Zaandam Review and Upgrade

[revrick3]

We just returned from June 2 Alaska sailing on Zaandam. It was great. This is our 4th cruise and first time with HA. Also our first to Alaska. To our surprise at check in we were upgraded. I had a category MM guarantee and no room day of checkin. At checkin we were assigned a categorry DD outside. I was shocked. We have not been given an upgrade before and this was a big one. The ship was a wonderful one. Our cabin was center ship on prominade deck. Easy access to all of ship. This was best location we have ever had, elevator around corner. Laundry a few doors down hall. The overall ship was in great shape, Embarkation was fast in Seattle, in 30 minutes we were through all checks and on deck. Short lines and they moved steadily. No problem here. Went to Lido for lunch and room was ready before we finished lunch. Luggage arrived few minutes after we got to room.
The Cabin. This is largest room we have had on other ships. It had a full size bath tub that was wonderful. The bed is just as good as everyone says, soft and wonderful linens. If you cant sleep on HA beds you have a problem. The new upgrades to rooms are great and more than enough storage space for the 2 of us. The lights took some time to figure out as there are several sets of switches and one at head of bed. We would hit a switch by mistake and cut on lights. This took some getting used to. We both got a laugh out of it at times.
The service.The room steward was good. He took care of all our needs and requests. Very prompt with requests. He was so young thoug, he looked to be around 16 even though I feel sure he was older. He did need some practice with his animals, this might be lack of experience.I do have to say that of all the cruise lines we have sailed on the customer service on this ship is above average. Way above some we have been on. The front desk staff are outstanding. We had several requests about issues in our room, Air conditioner not cooling enough, commode stopped up and each request was dealt with in minutes. We would even get a call from customer service later to be certain all had been taken care of. They were great. Dining room staff were good, I have seen better wait staff but they were a good average. The drink refills were skimpy at times. The attention got better as the week went by, this is usual as it is getting closer to tip time. The last couple of days were very good. Overall they handled our needs and we had great dining buddies so It was a good dining experience.
Now the cruise was awesome. Alaska is above my ability to describe, You just have to go for yourself. The weather was cool and cloudy with drizzle several days but a typical Alaska day according to locals. We loved it, It really made if feel real.
Juneau and Capt. Larry whale trip was better than described. We had more whales than we could count. The glacier helicopter trip that followed was also breathtaking. I am not certain but after our trip we discovered all other helicopter trips had been canceled due to weather, It was cloudy, light rain and cold but we went and had an incredible walk on a glacier. This was our highlight of the trip.
Sitka was probably my favorite city due to its natural beauty. A wonderful city and great day in port. We took an otter tour and it was great. Saw many seals, whales, eagles and otters.
The sun came out on last 2 days and in Ketchican it was sunny and 70 degrees, Go figure the Alaska weather, This was supposed to be our most likely rain port. Other days the temperature was 45-55 degrees each day.
The food: Dining was good. The overall food was average in Dining room. Presentation was very good, variety was good, No real bad meals. Deserts could have been better though. The staff never did remember our drink orders though. We had to re=ask each night for coke and a tea. Usually staff remember and have it for you. The Lido was good most of the time, it could be crowded at times, but we had a full ship. We did not go to the pinicle for dinner.
We did take the highly praised cooking class with the chef. It was a disapointment though. Not at all what we expected. The class was pretty disorganized and chef did not have all ingredeints on hand and seemed not prepared. The chef was head chef of Piniccle Grill? I would not take this class again on this ship.
Overal ship was grand, not crowded, We were able to get around easily and the only place it was crowede was Lido around meal times. I did not ever really figure out though when ice cream statino was open. It did not seem to have a regular schedule.
Entertainment: Not that grand. We have cruised on 4 different lines and I think this was probably the worst we have had. The singers were pretty good but the production as a whole had the feel of a high school perfomance. The shows are one of the highlights of our cruises and these were disapointing. We have had much better on other lines. The best night was a show by the magician/comedian. He was pretty good. He sort of saved the week for us.
Disembarkation: This was a piece of cake, Sat in our room and watche tv until called down. Left room and were outside and through customs in less than 30 minutes. No problem making our 12:30 flight.
Overall Great cruise. We would definitely go with HA again. I would give them a 4.5 out of 5 overall rating. The entertainment brought down score.
We look forward to our next cruise already.

