Zandaam Review Posted

[duck tune]

Anyone interested in a detailed review of the Zaandam can find it at the following link on the Cruise Critic Members Review site. Let me know if you have any questions!:)


http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=19229

[Tinknock50]

Enjoyed your review. :)

I particularly liked this part:
"........DH and I decided to eat at the Lido that night. We went to dinner at 6:00 p.m. and found tables covered with table cloths, excellent food, the best dinner we had all week, and no crowds. We had a window seat and actually saw several whales while we ate."

Because my mom requires help eating, we will be taking all our dinners in the Lido. Your description has me very excited about eating there! Should have the best dinner view on the ship.

Also, congrats on your wonderful upgrade!

[Copper10-8]

Duck Tune, thanks for the time and effort in writing your review! Great job! Do you happen to recall who the captain, hotel manager and cruise director were on your cruise?

[SDHALFAN]

Great review Duck Tune, thank you. I'm going to be on the Zaandam in October and it was nice to read about her before boarding.

Congratulations on your great upgrade - I doubt that I will be so lucky, but then I'm happy just to be on the ship.

Valerie:)

[happy cruzer]

I loved your review. I love lots of details. When I see all those wonderful details it's like being there too plus you know the reviewer was very observant!

Thank You.

[duck tune]

Do you happen to recall who the captain, hotel manager and cruise director were on your cruise?

The Captain was Sybe de Boer
Hotel Manager Mike Mahn
Cruise Director Jill Tasker

(First time I've been on a cruise with a woman cruise director!)

[duck tune]

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the review. Just reading it was like being on board again! I'm ready for another cruise now :) I submitted the review on June 26 but it obviously takes a while for reviews to make it on the site. I know I like to read reviews so I encourage everyone to send in a review.

[Copper10-8]

The Captain was Sybe de Boer
Hotel Manager Mike Mahn
Cruise Director Jill Tasker

(First time I've been on a cruise with a woman cruise director!)

Thanks for the info:) . There are/have been some excellent female CD's such as Susan Wood and Dottie Kulasa

[codyody]

This is good information because I would probably order it (it'd my favorite next to a fresh tomato sandwich!). Just curious, if it wasn't what you expected, what was it?

[duck tune]

The "Classic Reuben" that DH and I expected was corned beef on rye bread with sauerkraut, cheese and a 1000 Island type dressing plus a pickle on the side. What we were served was a few slices of a cross between pastrami and corned beef on regular white bread, no cheese, no sauerkraut and no pickle. Very odd and not very tasty :eek:

[Alexborngal]

Anyone interested in a detailed review of the Zaandam can find it at the following link on the Cruise Critic Members Review site. Let me know if you have any questions!:)


http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=19229

I cut and paste from your review and have comments below:

"I had put on my biggest smile and politely explained that we were interested in finding out if we could possibly be moved to a table for 2 and at one of the two earlier sittings. Mr. Johnny had his partner pull up our information and said, "You just booked this cruise in April! Why would you expect to get an early sitting now? Early sittings are reserved for families with children or those who have medical conditions that require early meals!" Wow, I was shocked. We have always had the early sitting and never knew there were such rules. Likewise, we have always seen numerous empty tables on every cruise."

Hi:

Am I the only one who feels that Mr. Johnny's behavior was completely inappropriate? How dare he speak to you that way? And he's a waiter, no less. He has lost sight of the fact that because of you and the other passengers, he has a job. I would never tolerate anyone speaking to me in that manner and would have immediately reported him. If he is doing the maitre d's job, he should behave appropriatedly. I have read on the boards that 95% of requests are refused. That's not the way to make friends and influence cruisers. Has HAL really become so complacent that they believe they are the only cruise company we might choose? If I may, I would like to bring this to the attention of the President of HAL. Please let me know if I may have your permission. Thank you.

