Opinions on Zaandam

[Floridiana]

We are considering a South America cruise on the MS Zaandam. After reading all the negative reviews on this ship, I am a bit hesitant. We have cruised with Princess 3x (no particular fan of this line, went for the itineraries), Oceania 2x (great fan!) and 1x the MS Statendam.

I loved the Statendam except the food which was bland most if not all of the time. Most fellow passengers loved its lack of spices, so I can't really rely on the reviews in this respect. What is your take on the food?

I loved the free Thai Chi classes and the excellent naturalist speaker on board. Nobody refers to the Thai Chi classes in their reviews. Have they disappeared?

[Shmoo here]

Originally Posted by Floridiana

We are considering a South America cruise on the MS Zaandam. After reading all the negative reviews on this ship, I am a bit hesitant. We have cruised with Princess 3x (no particular fan of this line, went for the itineraries), Oceania 2x (great fan!) and 1x the MS Statendam.

I loved the Statendam except the food which was bland most if not all of the time. Most fellow passengers loved its lack of spices, so I can't really rely on the reviews in this respect. What is your take on the food?

I loved the free Thai Chi classes and the excellent naturalist speaker on board. Nobody refers to the Thai Chi classes in their reviews. Have they disappeared?

We were on the Zaandam last month. I thought the food was quite good. But, I don't particularly care for a lot of spices. They did have Tai Chi classes, but most were at inconvient times for me, so I never got to go

[solocanadian]

I spent 2 glorious weeks on the Zaandam. Found the food ok but missed the King Crab Legs for dinner. Tai Chi at 8:00 A.M. way too early for me. I honestly don't recall reading any negative reviews before I sailed on her or since then. Plumbing worked - no stink in hallways - windows cleaned everytime you are in port. Absolutely nothing to complain about. Cabins are spacious with lots of drawer & closet space - much more spacious than Vista class ships. The only thing I didn't like was the design of the Piano Bar - there is no bar around the piano.

[SilvertoGold]

So great to hear positive reviews of the Zaandam!!

Would really appreciate knowing which level of the DR is used now for breakfast and lunch. Anyone notice if the Explorer's Lounge is still offering after dinner chocolates? Any opinions on the Explorations Cafe's edibles (not the coffees)?

Oh my, all my questions are about food!!

Here is another: how fast is the laundry turn-around?

Thanks!

[jayteeaitch]

We were on her 6 months ago - and worried a great deal about some of the reviews - My advice - forget them. Food is not a great impression of mine - but comfort - safety service and elegance is. You would have to be a nitpicker not to enjoy her - and I made a number of videos of her.

http://www.youtube.com/user/jayteeaitch?feature=mhee

[Clinton Mask]

It's a beauty!

[Skipper's Mom]

Our first HAL cruise was on the Zaandam in 2008 from San Diego to Hawaii and back. I was not disappointed. We had a verandah and my DH loved it. I remember the food as being very good with few disappointments. We've been HA fans ever since.

[hlord1@mac.com]

Originally Posted by Floridiana

We are considering a South America cruise on the MS Zaandam. After reading all the negative reviews on this ship, I am a bit hesitant. We have cruised with Princess 3x (no particular fan of this line, went for the itineraries), Oceania 2x (great fan!) and 1x the MS Statendam.

I loved the Statendam except the food which was bland most if not all of the time. Most fellow passengers loved its lack of spices, so I can't really rely on the reviews in this respect. What is your take on the food?

I loved the free Thai Chi classes and the excellent naturalist speaker on board. Nobody refers to the Thai Chi classes in their reviews. Have they disappeared?

We were on the Zaandam the week of July 1. The food was very good but we found the service in the MDR spotty at best.

The toilet in our cabin didn't work very well. In a 7 day cruise we had to get it fixed on 4 different days!

[Splash_4]

I just returned from a 7 days Northbound Cruise (July 8th to 15th) tour on the Zaandam. The ship is in fine shape and we had no issues with our cabin on the main deck (with one exception of a clogged commode that was promptly fixed). Service in the MDR was catastrophically slow for 2 of the three nights we ate there (The second formal night was absolutely brilliant). Service in the Canaletto was horrible as well (3 hours from start to finish with an hour break between the appetizer and the entree). Loved the Lido and the taco bar and would recommend the Pinnacle to anyone.

