We had to move our clocks forward last night, so I didn’t roll out of bed until about 8:00. When I went for coffee, I found our disembarkation papers for Boston in the mailbox.š I also found a maintenance notice that said the water would be turned off from 1:00 to 4:00 tomorrow when the ship is in Charlottetown.
I thought about walking the Promenade, but the weather was foggy, windy, and very cool. Instead, I took my coffee and went to the Coffee Chat with the Cruise Director. I was pleased to see that all the officers she was interviewing today were female. I don’t think I have ever seen this scenario happen before. They each had very interesting stories.
Cruise Director KarlijnI don’t remember the names, but the areas were L-R: Human Resources, Guest Services, Marketing, Entertainment
I met up with Chuck to play some in the Casino and then we went to the Main Dining room for lunch. I had the chicken korma and he had a hamburger.
I was concerned that the chicken korma might be too spicy for me but it was delicious. So good, that I slurped it all up without even thinking about getting a photo. Google will have to suffice.
Google photo of chicken korma with rice
He was heading back to the Casino to play cards, and I found a warm spot in the Lido pool area to read. I had tried the Sea View area, but it was still way too windy.
I then went to the Future Cruise Consultant’s presentation on future cruises. I didn’t see anything that really called to me. I still want to do the 28-day Alaska cruise one day, but I’m happy to have booked a 14-day Alaska for 2027.
We opted for a Lido dinner. The show tonight was Breton Thunder’s “Heritage” show so we decided to skip it. We listened to the first two sets of the Ocean Bar band and then went to the Crow’s Nest to dance to the hits played by a DJ.
It’s never a great start to the morning when you are half-asleep and then get startled by an animal – even if it is a towel animal. I was heading for the stairs to go to the Exploration Cafe for my latte when I was confronted by this elephant. I am used to seeing the traditional “Animal Zoo” on the Lido deck but this is the first time I have ever seen them escape the confines and appear in the hallways.
It was a very nice day but breezy. I walked a mile around the Promenade and then read for a while on one of the Promenade loungers. I was able to enjoy the sun but avoided the wind.
We skipped breakfast and then went to the Pinnacle Grill restaurant for our 12:30 lunch reservation. I have to say the lunch was much better than the dinner last night.
Later that afternoon, we attended the Comedian’s matinee show. She was very funny. I could especially relate to her frustration with all the medical “portals” we have to navigate today.
It was the 2nd dressy night of the cruise, but we were not that enamored with the main dining room menu and not that hungry after our Pinnacle Grill lunch. We opted for a light Lido supper.
We went to the Casino and I found a tiny duck sitting on one of the machines.
Then, we went to Breton Thunder’s second show – “Unleashed” where they do some songs other than traditional folk tunes. I especially liked their version of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
After the show, we went to the late set of the Ocean Bar band and then called it a night.
On the February/March 14-day B2B cruise, we had four sea days. On the 22-day cruise in April, we had 10 sea days. On sea days, you can be as busy as you want to be. Or not.
Everything is open all day – the bars, the spa, the gym, the casino, the shops (clothing, sundries, souvenirs, liquor, jewelry, and art), the library and the photo gallery.
Sports – sun rise stretch, tai chi classes, pickleball (and lessons), ping pong, cornhole and basketball. These are all free. They do have some classes such as Pilates and Cycling for a fee. My exercise consisted of walking 40 minutes around the promenade deck (and going to the gym once-pitiful).
Shopping – There are art auctions, jewelry shows and raffles, liquor tastings, and a Poolside Marketplace that lets you browse some (relatively) low-cost items. The photography department is also always happy to have you browse and purchase photos, photo gifts, cameras, and binoculars. I have bought several HAL t-shirts in the past but didn’t buy anything either trip this time. Please be aware that if you need sundries (aspirin, cold medicines, suntan lotion, etc. you will pay a premium price for very small packages on the ship).
