GmaPajama
April 10th, 2008, 03:53 PM
I've submitted this review to CC and it will appear in a few days if it's accepted. I've copied it here in order to share with you how much we enjoyed ourselves. It turned out to be a little long, so grab yourself a cup of coffee. :)
Background Information: We are newly retired folks, aged 62 and 65, and relatively new to cruising. Our first cruise was on Royal Caribbean, followed by 4 more on Holland America. We have additional Holland America Cruises booked, as the line is a good fit for us.
Travel to Port of Embarkation: We arranged our own air, flying American Airlines, O'Hare to San Diego, non-stop. The flight was uneventful, which is always good news.
Hotel Information: We stayed one night pre-cruise at San Diego's Holiday Inn on the Bay. A free shuttle was provided from the airport. We think of this as the 2 star hotel with the 5 star view. It was pricey, at $279 for one night in a very ordinary room, but there is nothing like sitting on your balcony just before dawn to see your ship arrive at the pier. A couple hundred feel closer and the bow would have been in my lap.
Embarkation: Smooth and easy. We walked across the street to the pier around noon, found little line, and were checked in and on the ship in less than 15 minutes. Even with 3 large suitcases and 2 carry-ons, the hotel was close enough to make the walk an easy one. We dropped our carry-on's off in our almost-ready cabin and went to the aft pool area to enjoy a cool soda and the view while we awaited the announcement that cabins were ready. Less than an hour later we were enjoying the view from our own balcony.
Stateroom: We don't do guarantees, as it's important for us to know exactly what to expect. We booked an S-Suite on the Navagation Deck and were pleased with it. It was roomy, clean, comfortable, and well maintained. There was plenty of room under the bed for our empty suitcases, and the closet and drawer space would have accomodated twice our needs. Our room steward was relentless in his efforts to tidy things up, and we often wondered how he knew we were out of the room. We always returned to a full ice bucket, as well as other evidence that we were being cared for. The bed was by far the most comfortable we've ever slept in, and the cabin furnishings were in good condition. The furniture on the balcony was somewhat worn, and should probably be replaced sometime soon.
Ship Information: The theme of the Zaandam is Music, and it was in evidence everywhere. Doors to several venues were glass etched like sheet music, lamps in the showroom featured tiny lighted instruments, antique instruments were framed and placed in hallways, and there was a sax signed by Bill Clinton. Between the music theme, the Egyptian Art, and the abundance of flowers, we felt surrounded by elegance.
Dining: As suite guests, we were provided with a quiet area in the Kings Room for a full service breakfast. We ate there most every morning and enjoyed sharing a table with the same people on several occasions. Food was served promptly, properly cooked, and hot. There was also a full service breakfast in the dining room and a buffet breakfast in the midship Lido Restaurant.
Room Service was very good. We used that a couple of times, and our food arrived in a timely manner - and hot. We especially appreciated this early morning access to a pot of coffee in our cabin.
Dinner most nights was in the main dining room, and we found it to be a good experience. We were at table for 8, seated with people we didn't previously know. It was fun to get acquainted and to run into these folks around the ship. We found the food in the dining room to be at least as good as a high-end land based restaurant. It was well prepared, properly seasoned, attractively plated, and was served at the proper temperature. Hot was hot and cold was cold. The menu was divided into 3 basic sections: Starters, Soups & Salads, and Entrees. We were able to order as many items as we liked from each section, so a 5 or 6 course dinner was not unusual. On the one occasion a tablemate didn't care for her entree, a different one was cheerfully provided in less than 10 minutes time. The dessert menu was separate and always had a good selection of items, as well as sugar-free desserts.
The extra cost dining venue, The Pinnacle Grill, is absolutely delightful. They have access to a quality of filet mignon that is beyond that of many restaurants. It was prepared exactly as ordered and could, literally, be cut with a fork. We could not find a single thing about this wonderful meal that wasn't right, including the excellent service. Cost was a flat $30 per person and well worth it.
Lounges: We frequented two bars, and found them more than comfortable, with staff that seemed to care about us personally. Although we know we were low profit people in the bars (soda only), we were greeted by name from the first day, and found ourselves waving hello to "our" bartenders whenever we passed by - and they always seemed genuinely glad to see us.
