A report from the first Zaandam sailing in 790 days.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

If Zaandam is really doing 26 knots, she must have a teflon slick hull! Maybe a following wind, too.

Yes the captain must not know what he’s talking about 🙄.  

[AFNavigator]

On 5/14/2022 at 10:40 AM, seatrial said:

The Zaandam did exceed 25 knots. The captain said it was like a Lamborghini on the sea. We were helped out by a strong current. According to the captain, we have to slow to 10 knots at some point for 70-80 miles due to whales that are hit by ships in an area near Boston. We needed this speed to allow for a time of slow speed. 
 

They played the ship’s pipe organ in the atrium yesterday. It seemed to be working. 

Perhaps the groundspeed was 26 knots...22-23 knots plus a 3-4 knot current.  Another explanation could be a quote in miles per hour.  22.6 knots equates to 26 MPH.

[lahoban]

Thank you! Sailing Holland America on Zaandam for the first time in the fall. We have one of the secret aft cabins. Do you notice a lot of shaking in the aft? We were on a Princess ship a couple months ago. We had to move our cabin from the aft to the center of the ship. Plenty of empty rooms so it was not a problem. Princess was great letting us move. I’ve never experienced that kind of shaking on a ship before. 

[rkacruiser]

12 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes the captain must not know what he’s talking about 🙄.  

 

Or maybe those in the staterooms on Dolphin Deck had to get the oars out of their closets, open the portholes, and start rowing?  🤣

[scoochy12]

I hope you are all having an amazing time!
 

What were the shows on Tuesday? How was breakfast in MDR? Are masks required on tours in Canada and Nova Scotia? I thought I had seen a coffee card for sale. Does this still exist? 
 

Any other tips from this first week will be greatly appreciated!!

[Ready2go11]

On 5/17/2022 at 9:04 AM, lahoban said:

Thank you! Sailing Holland America on Zaandam for the first time in the fall. We have one of the secret aft cabins. Do you notice a lot of shaking in the aft? We were on a Princess ship a couple months ago. We had to move our cabin from the aft to the center of the ship. Plenty of empty rooms so it was not a problem. Princess was great letting us move. I’ve never experienced that kind of shaking on a ship before. 

Since you are traveling in a different season, your weather may not be the same. However, we are in a vista suite very close to the rear on deck 7 and we had 3 straight nights of fog. During that time, the stabilizers were used and there was a noticeable shaking, especially at night (probably because we were trying to sleep and not distracted by other things). The fog horn also sounds every 2-3 minutes. It is a little muted but noticeable, especially if you do not sleep with earplugs. 
 

Again, you may have different weather but that has been our experience. We felt shaking and heard the foghorn but it is part of sailing and would not prevent us from sailing on the Zaandam again. 

[jhsocal]

  Does the ship have the Music walk choices?

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

heard the foghorn but it is part of sailing

 

I love hearing that sound!  

[Ready2go11]

19 hours ago, scoochy12 said:

I hope you are all having an amazing time!
 

What were the shows on Tuesday? How was breakfast in MDR? Are masks required on tours in Canada and Nova Scotia? I thought I had seen a coffee card for sale. Does this still exist? 
 

Any other tips from this first week will be greatly appreciated!!

We are greatly enjoying cruising again after 2+ years!  
 

There have been 3 shows so far with the ship dancers, with different themes and music.  One night was a comedian that was pretty funny, one night was HAL the first150 years, one night was the BBC 7 worlds special accompanied by classical music and last night was the Orange Party so there was no show. 
 

Breakfast in the dining room parallels breakfast there pre-Covid. Service is a little slow (it always has been but you are there to avoid the rush of the Lido) but it has not been too crowded. The menu as always is extensive. 
 

Masks have been recommended but not required on disembarkation at ports, on tenders and on tours that I have seen. 
 

I have not seen a coffee card offered. However, you can purchase an insulated mug at the Explorations Cafe for $15 and then you receive 25% off future purchases. I have the beverage package so not sure how it would work with 3+ star mariners who already receive a discount at that venue. 

[Ready2go11]

4 hours ago, jhsocal said:

  Does the ship have the Music walk choices?

There is not a music walk like on the larger ships (no Billboard or BB King Lounge). The Explorations lounge has the classical duo (since they got on in Boston). The Mix lounge has a piano player who has played every night,  and the Ocean Bar has had a live band (mostly rock variations) some nights. These are all on the deck 5 so sort of like a music walk, but more spread out. 

[LadyVol1]

If someone could go to the Fitness Center and take a photo of the biographies/resumes of the fitness instructors I would appreciate it.  They are usually displayed on the desk IN the gym or else posted on a wall outside the gym. 

 

I'm happy to see several "sweaty" classes offered and I'm guessing there are two instructors onboard given the number of classes listed in the When & Where. Thanks in advance.

 

Janet

[seatrial]

The Zaandam seems to be improving a little each day. Pinnacle Grill is not open for dinner the last three nights of this cruise.  I think this is due to staffing issues. Dining room dinners have been good in my opinion. The menus are nice. Two of my excursions were canceled due to a lack of bookings. Hopefully this won’t be a problem on future trips. I wanted to share a picture of Zaandam docked in Sydney NS; we had great weather. 

