ms Volendam

The 1999-built MS Volendam cruise ship is the second Rotterdam/R-class Holland America liner, with sistership ms Zaandam (fleetmate), as well as ms Rotterdam (now Fred Olsen Borealis) and ms Amsterdam (now Fred Olsen Bolette).

The vessel (IMO number 9156515) is Netherlands-flagged (MMSI 245968000) and registered in Rotterdam.

History – construction and ownership

Holland America Line (HAL) is a Seattle-based cruise company owned by Carnival Corporation. Between 1873 and 1989, HAL was a Dutch cargo and passenger shipping company operating regular Transatlantic crossings between the Netherlands and the Americas. The company was founded in 1873 as the “Dutch-American Steamship Company,” headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In 1989, HAL was acquired by Carnival Corporation for approximately EUR 530 million. Among the company’s assets are the Westmark hotel chain (Alaska–Yukon), Worldwide Shore Services (warehousing and logistics), and Half Moon Cay (a private Caribbean island).

When the 1500-passenger Volendam (named after the Dutch city Edam–Volendam) debuted in 1999, she was the fleet’s highest-capacity ship and the first to feature a dedicated Internet center (equipped with eight satellite-connected computer stations). Reflecting the company’s Dutch heritage, HAL has traditionally hired Indonesian crew members, known for their friendliness and efficiency. Although there had been concerns regarding Indonesian visa renewals in earlier years, these challenges were eventually resolved. Service staff are primarily Indonesian and Filipino, while most officers are European, mainly Dutch. A notable aspect of service aboard Volendam is the crew’s exceptional attentiveness to guests with physical challenges. Crew members are consistently helpful—particularly with wheelchair users and passengers with mobility difficulties—without any sense of impatience. The ship carries thirty wheelchairs for guest use.

Decks and Cabins

MS Volendam staterooms (716 total, across 26 categories) include 197 Suites, no standard Balconies, 383 Oceanviews, 21 Lanai, and 136 Inside cabins. Most staterooms measure 175–255 ft² (16–24 m²). Approximately 30% of all accommodations feature step-out balconies. Wheelchair-accessible staterooms total 23. The largest accommodations are the Pinnacle Suites (940 ft² / 87 m², with a 190 ft² / 18 m² terrace).

The ship has 10 passenger decks, five of which contain cabins.

Implemented fleetwide in 2019, the “Club Orange” program provides exclusive amenities to Suite passengers booked in Neptune and Pinnacle categories. Benefits include:

• priority services (check-in, disembarkation, tendering, dining reservations)
• 24-hour concierge service (assistance, information, reservations)
• exclusive dining venue (complimentary Pinnacle Grill breakfast and Dining Room dinner, plus exclusive dishes)
• dedicated Concierge Desk (Guest Services and Tours)
• room service with à la carte breakfast menu featuring complimentary gourmet items, including smoked salmon and steak and eggs
• sparkling wine on embarkation day, Club Orange tote bag, and premium bathrobes (for in-cabin use; available for monogramming and purchase)
• Club Orange Restaurant, a designated VIP section within the Main Dining Room

Shipboard dining options – Food and Drinks

Dining options on MS Volendam range from early-morning continental breakfast to an Indonesian-themed midnight buffet. In addition to main restaurant service, guests can enjoy afternoon tea, 24-hour room service, and a self-serve pizza/hot dog/hamburger/taco/fajita station near the Lido Pool (open 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m.). Special dietary needs—from diabetic to Kosher to low-carb—are accommodated with advance notice. The two-story Rotterdam Restaurant (the ship’s Main Dining Room), located aft and surrounded by windows, offers open-seating breakfast and lunch and many small tables for guests who prefer to dine à deux. MS Rotterdam also provides a 22-dish vegetarian menu for lunch and dinner, featuring salads, soups, entrées, and appetizers, with options such as Vietnamese vegetable spring rolls, portobello mushroom and chipotle quesadillas, and spicy lentil and garbanzo salad.

Below is the complete list of MS Volendam restaurants and food bars.

• Pinnacle Grill (84-seat, reservations-only seafood and steakhouse venue with a fine wine selection; free for children under 12). Once per cruise, the venue hosts “An Evening at Le Cirque,” in partnership with the New York–based French restaurant Le Cirque.
• Rotterdam Restaurant (792-seat aft Dining Room; offers open-seating Breakfast and Lunch, and Dinner with either two fixed seatings or “Any Time” dining between 5:15 p.m. and 9 p.m.)
• King’s Room (a reservations-only annex of the Rotterdam Restaurant, used for private dining)
• Terrace Grill (complimentary fast-food pool bar)
• Lido Restaurant (394-seat complimentary buffet venue; self-service Breakfast 6:00–11:00 a.m., Lunch 11:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m., Afternoon Tea, and Dinner 5:30–8:00 p.m.)
• Canaletto Restaurant (an Italian dinner venue located within the Lido Restaurant; reservations required)

Shipboard entertainment options – Fun and Sport

Entertainment on MS Volendam is varied, with nightly shows staged in the 574-seat, two-tier Frans Hals Lounge. These include HAL’s “Dancing With the Stars at Sea,” where guests volunteer to partner with shipboard dancers and perform during the final-night show. Frans Hals Lounge also hosts the Marriage Game and magician performances. Instead of Broadway-style productions, Volendam’s singers and dancers present country and pop revue shows. A longstanding favorite is the crew show, featuring folkloric performances representing the cultures of HAL’s multinational crew.