Activities: There were so many activities that choices had to be made every day. The ongoing things, like daily movies in the theater, a shipbuilding contest, team trivia, daily quizzes, game show games, evenings in the show lounge, and more, were always fun and well attended. Special events, like a joke contest, a pub crawl, talent show, dance lessons, educational lectures, and on and on, were always popular. The Cruise Director and Activity Staff were quite visible on the ship, and often stopped to chat with various cruisers - another personal touch that was much appreciated.
Entertainment: I'd have to rate this as excellent. There was a lot of real talent presented at the evening shows in the showlounge. We didn't get to every show, but really enjoyed those we did see. Among those were a magician-comedian that kept us in hysterics, a classical violinist-comedian who was amazing, and the Zaandam's CAST of Singers and Dancers whose talent was much more than I'd expect to see on a cruise ship.
Service: Holland America is well known for the excellent service provided by it's crew and staff, and our experience was that it's definitely still true. Our every need was met, many times before we could express it. We wanted for nothing. Our Captain did a daily shipwide announcement "Voice from the Bridge" to update us on navigation, ocean depth, air and water temperature, and various other things. This was just once a day, and we looked forward to it. Immediately following him was a brief summary of upcoming events by our Cruise Director. We were not interrupted during the day by any other announcements, which we appreciated.
Disembarkation: This was very well organized. We were able to use their special service that delivered our airline boarding passes and luggage tags to our cabin. We placed our tagged suitcases in the hallway the night before we disembarked and didn't see them again til we arrived at O'Hare. The cost was $15 per person, and worth every cent and more.
Code Red: Sadly, three days into the 15 day sailing, that pesky Mr. Noro raised his ugly head. Because there was no illness when we boarded and it was a full three days before it hit, it's pretty much a certainty that a passenger brought it aboard. Although we did end up with a total of 101 persons, including crew, who had been ill with it - we pulled into port in San Diego with just 6 new cases that morning and fewer than 20 people still in their 3-day quarantine. Actually, given that the 101 cases occurred over 12 days, it's amazing that an average of only 8-1/2 people per day became ill on this 1400 plus passenger and 600 plus crew ship. I credit this incredible recovery to the sanitation steps taken by the crew, and their relentless pursuit of the germ.
Summary: We consider this to have been one of our best cruises, even with the code red problem. We were treated like royalty the entire time and have nothing but good things to say about the experience. In addition to the wonderful Zaandam folks, we had the pleasure of meeting up with 25 Cruise Critic people from our roll call. A great addition to a terrific cruise!
Background Information: We are newly retired folks, aged 62 and 65, and relatively new to cruising. Our first cruise was on Royal Caribbean, followed by 4 more on Holland America. We have additional Holland America Cruises booked, as the line is a good fit for us.
Travel to Port of Embarkation: We arranged our own air, flying American Airlines, O'Hare to San Diego, non-stop. The flight was uneventful, which is always good news.
Hotel Information: We stayed one night pre-cruise at San Diego's Holiday Inn on the Bay. A free shuttle was provided from the airport. We think of this as the 2 star hotel with the 5 star view. It was pricey, at $279 for one night in a very ordinary room, but there is nothing like sitting on your balcony just before dawn to see your ship arrive at the pier. A couple hundred feel closer and the bow would have been in my lap.
Embarkation: Smooth and easy. We walked across the street to the pier around noon, found little line, and were checked in and on the ship in less than 15 minutes. Even with 3 large suitcases and 2 carry-ons, the hotel was close enough to make the walk an easy one. We dropped our carry-on's off in our almost-ready cabin and went to the aft pool area to enjoy a cool soda and the view while we awaited the announcement that cabins were ready. Less than an hour later we were enjoying the view from our own balcony.
Stateroom: We don't do guarantees, as it's important for us to know exactly what to expect. We booked an S-Suite on the Navagation Deck and were pleased with it. It was roomy, clean, comfortable, and well maintained. There was plenty of room under the bed for our empty suitcases, and the closet and drawer space would have accomodated twice our needs. Our room steward was relentless in his efforts to tidy things up, and we often wondered how he knew we were out of the room. We always returned to a full ice bucket, as well as other evidence that we were being cared for. The bed was by far the most comfortable we've ever slept in, and the cabin furnishings were in good condition. The furniture on the balcony was somewhat worn, and should probably be replaced sometime soon.
Ship Information: The theme of the Zaandam is Music, and it was in evidence everywhere. Doors to several venues were glass etched like sheet music, lamps in the showroom featured tiny lighted instruments, antique instruments were framed and placed in hallways, and there was a sax signed by Bill Clinton. Between the music theme, the Egyptian Art, and the abundance of flowers, we felt surrounded by elegance.
