Zaandam 10/04 to 10/08 Mini Review

[tytan]

First sailing with HAL, we did the Mexican Riviera on the Carnival Pride in Nov 2007 so that is all we have as far as comparisons.

 

Embarkation in our home town of Vancouver was effortless, the ticket agents were very friendly and helpfull. The whole process took about 15 min tops. It probably helped that the Zaandam was the only cruise ship in port that day and the terminal seemed quiet. We even stuck our neck out and (GASP) drove in the day of the cruise !

 

Once on board we were ushered to the Lido for lunch as the cabins were not ready yet. Not really hungry yet we ducked out and went for a wander to see what a HAL ship looked like. The decor is more subdued than I remember on Carnival and the ship looked to be well kept with no glaring signs of wear and tear. The only disapointment was the atrium, we were expecting something with a little more wow factor than the small cramped feeling Zaandam. As a comparison the Pride has an open eight story atrium with glass elevators and a piano bar.

 

The veranda suite was similar in size to Carnival, the vernada itself was bigger on HAL and the bathroom was noticeably larger with a full tub instead of the shower only on Carnival.

 

Food on the Lido was very good with a great selection of entrees, well stocked salad bar and fresh fruit selections. Everything I had from the Lido during the cruise tasted pretty good except for the sloppy scrambled eggs in the morning. No trays, the only reason I noticed this was from reading these boards otherwise I would not have noticed. There were always staff available to help carry plates if required.

 

We had open seating for dinner and all of the starters, entrees and deserts were tasty and well presented.

 

We did not participate in the organized activities as we were there to relax and park our butt next to the pool for a few days. The weather was fantastic and the seas were calm so the trip to San Diego was very smooth and relaxing. We did try the Thermal suite for one of the sea days and the heated loungers are something else. I think my wife wants one installed in our ensuite.

 

Disembarkation was well organized and went very smooth with no more than a 5 min wait at any time.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the smaller ship feel, layout and decor of the Zaandam. We noticed a more experienced ( read older ) clientel than Carnival. Not sure if this is the norm with HAL or because of the time of year and itinerary we were on. After San Diego the ship did a round trip to Hawaii and back. I might get flamed for this but we found the service to be comparable to what we experienced on the Carnival cruise. All of the staff were helpfull and friendly, you could set your watch by the morning room service knock.

 

 

Question for the HAL loyalists:

 

We would like to do a Carribean cruise with our three daughters and were wondering if there are more younger people with kids on these HAL itinerarys ?

Kids are 11, 12 and 14.

[DutchByAssociation]

Glad to hear you had a great time. I'm continuing to post my review on the blog. I just got through October 5.

 

For reference, all HAL atriums are 3 decks, and Zaandam's organ is by far the largest and widest atrium sculpture in the fleet. The rest of the ships in this class and the similar S Class are fountains, clock towers or sculptures hat are made of glass. In the Vista and Signature Class ships, the sculptures are suspended from the top of deck 3 and feature either a seahorse, replica of the original Halve Moen (Half Moon), globe or gyroscope made of Waterford crystal, and on Eurodam it is a colorshifting cone of several smaller pieces of glass that are blown to resemble flowers.

 

I have no doubt, that while the atriums are a bit more subdued on HAL ships, on any other HAL ship's atrium you would not find it to be as dark or closed in.

[airlink diva]

First sailing with HAL, we did the Mexican Riviera on the Carnival Pride in Nov 2007 so that is all we have as far as comparisons.

 

Embarkation in our home town of Vancouver was effortless, the ticket agents were very friendly and helpfull. The whole process took about 15 min tops. It probably helped that the Zaandam was the only cruise ship in port that day and the terminal seemed quiet. We even stuck our neck out and (GASP) drove in the day of the cruise !

 

Once on board we were ushered to the Lido for lunch as the cabins were not ready yet. Not really hungry yet we ducked out and went for a wander to see what a HAL ship looked like. The decor is more subdued than I remember on Carnival and the ship looked to be well kept with no glaring signs of wear and tear. The only disapointment was the atrium, we were expecting something with a little more wow factor than the small cramped feeling Zaandam. As a comparison the Pride has an open eight story atrium with glass elevators and a piano bar.

 

The veranda suite was similar in size to Carnival, the vernada itself was bigger on HAL and the bathroom was noticeably larger with a full tub instead of the shower only on Carnival.

 

Food on the Lido was very good with a great selection of entrees, well stocked salad bar and fresh fruit selections. Everything I had from the Lido during the cruise tasted pretty good except for the sloppy scrambled eggs in the morning. No trays, the only reason I noticed this was from reading these boards otherwise I would not have noticed. There were always staff available to help carry plates if required.

 

We had open seating for dinner and all of the starters, entrees and deserts were tasty and well presented.

 

We did not participate in the organized activities as we were there to relax and park our butt next to the pool for a few days. The weather was fantastic and the seas were calm so the trip to San Diego was very smooth and relaxing. We did try the Thermal suite for one of the sea days and the heated loungers are something else. I think my wife wants one installed in our ensuite.

 

Disembarkation was well organized and went very smooth with no more than a 5 min wait at any time.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the smaller ship feel, layout and decor of the Zaandam. We noticed a more experienced ( read older ) clientel than Carnival. Not sure if this is the norm with HAL or because of the time of year and itinerary we were on. After San Diego the ship did a round trip to Hawaii and back. I might get flamed for this but we found the service to be comparable to what we experienced on the Carnival cruise. All of the staff were helpfull and friendly, you could set your watch by the morning room service knock.

 

 

Question for the HAL loyalists:

 

We would like to do a Carribean cruise with our three daughters and were wondering if there are more younger people with kids on these HAL itinerarys ?

Kids are 11, 12 and 14.

 

Glad that overall your cruise on HAL was a pleasant one.

As for your question about more younger people on the Caribbean cruises, if you are sailing on the seven day, you will find a nice mixture of families. On the 10 day cruises, if you are sailing during a holiday or spring break, also expect to see more young people on board. I sailed during Easter 2007 on a 10 day cruise and there was a large number of kids on board.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you had a wonderful time on your mini cruise.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write your report.