Zaandam Panama Canal Cruise - Random Thoughts & Ramblings

[AryMay]

Just back from the 23-day Zaandam repositioning cruise through the Panama Canal! This was a bucket list trip and it did not disappoint. I will be doing day-by-day posts with lots of photos on my blog, https://mysouvenirmemories.blogspot.com/, but I have jotted down some thoughts that I will share here on Cruise Critic. These are not in any kind of order…just stuff that I thought might be interesting to other cruise lovers. I have a knack for making a short story long, so pardon my wordiness.

 

This cruise was the first after a drydock and only our second time on HAL. (First was a one-week Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam last fall.) I had read all sorts of predictions as to what was going to be done during the drydock.Some did happen, some didn’t. From talk and chatter around the ship I gathered that for some this cruise was bordering on a nightmare (take that with a grain of salt)…toilets not working, flooding in the cabins, extremely warm cabins, etc. For us, it was wonderful and has us looking forward to our next cruise…also on the Zaandam.

 

Not all oft he work got finished during the drydock and some continued during the cruise.The aft pool was closed the first day. We heard this was where all of the construction materials had been stored and it needed to be thoroughly cleaned. Carpet was still being laid in a cabin 2 doors down from ours several days into the cruise.

 

For the first week or so all of the new carpet in the ship had “fuzz balls”. It took a lot of vacuuming to get it looking good. During a Q & A session, the hotel director mentioned that the fuzz caused them to have to replace ALL of the AC filters. I believe he said there were 6000 on the ship! For us, nothing being done impacted our enjoyment. Other long-term HAL cruisers stated that things just weren’t “up to standard”.

 

We booked an inside category MM guarantee at a great price for this cruise. Because it was booked shortly after our last cruise using FCD’s we each had $200 worth of OBC. Add to this another $100/person for shore excursions (given to us after some issues on the last cruise) and another $250 from our shareholder credit. Last fall we were able to add free gratuities and a $25 beverage card for each of us during HAL’s Black Friday promotion. All in all a great deal.

 

Even with what I considered a great price, I watched as the fare kept dropping after final payment. Twice we got upsell offers, but we didn’t bite. Right before the cruise, the price of an obstructed OV cabin had dropped to within $10 of whatwe had paid for the inside so I called and inquired about paying the difference for an upgrade. My wonderful vacation planner at HAL put me on hold for a bit and came back and said they had upgraded us to a guarantee full ocean view cabin at no extra cost!

 

When we got our assignment, it was for a category D cabin, #3339. A few days later an email from HAL informed us that all of the category C and D cabins had the bathtubs replaced with showers. Shortly after we boarded I did this quick post which includes photos of our shower. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2624172

 

I knowsome people may prefer the old tubs, but I thought the new glass shower was wonderful! A large, adjustable shower head and no stepping over the high sides of the tub.

 

Our cabin was located just a few doors from the Atrium on Deck 3. I didn’t think I would like a window that looked out over the walking deck, but the location was so handy…just a few steps to get outside.

 

There were always lots of walkers going by our window, but we checked and you could not see in during the day. The coating on the glass made it appear to be a mirror from the outside. It was so funny to watch people stop and check their appearance while we were watching them from the inside! One could see in at night when the lights were on but we just made sure to keep the drapes closed.

 

(Hopefully this post looks OK. I typed it in Word and the formatting is kind of weird once I pasted it into the reply box.)

[AryMay]

We knew from our cruise last fall that the clientele on HAL is older. But compared to our one-week Caribbean cruise, the people on this itinerary were REALLY old…lots of scooters and walkers. To the best of my knowledge there were NO kids at all on the first part of the cruise.

 

This cruise could be booked in several different lengths. We were booked on the full 23-days…Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle. Friends we were traveling with only booked 22 days and got off in Vancouver. Others only stayed on until the ship docked in San Diego. A shorter 5-day cruise was also an option from San Diego to Vancouver and finally a 1-day cruise could be booked from Vancouver to Seattle.

 

Once we got to San Diego and the newer passengers embarked, the average age probably dropped by 20 years! More families and younger passengers in general. Lots of very young (20 somethings) boarded for the one-night cruise at the end. We were worried that it would be a loud party cruise that last night but if it was, none of the partying was close to our cabin.

 

The cruise director, Taylor Sokol, was one of the better CD’s that we have had. He was always out and about and very friendly. He left the ship on the next to the last day (when we were in Vancouver) and transferred to the Noordam. Captain was AneJan Smit.

[AryMay]

Some of the things that we thought could have been improved…

 

The outdoor promenade deck was a very popular place for both walkers and those looking for a quiet place to relax and view the ocean. Many wooden lounge chairs were set up along each side of the ship everyday but about a third of thec hairs didn’t have pads. For a ship just coming out of drydock, they surely could have added more cushions.