Service at the various bars, coffee bar and the like was fabulous and with the exception of no place to get a diet coke before 10am was a high light of the trip (including the blue pina colada!)

[Splash_4]

Originally Posted by SilvertoGold

So great to hear positive reviews of the Zaandam!!

Would really appreciate knowing which level of the DR is used now for breakfast and lunch. Anyone notice if the Explorer's Lounge is still offering after dinner chocolates? Any opinions on the Explorations Cafe's edibles (not the coffees)?

Oh my, all my questions are about food!!

Here is another: how fast is the laundry turn-around?

Thanks!

We used the unlimited laundry and if we had it out of the cabin by 9am, it was typically back in the cabin the same night...

[K2Cruises]

We were on the Zaandam the last week of June and found the food and the service in the MDR excellent. Last year we were on the 14 day Alaskan Explorer cruise onboard the Amsterdam and we felt the food was pretty poor at the beginning of the cruise and then improved as we cruised along. This year, the food in the Zaandam's MDR was excellent to begin with and stayed excellent throughout the trip. I did not find the food bland in anyway but I suppose that can depend on what one orders. In addition, we thought the ship, although older, was clean and very well maintained.

[hal lover]

I've sailed on the Zaandam twice although it has been a few year's ago. She is such a lovely ship. I think you will really like her! To me, I've never had any BAD food on HA, but I can understand that some do not like the offering's. Enjoy your cruise!

[lvz2cruz]

We had a great cruise on Zaandam mid-May. I thought the food was very good and on par with other HAL sailings.
I did notice the stained carpet on one deck near the stairs but the rest of it was okay. Overall the ship was in great shape and crew were wonderful.

[dmwnc1959]

Originally Posted by jayteeaitch

...and I made a number of videos of her.

http://www.youtube.com/user/jayteeaitch?feature=mhee

Lovely videos! THANKS for sharing...

[solocanadian]

Originally Posted by SilvertoGold

So great to hear positive reviews of the Zaandam!!

Would really appreciate knowing which level of the DR is used now for breakfast and lunch. Anyone notice if the Explorer's Lounge is still offering after dinner chocolates? Any opinions on the Explorations Cafe's edibles (not the coffees)?

Oh my, all my questions are about food!!

Here is another: how fast is the laundry turn-around?

Thanks!

Breakfast & Lunch is served on Lower Level of MDR, Deck 4. Yes, to after dinner chocolates. I don't partake of edibles or coffee in any of the Explorations Cafes.

[SilvertoGold]

Thanks for the answers to my questions a few posts back and for all the positive reviews. Looks like I have no worries about this ship!

[dazadelaide]

Hi, wife and I were on the Zaandam in April/May and we enjoyed the ship very much.
We were also very concerned about the negative reviews that appeared just before our cruise, but they all turned out to be over exaggerated.
For me the only problem with the food was trying to get anything that actually had spice in it! luckily enough our steward in the MDR was able to get me a jar of sambal paste that I was able to add to many of the dishes during the cruise.
We found the staff friendly and helpful and the main dining room service was prompt and attentive.
Used the laundry service a few times and all were retuned the same day.
Enjoy your cruise and take all those negative reviews with a pinch of salt.
Daz

[xxoocruiser]

If you're referring to reviews posted on CC, it has to be stressed that those posting on CC only represent a small portion of the overall cruising population. I would never allow my self to be influence by any reviews posted on CC would rather decide for myself.

[dakrewser]

Originally Posted by dazadelaide

For me the only problem with the food was trying to get anything that actually had spice in it! luckily enough our steward in the MDR was able to get me a jar of sambal paste that I was able to add to many of the dishes during the cruise.

When we cruised Alaska with my son & his family a couple of years ago mt DIL (who is Indonesian) coaxed many a spicy bit (there was always at least a bottle of sriracha on our table) from the crew's mess! The spice IS there, you just have to be friendlt with te DR stewards to find out about it..

[rose91]

Does the ship have self-serve laundry service or just staff service?