A few thoughts on the Zaandam....

[SailorMom37]

Just got back on the 19th from a 14 night cruise to Hawaii. I posted a review, but it still needs to be approved. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few thoughts that weren't really pertinent to the review, or would have been out of place. Keep in mind - I gave the ship a very high rating, and a positive review. We had a great time and I'd go back in a heart-beat.

 

Probably first and foremost - my DH and I were surprised at the service in the MDR. Or, rather, the lack of. It wasn't bad - the food was good, and brought to us very quickly- hot or cold as it should be. Really - this is purely a matter of personal opinion, I guess. That said, compared to our other two cruises (see siggie), the MDR service was rather impersonal and a bit lacking. Cold bread on the table rather than warm, fresh bread brought to us. Only one night did a pepper-grinder guy come to the table (we had our own pepper, but thought it was weird). It seemed to be about a week before anyone knew our names. There are more insignificant things, nothing worth noting, though.

Now - my thought is that perhaps this is a different sort of service. Our room stewards were just fine, but we barely saw or heard from them. So - is this a "we don't want to see our servers, they need to be part of the background" service? I'm not sure. Nothing was "bad" per se; I suppose impersonal is the best word to use.

 

Next - dress code. Oh, I know, but hey - this is just my experience on one cruise, so take it for what it is... Reading the postings here I was really intimidated and concerned... and packed so very wrongly. Smart Casual on the cruise we took is really what I consider casual with no shorts. On smart casual nights I saw hardly any ties, hardly any sport coats, and a handful of cocktail-length dresses. Women were actually quite casual as I think most capri pants can be said to be about the same as shorts. Anyway, my take-away was that at on the Hawaii cruise of the Zandaam, casual is normal in the MDR except on formal nights. Any shirt with buttons for guys, anything not shorts and gym wear, seemed acceptable. I'd say average was a button up short-sleeve shirt or a polo with slacks or Dockers for the guys, and capris or casual skirts and normal tops for women (no t-shirts, though). So - all my angst was for nothing and I really over-packed!!!

Jeans were allowed, and in the cruise documents they are not listed as banned - although we never wore them because I had over-packed! Shorts were turned away.

 

Food quality - It was good, it really was. But - I'd say it was no better than the food we had on our other two cruises, and the selection in the Lido was a bit,,,, meh. Again - nothing was bad. Everything we ate was good, some was great. But - nothing to rave about. I will say that the coffee was quite good compared to other trips, but the oatmeal was DISGUSTING! LOL - I ate muselix instead.

In response to an argument I saw on here at one point about food in the Lido and MDR... it was always the same. The Lido even had lobster.

 

My DH wants to mention that there was only vanilla soft serve every other day. The alternate days were chocolate only. He was a bit bummed about that.....

 

Ok - and here's another kinda controversial one.... The age group. We knew the stats, had no problem with it, and enjoyed ourselves. Hopefully "our betters" had no problems with us! :) But the comments about the ages on this trip are very accurate. During the school year, non-holiday, long cruise - we were one of probably the 5 youngest couples on board and we're almost 40 :) I saw one teenager, one young lady about 22, and about 10 other kids ranging from infant to about 13. One passenger said they had asked and there were 16 passengers under 18's on board. I'd say average was mid-60's with a good number of guests quite a bit older.

We had NO problems with anything regarding these ages, nor can I imagine why we would have. We made some great friends, and found the company to be very enjoyable. No one was being too slow on a walker, no one held up lines or crowded walkways... The night clubs were a bit dead at times, but there were a couple of really fun nights with all ages dancing in the Crow's Nest.

 

Also - in the information given when we boarded - passengers who need help with the emergency drill are TOLD DIRECTLY that they WILL receive help from crew. It is specifically stated in writing and over the loud speakers that any passengers needing assistance will get it. All someone had to do was show up at an elevator and ask. There was a very long thread here before I left contesting this based on the info given online and in paperwork before a cruise. But - there was absolutely no question on the Zaandam about whether there would be help.

One more thing - I saw MANY times very nice crew members helping people at the Lido buffet carrying plates, etc.

 

Thoughts? Questions? Controvery? ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your thoughts.

Looking forward to your complete review when it is published.

[SilvertoGold]

It would be interesting to know who your Dining Room Manager was. He can make quite a difference. We know this from experience on the Zaandam.

[SailorMom37]

It would be interesting to know who your Dining Room Manager was. He can make quite a difference. We know this from experience on the Zaandam.

 

Is there a way to find that out now?? I'm so clueless on that sort of thing :)

[SailorMom37]

I remembered more items that I didn't think to put in my review....

 

Kainoa! Fantastic. Go to as many of his lectures as you can! He is a great resource for information and is available everyday near the library for questions.

 

The library was wonderful. Two nice librarians, a great assortment of books and board games. There was a book club, I read the book but only went to one of the meetings (it conflicted with Kainoa and I really didn't want to miss his lectures). The book - Honolulu - was quite good and worth the read.

[SailorMom37]

It would be interesting to know who your Dining Room Manager was. He can make quite a difference. We know this from experience on the Zaandam.

 

Found it!

Happened to be looking at the "Cruise Log" we got on the last day...

