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

[nyold]

Halifax. Gangway was on deck 2 this time. Plenty of souvenir shops along the boardwalk, esp the giftshop of the Maritime Museum. Also went to the public library, the garden and the citadel. Nice city. The fog did clear up around 10 but came back around 2.

[gobar]

Thank you guys for posting the updates and photos . We are truly looking forward to cruising on Zaandam. Love the food photos and of the activities.

Maybe one of you can help answer my questions.

1. There is supposed to be an Exclusive vegetarian menu on request... does anyone know if they have it on Zaandam. There is just 1 veg selection each day on the menu but would be good to have more options.

2. Did anyone do the proctored Covid test but used your own kits?  is it easy to connect to the proctors?

 

Thank you

 

[nyold]

39 minutes ago, gobar said:

There is supposed to be an Exclusive vegetarian menu on request... does anyone know if they have it on Zaandam. There is just 1 veg selection each day on the menu but would be good to have more options.

 

 

Among the main course, there is definitely at least 1 veg on the menu, but sometimes I see none on appetizer nor dessert. I have heard that the servers will bend over backwards to accomodate you, so maybe this is something you could mention early on and the might have a menu item from a different restaurant or even the buffet to bring to you. 

[nyold]

Buffet lunch today. One of the servers did ask "how were the mussels yesterday" 🤭 we told her PEI was better but Sydney's was not bad.

[gdy0354]

How far were the gardens from the cruise ship in Halifax?

[bluesplayer]

Halifax question..  were you on a tour? Or walking near the port?  Lovely photos.  We are going in the fall..  Thank you again for your review and your time posting.  Have enjoyed it very much..  

[rkacruiser]

Picture #2 in your post #126, this is the interior of what?  The Maritime Museum?  

 

I love Halifax!  The terminal buildings where the ships dock have so many interesting local vendors and booksellers.  I have found books there that I have been trying to find that are unavailable in the United States.  

[nyold]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

Picture #2 in your post #126, this is the interior of what?  The Maritime Museum?  

 

I love Halifax!  The terminal buildings where the ships dock have so many interesting local vendors and booksellers.  I have found books there that I have been trying to find that are unavailable in the United States.  

This was the interior of the public library. This library is very cool and modern, also has an automated book return system which made my inner nerd giddy. 

 

Man I wish I knew about the books. I saw those stores (I think). I love this city, old and modern juxtaposed in a seamless manner

[nyold]

1 hour ago, bluesplayer said:

Halifax question..  were you on a tour? Or walking near the port?  Lovely photos.  We are going in the fall..  Thank you again for your review and your time posting.  Have enjoyed it very much..  

We were doing self tour. The entire walk took is about 2 hrs including shopping stops. They have bus lines that run along the main st, and it's 2.75 CAD per person. So that is an option to save time and/or to reduce walking

[nyold]

1 hour ago, gdy0354 said:

How far were the gardens from the cruise ship in Halifax?

It is probably 30 mins of walking for us but we are avid walkers. It's also UPHILL so beware. If you want to have an easier time, you could uber from the pier to the garden. The citadel is right next to the garden, and from there back to the ship is downhill and lined with shops

[nyold]

The boat was extremely rocky today. I tried the pool for a bit and it felt like I'm on the beach... interesting sensation but cant do it for too long.

 

But that means the 9:30 show was canceled 😔 people were walking tipsily in the halls, not sure from alcohol or from the rocking. I did catch the first 30 mins of the show (7:30-8) before our dinner, and I think it was great! The two pianists (Clara and the other guy from Ocean Bar) went thru the hits from different eras and the dancers show up whenever appropriate.

 

Towel penguin and where and when for tomorrow

[nyold]

Dinner tonight, gala night.

 

Seafood brioche (okay) and shrimp cocktail (always good). Rock fish (I like it) and duck (good but only 4 small slices 😆). Tiramisu, super smooth and not overly sweet, I think this is what a tiramisu should be!

[nyold]

After dinner, since the show was canceled, the lounges were all full with well-dressed people. But since the performers were *supposed* to be in the show, there was nothing scheduled in the bars, so people were just sitting and chatting. I realized I like this vibe as well... it's reminiscent of a hotel lobby atmosphere with just a piano player or something.

 

The perfume store had a sale, which brings down the prices from overpriced to normal. They had people distribute chocolates in front of the store. Was it because of the canceled show? Or for the sale? Or for gala night? All of the above?

[nyold]

First issue this morning, we ordered room service for breakfast to be delivered at 8. It didnt arrive by 8:15 so I called. They said it is not in the system but he took my order and prioritized. It arrived around 8:40, I guess that's pretty fast but still annoying. Later I heard some rooms in our hall had the same issue, and the theory was that one malicious kid or teen might have taken away all the doorknob orders at some point. It's plausible I guess.

 

All american and passion fruit yogurt, delicious as always.  Also towel elephant

[nyold]

Since this is the first US port after being overseas, they have USCBP passport control set up on deck 5 (occupying the casino, library, exploration cafe, etc) and everyone (whether you go to the port or not) must complete it. For most people it takes a couple seconds but I see some people getting asked more questions or fumbling for the right visa page etc. 

 

To compound the issue, the clock moved backward the night before (you gain 1 hr) and I bet most people didnt adjust their clocks properly (if your phone is in airplane mode it wont do it automatically). So even though HAL tried their best to crowd control by assigning each deck a timeslot, it wasnt observed (or ppl didnt care nor didnt read carefully) and what felt like half the ship was there 1 hr early. It was an absolute zoo. To be fair, once the line moved, it moved fast.

