DJP
November 29th, 2004, 02:54 PM
DH and I just returned Saturday from our first HAL cruise and it was on the Zaandam. Wow, HAL is wonderful and definitely a cut above Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival, and we would absolutely return to HAL in a heartbeat. This was our 8th cruise and we loved them all, but this was definitely outstanding. The ship is elegant, the high beds with lovely linens were very comfortable, and we loved the Egyptian bath sheets and other towels in the bathroom (also liked the bathtub). We had a large outside (Category E) on the Dolphin Deck, about mid-ship, so very convenient. The Lido Buffet was very nice and we never had to wait in line for our food. Dining Room food was usually very good, although there were a few dishes that didn't quite appear as described in the menu. Our tablemates (two couples) were terrific and made dinnertime very special and enjoyable (8:30pm seating). We celebrated my birthday in the Pinnacle Grill and it was as wonderful as any 5 star restaurant on land and I heartily recommend it. DH made reservations, but we hardly ever saw any more than a few tables filled whever we walked by there. Service was excellent in the Lido, casino, and bar; our dining room waiter was efficient, but not terribly friendly and he ignored us the last night out for some reason although he took our orders that evening; room steward service was a mixed bag in that he did a terrific job, but most days our cabin was not cleaned until 2-3pm and we were used to our cabins on previous cruises being cleaned during breakfast.
The casino was the smallest we'd ever seen on a ship and definitely has the tightest poker machines. However, the casino staff were very congenial and we had fun playing Caribbean Stud Poker and Craps. We stayed away from Blackjack because we are serious players and have found that most people playing BJ on cruises don't really understand the nuances of the game and screw it up for everyone else.
The big (only) negative on the cruise concerned the badly behaved children in the pool areas. There were 250 kids on board and I am curious where their parents were because they certainly weren't at the pools enforcing the written rules posted right there. I was jumped on twice by the same young girl and told her she was being very annoying and would she please watch out for people trying to swim. Kids were doing cannonballs and generally just took over the pool by the bar every day. One 12-year old boy kept doing cannonballs and his father talked to him about it....as he walked away the boy did it again and the father just shook his head. The boy's mother spoke to him 4 times over the next hour and he kept doing it......so why didn't the mother just pull him out of the pool instead? My suggestion to HAL is to make one pool for children (the one on the aft Lido Deck) and make the one by the bar on the Lido Deck for adults only and then enforce it. Also, come on parents with kids in diapers....don't bring those kids into the pools (signs also say not to)! I am an avid swimmer, so as you can tell, the pool experience was ruined for me every day. Waiting for an elevator one day, a youngster was whining about wanting to do something and his parents said no to which the boy threatened to call the police and claim child abuse. Kids rule, parents drool!
Ports were the usual we've been to and Grand Cayman is recovering, although the devastation was still pretty evident once you got away from downtown. Jamaica was a new port for us and past messages were very correct about the aggressive vendors and taxi drivers not letting you alone. We still had a great time in each port.
The weather was perfect except for a little rain the morning of Half Moon Cay, but it eventually cleared up. HAL, please make this a longer stop because it was such a lovely place to end our cruise!
In closing, a wonderful and memorable cruise on the Zaandam and I would highly recommend HAL! Something funny happened while waiting in line for a luggage porter on Saturday.......a man in back of us said this was the worst cruise he'd ever been on! When I asked him why, he couldn't articulate why but just kept saying it was the worst cruise. Oh well, go figure! I would be happy to answer any Zaandam questions.
The casino was the smallest we'd ever seen on a ship and definitely has the tightest poker machines. However, the casino staff were very congenial and we had fun playing Caribbean Stud Poker and Craps. We stayed away from Blackjack because we are serious players and have found that most people playing BJ on cruises don't really understand the nuances of the game and screw it up for everyone else.
The big (only) negative on the cruise concerned the badly behaved children in the pool areas. There were 250 kids on board and I am curious where their parents were because they certainly weren't at the pools enforcing the written rules posted right there. I was jumped on twice by the same young girl and told her she was being very annoying and would she please watch out for people trying to swim. Kids were doing cannonballs and generally just took over the pool by the bar every day. One 12-year old boy kept doing cannonballs and his father talked to him about it....as he walked away the boy did it again and the father just shook his head. The boy's mother spoke to him 4 times over the next hour and he kept doing it......so why didn't the mother just pull him out of the pool instead? My suggestion to HAL is to make one pool for children (the one on the aft Lido Deck) and make the one by the bar on the Lido Deck for adults only and then enforce it. Also, come on parents with kids in diapers....don't bring those kids into the pools (signs also say not to)! I am an avid swimmer, so as you can tell, the pool experience was ruined for me every day. Waiting for an elevator one day, a youngster was whining about wanting to do something and his parents said no to which the boy threatened to call the police and claim child abuse. Kids rule, parents drool!
Ports were the usual we've been to and Grand Cayman is recovering, although the devastation was still pretty evident once you got away from downtown. Jamaica was a new port for us and past messages were very correct about the aggressive vendors and taxi drivers not letting you alone. We still had a great time in each port.
The weather was perfect except for a little rain the morning of Half Moon Cay, but it eventually cleared up. HAL, please make this a longer stop because it was such a lovely place to end our cruise!
In closing, a wonderful and memorable cruise on the Zaandam and I would highly recommend HAL! Something funny happened while waiting in line for a luggage porter on Saturday.......a man in back of us said this was the worst cruise he'd ever been on! When I asked him why, he couldn't articulate why but just kept saying it was the worst cruise. Oh well, go figure! I would be happy to answer any Zaandam questions.