Joan Waters

[Alexborngal]

Anyone interested in a detailed review of the Zaandam can find it at the following link on the Cruise Critic Members Review site. Let me know if you have any questions!:)


http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=19229

Sorry I didn't mention this before. Thanks so much for a very interesting review. I, too, appreciate the time you spent describing everything for us. We're sailing the Zaandam October 22 to the Mexican Riviera and again December 2007 to Hawaii so you gave us a lot of insightful information we might otherwise not have. As you saw from my other post, I really did not appreciate the way you were treated by Mr. Johnny and admire you for your positive attitude and the way you handled everything. You sure know how to make the best of a situation. Good for you! I am so glad you enjoyed the Lido and took not getting early dining in stride.

Joan Waters

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoyed reading your review!!

[codyody]

:mad: Classic Reuben? No sauerkraut? No 1000 Island? Thanks for the warning!

[Roz]

Ducktune,

Thanks for a balanced review. I was on the Zaandam in 2004 and am looking forward to sailing her sister the Volendam this coming November.

I love the closing line in your review:

"We have no major complaints and frankly feel that once you have a few cruises under your belt you tend to prioritize what is important and not sweat the small stuff."

In other words, you're not going to make some statement like the classic Reuben was horrible and we'll never sail HAL again. :D I had a bad experience with some scrambled eggs one time. Instead of giving up cruising or sailing on HAL, I just don't order the scrambled eggs. ;)

Roz

[fb0075]

I cant imagine being treated and talked to like that from staff on a trip that I had paid for---I would NOT have handled it as nicely as you!!
FRANK

[duck tune]

I appreciate all of the comments and I will be the first to admit that I was not really happy with the "Mr. Johnny" episode. A majority of the people who went before us were less than civil and frankly I hoped that kindness on my part would have been refreshing for the HAL personnel. One woman who normally cruised RCCL was so loud and obnoxious after being denied her request "I'll never cruise Holland America again" was yelled for all to hear. Yes, it was disappointing but DH and I agreed to give the late dining a try. Needless to say, we learned that for our personal lifestyle eating that late is just not good for us so if we can't book early enough to get our dining room choice we will, in the future, eat elsewhere in order to eat at 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. We are not going to trade cruising with HAL because of a few minor issues. What was ironic is that several people waiting to meet with Mr. Johnny had an early dining time and wanted to have the late seating but we were not given the option of simply trading spots. Wonder why?:confused:

[Alexborngal]

I appreciate all of the comments and I will be the first to admit that I was not really happy with the "Mr. Johnny" episode. A majority of the people who went before us were less than civil and frankly I hoped that kindness on my part would have been refreshing for the HAL personnel. One woman who normally cruised RCCL was so loud and obnoxious after being denied her request "I'll never cruise Holland America again" was yelled for all to hear. Yes, it was disappointing but DH and I agreed to give the late dining a try. Needless to say, we learned that for our personal lifestyle eating that late is just not good for us so if we can't book early enough to get our dining room choice we will, in the future, eat elsewhere in order to eat at 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. We are not going to trade cruising with HAL because of a few minor issues. What was ironic is that several people waiting to meet with Mr. Johnny had an early dining time and wanted to have the late seating but we were not given the option of simply trading spots. Wonder why?:confused:

I think the reason people weren't given an opportunity to trade spots was because accommodating passengers was not on Mr. Johnny's agenda. I believe that being a waiter and being given a very powerful job of listening to passengers' requests went to his head and he was acting like the "No" guy in the commercial. What a shame. That's why I believe he should be reported to the president. Also, you mentioned that the dining room was half empty. More evidence that he wasn't there to be helpful, just to be powerful. I just spent two weeks of sheer perseverance dealing with Ship Services to get my dining preferences confirmed and that it my suggestion to everyone. By the time you get onboard it's too late.

[trvlcarib]

We we unable to get early seating for out upcoming Zaandam cruise, so I emailed Ms Musgrove and asked her for some help getting a table of 4 for early seating. Just got an email from her with the confirmation for early seating. No dealing with MR Johnny!

[duck tune]

We we unable to get early seating for out upcoming Zaandam cruise, so I emailed Ms Musgrove and asked her for some help getting a table of 4 for early seating. Just got an email from her with the confirmation for early seating. No dealing with MR Johnny!

Who is Ms Musgrove and how do we contact her?

Does anybody have the phone number for Ships Services? I can't find it on the HAL website!
Thanks in advance for any information.

