Information about South America cruise on "Zaandam"

[grayjay]

We have cruised quite a lot, but have never been on a HAL ship before. Now we are looking at a cruise on "Zaandam" from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (March 2014). As far as I can see from the itinerary, the Zaandam as a smaller ship can cruise more deeply into the Chilean fjords compared to bigger ships like Celebrity's "Infinity" or Golden Princess which also offer this itinerary.

For those who have already done this route: Am I right about that?

We still hesitate to book, though, because of the many bad reviews about the "Zaandam" in regard to cleanliness and worn-out cabin interiour. Quite a lot of people have mentioned that the ship seems to be rusty ,worn and tired and the service crew seemingly needs to "go into drydock" as well :rolleyes: - quite a lot of people's reviews mention lack of service, bland food, lack of cleanliness.

Even with a healthy mistrust of (subjective!) member reviews - should I consider or scrap this cruise?? My main interest is cruising the Chilean fjords because we have already seen the Argentinian side . We are looking at outside cabins and balcony cabins.

Thank you for your answers.

[Mumsysailor]

We have cruised quite a lot, but have never been on a HAL ship before. Now we are looking at a cruise on "Zaandam" from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (March 2014). As far as I can see from the itinerary, the Zaandam as a smaller ship can cruise more deeply into the Chilean fjords compared to bigger ships like Celebrity's "Infinity" or Golden Princess which also offer this itinerary.

For those who have already done this route: Am I right about that?

We still hesitate to book, though, because of the many bad reviews about the "Zaandam" in regard to cleanliness and worn-out cabin interiour. Quite a lot of people have mentioned that the ship seems to be rusty ,worn and tired and the service crew seemingly needs to "go into drydock" as well :rolleyes: - quite a lot of people's reviews mention lack of service, bland food, lack of cleanliness.

Even with a healthy mistrust of (subjective!) member reviews - should I consider or scrap this cruise?? My main interest is cruising the Chilean fjords because we have already seen the Argentinian side . We are looking at outside cabins and balcony cabins.

Thank you for your answers.

 

We were on the Zaandam this past June. I didn't come across any of the issues you question. We got excellent service, the food was good - certainly not bland, the ship was spotless and the cabin (BB balcony) was not at all shabby or worn out. At each port they were painting a different section of the blue hull and ongoing routine maintenance was going on as I would expect on any well run ship. I guess others expect perfection but even that's an individual opinion. I'd sail on the Zaandam again without any hesitation.

 

Mumsy.

[CJcruzer]

was on the Zaandam to Hawaii this past winter.....no complaints, wonderful service, good food....one of my favorite ships!

[grayjay]

Thank you for your answers - they were very helpful. I hope for more positive answers to lay my worries at rest - just a result from too much reading of reviews, I think...;)

The only thing that makes us still hesitate to book is the fact that we'd have to leave the ship in Puerto Montt to fly to Santiago in order to be on time for the second leg of our South America trip, whereas Princess and Celebrity's ships have the better schedule but the less interesting itinerary rounding the Horn. Decisions, decisions....

[RuthC]

The only thing that makes us still hesitate to book is the fact that we'd have to leave the ship in Puerto Montt to fly to Santiago in order to be on time for the second leg of our South America trip, whereas Princess and Celebrity's ships have the better schedule but the less interesting itinerary rounding the Horn. Decisions, decisions....

Do you have a back-up plan in case the ship isn't able to dock in Puerto Montt? It can happen.

I sailed from Santiago to Buenos Aires on the Veendam last January, and we had to skip that port. :(

 

I haven't sailed on the Zaandam in several years, so can't speak to its current condition. I will say I loved the décor, and the music theme, though.

[TiogaCruiser]

I did the Chilean Fiords on Veendam as part of Antarctica. We missed the upper Fiords due to fog. The southern fiords were magnificent. Captain said HAL was filing for a waiver to allow Zaandam to do the upper fiords as there is a size limit.

 

What is different about the 3 trips you are considering? If its the "scenic cruising " part could you post them so maybe someone could help sort it out?

 

(One line may highlight something for marketing purposes that another doesn't but they may be the same.)

[WisRiver]

We were on the Zaandam on the cruise from Buenos Aires to Boston from March 31 to May 5. This was a back to back cruise with the first leg from BA to Valprariso. I have absolutely no complaints about the Zaandam. The only problem with the cruise was that we missed two ports in Patagonia and sailing around Cape Horn because of bad weather. The captain and crew tried to make up for the missed ports, but there were complaints from the passengers. We did spent 6 days in the Chilean Fjords and Strait of Magellan and they were beautiful.