[middle-aged mom]

Thanks, RevRick, for posting your review of your Alaska cruise:) You covered all the major points, and your descriptions are very helpful. Congratulations on your upgrade!

[RockinDBoat]

Thanks for the review.

Did you hear the pipe organ in the atrium being played? I'm an organist and am curious as to what it sounds like.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sounds like you had a great time despite the weather and sounds like most things went smooth. I too love Sitka. We plan to go on the Noordam next year and that should be going to Sitka.:)

Thanks for the great review.

[revrick3]

The organ does play, They use it as a self playing organ, I never saw anyone sitting at it. It doesnt have the traditional organ sound but is okay. Not what I would like to hear all day long. It is a rather enormous organ though and in the center of the ship.
Thanks for the review.

Did you hear the pipe organ in the atrium being played? I'm an organist and am curious as to what it sounds like.

[mjmagee]

Thanks for the review. I had the same experience with the cooking class. I signed up for the one with the Pinnacle Grill chef because the dishes were things like "Dungeness Crab Cakes" and "Salmon Wrapped in Phyllo" and I wanted to learn to make them. Well, in actuality, they have 3 or 4 stations set up around the cooking island in the Wajang Theatre and the ones who jump up first and run over to the "Crab Cake" island, or whatever, get to cook that item. I was relegated to "Huckleberry Cobbler". I was able to move around and see what the others were doing but it was not what I expected. And yes, all the ingredients were not there and the chef would substitute something or say, don't use that much, the recipe is wrong, etc. Or he would say the amount on the recipe is the amount after it has been reduced (???). Just a bit confusing. The kitchen is beautiful, by the way, and a great place for cooking classes. Not such a great place for movies, though, as the screen is too low and the bottom gets cut off if you are sitting anywhere but in the front. Marilyn

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for posting your review.

Glad you enjoyed your upgrade and Alaska in spite of the weather.

[RuthC]

Entertainment: The best night was a show by the magician/comedian.
What was his name? It's nice to have an idea of the evening's entertainment when I see the same name on my program. :confused:
And who/how were the other evening entertainers? :confused:

Also, what about the entertainment in the various lounges? Who was playing, and what did you think of them? :confused:

Thanks for any info.

[revrick3]

Ruth his first name was Craig but I cant remember his last to save my life. He was very good though and said he had been with HA for 21 years so he should be well know by other cruisers.

[revrick3]

Ruth his first name was Craig but I cant remember his last to save my life. He was very good though and said he had been with HA for 21 years so he should be well know by other cruisers.

[revrick3]

During our class it was the same setup. My wife and I casually walked over to the crab cake section as only 1 lady was standing there and to our total shock she imediately told us in a seriously rude and loud voice, This station is already full with my family and you must take another one. No one else can be here. I was so taken aback by her rudeness that I came real close to telling her where she could get off the ship, which goes against my nature. We then walked over to the vacant section of huckleberry cobbler. This sort of set the stage for a miserable time. During the entire session she made demands to almost every person in the class. I sometimes cant imagine how some people think the world rotates around their life. To top off the evening we had finished all our dishes and were plating them up for everyone. One of her "group" was putting the sauce on the crab cake and there was probably enough sauce for 5 times the crab cakes we had. The person waiting on the plate asked to have an extra spoon full of sauce on their cake and they began doing this out of courtesy. This wonderful boss imediately told them, "I know that there is plenty of sauce but you do not need that much on your crab cake so dont ask for any more". I was just appauled by her. I began looking for her on ship because I felt I might need to begin praying for her husband if he was there. She ruined everyones meal so say the least.