Seminars/Classes – Coffee chats (the cruise director interviews different ship personnel) cooking shows, origami classes, bridge classes, mahjong classes, painting classes, health seminars, calligraphy classes, line dancing classes, dance classes (salsa, tango, etc), technology for traveler classes, art seminars, wine tastings, mixology classes, beer tastings, and flower arranging. Most are free but some have a fee.
These classes are usually held in small venues such as the conference rooms or lounges. If there is something you want to do, I suggest getting there early. Seats fill up fast. I attended a couple of the technology for traveler classes and was pleased to discover some interesting travel apps. In the past, I have attended coffee chats, wine tastings, and flower arranging.
World Stage Events – This venue is used for activities that will draw large crowds – port talks (general info about upcoming ports) shore excursions presentations (focused on HAL shore excursions at ports), guest speaker presentations – a variety of topics, future cruise presentations, HAL presentations: ex – “A City on the Sea,” and “History of Holland America.”
Again, get there early if you want a good seat. On the 22-day cruise, the port talks were Standing Room Only. They finally recorded the sessions so that you could watch them in your stateroom which helped with the over-crowding.
Sample slide from a port talk
Trivia/Games – The Crows Nest has a large supply of board games that you can check-out and play. You will also see people all over the ship playing card or dice games. I get annoyed when I see people playing cards or games in the Lido during peak lunch and dinner times. It is hard enough to find a seat in there with all the people eating. So much harder when you add in the people in there not eating.
Some ships offer a scavenger hunt – fun for families. Bingo is another popular game on the ships. There is a fee for playing. Deal or No Deal has been introduced. It seems popular and, again, a fee for playing.
Then there is trivia – we found out early on in our cruising experiences that people are very serious about their trivia. The topics vary: pop culture, history, geography, travel, general knowledge, music, etc. Chuck and I, if we play (which is rarely), usually just make our own team.
On the 14-day cruise, our Canadian friends, who are trivia masters, talked us into teaming up for music trivia one day. Our team actually won but only because of them. We each received a HAL pin. I don’t think it is the prizes people covet as much as bragging rights although there was much tusseling over the wooden tulips at one time.
Special group meetings – you can usually find these group meetings on every HAL ship – PRIDE, single and solo, military, Friends of Bill W, bridge players, and mahjong players. If you belong to a Facebook and/or Cruise Critic group dedicated to that particular sailing, and someone in the group takes charge of arranging a room and time with HAL, you can meet the people you have been chatting with online for the months prior to the cruise.
Pools/Hot tubs – There are hot tubs and a pool in the middle of the ship on the Lido deck. That area has a ceiling that can be opened or closed depending on the weather. Those pools are open to all. The pool and hot tubs in the Sea View area are heated but there is no ceiling. Most of the time, this pool area is reserved for adults only. For both cruises, if I wasn’t on the balcony or at a random seminar/class, I spent most of my time in this area.
However, one of the best activities Chuck and I attended was on the 22-day cruise. It was the crew talent show held one afternoon. Crew members from different areas of the ship showcased their personal singing, dancing, or musical instrument talents. We thought some of them were better than some of the paid performers we saw in the evenings. There was no crew talent show on the February/March cruise.
I also enjoy the Towel-Animal invasion which is typically held once per cruise. The housekeeping staff go all out with their creations.
Whatever you decide to do, get in the habit of checking the HAL app or the daily program so you don’t miss anything. Here are a couple of sample Sea Day program front pages.
This cruise only had one sea day. Perfect for people who really like port-intensive itineraries. We like sea days so we were kind of bummed there would be only one.
And, since there would be only one, HAL crammed a lot of activities into this one day.
We had to move our clocks ahead 1/2 hour last night. Our next ports are in Newfoundland and apparently they have their own unique time zone. Weird.
We went to the Sea Day Brunch in the main dining room. We each had the halibut sandwich and the apple crisp. I only remembered to get a photo of the apple crisp.
