Roundtrip out of Ft. Lauderdale
November 9 - December 21, 2024
Holland America’s Volendam
On November 9, 2024, Cliff and I embarked on a Holland America cruise for the first time. Our primary motivation was to see the Azores, as well as the pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt. However, I have been very excited about getting back to the Mediterranean, which I love.
About 60 years ago, Cliff visited Ponta Delgada, the capital of Sao Miguel, in the Azores, when as a helmsman in the Navy, he guided his crippled LST into the harbor. Initially, his ship was scheduled for the Mediterranean, but one of the propellers broke, so the crew was forced to redirect their LST into the port of Ponta Delgada. Because Cliff was so taken with the beauty of the Azores, he has always wanted to return.
The first night of the cruise, we had a wonderful sunset and views of the port at Ft. Lauderdale. Our ship, the Volendam, was late boarding and leaving because it had just returned from Dry Dock. We had fun watching several other cruise ships sail away as we partied.
The Sail Away party began with a stunning sunset.
The Volendam is an old, but beautifully decorated and lovingly maintained ship, that holds a maximum of 1,432 passengers and 604 crew. Built in 1999, and refurbished in 2019, the ship is only 781 feet long. It is beautifully decorated and quite elegant.
Our first stop was to be Horta, Azores, but the seas had been very rough since the sail away from Ft. Lauderdale because of a storm in the north Atlantic. In fact, I spent the first two days of the cruise in bed with vertigo/motion sickness. After that, I seemed to adjust for a couple of days, despite the still rough seas.
Unfortunately, a storm off of Portugal, east of the Azores, which appeared gigantic and circular in shape on the radar, made the winds too strong and the swells too dangerous for us to anchor off of Horta and tender in to shore. Therefore, the Captain contacted the port of Ponta Delgada and arranged for us to head straight there and dock overnight. We were not angry at all about that. The opportunity to have two days in that lovely city was enticing.
That night, the seas were so angry, it seemed the ship would break apart. When docking in Ponta Delgada, the Captain had to use extra power to dock the ship safely. Look to my next blog post to learn all about our visit to this beautiful island.
Really bad vertigo hit again after we sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar, heading to Livorno, Italy. I was definitely not the only one affected. The swells were so high and the wind so strong, that just walking around was a major challenge. We would step forward gingerly, but find ourselves running as the ship lunges forward. It is day 15, November 23, as I write this blog post. Eleven have been sea days, but we had only one day of really calm, smooth, lovely seas. Today Storm Bert has been hammering the United Kingdom with heavy snow, ice, and winds up to 69 mph.
Following is the revised itinerary for our journey.
November 9 -15 Sea Days
Nov. 16 - 17 Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal - OVERNIGHT
Nov. 18 - 19 Sea Days
Nov. 20 Casablanca, Morocco
Nov. 21 - 22 Cruising Straight of Gibraltar, Sea Days
Nov. 23 - 24 Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy - OVERNIGHT
Nov. 25 - 26 Civitavecchia for Rome, Italy - OVERNIGHT
Nov. 27 Naples (Pompeii/Amalfi), Italy
Nov. 28 Catania, Sicily, Italy
Nov. 29 Sea Day
Nov. 30 Piraeus (Athens), Greece
Dec. 1 Sea Day
Dec. 3 Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt
Dec. 4 Sea Day
Dec. 5 - 6 Valetta, Malta - OVERNIGHT
Dec. 7 La Goulette (Tunis), Tunisia
Dec. 8 Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Dec. 9 Sea Day
Dec. 10 Gibraltar
Dec. 11 Tangier, Morocco
Dec. 12 Cadiz (Seville), Spain
Dec. 13 - 20 Sea Days
Dec. 21 Ft. Lauderdale
The Volendam
Regarding this cruise line, many onboard the Volendam are die-hard Holland America cruisers. We are not in love with this particular ship, mainly because of the lack of any entertainment that appeals to us. We have spent most sea days playing Skipbo (thanks to Sara and Madison, who gave me this fun card game for my 71st birthday).
Our friend, Joan Pease, who joined us on the World Cruise in 2023, is cruising with us on the Volendam.