 

The ship is older, but clean and well maintained. I personally would not hesitate to cruise again on the Zaandam. Some of the carpeting is frayed around the edges, but there was nothing that took away our enjoyment of the cruise. You have to be aware that the late March cruises are at the edge of the cruising schedule and the weather (as in our case) could not be the best.

[Mumsysailor]

The weather could cause a change in itinerary whatever cruise line you are with. I think it depends on the best overall itinerary for you but just be aware that some do get cancelled whilst on route.

 

Mumsy.

[Dobermangal]

We are boarding the Zaandam in September for an 18 day cruise for the third time in the last 12 months. previously R/t Hawaii and Mexico both out of Vancouver.

We've had a balcony and an outside previously. Both clean well maintained and we love the ship the crew and the food.

Balcony this time... Panama Canal :)

It is a great ship. Have also sailed on the Zuiderdam and with moms knee the smaller Zaandam is fantastic. Every little but helps!

Carla

[SilvertoGold]

We have cruised quite a lot, but have never been on a HAL ship before. Now we are looking at a cruise on "Zaandam" from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (March 2014). As far as I can see from the itinerary, the Zaandam as a smaller ship can cruise more deeply into the Chilean fjords compared to bigger ships like Celebrity's "Infinity" or Golden Princess which also offer this itinerary.

For those who have already done this route: Am I right about that?

We still hesitate to book, though, because of the many bad reviews about the "Zaandam" in regard to cleanliness and worn-out cabin interiour. Quite a lot of people have mentioned that the ship seems to be rusty ,worn and tired and the service crew seemingly needs to "go into drydock" as well :rolleyes: - quite a lot of people's reviews mention lack of service, bland food, lack of cleanliness.

Even with a healthy mistrust of (subjective!) member reviews - should I consider or scrap this cruise?? My main interest is cruising the Chilean fjords because we have already seen the Argentinian side . We are looking at outside cabins and balcony cabins.

Thank you for your answers.

 

 

The Zaandam is still a "big" ship and not an expedition ship, so there is no up-close-and-personal about the Chilean fjords area. You keep your distance at all times.

At Amalia Glacier you will stop for a 360 degree turnaround a long ways off and the driveby of Romanache, etc Glaciers is just that, a driveby, slowly, but not very near.

As noted by others HAL may be able to go to other glacier areas "more deeply", but this is quite uncommon. Mostly the Glaciers areas are points on the way from A to B.

 

Lovely cruise, though. We were just on the Zaandam two months ago and it was super!

[grayjay]

Do you have a back-up plan in case the ship isn't able to dock in Puerto Montt? It can happen.

I sailed from Santiago to Buenos Aires on the Veendam last January, and we had to skip that port. :(

 

I haven't sailed on the Zaandam in several years, so can't speak to its current condition. I will say I loved the décor, and the music theme, though.

To miss the port of Puerto Montt would be a disaster as it would mean not to reach Valparaiso on time.

We're already booked on "Infinity" for the repo cruise out of Valparaiso on March 16th up to Miami. So we'll have the following alternatives:

- do a land tour before that which would mean participating in a group tour (I don't speak Spanish, so we don't want to travel on our own and true private tours are horribly expensive)

- do a B2B on Infinity, i.e. starting out of Buenos Aires. In general a good idea, but right now there are no balcony cabins available and there is less cruising in the Chilean fjords. Plus we're getting a bit weary of Celebrity's menus and entertainment because we have sailed Infinity and her sister ships quite extensively in the last 2 years and are ready for another cruise line experience.

- Last, but not least there's Princess ( Golden Princess) docking 1 day earlier in Valparaiso, which seems perfect in regard to time. But again they seem to have less time in Chile and more on the Argentinian side which we have already seen quite extensively.

So the question really is - "Zaandam" seems to fit our needs best in regard to new experiences and itinerary. But will she really dock punctually in Puerto Montt which is our only and last chance to leave the ship ????:confused:

Any ideas welcome - thank you!!

[HokiePoq]

We have cruised quite a lot, but have never been on a HAL ship before. Now we are looking at a cruise on "Zaandam" from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (March 2014). As far as I can see from the itinerary, the Zaandam as a smaller ship can cruise more deeply into the Chilean fjords compared to bigger ships like Celebrity's "Infinity" or Golden Princess which also offer this itinerary.

For those who have already done this route: Am I right about that?

We still hesitate to book, though, because of the many bad reviews about the "Zaandam" in regard to cleanliness and worn-out cabin interiour. Quite a lot of people have mentioned that the ship seems to be rusty ,worn and tired and the service crew seemingly needs to "go into drydock" as well :rolleyes: - quite a lot of people's reviews mention lack of service, bland food, lack of cleanliness.

