Zaandam
by DBunk
Western Caribbean
December 13, 2003
My wife, our son (11) and myself weren't sure what to expect after pouring over all the reviews we could find of past Zaandam cruises. There seemed to be a lot of differing opinions about service, food, entertainment and just about every other aspect of the experience.
After arriving at the Port Canaveral,Florida terminal , we found the embarkation process to be very easy and were on board hours before sailing.
As the cabins were still being prepared, we spent some time looking over this beautiful ship's public areas. We were pleased to find them to be delightful to the eye and very clean even during the busy time of embarkation!
When allowed to access our immaculate cabin (6180), we were pleasantly surprised by the roominess and amount of storage.
From there on, things only got better.
We found the personal service on the ship was second to none we had experienced anywhere. Baggage handlers, bartenders, waiters, room and laundry service personnel, along with cocktail waitresses were prompt and always wearing a smile. The one word that comes to mind is "pampered"!
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( Our thanks again to "Pie", Ari, George ,Prayogo , Edwin and ,of course, Nas.)
The room service food was good.
The food served on the Lido Deck was very good.
The food served in the Rotterdam Dining Room was exceptional.
The food served at the Pinnacle Grill was fabulous! ( Well worth the extra fee.)
The deserts were sinful.and abundant.
All in all, excellent!
There was music for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was music during hor'dourves . There was music for High Tea (recommended). There was music in the lounges.
The nightly entertainment was standard Las Vegas quality, though the productions were necessarily downsized. That is not to say the shows were inferior or not worth the time. The shows we witnessed were assuredly energetic, professional and entertaining. The lounge entertainment was varied and well done. (Although things started ' jumping' ,especially at the Crow's Nest, a bit late for those of us with early wake-up calls.
There was almost always something 'going on' onboard. ( Martin, the gentleman that called the BINGO games was a joy!)
The casino was just about the right size for this ship and the staff friendly and ready to open games upon request.
We have fond memories of all the ports of call
(Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Half Moon Cay and ,yes, beautiful Jamaica too!).
Though we came up missing one bag at disembarkation ( HAL had located the bag before we had left Port Canaveral) that process, once initiated, was also very smooth and painless.
The ship never seemed crowded though all cabins were occupied.( 1359 passengers and 600 crew.) Neither the pools nor hot tubs were overcrowded. The only long line I saw all week was for the fabulous "Desert Extravaganza". (Believe me; that was worth the wait!) I can't recall waiting more than a few seconds for one of the abundant elevators.
The crowd was generally older (No denying that although all ages excepting very young children were well represented.) but that seemed to lead to an overall feeling of relaxed enjoyment rather than a frenzied search for action. We were struck by the fact almost all fellow passengers with whom we spoke were extremely loyal repeat HAL voyagers. ( The first couple we spoke with at embarkation was on their 56th HAL cruise!).
Although the wind blew a full gale the last night, the ship was never prone to excessive movement and rode the seas with a stability I found surprising. We found Zaandam to be remarkably clean, comfortable and, for the most part, beautiful. ( I feel the organ that occupies the atrium could use a bit of color.)
In conclusion, our cruise aboard the Zaandam exceeded all our most sanguine expectations! We had an entertaining voyage with terrific service, great food, a clean, comfortable almost spacious cabin aboard a beautiful ship, with friendly shipmates. ( Not to mention the fun we had during our shore excursions!)
