12 days on Rotterdam vs 21 days on Zaandam

[MUD]

Have reservations for Caribbean cruise next February for 12 days on Rotterdam in a balcony cabin and overlapping 21 days on the Zaandam in an OV cabin. Can only take one of the cruises. The price is the same. The Zaandam has many ports of call including 12 days in a row. We would not take many excursions. Most of our HAL experience has been on Zaandam size ships but we are worried about it being a bit dated and not much to do if we don't go on many excursions. Any advice?

[Alberta Quilter]

OMG, take the Zaandam cruise!  21 days hitting all different ports, not a B2B!  And some more unusual ports.  While the Rotterdam is newer, and has more amenities, it's the itinerary that does it for me.  I've always wanted to go to Grenada!   And 21 days for the same price as 12?  That's an easy choice for me.  But I understand that there would be less to do on the Zaandam.  And I would surely miss the Grand Dutch Cafe.  Hope others can help you more than I did.  I'm looking at the cost and the itinerary only.  Ship doesn't really matter as much to me.  It's a way to get me to where I need/want to go.

[OlsSalt]

Zaandam, in a heart beat.

[REOVA]

We actually got bored on Rotterdam. Loved Dutch Cafe and yes it has more bars and bands (which repeat songs), but we like exploring various ports and meeting people (and finding quiet spaces)  which is harder on larger ships. Suggest having your TA work on upgrade to at least veranda on Zaandam. Sitting on balcony for sunrise or sunsets is calming. 

[0106]

28 minutes ago, REOVA said:

Suggest having your TA work on upgrade to at least veranda on Zaandam.

The only verandah cabins on the Zaandam are “suites”, quite a bit more expensive than a standard verandah cabin.

[OlsSalt]

1 minute ago, 0106 said:

The only verandah cabins on the Zaandam are “suites”, quite a bit more expensive than a standard verandah cabin.

 

I believe the "verandahs" are obstructed view verandahs, of various degrees, but are the same cabin layout as what they now call Vista Suites -which are the more standard full view verandahs. But well below the Neptune suites in size and amenities.

 

An old timer trick on this class ship was to get an ocean view cabin towards the very aft because the open aft decks on these two lower decks had loungers and operated "almost" as your own verandah cabin, but a few steps away. 

[REOVA]

28 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

I believe the "verandahs" are obstructed view verandahs, of various degrees, but are the same cabin layout as what they now call Vista Suites -which are the more standard full view verandahs. But well below the Neptune suites in size and amenities.

 

An old timer trick on this class ship was to get an ocean view cabin towards the very aft because the open aft decks on these two lower decks had loungers and operated "almost" as your own verandah cabin, but a few steps away. 

Yes good trick, especially deck 7 which has direct stair access to Seaview pool. Wasn't aware deck 1 and 2 had loungers though. Deck 3 has people walking around your window but many like the quick access to loungers. 

 

The veranda cabins "suites" have full view on Veranda deck 6 as do Vista on deck 7. Similar size but bed may be closer to bathroom on former. We don't consider them as suites such as Neptune but HAL likes to call them suites. 

[0106]

The Vista suites do not have the perks that come with a Neptune either.

2 minutes ago, REOVA said:

We don't consider them as suites such as Neptune but HAL likes to call them suites. 

I don’t consider Vistas suites either.  I do like a Signature suite but that is not available on the Zaandam.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

OMG, take the Zaandam cruise!  21 days hitting all different ports, not a B2B!  And some more unusual ports.  While the Rotterdam is newer, and has more amenities, it's the itinerary that does it for me.  I've always wanted to go to Grenada!   And 21 days for the same price as 12?  That's an easy choice for me.  But I understand that there would be less to do on the Zaandam.  And I would surely miss the Grand Dutch Cafe.  Hope others can help you more than I did.  I'm looking at the cost and the itinerary only.  Ship doesn't really matter as much to me.  It's a way to get me to where I need/want to go.

