The Volendam

So recently I returned from a cruise around New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji with the family on the Volendam.

The boat held around 2,000 people and had one main dining room and one more exclusive restaurant where you'd pay $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner (on top of money already paid for cruise)along with the usual buffet deck.

The food in the buffet was average - breakfast's were nothing spectacular but quite passable. Lunches weren't to my liking and I can't comment on dinner as I never tried it! Outside by the pool though was a grill area which served up some pretty decent burgers, some appalling fries and some pretty amazing pizza!

We'll focus on dinner though as that was the largest of any meal

The menu was split into a number of sections: Starters, Appetizers, Entrees, Chef's Suggestions, Daily Menu, Dessert.

So along with a number of breadrolls one would consume somewhere between 2 and 4 courses. The selection was so great some nights though that certain members of our party would elect to try a couple of different starters. Being on a cruise ship, if you wished to order everything on the menu, you could! Alternatively, if you ordered something and did not like it, you could simply order something else! (if you did like it and wanted another you could do this too!)

A certain chicken dish with a tangy orange sauce and prosciutto was one of my favourites along with a half decent chocolate souffle (YUM)

The presentation of each plate was always fantastic so i've included a few photos for you...

If you're a food lover (for quality, quantity or presentation) i recommend a cruise! Not only is a great way to see the world, without worrying about transport and accommodation - and the tiresome packing and repacking- but there's always something to do on board, and there's all different food every where you look!

Every afternoon in the dining room there would be afternoon tea. I decided to partake in this twice. Although the mini sandwiches were nothing flash the scones with cream and jam were VERY good!

The dining room also served a more formal set down breakfast and lunch. Although I didn't try the lunch (never enough time!) I did do the breakfast on one of the last mornings. You were presented with a menu (as opposed to the buffet) and given a choice of different sorts of eggs, fruits, pastries, breads, cereals, waffles, pancakes etc and whilst the quality of the food wasn't amazing (mind you it's all stored on the ship for the duration of the cruise!) the presentation was lovely as always.

If buffets and dining rooms aren't even your thing, there's always room service with a breakfast menu, 12pm-10pm menu and 24 hr menu. (the choc chip cookies and milk went down really well with an afternoon movie and were quite satisfying between a 12:30pm lunch and an 8pm dinner!)