Loreto

Hi Jacqui, Please add: Loreto Volendam - 09-Nov-24 42 day Atlantic Adventurer Thanks, Karen

We have always enjoyed the Canaletto! Lasagna ( thumbs down by many) was DH's favorite along with soup...I guess not anymore🙁. I am happy to see sea bass still on the menu!

We did this excursion on the Zaandam Sea of Cortez many years ago. It departs Topolobompo pre dawn, board train in El Fuerte for an 18 hour day. We were assigned a guide and specific train car. It was well organized. I researched it and was advised to sit on the right side of the train, as the train follows the stream bed. While others were contemplating which side of the car to sit on, we grabbed our seats on the right hand side. We were told, don't worry, the seats are reversed going back, so you will get a good view. Only problem, it was now dark and we were next to a rock wall on the return trip...so sit on the right going up to the canyon! The Canyon was scenic and the meal and dancing etc. was enjoyable. It is a spectacular excursion, but once was enough!

Thanks! Karen

Thanks Haljo 1935! Karen

Looking forward to your report! We will be on this cruise Sept. 2...3rd time on the Eurodam. Did they offer Port Valet this time? It makes flying home so much easier🙂! It wasn't offered a year ago in June on the Westerdam and the SEA airport was a nightmare.

I will add my agreement to all the previous poster! We have booked the Lower Prom Zaandam at the back of the ship under the MDR a number of times EE and HH and been very pleased. Also have an HH connecting cabin that was quiet.

No more formal nights, they have been replaced by gala or dressy nights. Dress code is explained at the HAL web site. Interpretation of dressy nights is very loose and left to the passenger as to what to wear. I have sailed 5 times since HAL returned to sailing and have seen everything.

So glad to hear you enjoyed the Eurodam, TriumphGuy! We will sail her for the 3rd time in September/Alaska...hope the crew are still upbeat 🙂.

Thanks for your comprehensive review, Kurtmi03! The SS is HAL's best deal, which we also enjoy. We will be on the Eurodam for the 3rd time for Alaska in September and looking forward to it. Sorry about your covid episode. We came through the Panama Canal in March on the Zaandam, and on the final sea day before San Diego,I had a stuffy nose, but thought it might have been a reaction the the oil used in my massage the previous day. I tested when we got home and was shocked to test positive...I had no symptoms except a stuffy nose! Doctor said I did well because I was vaccinated and boosted. If I had worn the great masks that were provided when I went to the showroom I might have avoided it. DH tested negative and never went to the shows. So glad you enjoyed the Eurodam!

That is what I am doing for our Sept Alaska sailing and have done in the past without any trouble.

We booked a back to back Panama Canal Feb-March 2023 on the Zaandam. We gathered in the theater and customs officials came on board in Ft. Lauderdale and checked our passports. We did not have to get off the ship🙂.

We sailed on the Koningsdam coastal in November 2022. It was not a good experience. We are 5* and spent 25 days on her for Hawaii/Mexico in Feb 22 and that was a good experience as ship was not full. The coastal sailing seemed more like a "mass market" ship, very different from what we have experienced in the past on Holland America. Very crowded, slow, poor service, chair hogs, rude people. Very casual, which is fine with us. Only port we enjoyed was Catalina. Unfortunately it rained heavily for other ports...not HALs fault. Monterey was dropped (expected.) Excursions were all sold out probably due to HIA package. We decided no more Pinnacle Class ships...too big.

Hi Moriah, Happy to help! I didn't see them and monogramming wasn't offered. It arrived in my stateroom sealed in a Boca Terry plastic bag. It took a couple of trips to Guest services with my receipt to ask "where is my bathrobe?" I didn't open the bag until I got home. I am sure if I didn't like it (without opening the bag) I could have returned it to Guest Services. Just an aside warning: the robe is heavy and added weight to my suitcase. We were driving home from the port, so it didn't matter. We had a huge amount of OBC that had to be used or lose, so I bought the robe. Enjoy the Zaandam, we have sailed her 5 times and will again in March 2024 for the 14 day Solar Eclipse Cruise. Karen

Hi Moriah, I am holding in my hands the HAL robe I bought onboard the Zaandam last month for $55. It is identical to the robe in our stateroom, blue trim. They asked me which one I wanted....this is not the Neptune/Club Orange robe. Made by Boca Terry. waffleweave exterior. It is 40% cotton, 45% modal (a rayon that is lighter and breathable moisture wicking, used in sleepware/sheets) 15% polyester. I got it at the Guest Services desk on the Zaandam. I love it!

I know! That was the excuse I got, but in the end there was a problem that got fixed. We were on the Amazon Explorer on the Prinsendam and Volendam without a problem. If Holland wants to keep 2 smaller ships they should invest in a new system. We love the Zaandam, just not at night!

Ironically the Vista Suite in the video, 7036, was our stateroom Feb.18,2023 to March 18, 2023 for a 28 day back to back Panama Canal cruise. The Zaandam is a beautiful ship, but my carefully chosen room I would not recommend! The lido has rolling carts which were constantly rolling during meal hours. We go used to it🙁. Fortunately it stopped by 9 pm and didn't seem to be a problem during breakfast hours. The room was quiet at night. We also had an air conditioning problem at night with the room getting a little to warm. It was fixed 3 days before disembarkation. There was a problem elsewhere on the ship...Showroom, Lido restaurant. We were given an apology and $250 in shipboard credit, when all we really wanted was cold air at night. There is now a flat screen TV on the wall. The water was hot and the toilet flushed🙂 but beware of 7036 and the rolling thunder of the Lido carts!

Hi Jacqui, Please add: Loreto Eurodam 2-Sept.-23 7 day Alaskan Explorer Thanks so much! Karen

I haven't seen any tours offered since we returned to sailing with HAL July 2021 on a number of different HAL ships, 5 in all. On our March 4th Panama Canal sailing there were coffee chats, and one was with the ship's engineer, who showed a detailed walk through video of the Zaandam engine room. When the captain has done his chats I have seen videos included of various other parts of the ship.

Last Monday we were enjoying our 5* dinner in the Pinnacle on our Zaandam Panama Canal cruise. A family arrived with a small child. They were seated in a booth and there were a few excited peeps from the child, then nothing more🙂, unlike the 2 young men who were seated in the alcove next to us and decided it was ok to sing 🙁. DH said he had enough and we cancelled our next Pinnacle reservation. There is nothing nicer than a well behaved child vs obnoxious adults!

Received an email from HAL that the port of Corinto, Nicaragua has been dropped and will be substituted with a sea day on the March 4 Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego Panama Canal sailing. That ends all the speculation about the stop...too bad as I was looking forward to the excursion I booked.

Enjoy the Hawaii cruise...I thought HAL did a good job with enrichment in Feb 2022. we even had an astronomer on board for star gazing. see you on the Zaandam Feb 18 and maybe at the National Aviary tour in Cartegena! I loaded all the info into Verifly just to be sure. Karen

We board the Zaandam San Diego Feb. 18...got the same message from HAL. I did fill out all the info for the 18th and the back to back on March 4th; it is just one more way to have all the information in one place. We did use it in Alaska. They didn't use it on the Koningsdam last fall in San Diego.

The arrow points to where the organization "Sky and Telescope" will have their private viewing area. I think that is called the Sun Deck and is a large open area on the Zaandam. This cruise is already heavily booked. Most booking sites show just ocean views and insides available.

This is good info for us as we, too, will be doing our first Back to Back this month. We are in the same cabin for the entire cruise. Thanks!