Even with a healthy mistrust of (subjective!) member reviews - should I consider or scrap this cruise?? My main interest is cruising the Chilean fjords because we have already seen the Argentinian side . We are looking at outside cabins and balcony cabins.

Thank you for your answers.

 

Our travel friends just got off the Zaandam. Had a great time and said the food was fabulous. Said it could use some spiffing up, but had a great cruise.

[RuthC]

So the question really is - "Zaandam" seems to fit our needs best in regard to new experiences and itinerary. But will she really dock punctually in Puerto Montt which is our only and last chance to leave the ship ????:confused:

Any ideas welcome - thank you!!

This was the first time I missed Puerto Montt; I made it in without incident the other two times. I doubt that this port is missed often, but I did want to alert you to the possibility. It may be a small risk, but the risk is there.

[boulders]

The Zaandam is having a drydock in October.

[PathfinderEss]

We were on the Zaandam for 3 weeks in April and had no issues with the ship. I would not hesitate to do that cruise on her.

[aliaschief]

Did this cruise in reverse on the MS Veendam last January. Would do it again in a flash even if we were booked in the broom closet.

 

In Anartica international regalations disallow any outdoor eating or smoking for a couple of days.

 

It will be asked. Smoking was allowed back in the casino near cashiers cage.

 

Trip of a lifetime and the MS Zaandam should fit your needs.

 

Let us know your final decision.

[localady]

We were on the Zaandam this past June. I didn't come across any of the issues you question. We got excellent service, the food was good - certainly not bland, the ship was spotless and the cabin (BB balcony) was not at all shabby or worn out. At each port they were painting a different section of the blue hull and ongoing routine maintenance was going on as I would expect on any well run ship. I guess others expect perfection but even that's an individual opinion. I'd sail on the Zaandam again without any hesitation.

 

Mumsy.

 

I've been on the Zaandam twice this year, including the same week as Mumsy in June, and found the Zaandam to be in excellent condition. I was in a balcony cabin in Jan. and an Ocean View in June.

The cabins have newly recovered couches, they were working on that when I was onboard this last January. We throughly enjoyed our cruise and saw no evidence of extreme wear, in fact I think she looks great.

[TiogaCruiser]

I just googled the advertised itineraries for what I think are your dates. It looks like the main difference is that Princess also gives you Stanley, FI.

 

The drawing for the Infinity shows the ship in the Pacific and not "inside" along the Inside Passage. I wonder if that is really accurate. If you are saying you will see more of Chile because HAL spells out several places of scenic cruising- maybe its just the "packaging". I really have a problem believing the other ships are planning a different route. Maybe so- you might want to check on the respective boards for those lines or the SA board.

 

(I'm wondering if it isn't perhaps like one line saying for an AK cruise: Skagway 7:00 to 5:00

And another line saying Skagway 7:00 to 5:00, scenic cruising the Lynn Canal 5:00 to 6:00. You don't get to Skagway by cruise ship except by way of the Lynn Canal. )

[grayjay]

Thank you for all your answers - I haven't taken any immediate action ( booking) , yet, but will try and find out a bit more about the itineraries. I think it might be possible that Zaandam as the smaller ship and perhaps "Infinity" can use the Inside Passage more easiliy than the bigger "Golden Princess", for example. Your answers have made us eager to sail on "Zaandam" - I've become quite sure we'll like her a lot, especially if there`s a drydock planned in October. The other two ships spend more days in Buenos Aires, for example ( been there a while, didn't like it much, sorry). So The "Zaandam" is still my favourite, but thank you, RuthC for pointing out the possible snag about Puerto Montt. I'd really have to find a back-up plan, for example following "Infinity" by flight or rented car or by rowing-boat (:D:D - it's just 300 miles...) to Coquimbo/Chile, which is her next port of call after Valparaiso.

I'll try the Celebrity and Princess boards as well as the S.A. ports of call board - perhaps I'll find some more answers. I'm sure there will be more cruisers in the CC community who have sailed around the Horn and the Chilean fjords on the cruise lines I mentioned. The safest back-up plan still is to wait until some OV cabins or balcony cabins open up on Infinity...

Thank you again! Trust CC members to be helpful!

[digitl]

I just googled the advertised itineraries for what I think are your dates. It looks like the main difference is that Princess also gives you Stanley, FI.

 

Which is a good reason to prefer Princess! The Falkland Islands, and Stanley in particular, are an amazing destination.

[digitl]

Smoking was allowed back in the casino near cashiers cage.

 

And then, unfortunately, the smoke drifts far and wide...