New'ish to Cruising - Holland America on MS Zaandam next? Advice please!

[marchie1053]

This is my first post so I hope I'm in the right area.

 

Just returned from our 2nd cruise, a rather bumpy Fred Olsen Xmas/New Year Canaries/Cape Verde roller coaster via the Bay of Biscay on the Balmoral :p Not quite what we signed up for, but hey ho!

 

We've just seen the mid-February Holland America cruise from Buenos Aires to Chile on MS Zaandam and would appreciate any advice/tips, especially with regard to how formal onboard life is (lounge suit, formal shirt & tie OK for dining?: drinks prices (we are very modest drinkers - managed 1 bottle of wine between us on 18 night cruise with Fred Olsen) and range: Is it all razamatazz or is there scope for a wander around the promenade deck between food breaks :D: Is an outside cabin a good idea? Any other advice will be much appreciated.

 

My wife and I are 62 & 60, reasonably active and the destinations, rather than the pure cruising aspect are most important. Our ideal day is to wander off at the port, armed with the cameras, take as many photos as possible and then return to the ship with sore feet and stupid grins on our faces at the sights we've seen and the people we've met. We prefer informality as far is possible - the farther away from a dinner jacket I can get, the better I like it, although I do appreciate the need to dress according to custom and practice of the cruise company.

 

All and any advice will be warmly received - thanks!

 

Steve & Elaine

[Langley Cruisers]

Hi there and welcome. While this particular forum is more for general questions and such, there is a specific board for all Holland America cruises, questions, comments, etc. I will give you that link and you can continue your research there and re-post this there if you like. :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171 <--Click here Holland America forum

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[marchie1053]

Thanks, Langley - We'll repost on the HAL Section as you suggest.

 

Steve & Elaine

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You will love the Zaandam.

Nice medium size ship.

[Sauer-kraut]

Have you looked at Norwegian's South American sailings? NCL is completely informal, you can get away with shorts in one of the main dining rooms and the most you need to dress up for French upcharge restaurant is a shirt with a collar and a pair of trousers, jeans are fine as well as any chino type. That might suit your "far away from a tie as possible" wish.

[WisconsinFan]

My folks are on that cruise, but in March. They are super excited about the trip and what they will get to see.

 

They enjoy HAL and have met lots of nice folks. They are mid-70's and very active.

 

I don't think my dad is planning on bringing his tux on this trip (he has for others). Our only experience on HAL was Alaska and that is more casual. Dinner most nights was nice pants and polo shirt for the men. One or two nights they guys wore suits (mainly for the family photos, it was a multi-generational family cruise).

 

There might even be a roll call for your sailing (there is one for my parents) that you can lurk on and learn more about the cruise.

[marchie1053]

My folks are on that cruise, but in March. They are super excited about the trip and what they will get to see.

 

They enjoy HAL and have met lots of nice folks. They are mid-70's and very active.

 

I don't think my dad is planning on bringing his tux on this trip (he has for others). Our only experience on HAL was Alaska and that is more casual. Dinner most nights was nice pants and polo shirt for the men. One or two nights they guys wore suits (mainly for the family photos, it was a multi-generational family cruise).

 

There might even be a roll call for your sailing (there is one for my parents) that you can lurk on and learn more about the cruise.

 

Hi Wisconsin

 

Thanks you for your information - all the advice and suggestions we have received have been very positive and that's given Elaine and me a lot of reassurance. We have a better 'feel' for the cruise now and it seems to be ideal for us.

 

Steve & Elaine

[marchie1053]

Have you looked at Norwegian's South American sailings? NCL is completely informal, you can get away with shorts in one of the main dining rooms and the most you need to dress up for French upcharge restaurant is a shirt with a collar and a pair of trousers, jeans are fine as well as any chino type. That might suit your "far away from a tie as possible" wish.

 

Thanks, Sauer-kraut.