Edited June 10, 2022 by nyold

[nyold]

Once you are done with passport control, they punch a hole in your key card to signify that you did the passport control. Then you are allowed to get tender tickets. This was 9:45 and they havent started any tender. We were supposed to dock at 8. I guess everything ran late. 

 

The tender boat itself is a triple decker and allegedly can fit 300-400 people but of course it takes a while to load them and to herd that many people around. The first tender boat leaves around 10:20 I think. Factor this in your planning if you are booking tour tickets etc in Bar Harbor. 

 

The tender ticket is more like a group number that you are assigned to. Then you can wait anywhere on the ship, and they will announce group 1 to 15, etc. We were just waiting by the lido deck, but the buffet closed at 10. I think this is a poor form as there will be many people who are waiting for the tender around this hour. If the entire docking and tender process is delayed they should extend the lido hours, even if only for a limited selection. 

[timbom]

Was on the previous weeks sailing and found the food OK as well as service.  But entertainment and their staff was the worst I have ever experienced on over fifty cruise's I have taken.  I will never sail one of these small ships again for that reason.

 

Problem may of been Cruise director was not there  till last night.  Only one dancing show with a total of four dancers was presented.  Feature films were shown at 8:30 so late sitting never saw one. When the BBC films were shown the show rooms had no performers as they were part of band (for anyone who has sailed these ships before they have already seen them and they need to be retired).  Ocean bar band did not play music that the ships age group could dance too. Sing along lady could not sing well.  TV did not operate most of cruise and had no CNN coverage.

 

We don't take smaller Holland ships for entertainment but this really surprised me after sailing on thier larger ships with the music walk.  I guess Holland does not want to pay BB King or Rolling stone for good acts on these ships.  

[gobar]

Thank you Nyold. I will check on the vegetarian menu.

Can you tell us which shows are worth watching. I know Musicology for sure. How about Off the Charts?

 

[nyold]

7 hours ago, timbom said:

Was on the previous weeks sailing and found the food OK as well as service.  But entertainment and their staff was the worst I have ever experienced on over fifty cruise's I have taken.  I will never sail one of these small ships again for that reason.

 

Problem may of been Cruise director was not there  till last night.  Only one dancing show with a total of four dancers was presented.  Feature films were shown at 8:30 so late sitting never saw one. When the BBC films were shown the show rooms had no performers as they were part of band (for anyone who has sailed these ships before they have already seen them and they need to be retired).  Ocean bar band did not play music that the ships age group could dance too. Sing along lady could not sing well.  TV did not operate most of cruise and had no CNN coverage.

 

We don't take smaller Holland ships for entertainment but this really surprised me after sailing on thier larger ships with the music walk.  I guess Holland does not want to pay BB King or Rolling stone for good acts on these ships.  

Oh that sounds horrible. For this sailing, the dancers are step one which has 6 dancers but I think some numbers feature this younger guy who has a solo. So maybe that would make it 7. The BBC show was performed with live violin, piano, bass, and electric from the classical duo and the ocean bar. I agree that the entertainment here was lacking. Even with 6 dancers, it still lags behind the other cruises that we're used to. 

[nyold]

3 hours ago, gobar said:

Thank you Nyold. I will check on the vegetarian menu.

Can you tell us which shows are worth watching. I know Musicology for sure. How about Off the Charts?

 

Off the charts would have been good except the 9:30 was canceled 😪. I caught the beginning of the 7:30 show and it was pretty good, not amazing. Humanity was weird for me, couldnt get what they're trying to say, so it ends up being a disconnected array of dance numbers

[nyold]

[nyold]

Despite the rough start, Bar Harbor and Acadia were amazing. So much to do, so little time. We did the Olie's trolley tour and they were very accomodating when I called them abt our tender situation. The tour took 2.5 hrs and stopped at Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, and Cadillac Summit

[Mary229]

23 minutes ago, nyold said:

Despite the rough start, Bar Harbor and Acadia were amazing. So much to do, so little time. We did the Olie's trolley tour and they were very accomodating when I called them abt our tender situation. The tour took 2.5 hrs and stopped at Thunder Hole, Jordan Pond, and Cadillac Summit

Did Ollie hold the trolley for your late arrival?  I have the 9:30 tour booked with them but it sounds like the customs process may make that iffy.  Any advice?  Thank you

[nyold]

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Did Ollie hold the trolley for your late arrival?  I have the 9:30 tour booked with them but it sounds like the customs process may make that iffy.  Any advice?  Thank you

I had the 10 am tour booked, but at 9:30 the tender just started to board, so I called them. They moved me to the 1 pm tour. Turns out nobody from Zaandam made it to the 10 am tour and everyone got moved to the 1 pm, and roughly half of our bus was from Zaandam 😆

 

I'm not sure that immigration was the reason it was late, because even as immigration process was done, the tender still didnt start. My guess would be that the tender boat company wasnt ready. I would try to move it to a later time if I were you. 

 

For our case, we were planning to do the tour first thing and then shop leisurely for the rest of the time. Because of the lateness we had to flip it, which made the shopping experience a bit hurried.

[rkacruiser]

My last cruise visit to Bar Harbor, the ship had to use its tender.  Having a larger tender available ought to make the experience of getting to/from shore significantly better.

 

8 hours ago, nyold said:

So even though HAL tried their best to crowd control by assigning each deck a timeslot, it wasnt observed (or ppl didnt care nor didnt read carefully)

 

Well, what else is new?  Such, an attitude of "I'll do my thing" is best observed on disembarkation morning when one hears requests not to get to the disembarkation area until your group is called.  

 

9 hours ago, nyold said:

I heard some rooms in our hall had the same issue, and the theory was that one malicious kid or teen might have taken away all the doorknob orders at some point. It's plausible I guess.

 

I have had that experience.  And, it may not have been a kid.