My Review of the Trans-Pacific Crossing Holland America Line

Ship Layout: The Holland America Volendam ship is an elegant and modest vessel with a capacity of 1,400 guests and less than half as many crew. The no-cost added dining options range from a large buffet with food to satisfy all tastes to a delicious and timely served upper-scale menu in the main dining room, as well as a pool-side taco and burger bar. Upper-scale dining experiences at an extra cost include the Pinnacle Grill steakhouse and the Canaletto Italian restaurant. Room service from the main dining area is an excellent, free-of-charge option for when you just want dinner in bed. The ship sports two modestly sized pools, one of which lies in the center of the ship under the retractable dome on the top deck. A full-sized gym at the front of the ship has everything you need for a great workout, including classes, personal trainers and a sauna. The ship does have spa amenities for an additional cost, including massages, manicures, pedicures, haircuts and facial treatments.

Entertainment and Activities: Being a smaller and older ship, the Volendam does not come with all the extra bells and whistles one might find on a grandiose Royal Caribbean cruise, such as waterslides, rock climbing walls and ziplines. Generally, Holland America's clientele is comprised of retired couples aged 55 and up, making those adventurous bells and whistles obsolete and not well catered to the client. However, this cruise never had any shortage of entertaining shows on their World Stage Theater. Singers and dancers put on a once-a-week performance with a new setlist and story each week; we attended each performance and were endlessly impressed by their talent. Additionally, we attended comedy shows, movies and a traditional Polynesian dance performance by local Tahitian dancers in Papeete. The activities itinerary for those back-to-back sea days is jam-packed with any number of things to keep you entertained - including pickleball tournaments, bingo, poker tournaments in the casino, live bands and more.

Ports of Call: By far, the thing that attracted us the most to this particular cruise was the ports of call. Not only was this cruise the perfect way to get us back to the United States from Australia after months of traveling the region, but it included stops at a country I had only dreamt of seeing in my lifetime. After embarking from Sydney and crossing the rocky Tasman Sea, travelers will spend a week stopping along New Zealand's eastern coastline. Over nine days, guests will stop in the famous Milford Sound, Dunedin, Timaru, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Rotorua, Auckland and the Bay of Islands. After three days at sea, the ship reaches the beautiful Rarotonga Cook Islands. This island looks straight out of a King Kong movie, with jagged mountains rising out of the ocean and crystal-clear water surrounding its base. After another few days at sea, we arrived in the island country of Tonga. I will admit this was our least favorite stop, as the island does not have much to offer if someone has not elected to go on an excursion. We spent about an hour and a half walking around the town outside of the port, finding neither beauty nor entertainment, before returning to the ship.

Our next stop was the one that made 36 days on a boat all worth it - the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. We were given 12 hours at this port, and we spent every minute we could on land. After renting a scooter in the port and exploring the entire island, we joined a local tour company for an amazing afternoon snorkeling with black-tipped reef sharks, stingrays and an incredible coral garden. After moving on from Bora Bora, we had five more stops to Mo'orea, Huahine, Papeete, Fakarava Atoll and Nuka Hiva. The rest of our stops in French Polynesia were no less incredible and we felt very grateful to have seen so much of this cluster of Pacific islands. A brutally long week at sea crossing the Pacific Ocean back to San Diego gave us plenty of time to read, exercise, play pickleball, enjoy the events put on by the staff, such as a Carnival and a sailing away party, and plenty of shows at the World Stage.

This was the trip of a lifetime, and I encourage anyone who has the desire or the opportunity to take this cruise.

Must Bring Items:

• Sunscreen

• Bathing suit

• Tote bag

• Comfortable walking shoes

• Snorkeling gear

• Portable charger

• A sun hat

• Shorts

• Tank tops

• Cash

• E-sim for internet data

• One dressy outfit for a formal dinner

• Lotion

Remember that the Pacific Ocean is a tropical, humid climate and plan your clothing accordingly. The days were incredibly hot and sunny, and sunscreen was an absolute must any time we ventured outside or played pickleball on the outdoor courts. A tote bag for trips into the port or a small backpack will be necessary for carrying back any gift purchases made in port or for bringing along swimming gear, snacks or anything needed on your excursions.

We purchased snorkeling gear before our cruise so that we could venture out on our own and not have to pay to rent any gear or for a full excursion, and this helped us save money and create our own experiences.

Printing out or writing down the location of your ship in the port and the disembarkation times will keep you from missing your ship and becoming stranded, as we nearly did when we were running out of time to return to the boat and couldn't remember which of the two docks our ship was at. Purchasing E-sims is helpful when your cruise stops in multiple countries, and you need to be able to communicate with your partner or research must-see spots in port.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our French Polynesia page.