We then went to the Lido to see the “Cake Me Away” display. The line for cake was very long. We agreed we were too full for cake. I did get some photos.
Chuck went to play cards in the Casino and I went to the Mariners reception. There was only one person on this cruise who was getting a medal – silver for having sailed 300 days. The Captain spoke to the group and I realized we had sailed with him on the Oosterdam for the South America – Antarctica cruise. He always announced, over the intercom, when whales or penguins were spotted and would seem so excited even though he’s done that route so many times in his career. That cruise is still my very favorite.
I walked a mile on the promenade deck. Some of the newer ships don’t have promenade decks that are conducive to walking and you have to go to the jogging track. I enjoy walking on the promenade deck and watching for sea life. I only spotted some birds.
After doing the mile, I walked around the ship inside on the different decks and took some photos since this was the first time sailing the Volendam. I always wonder who decides what artwork, etc. is going to be featured on each ship. Each ship is unique.
Atrium
Came back to the cabin to find that Chuck had braved the Cake Me Away line and got us some carrot cake and some other cakes that I did not know the name. I really love the HAL carrot cakes.
We spent time in the Casino, ate dinner in the Lido, and then skipped the World Stage show – vocalist Tiffany Dissette. She was doing “Songs from the Silver Stage.” I heard it was a very good show – just not our cup of tea.
We went to the early show of the Ocean Bar Band but the venue was so crowded that after three late nights in a row, we decided to call it an early evening.
When you have several sea days together, they seem to blend. You get into a routine of activities (or not), meals, evening activities (or not) – rinse, repeat.
We had 5 sea days before we reached Hilo, Hawaii. Those days consisted of
Coffee from the Grand Cafe.
Clock turning back 3 times before Hilo arrival.
Time in the Casino (slots now open 24/7 because the Casino will be closed while we’re in Hawaii)
DailyActivities – Many people went to the Hawaiian cultural ambassador events such as hula dancing, making bracelets, ukulele lessons, etc. I’ve done most of them before.
I chose to go to a future cruise presentation to see if there were any must-do itineraries coming up. I attended multiple lectures by Australian author Michael Adams –
I participated in the Lido games to win door prizes (I didn’t) –
And, I attended the coffee chats with Cruise Director Gage interviewing various ship personnel.
Cruise Director on Left, HR Manager on Right,
Chuck preferred playing cards or hanging out with his buddies on the Sea View Deck. Cruising has something for everyone.
We spent a lot of time eating or thinking about where and when we would be eating.
Here are some examples of our food during the times I thought about getting a photo before I started chomping away.
Evening activities – A band was brought in to play jazz music during the dinner hours in the Ocean Bar.
Ocean Bar Band
We spent some time in the Casino, but it was usually very crowded in the evenings so we never stayed long. And we went to both the Rolling Stone Lounge band and the BB King band sets.
We only attended one world stage show – Jose Sarduy’s second show (which I didn’t think was as funny as the first). Other shows by the HAL singers and dancers or the FlyRights we had already seen.
I even managed one day to walk 2 miles around the track on the Sports Deck. Small victory – probably burnt enough calories for 1/2 of a dinner roll.
The days actually passed very quickly to me and it seemed like we were reaching Hawaii sooner than I thought. But we were right on schedule.
The seas were very rocky last night, so it wasn’t a restful night’s sleep. I was looking forward to my first latte of the day. Unfortunately, I had a longer wait than usual. The Grand Dutch Cafe was short-staffed, so the line of caffeine-starved passengers was stretched down the hallway. Sigh.
Once we did have sufficient caffeine, we went to the main dining room for a leisurely late breakfast. Then I went to a presentation by Gage, the Cruise Director, regarding information about Astoria, our next port. I was interested in going out to the state park but needed to know if Uber was available. If not, finding out what would be interesting within walking distance.
Spent some time in the Casino. It was very crowded since people had not been able to play until they re-opened the slot machines around 11:00 pm last night.