 

After having the large, interactive TV on the Nieuw Amsterdam, the TV in our cabin looked like a postage stamp. It was sitting at the end of the desk making one end of the desk unusable. (I did see that the TV was on a raised shelf in other cabins.) My husband loves to watch movies and enjoyed the movies-on-demand on the NA. On the Zaandam, to watch a movie required checking out DVD’s from guest services. Fortunately, guest services was just a short distance down the hall and up a flight of stairs from our cabin because often the DVD’s were defective and had to be returned and exchanged for a different choice. The one positive side to this was that the DH became well acquainted with all of the GS staff!

I know no one has ever starved to death on a cruise ship, but it would have been nice to have some food options available in the evening. We had early, fixed dining at 5:45 and there were nights we would have enjoyed skipping dessert in the dining room and having something later after the evening entertainment in the theater. BUT…between 8 pm and 10:30 pm there were no options. We could have done room service, but we did not want to eat in our cabin nor wait for the order to be delivered. The buffet opened back up at 10:30 for late night snacks, but we were in bed by then.

 

The Navigator App (free to use onboard) was useful. Each day we would check the diningroom menu and frequently I would check our account or look at available shore excursions. The feature that lets you message other passengers on the ship would be great except that it does not alert you to an incoming message. Often, we would discover a message long after it was sent.

 

One nice feature to the Navigator App that I didn’t even realize existed at first was the “Feedback” option. At one of the morning coffee chats with staff, they mentioned that their goal was to reply to any message sent through the app within4 hours.

 

I decided to put it to the test and sent a message asking if a cruise log was going to be available at the end of the cruise. Later in the day I returned to my cabin tofind a personal note saying they had tried to contact me but I wasn’t in the cabin. The note also said they would have a cruise log delivered to me on the last day of the cruise (which they did!)

 

And last in the “could have been improved” department…the self-service laundries were closed during the drydock. One of the laundry rooms had been across the hall from our cabin on Deck 3 and would have been so handy. Instead we made do with hand washing items. We could have done the $20 “all you can stuff in a bag” deal, but since I tend to overpack, it wasn’t really necessary. Maybe on our next cruise.

[AryMay]

It is subjective, but for the most part we enjoyed the food on the ship. I think my DH ate something from the Asian station at the buffet almost every single day and loved it. However, I tried the pizza a couple of times and just wasn’t impressed. The salad bar was always a good alternative if nothing else sounded good...lots of choices for toppings.

 

In the dining room I loved the soups! I ordered one of the hot soups almost every night as an appetizer. Most delicious was the sunchoke soup. Everyone at our table raved about it so much that we asked if we could have it prepared just for our table on another night. Our waiter said he could arrange it, but then the next night said the chef wouldn’t be able to make it until they were able to get more of the ingredients. We were pleasantly surprised when it showed up again on the menu during the last week of the cruise!

 

The nightly crisps on the dessert menu were also a highlight for the guys at our table. We were curious how long it would be before the flavors started repeating and I believe it was about half way through the cruise! For me they were a little too sweet. I often ordered the “no sugar added” desserts and thought they were delicious. (Note…we were informed that “no sugar added” was not the same as “no sugar”.)

 

Chocolate Surprise was one of the activities listed in the When & Where one day. Having experienced this on the Nieuw Amsterdam, we asked our waiter if he would be taking part. He looked very surprised and said it wasn’t the right night! Turns out it was listed by mistake for that evening. He quickly notified the maître d who got on the phone right away to straighten things out.

 

The Chocolate Surprise was held the following night (Gala Night) but it was omitted from the When & Where! We joked that it really was a surprise since no one seemed to know when it was going to happen. The waiters walked around Deck 5 with trays of all sorts of small, chocolate goodies. Since it hadn’t been on the schedule, the event was poorly attended and the waiters were begging us to take the treats!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Have to go and look at your pictures.

[canadianbear]

Thanks for your thoughts. We haven't been on the Zaandam for several years now.

 

That's a nice amount of OBC you got! Love when that happens.

 

I wonder when the ship will get the bigger, interactive tv's? Normally we don't watch a lot of tv but really enjoyed the movies when on the Koningsdam last year-maybe because the tv's are large?!

 

I think the lack of food in the evening is something a lot complain about. It's one thing we really liked about Princess being able to grab something at most times.

 

Nice that you've booked another cruise [emoji16]

 

Thanks again for all the info.

[AryMay]

And to end my comments, here is something falls under the category of “first time” for a cruise! A couple of weeks prior to the cruise we received the following email from HAL:

 

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION:

We are happy that you will be on board Zaandamon April 27, which is

King's Day, a national holiday in the Netherlands in honor of King

Willem-Alexander's birthday. With our company's deep history and roots in

the Netherlands, we are proud to celebrate this day on board Holland America

Line ships around the world. King's Day is marked by various festivities

throughout the Netherlands, and a common theme is an abundance of the color

orange, the national color of the Netherlands and the Dutch Royal Family. So

as you prepare for your cruise, we encourage you to consider packing something

orange to wear on April 27. Whether it's an orange hat, tie, socks or

necklace, your "touch of the Dutch" will fit right in during our King's Day

celebrations.

