My Zaandam Review 2/19-2/26

Part I.

This was my fifth cruise. My first on Holland. Overall we enjoyed ourselves but like anything there is room for improvement. We made all our arrangements with Holland. There was a total of five. My DH, 2 DD's and DS. We left out of Hartford Saturday morning on Delta via Atlanta. We arrived in Orlando around 2:15. We were upgraded to first class on both legs of the flight. It was a nice way to start the trip. When we landed we got our bags and contacted a HAL rep. He thought that all passengers had been accounted for and the bus had already left. The were actually 2 others besides us. We had to walk from one terminal to another to catch the bus (with all our bags). The bus wouldn't come to us. We proceeded to the Airport Marriott. We picked up 8 people who had been waiting for five hours for the shuttle. Not a good start. We proceeded to the terminal. Upon arrival there was no line. It was 4:15. We were all given additional paperwork for Tortola that was not in our original package. Others we talked to told us they received theirs on the bus. Once the paperwork was completed we headed for the ship. The lifeboat drill had already been conducted. There was no one to greet us. Only security. We didn't have any pictures taken. This was disappointing to us. Our rooms were ready. We were on the Main Deck in two inside cabins. 2523 and 2527. The rooms were great and were always clean. We never saw our steward but he did a great job.

Look for Part 2 later. If you have any specific questions I will try and answer.

Karen

Did you book your own air or get it thru the cruise line?

All our arrangements were directly with HAL. Including air and transfers.

Please tell me about your experience with the kid's program. Did your children participate in any Club HAL activities? How old are your children (or what age group)?

I'm curious how you managed to be upgraded both BDL-ATL and ATL-MCO, when your airfare was handled by HAL?

It was obviously an underwhelming experience, once you were on the ground, both at MCO and at the port!!

Thanks,

I have no idea why we were upgraded to first class. I am assuming it was because the planes were full. There were a few people that were going on Carnival that were also in first class. I would think it is because of their contract with the cruise lines.

Well, normally HAL's air tickets are "bulk" and basically worthless if you need to change flights... I think this is what AirGorilla may have been referring to. Normally the airline will upgrade just about ANYONE else besides a bulk ticket holder. Nice way to start the cruise, though. :)

It sounds as if you arrived at the ship late... normally there are all sorts of people around to greet everyone.

Airline gate agents have broad authority to upgrade. If the passenger load needs balancing between 1st class and tourist, he/she can select at will. Of course "elite" and FF pax have priority, but after that it depends on the agent's mood. Often personal appearance has a strong influence: coat and tie will win out over tank top and biker boots every time.:)

Part II-Food

We ate breakfast only in the Lido restaurant. We found the food here very good. There was pastry, fresh fruit, meats and cheeses, oatmeal etc. The hot food selections included scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, fried eggs, french toast, and pancakes. There was also toast, english muffins and bagels. There was a made to order omlet station. Fresh squeezed orange juice and other juice was available.

By the third day the cook at the hot food area knew that my daughter wanted pancakes and my husband wanted fried eggs. It was a nice touch.

We had lunch either by the pool or in the Lido. Lunch was pretty good. The line for hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza was always very long. I didn't have to pizza so I can't comment on that. I thought the hamburgers were pretty good. The variety in the Lido was nice. There was usually a carving station. I saw ham, pork and chicken. The stir fry area was good. There was a made to order sandwich area that was well populated.

We had dinner at 6:15. We had a lovely table for 10. Lucyt1207 and her family were wonderful dinner companions. John and Mary were lovely as well. We thought the selection of food was good. I enjoyed the pork and prime rib. I also had the lobster tails. My husband tried the duck and the meat loaf. He enjoyed both as well.

We did have several complaints about the service. My food was never hot. The day we had the lobster tails it was cold. Our waiter forgot John's order of meatloaf. Lucy's family had problems as well. My husband never got an appetizer he order and a couple of others were mixed up. Our water glasses were often not refilled even once. On the night I had a baked potato sour cream was not offered until after I had eaten the potato.