Since I didn’t sleep that well last night, I decided to return to the room to read and take a nap while Chuck stayed to play some cards.
I was reading when maintenance knocked on the door. Our room stewards had reported that our shower needed some grout work, and he had come to fix it. I had not even noticed the problem. He was in there about 30 minutes.
I thought I could still take a short nap but just as I was drifting off, there was another knock. Room service was delivering a gift of chocolate covered strawberries compliments of the Casino. Can’t be mad at someone giving you free chocolate.
Tonight was another dressy night, and we had been invited to HAL’s Awards Ceremony at 4:30 so my hopes for a nap were now dashed. It was time to get ready.
We weren’t getting any Medallions on this cruise. We have received our Silver Medallions, but we have many more sea days to go before getting a Gold one. There were several people on this cruise who received their Gold Medallions signifying 500 cruise days. We enjoyed chatting with other passengers.
We opted for an early dinner in hopes that we would avoid the fiasco of the last dressy night dinner. It was a good decision. The line was long but once we got to the host desk, he was able to seat us right away. No beeper needed.
Chuck and I each had the Beef Tenderloin Oscar. It was very tender and the crab meat on top was very sweet.
We went to the early show in the world stage. The show was a talented group of vocalists and dancers called The FlyRights. We really enjoyed their show.
After the show, we listened to the last two sets of the BB King Lounge band. They were better than the other night, but I still prefer the Rolling Stone Lounge Band.
We called it a night and hoped for a more restful sleep.
I was sleeping great but at 4:00 a.m. the Captain came over the loudspeaker and called for the medical response team. Those types of announcements are broadcast in all rooms whereas general announcements are only broadcast in public areas. They were called to a passenger’s room number. I hope the situation ended well.
Once I did get up, I went down to the Grand Dutch Cafe for our usual specialty coffees – a vanilla latte for me and an Americano for Chuck. The Grand Dutch Cafe also has pastries and later on in the day it will serve Dutch lunch items like pea soup. It is a very popular place on the ship and can only be found on the three Pinnacle-class ships. I highly recommend their raisin buns and Dutch apple pie.
I recognized the Barista from one of our Rotterdam cruises. She was not looking at me when she took my order but when she heard my voice and saw my coffee carrier, she looked up, smiled, and said “Welcome to the Koningsdam! So good to see you again.”
It was a rainy and foggy day so there would be no pool time. The ship was also rocking so I relied on my trusty Bonine to take care of the queasiness.
We found some empty seats in the casino and got to play some of our favorites.
We then went to the Sunday brunch in the main dining room. Even though we are on a Pacific coastal cruise, the menu featured a Mexican theme (the Koningsdam had just come from doing a Mexican Riviera cruise). Chuck had the huevos rancheros. I had a vegetarian burrito.
We spent some time in the Sea View (under the awning) talking with fellow passengers. Another stop at the Casino which was more crowded than this morning. The afternoon passed quickly. I noticed it was not warming up and still very breezy. I believe I have packed poorly for this cruise.
We planned to have dinner in the main dining room as it was the first dressy night. Apparently, so did everyone else. The line to the host station was long and when we got up there, instead of being shown to a table, we were given a beeper and told to go wait in the Ocean Bar. It was well over an hour before we got seated. Honestly, I was so hungry that taking a photo never crossed my mind. I had a NY strip steak and Chuck had the filet of sole. Here are some photos from Google š:
We decided not to go to the main show – David and Dawn Meyer. I had seen it before and enjoyed it, but didn’t need to see it again. Chuck was not interested.
Instead, we went to the second set of the Rolling Stone Band. Aferwards, we called it a night.
Today is the last sea day and the last day of the cruise. Time to get that last latte and coffee from the Grand Dutch Cafe.
We had a nice leisurely breakfast in the main dining room. It had to be leisurely since the service was so slow. There were a lot of people who had the same idea as we did so I wasn’t surprised that we had to wait for the food.