 

We each packed our orange shirts but weren’t sure what to expect.

 

The When &Where on the 27th listed King’s Day Afternoon Tea at 3:00 which sounded like it would be a special event. Our friends attended and said they must not have been expecting many to show up because they didn’t have enough tables set and they even ran out of food! They too thought perhaps that something special had been planned, but it was the same as tea time on any other day.

 

In the evening there was a King’s Day Orange Deck Party planned at 9:00 by the Lido pool. We were a few minutes late arriving and when we got there all of the tables around the pool were filled with folks wearing either orange ball caps or bright orange wigs. The hats & wigs had been handed out to passengers, but by the time we got there all were gone. The party didn’t amount to much but I sure had to chuckle at the sight of all of the senior citizens in their orange!

 

 

That's all I have for now. I am anxious to start editing my photos and working on my blog, but I would be happy to answer questions if I can.

 

Going into this cruise we wondered if 23 days would be too long, but we came away wishing we could have cruised longer! I'm really afraid we have gotten spoiled and it is going to be harder to take shorter cruises from now on! :)

[OlsSalt]

........... but I sure had to chuckle at the sight of all of the senior citizens in their orange!

.....

 

Anything to make you happy, my dear. Now can we go back to our cages? :rolleyes:

[dorothyh]

Thank you! We will be sailing on Zaandam in 50 days and I appreciate your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Krazy Kruizers]

Read your blog and saw your pictures.

Nicely done.

[ski ww]

Thanks for taking the time to post this review, enjoyed reading it.

Allan

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review!

[AryMay]

Anything to make you happy, my dear. Now can we go back to our cages? :rolleyes:

 

Haha...sorry if my statement about senior citizens in orange wigs came across wrong. ;)

 

Believe me, my DH and I are both in that age group and we would have been wearing orange wigs as well except they were all gone by the time we arrived! :(

 

I have heard HAL referred to as a floating nursing home and I wanted to show that even us "old folks" can have a good time!

[OlsSalt]

Haha...sorry if my statement about senior citizens in orange wigs came across wrong. ;)

 

Believe me, my DH and I are both in that age group and we would have been wearing orange wigs as well except they were all gone by the time we arrived! :(

 

I have heard HAL referred to as a floating nursing home and I wanted to show that even us "old folks" can have a good time!

 

Can you remember where you heard HAL ships were "floating nursing homes". Always interesting to learn who is encouraging that derisive label. More specificity about ages and percentages, instead of just this global labeling, would be a more accurate observation. Older: 50-70; 70-90; 90-120 ??? Lots of scooters and walkers: 5%; 10%; 50%, 95%???

 

You wrote: - We knew from our cruise last fall that the clientele on HAL is older. But compared to our one-week Caribbean cruise, the people on this itinerary were REALLY old…lots of scooters and walkers. To the best of my knowledge there were NO kids at all on the first part of the cruise.

[canadianbear]

Can you remember where you heard HAL ships were "floating nursing homes". Always interesting to learn who is encouraging out that derisive label.

 

 

 

People have said something similar including TA's. Didn't bother us a bit because I think it scares off riff raff (is that a word?!) We took our young adult kids on our first cruise in 2008 and they both loved the ambience and people on HAL. Older folks are a fountain of information and both my kids loved hearing of their experiences.

[OlsSalt]

People have said something similar including TA's. Didn't bother us a bit because I think it scares off riff raff (is that a word?!) We took our young adult kids on our first cruise in 2008 and they both loved the ambience and people on HAL. Older folks are a fountain of information and both my kids loved hearing of their experiences.

 

Would "floating active retirement community" be more accurate than a "floating nursing home"?

[canadianbear]

Would "floating active retirement community" be more accurate than a "floating nursing home"?

 

 

 

None of the names bother me-I love HAL and I have seen all ages in the ships we've been on.

 

I think the various names people call the clientele on HAL is their prerogative. I don't take offence. I'm sure the poster didn't mean any offence.

[OlsSalt]

None of the names bother me-I love HAL and I have seen all ages in the ships we've been on.

 

I think the various names people call the clientele on HAL is their prerogative. I don't take offence. I'm sure the poster didn't mean any offence.

 

HAL is currently very concerned about re-branding its image right now. Maybe we can help by not gratuitously fostering less than accurate and impliedly negative images?

[cbr663]

 

...I often ordered the “no sugar added” desserts and thought they were delicious. (Note…we were informed that “no sugar added” was not the same as “no sugar”.)...

 

Thanks for the wonderful review.

 

We found on our Koningsdam cruise the labeling of No Sugar Added and Sugar Free to be very confusing. We avoid sugar and sweeteners and one day I decided to try a Sugar Free Mousse. It was exactly like I would make at home and was sugar free.

 

The next time I tried Sugar Free mousse it was notably quite sweet. I had to throw it away as I avoid all sugar and artificial sweeteners. I encountered the same issue twice more and then decided to avoid all foods labelled Sugar Free as I could never really be certain that the food was indeed sugar free.