Additional amenities include complimentary 24-hour room service, the supervised youth program “Club HAL,” cruise ship weddings, Internet/WiFi access, and self-service laundromats.

The following is the full list of MS Volendam lounges, clubs, and entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Atrium (three-deck-high midship open-floor area with live performances)
• Promenade Deck, Walking Track (jogging not permitted)
• Frans Hals Lounge (574-seat main show lounge; also hosts Holland America’s enrichment programming via BBC Earth)
• Queen’s Room (34-seat meeting room offering Microsoft-sponsored digital workshops—computer classes, social networking, blogging, photo editing)
• Photo Gallery & Shop; Art Gallery
• Wine Tasting Bar; Gourmet Shops (wine sampling and bottles for purchase)
• Wajang Theatre & Culinary Arts Centre (124-seat cinema featuring culinary classes and cooking demonstrations)
• Atrium Terrace and Atrium Shops (duty-free boutiques offering tobacco, liquor, perfume, watches, clothing, HAL-logo merchandise, souvenirs); Marabella Luxury Shop
• Ocean Bar (104-seat Atrium bar and lounge with dance floor and live music stage)
• Casino (with dedicated Casino Bar)
• Piano Bar (84 seats)
• Hudson Room (50-seat meeting and card room)
• Explorations Café (65-seat specialty coffee bar and patisserie; also serves as the library and Internet center)
• Explorer’s Lounge & Bar (94-seat lounge with bar; classical music performances)
• Neptune Lounge (22-seat exclusive venue for Deluxe Suite and Pinnacle Suite guests)
• Fitness Center (gym with separate aerobics room); two Jacuzzis
• Greenhouse Spa & Salon; Lido Pool area served by Lido Bar and Terrace Grill; Sea View Pool area served by Sea View Bar
• Crow’s Nest (220-seat observation lounge with bar and dance floor; transforms into a disco at night)
• Tennis Court; Basketball Court; Shuffleboard
• Club HAL (kids’ lounge with complimentary youth programming)
• The Loft (teen club with video arcade, computers, PlayStations, and teen disco)
• The Oasis (40-seat teen-only outdoor retreat)

Since 2023, all HAL ships feature pickleball courts (installed on the top deck) through an exclusive partnership with the Professional Pickleball Association/PPA. HAL also offers complimentary beginner lessons led by onboard instructors, sells branded pickleball starter kits in onboard shops, and includes “Play Pickleball” tutorial videos in the in-cabin TV system.

Itineraries

MS Volendam’s itinerary program is based on Caribbean voyages departing from Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida.

Holland America is among the few cruise lines offering partial Panama Canal cruises that combine popular Caribbean islands with Panama’s Gatun Lake. The itinerary’s “Panama Canal” segment includes passage through the Gatun Locks and scenic cruising in Gatun Lake.

The table below shows HAL’s “Panama Canal Sunfarer” itinerary (11-day roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale).

Volendam’s 2022 schedule was planned to restart in January with the 74-day World Cruise (Grand South America and Antarctica Voyage) departing roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale. The program also included European itineraries (Baltic and Mediterranean) from homeports Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Venice (Italy).

However, due to the Coronavirus crisis, the ship was paused for over two years (March 2020 through May 2022) and the “World Cruise 2022” was canceled. Operations were scheduled to resume on May 15, 2022, with Baltic itineraries from Rotterdam, Netherlands, followed by a short Mediterranean season from Venice, Italy, Caribbean and South America voyages (from Fort Lauderdale), and in 2023—Alaska itineraries (7-day cruises from Vancouver, BC, Canada). After HAL chartered Volendam for five months (May–September 2022) to serve as a hotel ship for Ukrainian refugees, the restart was postponed to September 24 (Holy Land roundtrip from Venice).

For 2025, HAL scheduled its first-ever “Pole-to-Pole” Grand World Voyage on Volendam, departing roundtrip from Port Everglades on January 25. The 133-day itinerary visits 68 ports in 28 countries across five continents, including a full Panama Canal transit, South America/Amazon River, Iceland and Greenland, the European Arctic (North Cape), Antarctica, and Australia.