After breakfast, we went to the Casino to play off the points we had accumulated all week. We ended up turning the points into cash which was nice.
Now for the always dreaded task – packing. We had to pick out what we would need to keep with us for the evening and the morning. Everything else would be packed. I was happy that we did not have very many dirty clothes that had to be packed so I wouldn’t have much to wash when I got home. I had received two loads of clean, folded clothes yesterday, so they were the first to go into the suitcases.
We had a late lunch at the NY Deli and Pizza. We split a meat lovers pizza and a salad.
Now it was time to finish the packing, weighing, and tagging the bags, enjoy some quiet time on the balcony, and then get ready for the last evening.
We spent some time in the Casino and then had a late dinner in the Lido. We went to one set of the Rolling Stone Lounge band. This band would be disembarking tomorrow, and a new band would be embarking. I hope the new band plays as well as this one does and maybe does less talking and more singing.
Once back at the cabin, we double-checked all the drawers and closets making sure we hadn’t skipped anything and that we had everything we needed for tomorrow. We then locked and pushed the two largest bags out into the hallway. We kept our backpacks and the one carry-on. We would see the large bags tomorrow at baggage claim in Port Everglades.
Tomorrow – Disembarkation in Fort Lauderdale / Traveling Home
I made it to the gym this morning. The gym is on the 9th floor at the very front of the ship. I could really feel the wave action. I didn’t spend as much time as I should have because I started feeling seasick. Got back to the room and took a Bonine. Not long before I was ready to go to Brunch in the main dining room.
Chuck and I both had the cheese and fruit plate. I had the mushroom crepe and Chuck had the seafood poutine. He was not happy to find calamari in the seafood. I graciously allowed him to give me all the pieces. š They were delicious.
After brunch, we met up with our friends and they taught us how to play Rummikub. Lot of fun and a lot of laughs.
Tonight was another dressy night. The restaurant was crowded so we agreed to share a table. We had such a lively conversation that I forgot to take photos of the dinner. We did skip dessert so we could make it to the first set of the BB King band.
We went to the main stage to see the new comedian – Tim Nutt. He had a couple of good stories. Unfortunately, they occurred after Chuck had given up on him and left to go play cards.
After the show, I went to the last set of the Rolling Stone Lounge band.
When I got back to the room, I found our towel animal and some chocolates.
We both slept late this morning. When I finally went to get coffee from the Cafe, I found an invite from the Casino in our mailbox telling us we had qualified for a comp and to come to the Casino to claim it.
We dropped by there before going to lunch and found that the Casino would give us a dinner at the specialty restaurant – Rudy’s Sel de Mer. We had them make us a reservation for tomorrow night. We then continued on to the Lido buffet.
HAL has staff stationed at both ends of the Lido buffet encouraging people to wash their hands at the sinks and use the hand sanitizer. Sad that people aren’t doing it automatically. There are no self-service areas in the Lido at all. Even the dessert cabinets are locked – the horror. Makes it tougher on the staff having to hand people everything but should help to cut down on the transmission of the virus.
After lunch, Chuck opted to visit with people in the Sea View area. I went to the Cruise Director’s lecture on the history of the Panama Canal. He did a very good job on the informative presentation, and I especially liked the historical video portions of the presentation that showed people actually working on the Canal.
I found Chuck in the Sea View area and we enjoyed the warm breeze and good conversations until it was time to get ready for the evening.
We went to the main dining room for dinner. Chuck had the salmon and I had the carne asada. Both were excellent.
The remainder of the evening consisted of listening to two sets of the Rolling Stone Lounge band, two sets of the BB King band, Casino time and watching the main stage show – Class Act. We’ve seen it before but really liked it. The Rotterdam singers and dancers performed it very well.
After the show, Chuck went to play cards and I called it a night. When I got back to the cabin I found a note I did like – the clocks will move back an hour tonight.