[Copper10-8]

Now I always thought that "Mr. Johnny" was Johnny Cochran from the O.J. circus but he's deceased and never worked for HAL in the main dining room as far as I know. Do you happen to know what this Mr. Johnny's last name is? You called him your head waiter in your excellent review. Besides area supervisor, that could also mean that he was the 2nd maitre 'd or, in the new terminology, second or assistant diningroom manager. I also did not care for the "dressing down" you took from him while attempting to politely change your dinner seating

[middle-aged mom]

Does anybody have the phone number for Ships Services? I can't find it on the HAL website!
Thanks in advance for any information.

Hi Duck Tune:

HAL's ship's services can be reached at 1-800-541-1576. I attach a company contact list from the HAL website for your reference:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/contacts/cmpyList.do

The Maitre d'Hotel on our Zaandam cruise last week was Sanjay Nariani, who seemed to be pleasant and accommodating, to the best of my knowledge.

[duck tune]

Now I always thought that "Mr. Johnny" was Johnny Cochran from the O.J. circus but he's deceased and never worked for HAL in the main dining room as far as I know. Do you happen to know what this Mr. Johnny's last name is? You called him your head waiter in your excellent review. Besides area supervisor, that could also mean that he was the 2nd maitre 'd or, in the new terminology, second or assistant diningroom manager. I also did not care for the "dressing down" you took from him while attempting to politely change your dinner seating
Unfortunately I did not ask his last name. I can't recall whether or not his name tag had a full name but I'm thinking it did not. In hindsight I should have found out and talked to someone about him or at least written to HAL when we got home. To be honest I was so pleased that we got an upgrade that I hesitated making a lot of waves, but we were paying customers and should be treated with courtesy no matter what. At least I have learned a lesson! DH and I were shocked when we ended up with a table in his section. I think he would probably be an assistant diningroom manager because we did have a regular waiter and assistant waiter. I hope we don't see him in December on the Oosterdam!

[Copper10-8]

Unfortunately I did not ask his last name. I can't recall whether or not his name tag had a full name but I'm thinking it did not. In hindsight I should have found out and talked to someone about him or at least written to HAL when we got home. To be honest I was so pleased that we got an upgrade that I hesitated making a lot of waves, but we were paying customers and should be treated with courtesy no matter what. At least I have learned a lesson! DH and I were shocked when we ended up with a table in his section. I think he would probably be an assistant diningroom manager because we did have a regular waiter and assistant waiter. I hope we don't see him in December on the Oosterdam!

Thanks Duck tune:) ! Looks like we'll be on Oosterdam two weeks behind you so if you find Mr. Johnny, can you give me a heads up please?

[trvlcarib]

I called ship services at 1-800-541-1576 and they told me to contact Susan Musgrave on the ship directly, they said she was the one that could help.

[Alexborngal]

Who is Ms Musgrove and how do we contact her?

Does anybody have the phone number for Ships Services? I can't find it on the HAL website!
Thanks in advance for any information.

Susan Musgrave - email address: SMusgrave@HollandAmerica.com, is the coordinator and her number is the Ship Services number which is: 1-800-541-1576. Good luck.

[Tinknock50]

I don't think ship coordinators are actually on the ship. I talked to Susan Musgrave and she said she would contact the ship about my requests.

[hammybee]

Well balanced review. Wower on the upgrade.

I find it amazing, the inconsistentcy ship to ship, within the same cruise line and yet it seems to be the case on all cruise lines. It's clear that they have yet to perfect the consistecy of McDonalds and maybe this is not a bad thing.

Someone has got to defend Mr. Johnny to spice things up, so it might as well be me. It's too bad an equal number of passengers could not show up and their requests for a change be accommodated, early for late, small table for large and so on. The reality is that at the end of the day, some passengers will be dissappointed and some of them will allow this to cascade and poisen the remainder of the cruise. Fortunately, you did not.

As for Mr. Johnny's remarks....have you ever noticed how many with ESL have a tendency to come off rude and are surprised by the reaction? I am not sure if this is cultural or simply a poor choice of words. If the tables were turned, oh I shudder to think, the impact or lack thereof, I might have upon them, in their native tongue.