In my experience I have never seen an assistant Maitre d clearing tables or even refilling water glasses but he did. I think they were very understaffed.

We ate dinner in the Pinnacle Grill one evening and the service and food was outstanding. I had the filet mignon and it was excellent. The only complaint I had here was that again it wasn't very hot. I know I probably should have sent it back but I didn't want to inconvenience the others.

Overall I would rate the food quality very good. I would rate the service in the Lido as very good, in the Pinnacle it was excellent, in the main dining room it was poor.

Airline gate agents have broad authority to upgrade. If the passenger load needs balancing between 1st class and tourist, he/she can select at will. Of course "elite" and FF pax have priority, but after that it depends on the agent's mood. Often personal appearance has a strong influence: coat and tie will win out over tank top and biker boots every time.:)

A guy I work with gets upgraded all the time. He told me his secret. His brother, who is pretty high up in management with one of the airlines, passed it on to him years ago. Always dress nicely. Doesn't have to be a suit and tie, but for the men a nicely pressed shirt, dress pants (no jeans), etc., works quite well. According to him, other first class passengers who paid a lot of extra bucks for the privilege don't like sitting next to "slobs," and while the airlines can't do anything about the passenger who pays for his first class ticket, they can certainly control who gets free upgrades. So, when there's upgrades to be handed out, they will look for the passengers who appear clean, well-dressed, and "professional." Does that make sense?

Guess I'll never get a free upgrade. I tend to fly to my cruise ports right from work so I'm always wearing jeans and a tee-shirt. Too lazy to bother getting changed just for the flight.

Blue skies ...

--rita

Thanks for your review Karen! I heard that you and your DD took a cooking class while you were on the cruise? My husband is very interested in giving this a try, so could you give me some details about it? Also, did you notice if they had the bartending class and/or wine tasting?

Thanks again-

TinaLee

Karen,

I can't wait to read the rest of your review. I will be on the Zaandam March 19th with my DH and 2 DD's who are teenagers. I can't wait to hear how your children enjoyed the cruise and Club Hal, if they participated. My DD is interested in the cooking classes. Did you attend one?

In regards to upgrading, I was also upgraded on Delta. I assumed it was because I had purchased a refundable ticket. I paid alot more than some passengers. I assume you paid more for your ticket than if you had purchased a discounted ticket from Delta yourself. Maybe someone at the gate knew that and upgraded you.

Great review so far.

Janice

the clothing trick does work -- but you still have to be in the right place at the right time -- if you are, and you are dressed well, it will come to you

In my experience over many cruises when we used to fly in on the day of the cruise, to tell an airline gate or ticket agent that you are catching a cruise ship can carry a lot of weight when the flights are delayed. The airlines do sell them bulk tickets but they are a large and consistent account so an airline tends to accomodate the need to get you to your destination on time when they can IF they know you are cruise bound. This even works if you purchase your own air.

One time on our way to a Christmas cruise our plane was "broken" -- at first the airline did not know what they were going to do and they really tried hard to get us "cruise bound" passengers on other flights. When that did not work and it became clear that there was a huge demand for flights that day the airline found another aircraft - unfortunately it was a different type of plane and they had to fly a new flight crew in that were qualified to pilot the plane -- we almost missed the cruise, but they did their best.

since then we fly in, whenever possible, the day before the ship leaves.

Entertainment

I did not care for the shows presented by the Zaandam cast. I thought the singing was average. The magician was entertaining as well as his monkey. The magician also did an up close slight of hand show in the new culinary arts center. It was a nice laid back show. My son who celebrated his 11 birthday that day was able to help out with a magic trick. He loved it. I did not see the comedian or the impressionist. I did hear that the comedian was good. The impressionist I was told really played up to the older ladies in the crowd.

