gingerbread!) as well as crepes to order! there was also yummy fruit plates that had things like raspberries, blackberries, dragonfruit, kiwi etc, not just the usual melon and grapes.

Lunch- variety of salads, pre-made sandwiches or a create your own sandwich bar where they custom made a sandwich to your liking, a pasta bar, sushi bar, and then lots of hot items, yummy ice cream bar with changing flavours and toppings. Oh and amazing fried chicken! Their pizza was super yummy too!

They always had a nice selection of desserts that weren't too big and were all very tasty! I didn't think much of the desserts on both RCL and DCL but these were good! both at the buffet and MDR.

We never had the buffet for dinner so can't comment there.

Pool Deck Lunch Food:

So one awesome feature of the ship is the covered pool deck- we used it tones, both for swimming, hanging out and for eating lunch- there were two options there for food- there was a burger place and also a Mexico bar- so the burger place...yum! You ordered, took a pager and came back a few minutes later- the burgers are formed patties cooled to order from red meat to ready, none of those mass produced, cardboard pucks on this ship...they were juicy, flavourful and nice toppings like Gouda cheese, friend onions, a nice chicken burger with guac, you get my drift- nice brioche buns too, not boring burger buns but a nice quality one. The type of burger you pay $10+ for in a pub.
There was also a yummy taco bar with nacho chips, melted cheese, soft tortillas, hard tacos and then lots of toppings- ground beef, nice seasoned chicken, various beans, multiple fresh salsas, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. All fresh and nicely replenished.

Coffee Bar:

The coffee bar had quick grab food when you wanted a snack- lots of healthy stuff like fruit cups (with interesting fruit like berries, not just melon) veggie cups, sandwiches, and yummy small desserts. In the evening they had chocolates and.......chocolate covered strawberries!! umm yum much!

Main Dining Room:

We only had breakfast in the MDR once- it was fine- I had french toast, my DH had a crab benedict that he said was quite good.
We had 2 lunches in there- fish n chips day which had the fish n chips served in nice "newspaper" - now these were amazing- Alaskan cod, cooked perfectly. We brought two orders to the dads who were in the rooms with napping babies, and they came out super hot and fresh, and when we took them down, the dads couldn't believe how good they were still.

Dinner: I can't believe I'm saying this, but all of our meals were excellent- they really were, and with a group of 6 plus 2 babies, we ordered a wide variety of dishes- the salads were fresh with nice dressings that were generally on the side, nice soups that had lots of flavour and creative and diverse main dishes- throughout the week we had a variety of seafood, meats such as veal, lamb, duck, turkey, prime rib, steaks, and everything was done well, seasoned and hot....nice portions that weren't too huge, and wow was their prime rib good! The desserts were great also! Lots of variety and flavours. We ordered their mac and cheese for the babies and it was Amazing! No electric orange scoop of goop
Decent coffee as well shockingly!

Evening Snack-

The buffet did an evening snack from 10:30-11:30 and we went a few times- yummy cheese plates, interesting hot food (once day they were serving made to order mac and cheese balls that were soo good!) more yummy fruit plates.

Room Service:

I'm sad to say that we never got a chance to order room service once- not once! So I can't comment on the quality or speed there. We did have a fruit basket that our attendant kept stocked- there was a card that you noted your preferences on.


Let me know any questions on food, I did get some pics so will add some pics once we dump the camera. I may come back and add more as I think of it, but the food was soo good! What summed it up for me was that when I was chatting with the sous chef who was at the evening snack one night, about how pleased we had been with the food, and I had mentioned it was the best we had encountered cruising, an officer behind me asked which other lines I had been on- I mentioned DCL and Royal- he said he had just spent a year on DCL on the Wonder I believe it was, and that everything came in premade and was rebaked or heated, where as on HAL, 90+% was done from scratch...I don't know how much truth to this but it sure felt that way.

 

[Pens Fan]

I am really enjoying your review! As I mentioned on another thread, we were so impressed with the appearance of all of the HA ships that we saw on our recent Alaska cruise. I'd never really considered them before, but it was hard to ignore those lovely ships in every port.

Your food review interests me. We have never been a big fan of DCL's food, but honestly just though it was kind of what you got on a cruise serving several 1000 people every day - ok but nothing special. After our NCL cruise we realized this didn't have to be the case. Your review of HA just reinforces that. I'm beginning to think it's just Disney playing to their market - lots of kids who even if they have graduated from the kid's menu aren't exactly the most adventurous of eaters. I don't blame DCL at all. They are masters at giving families what they want. But we were blessed to have a son who pretty much gave up on kid's meals by about the age of four and was always looking for more interesting types of food than most kids his age. Now, as three adults, we are definitely looking for a step up on the food ladder so to speak when we travel.

Can't wait for more of your review!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I am really enjoying your review! As I mentioned on another thread, we were so impressed with the appearance of all of the HA ships that we saw on our recent Alaska cruise. I'd never really considered them before, but it was hard to ignore those lovely ships in every port.

Your food review interests me. We have never been a big fan of DCL's food, but honestly just though it was kind of what you got on a cruise serving several 1000 people every day - ok but nothing special. After our NCL cruise we realized this didn't have to be the case. Your review of HA just reinforces that. I'm beginning to think it's just Disney playing to their market - lots of kids who even if they have graduated from the kid's menu aren't exactly the most adventurous of eaters. I don't blame DCL at all. They are masters at giving families what they want. But we were blessed to have a son who pretty much gave up on kid's meals by about the age of four and was always looking for more interesting types of food than most kids his age. Now, as three adults, we are definitely looking for a step up on the food ladder so to speak when we travel.

Can't wait for more of your review!

Having cruised on several cruiselines, mostly longer cruises, I find the food onboard to be pretty much the same. A lot depends on the particular chef on any given ship. While I find most of the food to be of "wedding banquet" quality, sometimes there are items that just not well prepared.

The one cruise that stands out in my mind for having the "best" food for the entire cruise was a Holland America cruise. The one with the "worst" was a Princess one. And it really wasn't bad, but the chef had a penchant for italian dishes. Every. night. Lots of pasta, tomato sauces, fish. Not a lot of variety.