The casino is small, and only one bar has a band. The band plays exactly the same set every night, even for the formal Volendam Ball on November 21. There is a pianist who also plays and sings essentially the same set. Other forms of entertainment have been a string trio, a juggler, a flautist, bridge, Mahjong, Tai Chi for Everyone, and a variety of lectures, including a series on the history of NATO. However, many passengers do love the cruise port talks, when The World Theater is standing room only. I did enjoy the one that I attended about Egypt, Alexandria and Cairo.
The Casino is small, but rarely too busy to play your favorite game.
We don’t mind the small atrium, which has lovely shops, because it cannot handle large activities, so it is quite sedate.
One evening, the Volendam offered us a Beer Festival, complete with a live band. I can’t get the Chicken Dance song out of my head.
One of the best things about Holland America is the cuisine. The buffet is just as good as the main dining room, where we have eaten only twice so far. We enjoy the ice cream and oatmeal cookies in the Lido Buffet, and I hit the Asian station almost every day. Cliff loves the Dive-In, which serves food such as burgers, hot dogs, bratwurst, grilled chicken sandwiches, and French fries.
The lovely main dining room has two levels. Early dining is the most crowded.
Our room is nice, but small. The tiny desk has no drawers at all, and the closets are narrow, with too few drawers and shelves. (Actually, if we would learn not to pack so much, we would have more room.) The walk-in shower has glass doors, and the mirror is new, with lights embedded. We chose a Verandah room, which means that rather than having a private balcony, we have a sliding glass door that opens directly onto the 3rd floor lower promenade. Three times around the promenade is a mile. We have our own private wooden deck chairs with lovely cushions, right outside our doors. Thankfully, the glass doors are mirrored, so that folks walking by can’t see us in our pajamas.
Each cabin is provided a hairdryer and makeup mirror. Because the ship is old, there are only two U.S.and two European sockets, and all are at the desk. If you sail the Volendam, bring your own USB power strip (non-surge protected only).
The number one problem for me on this ship is that we have no mini-fridge. Right alongside that issue is that there is absolutely no bottled water on the ship — only canned water. To help protect the environment, plastic has been banned on the ship. Our room steward fills up our little ice bucket twice a day, but it is never enough. We take quick trips up to the buffet throughout the day to refill our water containers, or order ice water from the bars. Because it is an older ship, it doesn’t have water bottle fill-up stations.
Regardless of the issues — and every ship has them — many of the passengers love the Volendam. We can appreciate the many positives. For example, we paid for unlimited laundry, because there is no self-serve laundry on the ship. It comes back to us folded or on hangers, the very next day, which we love. It is incredible how efficient the laundry staff is. Also great is not having to wash, dry and iron our own clothes! We probably could have packed half of what we brought because of this wonderful service.
The Crow’s Nest, on the top deck (9), sprawls across the front of the ship, with windows all the way around for panoramic views. It is one of the most beautifully decorated spaces on the ship, with exquisite decorator details. Generally it is quiet and the drinks are outstanding.
On the ship are many quiet places to read or play games. In the game room, there are shelves that are just the right size for the briefcase inside each nook. Each briefcase has a different game, such as Skipbo, Balderdash, and Rummiikub.
Throughout the ship are gorgeous fresh flower arrangements. Some restrooms even have live blooming orchids.
Treat yourself to a smoked Old Fashion in the Oceans Bar. It is quite the production!
Be sure to visit the Queen’s Room or King’s Room restrooms.
Officers lined up to greet us to the Volendam Ball.
The absolute best positive about the Volendam, as with many ships, is the incredible staff. They learn our names quickly, always greet us with a smile, and sometimes a little chat and a laugh. We are enjoying them tremendously. Service is beyond outstanding. When our room steward turns down the bed and leaves us chocolates at night, it makes us feel very special.
What die-hard Holland America fans love are the countries and cities the ships visit, overnights at ports, the port talks/lectures, the gatherings to ask questions about the next ports we are visiting, and even just sitting around doing nothing. They seem quite content with the lack of entertainment and activities. I marvel at how many enjoy just listening to a cello player.
Essentially, every cruise line is a bit different, and even the ships within a cruise line can vary wildly. But there is a ship for everyone. We happen to like the smaller ships, with MSC Magnifica being our favorite, because the entertainment is varied and highly enjoyable. However, MSC does not offer the long round trip cruises from Florida ports that we enjoy. We chose this particular cruise because of the destinations.
Next Post: The Azores
Looks like this ship is turned out nicely. I like the carpet designs! Happy Thanksgiving y'all!