The preshows presented before certain performances such as the Liar's Club were hysterical. There were three crew members on the panel. The object was to give a definition of a word. Two would lie and one would tell the truth. Very funny. The second preshow was with three panel members also. The mc would put the name of a famous person behind them. The panelist could only ask yes or no questions to guess their identity. This was very funny. One evening there was the great pretenders show presented by the guest on board. No one was afraid to make themselves look silly. This was very entertaining.

We spent most of our evenings in the casino or in the Piano Bar. The casino staff was very nice. A couple of the dealers were a little stiff to begin with but at the end they were all very friendly. We enjoyed this a lot. Barry B in the Piano Bar was entertaining. He admits that he cannot sing and that is part of his charm. He isn't bad. He is just not great. His piano playing was enjoyable and his personality won us over. Olga our cocktail hostess made each evening really enjoyable. She knew what drinks we liked and was always available. I would look for her if you go. You will also find her on the Lido deck during the day. She does a fabulous job.

My daughters and I went to the cooking demonstration. It was a lot fun. At that time they give you the option of signing up for a hands on cooking class. I asked if my girls could join. There is no age restriction they are 14 and 15. I think they take a maximum of 12. Everyone gets a chefs hat and apron. We made a salad, soup, entre and a dessert. I have all the recipes at home. I haven't unpacked yet. Sorry. There are several classes offered. Ours had a Mexican theme. They fill up very quickly. Ours was the first cruise this was ever offered. The cost was 17 each. I don't recall how many were offered. I don't know if they will only allow you to sign up after the cooking demonstration or not. If you like to cook you will enjoy this. It is nice to be able to talk to the chef on a one to one basis. He will give you tons of tips. I word of advise. If you go try and set up in the middle of the table. If you are on the ends it is difficult to hear him over the hum of the fans(they need to be on for safety reasons and the stove doesn't work without them). The class last almost 2 hours. Ours was held on the last day at 2:30 in the afternoon. If I can answer any other questions please feel free to ask.

Karen

Thanks Karen! That's exactly what he's looking for! Do they let others come in and 'observe' the classes? or can you only observe the actual cooking demonstrations? Do you remember if they only do the classes on sea days?

Thanks again!

TinaLee :)

Karen,

In regards to upgrading, I was also upgraded on Delta. I assumed it was because I had purchased a refundable ticket. I paid alot more than some passengers. I assume you paid more for your ticket than if you had purchased a discounted ticket from Delta yourself. Maybe someone at the gate knew that and upgraded you.

 

Janice

If you booked your air through HAL, they (HAL) did not pay Delta the amount you paid them... they buy these seats in bulk and they are not refundable unless your purchase an upgrade through HAL. HAL merely provides a guarantee that you will be on a flight and they won't leave you stranded. Most of the times, these are the most poorly routed flights I've seen.

If you booked your own ticket and paid full fare for a refundable ticket - sure, the airline will look favorably towards you and your chance of being upgraded is significantly higher.

Airlines don't look favorably at these bulk tickets purchased by cruiselines - and HAL is making money off their add-on air in most cases.

I an sure you can watch. It is held in the culinary arts center/theater. My husband walked in to talk to me while it was going on and no one stopped him. I don't know if they would let you stand at the table.

There really isn't a lot of room for additonal people. You get to taste what you cook too. I think the classes were held on all different days. I am sorry I can't be more specific. By the time I got to sign up the only class left was the one I took. Make sure you get there early for a better selection. The signups were right in the theater right after the demostration. Sit on the left for quicker signups. There was alot of interest in this. I think they even added additonal classes.

Karen

Thanks for the great review. I hope the have the cooking demos and class on the Maasdam. I love to cook.

HAL is making a bundle off the airfares. Their quote was 600, I booked online (American Airlines) for 300. :eek:

Thanks for the information and tip on the cooking class. I am sure it will come in handy. Glad you enjoyed it.