LIVE: Zaandam 6/4 - 6/11, Montreal - Boston

[aliaschief]

Great review. Thanks for sharing your cruise experience.

[JHU]

On 6/4/2022 at 6:42 PM, nyold said:

I tried running in the gym, the TVs had some channels but I brought my own audiobook with me. Beforehand, I got some redbull. They have the sugar free and regular versions. Also photos from my inlaws after lunch:

 

 

The decking looks a bit moldy?  Also, no artwork in your cabin; looks a bit ascetic..(I'm on Dolphin deck in July/August.  Thanks.

[rkacruiser]

The Gala Menu looks the same as it has been except for the Lumpia.  That is a different addition and it does look tasty.  Both the Prime Rib and the Lamb looks delicious.  Those chops look larger than what I remember.

 

The Room Service Breakfast bread basket:  I always enjoy.  I think HAL was some very talented bakers.  Enjoyed seeing that cream filled danish!  

 

Thanks for your very interesting report.  

[nyold]

1 hour ago, JHU said:

The decking looks a bit moldy?  Also, no artwork in your cabin; looks a bit ascetic..(I'm on Dolphin deck in July/August.  Thanks.

Oh hmm yeah the decking does look moldy. I'm not sure if it is mold or other black stains that got exarcebated by moisture (how many kinds are there lol). I am looking at it now, it is definitely there in the corners, but the floor is generally clean. 

 

There is an artwork in my room, in the "living room" section of it. I'll try to get a pic of it tonight, but otherwise yeah it is pretty barebone. There is a ton of storage / drawers for 2 people and space to put your suitcase away. For 4 people I think it is doable, you just need to be more practive about putting your shopping away. 

 

The outdoor sea view pool today. It looks nice but fairly cold and windy. The pool is heated and very deep which was nice. 

[nyold]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

  Enjoyed seeing that cream filled danish!  

Omg that danish!! I dont know if I want to do a room service breakfast again because eating in the room is not that nice unless you have a balcony 😝 but I am definitely getting that danish again. They have them in the buffet

[nyold]

Where and when for tommorow, towel walrus, and artwork in the room

[nyold]

Dinner tonight

 

Tabbouleh salad, french onion soup. Salmon and snapper. Chocolate praline, chocolate delight, banana thingy.

 

I think overall this dinner feels a bit light which is good, we were getting bloated and it's only day 3. The dessert is still a bit too rich though... maybe we need to pivot to fruity dessert for a while.

[nyold]

Sunset happened before our eyes, it was gorgeous. But couldnt really get a clear picture due to the marks in the window. 

 

Afterwards we watched the BBC Planet Earth show, it was amazing!

[nyold]

The stage, and the stair area on deck 3

[NapTown Jim]

I'm loving this!  Thanks for sharing it

[nyold]

Breakfast today. The bf buffet in general is always semi-crowded... but never a problem to find seats. It's just, don't expect a calm and peaceful breakfast experience. More congee for me.

 

View from the gym as we are docking. Gangway is in level A (below deck 1) forward. It is almost level with the pier, so no "stairs" or "snaking ramp."

[nyold]

Pics from PEI. It is a cute little island, home of the Anne of the Green Gables. Didnt really spend that much time here.

[Hogladyrider]

@nyold....WOW that church is breathe taking!

[nyold]

View from the library as we were leaving PEI. Also where and when for tomorrow

[taxmantoo]

Enjoying your review so far.  If you have a chance, could you please find out the name of the piano player in The Mix.  Thank you!

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, nyold said:

More congee for me.

 

 

What are you adding to the Congee?  Maybe if I did the same, it would become more palatable for me.

 

No mussels at PEI?  

[nyold]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

What are you adding to the Congee?  Maybe if I did the same, it would become more palatable for me.

 

No mussels at PEI?  

I added everything lol. I dont know the names of those things but I agree that the congee itself is bland, so I thought the more I add the better it will be. Then in the sauce corner I added fish sauce straight to the bowl.

 

I did get an order of mussels and lobster roll from Water Prince and brought it back to the ship. The security was fine with it, just wanted to open the bag to make sure, because it cant be xray-ed. We ate them on the lido deck with supplements from the buffet. The mussels were the best one I've ever had, but the lobster was average. No picture for this one because we were so hungry we didnt think twice lol. 

 

Note: the paper bag eventually leaked from mussel water, so next time we need to bring a plastic bag to put the paper bag in.