Dining Room Manager was Ozgur Turnuklu.

The Hotel Director was Cees Tesselaar.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks Saliormom, for the thoughtful review of your Hawaii cruise. Did you enjoy the ports?

[dobiemom]

Thank you posting your "additional thoughts." I'll be keeping an eye out for your review when posted. :)

[teachtocruis]

Thank you for your additional thoughts. I too am looking forward to your review. My dh and I will be on the Zaandam in March.

 

I have a question about the book club. Did you know ahead of time what he book was, or did you find out once you got on board?

 

Thank you

[portofrome]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your input.

[Cruising-along]

I remembered more items that I didn't think to put in my review....

 

Kainoa! Fantastic. Go to as many of his lectures as you can! He is a great resource for information and is available everyday near the library for questions.

 

The library was wonderful. Two nice librarians, a great assortment of books and board games. There was a book club, I read the book but only went to one of the meetings (it conflicted with Kainoa and I really didn't want to miss his lectures). The book - Honolulu - was quite good and worth the read.

 

Isn't Kainoa wonderful? We went to every one of his lectures when we did this cruise in 2010. He is so helpful besides being interesting!

[SailorMom37]

 

I have a question about the book club. Did you know ahead of time what he book was, or did you find out once you got on board?

 

Thank you

 

I didn't even know about the book club, lol. The first day, the book was listed on the program, pick up was I think the second and third day. There were multiple days in between meetings, about 5 chapters to read between each one.

I think the book will be the same for a while..... It was the first time the new librarian had read it, and I believe she said something about looking forward to being more familiar with it in the future.

[SailorMom37]

Melodie,

we really did enjoy the ports :)

I checked off two things on my bucket list - the Volcanoes NP and seeing a humpback up close. Waimea Canyon was gorgeous, and my DH really enjoyed scuba in Oahu.

[sassyredhat]

I enjoyed our Zaandam Hawaii cruise so much ! Of the 3 Hawaii cruises we have taken, Zaandam was my favorite, and I loved that ship.

Granted, it was a couple of years ago, so things may have changed, but what you described, is pretty common on alot of cruise lines lately. We have only taken 15 cruises, but out of the 15, only 1 I didn't like---the swine flu cruise.

I enjoyed all 3 Hawaii cruises, 2 with HAL, and 1 with PCL. We are planning our 4th. :)

Hope you try another Hawaii run on another HAL ship.

Pat

[SailorMom37]

Pat -

we had a great time - my review is almost thoroughly positive (the one that hasn't posted yet). I'd absolutely recommend this cruise to someone if they were looking for the same type of experience :)

[teachtocruis]

I didn't even know about the book club, lol. The first day, the book was listed on the program, pick up was I think the second and third day. There were multiple days in between meetings, about 5 chapters to read between each one.

I think the book will be the same for a while..... It was the first time the new librarian had read it, and I believe she said something about looking forward to being more familiar with it in the future.

 

Thank you! Wonder if that will still be the book in March? I would get tired of it if I were the librarian. I have read Honolulu and it was an excellent book.

[MrsMuir]

Try Molokai if you liked Honolulu. It's by the same author, whose name escapes me at the moment. That was the book I took along on our Zaandam Circle Hawaii cruise in 2010, and it happened to be the book club book as well. Kainoa was a highlight of our cruise!

 

Mrs M

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for posting your mini review.

[spindrift]

Well SailorMom37, if age was not of importance to you, why would you mention it? Are the "older" passengers considered not eligible to cruise? Let me say that I hope when you reach the age, 80 and plus, that you are still able to enjoy life and cruise.

 

I might say that I have seen those under 80 who create more of an issue than the older passenger.

 

In fact, you mentioned something about dress--the "older" passenger knows how to dress as they were raised during the times when they were taught appropriately.

 

If you want "younger" ones where the nightclub doesn't close up early, then go for Carnival.

 

I'll quit here, because you would not be cruising if it were not for the "older" ones who made it possible for you to do so. :mad:

[erewhon]

SailorMom37,

 

Thank you for the report of your Zaandam cruise.

[SailorMom37]

Well SailorMom37, if age was not of importance to you, why would you mention it? Are the "older" passengers considered not eligible to cruise? Let me say that I hope when you reach the age, 80 and plus, that you are still able to enjoy life and cruise.

 

I might say that I have seen those under 80 who create more of an issue than the older passenger.

 

In fact, you mentioned something about dress--the "older" passenger knows how to dress as they were raised during the times when they were taught appropriately.

 

If you want "younger" ones where the nightclub doesn't close up early, then go for Carnival.

 

I'll quit here, because you would not be cruising if it were not for the "older" ones who made it possible for you to do so. :mad:

 

I'm sorry you were in any way offended. Please go back and read what I posted again.... I can't imagine why you could take this is any sort of a negative way.... I only mentioned it because I had read so much about it on these boards. I was just confirming that, yes, the age group discussed on the reviews and the discussion boards was accurate.

If you look back on my posts on this board, there was a really rude guy going off on people in walkers, etc., and I actually got very angry with him. I told him I preferred to sail with an older crowd as I found them more interesting, educated, and I have more in common with people about 15 years older than I am.

Noting the age demographics is not complaining about them.