Dining: As suite guests, we were provided with a quiet area in the Kings Room for a full service breakfast. We ate there most every morning and enjoyed sharing a table with the same people on several occasions. Food was served promptly, properly cooked, and hot. There was also a full service breakfast in the dining room and a buffet breakfast in the midship Lido Restaurant.
Room Service was very good. We used that a couple of times, and our food arrived in a timely manner - and hot. We especially appreciated this early morning access to a pot of coffee in our cabin.
Dinner most nights was in the main dining room, and we found it to be a good experience. We were at table for 8, seated with people we didn't previously know. It was fun to get acquainted and to run into these folks around the ship. We found the food in the dining room to be at least as good as a high-end land based restaurant. It was well prepared, properly seasoned, attractively plated, and was served at the proper temperature. Hot was hot and cold was cold. The menu was divided into 3 basic sections: Starters, Soups & Salads, and Entrees. We were able to order as many items as we liked from each section, so a 5 or 6 course dinner was not unusual. On the one occasion a tablemate didn't care for her entree, a different one was cheerfully provided in less than 10 minutes time. The dessert menu was separate and always had a good selection of items, as well as sugar-free desserts.
The extra cost dining venue, The Pinnacle Grill, is absolutely delightful. They have access to a quality of filet mignon that is beyond that of many restaurants. It was prepared exactly as ordered and could, literally, be cut with a fork. We could not find a single thing about this wonderful meal that wasn't right, including the excellent service. Cost was a flat $30 per person and well worth it.
Lounges: We frequented two bars, and found them more than comfortable, with staff that seemed to care about us personally. Although we know we were low profit people in the bars (soda only), we were greeted by name from the first day, and found ourselves waving hello to "our" bartenders whenever we passed by - and they always seemed genuinely glad to see us.
Activities: There were so many activities that choices had to be made every day. The ongoing things, like daily movies in the theater, a shipbuilding contest, team trivia, daily quizzes, game show games, evenings in the show lounge, and more, were always fun and well attended. Special events, like a joke contest, a pub crawl, talent show, dance lessons, educational lectures, and on and on, were always popular. The Cruise Director and Activity Staff were quite visible on the ship, and often stopped to chat with various cruisers - another personal touch that was much appreciated.
Entertainment: I'd have to rate this as excellent. There was a lot of real talent presented at the evening shows in the showlounge. We didn't get to every show, but really enjoyed those we did see. Among those were a magician-comedian that kept us in hysterics, a classical violinist-comedian who was amazing, and the Zaandam's CAST of Singers and Dancers whose talent was much more than I'd expect to see on a cruise ship.
Service: Holland America is well known for the excellent service provided by it's crew and staff, and our experience was that it's definitely still true. Our every need was met, many times before we could express it. We wanted for nothing. Our Captain did a daily shipwide announcement "Voice from the Bridge" to update us on navigation, ocean depth, air and water temperature, and various other things. This was just once a day, and we looked forward to it. Immediately following him was a brief summary of upcoming events by our Cruise Director. We were not interrupted during the day by any other announcements, which we appreciated.
Disembarkation: This was very well organized. We were able to use their special service that delivered our airline boarding passes and luggage tags to our cabin. We placed our tagged suitcases in the hallway the night before we disembarked and didn't see them again til we arrived at O'Hare. The cost was $15 per person, and worth every cent and more.
Code Red: Sadly, three days into the 15 day sailing, that pesky Mr. Noro raised his ugly head. Because there was no illness when we boarded and it was a full three days before it hit, it's pretty much a certainty that a passenger brought it aboard. Although we did end up with a total of 101 persons, including crew, who had been ill with it - we pulled into port in San Diego with just 6 new cases that morning and fewer than 20 people still in their 3-day quarantine. Actually, given that the 101 cases occurred over 12 days, it's amazing that an average of only 8-1/2 people per day became ill on this 1400 plus passenger and 600 plus crew ship. I credit this incredible recovery to the sanitation steps taken by the crew, and their relentless pursuit of the germ.
Summary: We consider this to have been one of our best cruises, even with the code red problem. We were treated like royalty the entire time and have nothing but good things to say about the experience. In addition to the wonderful Zaandam folks, we had the pleasure of meeting up with 25 Cruise Critic people from our roll call. A great addition to a terrific cruise!