[nyold]

Pinnacle dinner tonight. Overall impression is that the service is comparable to a fine steakhouse (fleming's, wollensky, etc), but the steak itself is half a step below. I put Peter Luger and Morton at A+, Fleming's and Smith and Wollensky at A, and this was B+ almost A-. Very understandable given that they must have a more limited equipment and more challenges in procuring the meat.

 

Mushroom soup and lobster bisque. Crabcakes, steak tartare, shrimp cocktail. Yrs each person ordered 2 appetizers 🤭

 

Filet mignon medium rare, the cook was perfect. Beef tenderloin, halibut.

 

Then we were too stuffed for dessert and dance show was starting, so we asked for the dessert for togo. They dont have boxes so they put them in plates covered with clochets, along with utensil rolls and cloth napkins. We ate the souffle in the theater (in the dark😪) but ate the cheese plate in the room afterwards.

 

They were all very good, again I might be spoiled by the fine dining scene of NY and Boston, but in all fairness these were very good. If I were to get a discount or HIA credit, I would book again without a second thought. Without it though, it is borderline not worth the added price over regular MDR. Maybe in future cruises I might do 1 Pinnacle dinner if I feel like it. 

 

 

[nyold]

The dance show was humanity. The coreography was good but the theme was a bit all over the place compared to the musicology. Also the execution was not as clean, the timing not as crisp compared to the first night. There was a number when one solo dancer danced with 5 of his "clones" on the screen. The 5 clones were all in sync to each other, which makes any tiny variation that the love dancer had even more that jarring. If you're going to dance with pre-recorded clones you'd better get the timing done right. But still it was a good show and a good way to cap off the night. 

[LMD]

Thank you so much for this review, and all the pictures.  One more question - are there hair dryers in the room?  If so, are they the ones where you have to continuously hold a button down to keep them on.

[nyold]

2 hours ago, LMD said:

Thank you so much for this review, and all the pictures.  One more question - are there hair dryers in the room?  If so, are they the ones where you have to continuously hold a button down to keep them on.

There are hair dryers and you do not have to hold the button. It's an on/off switch type. They also provide a makeup mirror if you need that...

 

They also provide 2 bath robes which I end up using a lot in the room. I saw people use them on the lido deck by the pool too. There are also 2 towels but given how easy it is to get towels, I didn't end up using these 2. 

 

No fridge for deck 1 and 2 rooms, only on deck 6 and 7 (aka suites and above). Plenty of hangers and hanging space (which can be used to store suitcases too)

[nyold]

Sydney today. Docking was at 8 but we didnt leave ship until closer to noon because things wouldnt open that early anyways. It is a nice little town. There are craft and art stalls in the visitor center and right outside, and there are good shops along town as well. 

 

Like yesterday, we got lobster roll and mussels to go and ate it on the lido by the pool. They were not as good as the ones from Charlottetown. The lobster was a bit tough. When we got back on the ship around 1, the lido deck and buffet were crowded. I guess people also didn't spend that much time on the port. 

[nyold]

Lido lunch. The special was fish tacos. They had lamb, fried fish etc as well. The menthol gelee from MDR the other night is back! I used it for the chicken, it works. Cobb salad. The salad here is served (not self serve). You just point at what you want and they mix it in for you. Generally most things in the buffet are served, but several condiments / accoutrements and the cold cuts are self-serve. 

[nyold]

On 6/5/2022 at 10:40 AM, cwd79 said:

Great review, thanks for this. We board June 11th. Do you happen to know if they have ESPN on the TV? I ask because hubby is a huge hockey fan and the stanley cup final will most likely be going on during our cruise and it will be shown on ESPN. Thanks

I just checked last night and found that there is no ESPN 😓 

[nyold]

On 6/5/2022 at 10:15 AM, gdy0354 said:

Strange question. What flavor soft serve ice cream is being served?

Reason I ask is that on my last 11-day cruise in March only a raspberry type was available the entire cruise. Never chocolate or vanilla.

Ok if you mean on the buffet, there are 2 stations. Each station always has chocolate and vanilla, and there are 2 or 3 other flavors and these are different and rotating. Say the left one has coconut, the right one has pistachio, you can get a combo by bringing your cup/cone from the left one to the right one. So far I've seen strawberry, dark cherry, pistachio, coconut, coffee.