 

I seem to have missed your reply - my apologies for not answering sooner.

 

We'll add NCL to the list of options to explore! Elaine has the real travel bug and would be away again immediately if I didn't remind her that a) we have urgent work on the house to complete and b) there is a finite budget for these works and cruises ...

 

I think we need to win the Lottery to keep pace with all of the potential cruise destinations that Elaine keeps finding - at least, after reading the Cruise Forums, I know she's not the only person building dreams :D

 

Steve & Elaine

[crystalspin]

@marchie

 

You will love the Zaandam. We did that route (no Antarctica approach) from Chile to B.A. in Nov.'14. We took my mom (in the same cabin; she got the sofa bed). We took a last-minute up-sell from an ocean-view to a balcony (aka verandah "suite" but it did not have the perks of a true suite, nor did we want them). My DH and I would have been fine with the OV, but my mom really enjoyed the balcony.

 

how formal onboard life is

 

HAL has just officially done away with Formal Nights; they are now "Gala Nights" and the minimum dress code is a collared shirt for men, something "smart" for women (trousers are fine), no shorts or ratty jeans for anyone... which BTW, is the dress code on every night. It also was what was being observed in 2014 in South America! A non-ratty cardigan over your collared shirt and you will be comfortable as well as code. Also should you end up feeling under-dressed, dinner in the Lido (buffet restaurant) is not to be pooh-poohed, I think I honestly prefer it; you get to choose your sides and visually increase or decrease your portions of any one thing.

 

drinks prices (we are very modest drinkers - managed 1 bottle of wine between us on 18 night cruise with Fred Olsen)

 

You may take one 750ml bottle of wine per adult onboard AT EMBARKATION without paying corkage, for consumption in your room. Argentina has some very nice wines if you like them red and a little "spicy", namely Malbec. Uruguay's signature wine is the rosé Tannat; but you may not bring it on at Monte Video (maybe find it in BA before boarding).

 

Additionally, there are one or two "happy hours" per day. At that time you buy two (OF EXACTLY THE SAME DRINK) and pay for one plus 1US$. On the Nieuw Amsterdam, the Ocean Bar would have one hour, like 4pm to 5, and the Crows Nest would have 5 to 6, but others have said the smaller ships have the same hour/time in those two bars. If you buy soda, beer or ale, you can have them not open one of them and take it to your cabin.

 

You can find more-or-less current prices of the various ways to buy alcohol on our own Roger Jett's website, here. Not counting happy hour!

 

We took ship's tours in Buenos Aires (we had two nights there), Stanley on Falklands, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, and Puerto Montt. We did a private tour with En Patagonia in Puerto Chacabuco. We wandered around the city at Montevideo. We liked all of our days!

 

(PS you CAN buy wine anywhere; you just cannot take it to your room nor drink it; it will be held for you until the last night.) (PPS, you can certainly walk the Promenade, I'm not sure I understand the gist of your question...)

[marchie1053]

Thank you so much for the very detailed response, Crystal.

 

The 'scope to wander around the Promenade Decks between food breaks' comment was mainly a touch of self deprecation but also seeking confirmation on whether there is a Promenade Deck that isn't littered with staff painting everything but the decking whilst passengers are trying to exercise (as was the case on our Xmas/New Year cruise). I also had difficulty fitting in the walking between breaks for breakfast, coffee break, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper - I know about self-discipline, but I'm lousy at practising it!

 

Elaine and I are very keen to take the cruise - the timetable is a potential problem because of the repair work I am undertaking in our French hovel - a 'simple' block one bathroom doorway and create another has turned into major demolition work - the floor beams were basically supported by fresh air so I am still knocking down walls and ripping up floorboards ...

 

It may be safer to take the cruise in the Autumn (good back up plan!) because finishing the work and getting inoculations in one month is going to be very tight indeed ... But we wil give it a right good go!

 

Thanks again for all of the advice and tips.

 

Steve & Elaine