My Zaantastic Week On Zaandam - Jul.19

Just two weeks before sail date I booked an Alaska Southbound cruise. This came as a quick decision as the fares were ridiculously inexpensive. That was also factoring the air, Los Angeles to Anchorage then back from Vancouver. I had a vacation week that worked out perfect for the Zaandam cruise.

Background: I cruise about three times a year on various mass market lines. Carnival, MSC, & Princess have hit home runs on my last cruises. Contrary to popular belief among my friends and neighbors, I'm not a trust fund baby. In order to afford my cruise travel addiction I have to work. That career is in transportation hospitality...aka Amtrak sleeping car attendant. This has given me a unique perspective on the logistics and demands of a crew trying to provide service to many passengers, each with different needs and expectations. In some ways it also makes me a bit more critical. I jumped ship to Holland America in 2001 after a botched Grand Princess cruise left a bad taste in my mouth. Lately I've discovered the joys of cruising solo. On sea days you'll find me at the aft pool or on a promenade deck chair, mouth agape, "resting".

Zaandam: This was my fourth cruise sailing aboard her. I think the R Class ships are the best in the fleet. My most recent HAL cruises before were on Vista Class ships. Zaandam reminds me a lot of the old Sitmar Fairwind & Fairsea: spacious cabins, aft pool, intimate clubby lounges. It was a sheer delight to see that Zaandam is so well maintained. The refurbished interiors are beautiful. My favorite places are just as I'd remembered, Crow's Nest, Ocean Bar, Explorers Lounge.... and let's not forget the controversial organ. For the record, I'm not a fan of Mix. I understand that HAL is trying to effect a more modern look, but this three lounges in one concept looks like those corporate chain hotel lobby bars. It doesn't compliment the true HAL feel, style, atmosphere. Plastic simulated wood grain panel looked cheap in 1974, and 41 years later it's still ugly. Mostly the Zaandam feels like staying at your rich aunts house in Westchester County or Carmel . Mercifully, the Crow's Nest has been kept completely separate from Explorations Cafe.

The Zaandam Wow Factor: First I'll start with the near flawless operation of the Lido Restaurant. Kept immaculate morning, noon, & night, nothing was ever out of place. Crew were constantly roving the floor removing used wares, refilling drinks, hand carrying plates for people to their tables. They were always smiling and gracious. They couldn't do enough. I felt like I was in a HAL commercial. On the first night out of Seward, after a late night snack, I mentioned to the Lido manager my perception of the limited dessert choices. He smiled, kind of chuckled and said that he agreed with me and understood. Ten minutes later, he comes to my table with a full platter of about six different choices. That kind of above and beyond service delivery was what I came to see was the rule, not the exception on this current crew compliment.

Guest Relations & Officers Bar: I was assigned cabin 1875, Dolphin Deck. If you should get this cabin change it immediately ! The first night I slept soundly, didn't hear a peep. On the second night, at around one, I heard a lot of laughing clapping, singing, & banging directly underneath my cabin. I made a quick call to Guest Relations and learned that my cabin just happened to be over the Officers Bar. The woman on the phone apologized and sent down the ship security to quiet down the hoopla in progress. I thought it was funny. What are the chances of this happening ? I know that the Officers need somewhere to party, but under MY cabin....honestly, lol. The next morning I spoke with Guest Relations Manager Mario Costa . He immediately put me at ease with his warm smile, firm handshake, genuine concern & willingness to rectify the situation. He arranged for a change into another outside cabin. His assistant Jennica Dizon was equally fantastic. Each time I walked past the Front Office, I was greeted my someone calling out my name and waving hello. To compensate for my experience, they comped an evening at the Pinnacle Grill. I was most grateful.

SERIOUSLY HAL: Mostly this was a delightful week aboard a glorious floating palace, but HAL clearly needs some fine tuning. All the cruise lines have had cost cutting measures in place for a number of years. I see this at my company of employment, airlines, hotels, ect. What with the LOW per diem and other factors of keeping a business in business I understand something has to give. It's the times we live in. That said, HAL seems to be the line I see the most obvious cutbacks. MDR dinner menus were dull, uninspired, limited in choice. The food was frequently too salty for my taste or lacking in flavor. The dining room service was generally inconsistent; some nights it was robotic and perfunctory or friendly and cheerful. In my second cabin as I was getting everything moved in I noticed that the carpet wasn't vacuumed(visible crumbs, gunk, ect.) All surface areas were covered in a layer of dust and stay hairs were on the windowsill and nightstand. When I kindly brought this to the attention of my new cabin steward he off handedly said he'd "take care of it later". Thinking that he must be busy, I left and came back a few hours later. The cabin still wasn't properly cleaned and that's when I had a brief moment of losing my patience. So in a nutshell, think HAL needs to redirect their efforts in the MDR food,menus,service and cabin housekeeping. These few things detracted from an otherwise wonderful cruise and were not consistent with the first class product that the ships themselves are.

Is It Just Me, Or... : While I'd say a least 85% of the crew were friendly and interactive, I have noticed that a few bar servers, bartenders, cabin stewards, & waiters seemed not so thrilled to

be there. What I attribute this to is the very reality of crew fatigue. With staffing levels cut back, I think that these are simply mentally, physically, & emotionally exhausted human beings who are running out of fuel.

Alaska: Prior to this cruise, I never gave Alaska a second thought. I'm a by the pool, on the beach kind of guy. My cruise was booked specifically to sail aboard Zaandam. The fact that it was an Alaska itinerary was incidental. BOY ! Was I Wrong ! To see Glacier Bay with my own eyes and experience the absolute solitude of the remoteness was a spiritual experience. The scope of the majestic beauty was beyond anything I could previously wrap my mind around. We lucked out that day with crystal clear sunburn warm weather.

Other Passengers: There was a great mix of generations and nationalities on this cruise. I noticed several multi - generational families. The Lido Pool area could get a little boisterous in the afternoon , but mostly the kids were all well behaved. The kids will have their childhood cruise memories to cherish a lifetime. As a solo cruiser I met several other solos and even did port excursions with them. The best part of traveling on sea or land is the many people I always meet.

Finally: I don't frequent the on-board revenue production centers(shops, casino, spa, ect.) but this cruise I met Bernardo in the shops. He's the man wearing the hat. He's the resident clown & jokester

on-board. If you see him wave and say ! "Hola, Bernardo" !

Nice review.

Did they ever fix the ice machines in the Lido? They were out of order for three weeks last time I was on the Zaandam.

I agree that Holland sure has cut some of the staffing to the very minimum and it is starting to show up more and more.

In my opinion Holland is very fortunate to have the crew they have and I do hope the corporate bean counters don't overwork them to the point that they start to lose the warm friendly great service that is likely the number one reason that so many people remain loyal to Holland America. I get the feeling that a lot of the crew is really overworked these days almost to the breaking point.

The bean counters at CCL might do well to realize that a happy crew is their number one asset that they have and try and take a bit better care of them with more appropriate staffing levels.

Thank you for review your Zaandam cruise.

Hope that the second cabin did receive a thorough cleaning.

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you were able to get a different cabin.

Thank you for your review.

OP: a fun read! Thanks!

I am glad you received such good service from the Front Desk team.

I LOVED the title to your thread

and the review itself. Really appreciated it from your perspective too.

Glad about the cabin change and thank you so much for sharing with us.

Welcome home:D to reality :(