Notice from HAL - Bathtubs being removed on Zaandam OV Cabins

An email arrived this morning from HAL with the following notice attached:

From looking at deck plans, this is all of the category D oceanview cabins on the Lower Promenade and all of the category C cabins on the Main Deck.

We are boarding the Zaandam on Saturday for the first cruise following the drydock and have one of the affected cabins on the Lower Promenade.

I don't care one way or another whether I have a tub, but it might be frustrating for someone who was counting on having one to find out 4 days prior to the cruise that it was being removed. We booked an MM inside guarantee so I am just tickled to have a window!

Interesting change, although the info could have come out sooner. I wonder if they're getting good feedback on the shower-only cabins on K'dam? I've seen several comments about "great showers" on that ship.

I think showers would be an improvement. We found the tub in our OV cabin on the Rotterdam to be annoying and would have preferred a shower. The tub was too small to stretch out if you wanted to use it and I can see the higher step to get in / out being an issue for some.

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Definitely an improvement.

On all the S and R class ships I had a lot of trouble getting over the edge of the high tubs.

Plus, we prefer showers.

If these new showers are anything like the showers on the Koningsdam, I'm pretty sure most people are going to love them. The Koningsdam showers are great - very roomy with a really nice shower head. Best shower of any ship we have been on.

Hope they do the same on the Amsterdam. The best thing about the K was the shower!

A nice thing for us shower lovers, :Dbut I am sure some tub lovers may be disappointed:(

For fans of the smaller ships this type of investment should bode well for Zaandam remaining in the fleet for a number of years.

Cruise lines, hotels, homeowners have been removing tubs and converting to deluxe shower units. New build hotels and cruise ships are mostly shower only.

I like this for multitude of reasons, including the Yuk factor.

Wonderful news! Thank you. We will be in one of the new shower only cabins in may!

An email arrived this morning from HAL with the following notice attached:

 

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION:

This is to advise guests who've booked Ocean-view staterooms on board Zaandam

that during the April 2018 dry dock, the bathrooms in the below staterooms will

be updated to a shower-only configuration:

Lower Promenade Deck: D3331 - D3370

Main Deck: C2564 - C2647

Please note, this change does not affect all Ocean-view staterooms, only the

specific staterooms noted above. We thank you for your attention to this matter

and look forward to welcoming you on board.

From looking at deck plans, this is all of the category D oceanview cabins on the Lower Promenade and all of the category C cabins on the Main Deck.

 

We are boarding the Zaandam on Saturday for the first cruise following the drydock and have one of the affected cabins on the Lower Promenade.

 

I don't care one way or another whether I have a tub, but it might be frustrating for someone who was counting on having one to find out 4 days prior to the cruise that it was being removed. We booked an MM inside guarantee so I am just tickled to have a window!

And it's frustrating for someone just outside the cabins mentioned - who would love to have just a shower instead. I can only use the bathtub/shower when the ship isn't moving, too dangerous otherwise.

If these new showers are anything like the showers on the Koningsdam, I'm pretty sure most people are going to love them. The Koningsdam showers are great - very roomy with a really nice shower head. Best shower of any ship we have been on.

I've seen pictures of those nice showers on the Koningsdam and they sure look great!

However...

We had a signature suite on the Koningsdam with a nice big bathroom. There's a large jetted tub but no way to take a shower in it (no doors or shower curtain). Then there's a separate shower (with doors) that is too small. I'm not a really large person, but I kept hitting my elbows and shoulders every time I tried to move around. It's really poorly designed. I hope they don't use this same design for other ships.

Just my two cents...

On this Class of ships, I book the Dolphin Deck outside staterooms. Loosing a bathtub in place of a walk-in shower would be OK with me. I wonder why the Dolphin Deck staterooms did not receive this change.

A nice thing for us shower lovers, :Dbut I am sure some tub lovers may be disappointed:(

Yes, some of us still like tubs :D ;)

I had to do enough showers with my elbow in a brace back in the day. I was very happy to get back to my tub. ;)

Remember Braveheart when he yells "Freedom" ;)

I've seen pictures of those nice showers on the Koningsdam and they sure look great!

 

However...

We had a signature suite on the Koningsdam with a nice big bathroom. There's a large jetted tub but no way to take a shower in it (no doors or shower curtain). Then there's a separate shower (with doors) that is too small. I'm not a really large person, but I kept hitting my elbows and shoulders every time I tried to move around. It's really poorly designed. I hope they don't use this same design for other ships.

 

Just my two cents...

That was our experience in a corner aft Neptune Suite on K'dam. The tub was narrow and it didn't have a shower. The stall shower was tiny. A square, 28 inches long on each side. (I had my knitting, so I had a tape measure with me) A standard US phone booth is larger!!

That was our experience in a corner aft Neptune Suite on K'dam. The tub was narrow and it didn't have a shower. The stall shower was tiny. A square, 28 inches long on each side. (I had my knitting, so I had a tape measure with me) A standard US phone booth is larger!!

28 inches square! Really? Wow!

We also had the corner Neptune Suite and yes the shower was that small! And no shower head in the very narrow tub. What were the designers thinking? Would have prefered the walk-in shower stall others have described in the regular K-dam cabins.

We had a shower-only cabin on the Zuiderdam last summer. Loved it-plus you have a larger counter around the sink. I wish they were doing all the Zaandam OV cabins. We have an OV next January but it's not listed.

Definitely an improvement.

On all the S and R class ships I had a lot of trouble getting over the edge of the high tubs.

Plus, we prefer showers.

Ditto

Are some/all of the category D rooms on Lower Promedade being converted to Lanai cabins? If so this. Could explain why those rooms get the shower upgrade (assuming total bath refresh package) and the D rooms on Dolphin deck do not.

This yet another example of HAL's "crazy quilt" patchwork approach to ship renovations that drives me crazy!

If these new showers are anything like the showers on the Koningsdam, I'm pretty sure most people are going to love them. The Koningsdam showers are great - very roomy with a really nice shower head. Best shower of any ship we have been on.

I agree, we just got off this morning and they are very nice showers, fairly roomy as well which is funny since the room is not roomy at all.

Does anyone know if the Rotterdam is going to go through this process? I have an aft Veranda booked for February 2019. If they take away my tub and don't offer a cabin with a bath I will cancel. We had a Neptune suite on the Oosterdam last month and my sister who showers used my tub because the shower room was so small. I don't think it was that tiny on the Noordam.

Does anyone know if the Rotterdam is going to go through this process? I have an aft Veranda booked for February 2019. If they take away my tub and don't offer a cabin with a bath I will cancel. We had a Neptune suite on the Oosterdam last month and my sister who showers used my tub because the shower room was so small. I don't think it was that tiny on the Noordam.

Rotterdam just went through drydock in December - so unless they schedule another one early, you should be safe.

Are some/all of the category D rooms on Lower Promedade being converted to Lanai cabins? If so this. Could explain why those rooms get the shower upgrade (assuming total bath refresh package) and the D rooms on Dolphin deck do not.

 

This yet another example of HAL's "crazy quilt" patchwork approach to ship renovations that drives me crazy!

Thankfully no lanai cabins, waste of deck chair space IMO.

The patchwork is due to only so many days to get an incredible amount of work done. Zaandam suffered a bit in the 3 weeks after drydock due to unfinished work. E.g. not all the carpet had arrived in time so had to be done during its first post-drydock cruise. Having seen all the work done, I find it amazing that it only took such a short time. According to crew who were there it was pandemonium on board.

Currently onboard Zaandam and she looks beautiful. Though, I can’t seem to find the launderette on deck 3