 

Islands I haven't been to before sold me on this cruise. I will miss the hydropool, but other than that, I'm fine with the smaller ship. The vista "suite" isn't much of a suite, but I think HAL calls the veranda cabins that in order to give double Mariner points and take a bit of the sting out of the price. 

[Florida_gal_50]

I'd pick the rotterdam even though its less days.  I'm not a fan of the old ships.  That said I've been to every port on the Zaandam except for St. Vincent.

[RuthC]

This is just too easy. Twenty-one days on the Zaandam beats twelve days on the Rotterdam every time. 
And for the same price? 

What are you waiting for???

[T8NCruise]

Yes it's a dated ship but I would definitely do the Zaandam.  Loved my last cruise on her.

[OlsSalt]

1 minute ago, T8NCruise said:

Yes it's a dated ship but I would definitely do the Zaandam.  Loved my last cruise on her.

 

Everyone responds to different things. Every time I see a  "dated"  HAL  ship, I thank management for keeping our cruising prices lower, and not spending our money chasing the latest,  superficial decor trends. I for one had no problem with the "dated pink tile" bathrooms on these ships. 

 

I have loved all my "dates" on the older HA ships - they provide me with nice cabins, good food, comfortable ship layouts, excellent port access, plenty of open views and the feeling of being at sea while sleeping well at night before we adventure to someplace new.

 

Yes, I am a cheap date.  

[tupper10]

I don't know which ship to pick but if you want to go with the Rotterdam you can save some big $$ by booking an ocean view and then get the retreat for the entire cruise which gives you your own cabana and butler service for breakfast and lunch and a quiet shared hot tub. Just another idea for you.

[REOVA]

54 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Everyone responds to different things. Every time I see a  "dated"  HAL  ship, I thank management for keeping our cruising prices lower, and not spending our money chasing the latest,  superficial decor trends. I for one had no problem with the "dated pink tile" bathrooms on these ships. 

 

I have loved all my "dates" on the older HA ships - they provide me with nice cabins, good food, comfortable ship layouts, excellent port access, plenty of open views and the feeling of being at sea while sleeping well at night before we adventure to someplace new.

 

Yes, I am a cheap date.  

And an opportunity to actually meet more people and more important, have time to meet the crew and create lasting relationships with some. It's amazing how they remember passengers (what you ate or drank) years later on other ships. We've yet to see this on Pinnacle ships as crew are rushing around trying to service more passengers. 

[Florida_gal_50]

39 minutes ago, REOVA said:

And an opportunity to actually meet more people and more important, have time to meet the crew and create lasting relationships with some. It's amazing how they remember passengers (what you ate or drank) years later on other ships. We've yet to see this on Pinnacle ships as crew are rushing around trying to service more passengers. 

I’ve had the opposite.  I was on the koningsdam in November 2021.  The guy that did the mimosas in club orange was so sweet.  Used to tease me for not drinking mimosas in the morning but having cocktails at night.  Fast forward to March 2022.  I went up to check my cabana the first day and there he was.  He came running up to me and hugged me saying how happy he was to see me before I could say a word.  The hostess in club orange remembered me as well, even the time I was on the ship.  They see tons of people so it was impressive.  

[REOVA]

2 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I’ve had the opposite.  I was on the koningsdam in November 2021.  The guy that did the mimosas in club orange was so sweet.  Used to tease me for not drinking mimosas in the morning but having cocktails at night.  Fast forward to March 2022.  I went up to check my cabana the first day and there he was.  He came running up to me and hugged me saying how happy he was to see me before I could say a word.  The hostess in club orange remembered me as well, even the time I was on the ship.  They see tons of people so it was impressive.  

But Club Orange is exactly why it works. Limited percentage of passengers allows greater "1 on 1" time. You will get some time with MDR and Lido crew as well but they have much more passengers to handle and unfortunately the crew/passenger ratio is not the same as on smaller ships (or smaller venues like paying for Club Orange). 