[duck tune]

Thanks Duck tune:) ! Looks like we'll be on Oosterdam two weeks behind you so if you find Mr. Johnny, can you give me a heads up please?
Will do! How fun to ring in the new year on a cruise! Have a great time!

[Himself]

Duck Tune

The review was good. I found the foood better than you describe and the weather was good everywhere except it was a bit cloudy in Sitka. I was on the ship from June 30-July 7th

[duck tune]

Hammybee,
Thanks for the comments about the review and yes, the upgrade was spectacular! DH and I appreciated every minute and thanked our good fortune every day!
I think you raise some interesting points and it is always good to try and think about things from the other side. All in all my philosophy is that a cruise is always what I as an individual make of it. I would be surprised if everything was 100% perfect on every cruise but the bottom line is -- a bad day cruising beats a good day at work!;)

[Copper10-8]

Will do! How fun to ring in the new year on a cruise! Have a great time!

Thanks! New Year's cruises are a blast, one big party on New Year's Eve! You ought to try them one time

[MrsMuir]

Copper10, I'd go on a St. Swithin's Day Cruise if you were aboard. You have such a positive outlook combined with a knowledge of HAL and "our" ships! I especially enjoyed your wonderful surprise the other day when you answered a poster from Rotterdam in Dutch. You must be one great public servant.

Tot ziens from Mrs Muir

[Copper10-8]

Copper10, I'd go on a St. Swithin's Day Cruise if you were aboard. You have such a positive outlook combined with a knowledge of HAL and "our" ships! I especially enjoyed your wonderful surprise the other day when you answered a poster from Rotterdam in Dutch. You must be one great public servant.

Tot ziens from Mrs Muir

That's very nice of you Mrs. Muir! Dankuwel/Thank you! Take care and tot ziens!:)

[Benjy]

Sailed on the 21 day Zaandam repositioning through the Panama Canal this past April and had the pleasure of having Johnny as our headwaiter. I felt he did an outstanding job of being concerned, attentive and friendly. In fact we enjoyed our Zaandam experience so much that we have booked the Zaandam for the September 15th Alaska cruise. I hope we have the opportunity to have him as our headwaiter once again. I know from previous experience that changing table assignments on the first day is often very trying. Of course, there is no excuse to be treated poorly. It came as a surprise that this happened, especially from Johnny. Perhaps it was just an unfortunate choice of words on his part.

[duck tune]

Thanks! New Year's cruises are a blast, one big party on New Year's Eve! You ought to try them one time
DH and I had booked a New Year's Eve cruise on NCL 12/30/04 but we had the worst snow storm in 100 years and the airport was closed, flights cancelled and we could not get to LA to join the ship - got the dreaded phone call from the airline at 4 a.m. We were without mail or snow plows for 5 days. That was the first and last time that we ever flew out the same day as a cruise. Unfortunately even with documentation and a letter to NCL they did not budge on the amount of refund so we lost the cost of insurance plus only got 75% of the original cost of the cruise back towards a future cruise. We were sick about it for a long, long time. Some lucky person got upgraded to a mini-suite for New Year's Eve. I'm trying to talk DH into booking a HAL cruise 12/07 for New Year's Eve!

[Copper10-8]

DH and I had booked a New Year's Eve cruise on NCL 12/30/04 but we had the worst snow storm in 100 years and the airport was closed, flights cancelled and we could not get to LA to join the ship - got the dreaded phone call from the airline at 4 a.m. We were without mail or snow plows for 5 days. That was the first and last time that we ever flew out the same day as a cruise. Unfortunately even with documentation and a letter to NCL they did not budge on the amount of refund so we lost the cost of insurance plus only got 75% of the original cost of the cruise back towards a future cruise. We were sick about it for a long, long time. Some lucky person got upgraded to a mini-suite for New Year's Eve. I'm trying to talk DH into booking a HAL cruise 12/07 for New Year's Eve!

Sorry to hear about that; you must reside somewhere near Reno and/or at higher elevation. You would almost have to have a backup plan (driving to LA with chains?:eek: ). Hope you can make the 2007 New Year's cruise! You'll have a good time; it's really a blast to ring in the new year on a ship!:)