[Florida_gal_50]

4 minutes ago, REOVA said:

But Club Orange is exactly why it works. Limited percentage of passengers allows greater "1 on 1" time. You will get some time with MDR and Lido crew as well but they have much more passengers to handle and unfortunately the crew/passenger ratio is not the same as on smaller ships (or smaller venues like paying for Club Orange). 

That’s not what you said though.  You said you’ve yet to see that on the pinnacle ships.  There was no except for club orange in your statement.  I do find something interesting though.  There are plenty of people that say they love the small ship yet they talk about sailing n the Rotterdam, nieuw statendam and koningsdam.  There is one poster that never lets an opportunity go by to say how he hates those ships yet seems to be one one of those ships every other week.  I do hope those that love those ships do support them or they will be gone too.

[MUD]

Thanks to all who have commented so far. I did not mention that the cabin we chose on the Zaandam (we also have reservations on the Rotterdam)has one of the very few conversions to walk in shower only. We have sailed over 100 days on this size HAL ship. Our concern about this itinerary is that there may be very little to do on port days when we don’t take an excursion.

[3rdGenCunarder]

17 minutes ago, MUD said:

Thanks to all who have commented so far. I did not mention that the cabin we chose on the Zaandam (we also have reservations on the Rotterdam)has one of the very few conversions to walk in shower only. We have sailed over 100 days on this size HAL ship. Our concern about this itinerary is that there may be very little to do on port days when we don’t take an excursion.

 

This one is so port intensive that I'll probably be grateful for those days, and just sit with my feet up! (and a cocktail)

[trixiee]

1 hour ago, MUD said:

Thanks to all who have commented so far. I did not mention that the cabin we chose on the Zaandam (we also have reservations on the Rotterdam)has one of the very few conversions to walk in shower only. We have sailed over 100 days on this size HAL ship. Our concern about this itinerary is that there may be very little to do on port days when we don’t take an excursion.

Do you mean you won’t get off the ship on some port days? You would have the ship to yourself! “Private”  pools, hot tubs, empty gym, and no lines in the Lido! 

Edited March 2, 2023 by trixiee

[Iamthesea]

22 hours ago, 0106 said:

The Vista suites do not have the perks that come with a Neptune either.

I don’t consider Vistas suites either.  I do like a Signature suite but that is not available on the Zaandam.

 

21 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Islands I haven't been to before sold me on this cruise. I will miss the hydropool, but other than that, I'm fine with the smaller ship. The vista "suite" isn't much of a suite, but I think HAL calls the veranda cabins that in order to give double Mariner points and take a bit of the sting out of the price. 

The Vista Suites are a bit much, but at the right price, I love how the bed is near the balcony.  That leaves an open area to enjoy when walking into the stateroom, without having to go around the bed.  That particular configuration was the way we liked the Celebrity balcony staterooms.  Made the stateroom look larger than it was.  The Vista Suite is very similar is size to the AQ's we booked.

 

Having said the above, we just upgraded to a Vista Suite from our VA category for a very low price!

[3rdGenCunarder]

14 hours ago, trixiee said:

Do you mean you won’t get off the ship on some port days? You would have the ship to yourself! “Private”  pools, hot tubs, empty gym, and no lines in the Lido! 

 

I do that if it's a port I've been to often and don't really care for. I don't need to go to St Thomas again, but it's a fairly common port stop, so I give it the been there, done that treatment and stay on board. I love the peace and quiet of days like that. I can get a lounger by the pool without having to get up at 6 AM!

[hmorrow]

20 hours ago, RuthC said:

This is just too easy. Twenty-one days on the Zaandam beats twelve days on the Rotterdam every time. 
And for the same price? 

What are you waiting for???

Exactly!

[YourWorldWithBill]

We were on the Noordam in September and will be on the Rotterdam in May. We were a bit disappointed in the food on the Noordam, but have heard great things about the Rotterdam (similar ships to your comparison).

So, the better food (if that's the case) might influence me. If this comparison is valid, that is.