[Ready2go11]

12 hours ago, LadyVol1 said:

If someone could go to the Fitness Center and take a photo of the biographies/resumes of the fitness instructors I would appreciate it.  They are usually displayed on the desk IN the gym or else posted on a wall outside the gym. 

 

I'm happy to see several "sweaty" classes offered and I'm guessing there are two instructors onboard given the number of classes listed in the When & Where. Thanks in advance.

 

Janet

I have only seen the same one instructor I met during the Day 1 spa tour, but there could be another. I just returned from the gym and I did not see any biographies posted in or around the gym. If I have time I will ask if I see someone available. 

[LadyVol1]

Thanks! Based on your limited interaction, does the fitness instructor seem competent? Maybe you have seen him or her lead classes. I have had good ones on HAL and I have had ones where they simply write the instructions on the flip chart and stand around!

Edited May 19, 2022 by LadyVol1

[Ready2go11]

3 minutes ago, LadyVol1 said:

Thanks! Based on your limited interaction, does the fitness instructor seem competent? Maybe you have seen him or her lead classes. I have had good ones on HAL and I have had ones where they simply write the instructions on the flip chart and stand around!

I hesitate to provide an opinion since I bet you are much more discerning in this area than me!  He does seem interactive though 

 

also you asked on the roll call board about screens on machines in the gym. I looked while up there today and the treadmills, ellipticals and cycles all had there own screen (which people were using). 

[electro]

1 hour ago, seatrial said:

The Zaandam seems to be improving a little each day. Pinnacle Grill is not open for dinner the last three nights of this cruise.  I think this is due to staffing issues. Dining room dinners have been good in my opinion. The menus are nice. Two of my excursions were canceled due to a lack of bookings. Hopefully this won’t be a problem on future trips. I wanted to share a picture of Zaandam docked in Sydney NS; we had great weather. 

On this cruise in 9 days! Can you tell me what excursions were cancelled?

Thanks

[seatrial]

The excursions that were canceled for me were both in Sydney NS. The first was “A Taste of the Cabot Trail”. I then booked a bird watching cruise on Cape Brenton Island which was also canceled. I don’t remember the exact name of the second excursion. Both were canceled due to low bookings. 

[electro]

2 minutes ago, seatrial said:

The excursions that were canceled for me were both in Sydney NS. The first was “A Taste of the Cabot Trail”. I then booked a bird watching cruise on Cape Brenton Island which was also canceled. I don’t remember the exact name of the second excursion. Both were canceled due to low bookings. 

Thanks, I have one booked for Charlottetown that has since disappeared from the website so i'm wondering if it is going to be cancelled. Other ones that are sold out are still listed so I don't think that is the reason.

 

[Navybikermom]

1 hour ago, seatrial said:

The excursions that were canceled for me were both in Sydney NS. The first was “A Taste of the Cabot Trail”. I then booked a bird watching cruise on Cape Brenton Island which was also canceled. I don’t remember the exact name of the second excursion. Both were canceled due to low bookings. 

In 2019, I just got off the ship in Sydney and wandered about. There was a small indoor flea market sort of place that had some nice things, and it was close to the pier. I plan on doing that again this fall. Sure wish they had managed to stuff a Dutch Cafe on the Zaandam - I like the smaller ships but really wanted to try that Cafe. 😕

[dfish]

2 hours ago, seatrial said:

The excursions that were canceled for me were both in Sydney NS. The first was “A Taste of the Cabot Trail”. I then booked a bird watching cruise on Cape Brenton Island which was also canceled. I don’t remember the exact name of the second excursion. Both were canceled due to low bookings. 

Too bad the bird excursion was cancelled.  I did that one the last time I did an Canada/New England cruise and it was really informative and good.  I finally saw my puffin!

[semibeater]

4 hours ago, electro said:

Thanks, I have one booked for Charlottetown that has since disappeared from the website so i'm wondering if it is going to be cancelled. Other ones that are sold out are still listed so I don't think that is the reason.

 

Why did you pass by PEI today? Was it on the original itinerary?

[semibeater]

8 hours ago, seatrial said:

The Zaandam seems to be improving a little each day. Pinnacle Grill is not open for dinner the last three nights of this cruise.  I think this is due to staffing issues. Dining room dinners have been good in my opinion. The menus are nice. Two of my excursions were canceled due to a lack of bookings. Hopefully this won’t be a problem on future trips. I wanted to share a picture of Zaandam docked in Sydney NS; we had great weather. 

Why did you bypass Charlottetown  today?

[lahoban]

On 5/18/2022 at 3:50 PM, Ready2go11 said:

Since you are traveling in a different season, your weather may not be the same. However, we are in a vista suite very close to the rear on deck 7 and we had 3 straight nights of fog. During that time, the stabilizers were used and there was a noticeable shaking, especially at night (probably because we were trying to sleep and not distracted by other things). The fog horn also sounds every 2-3 minutes. It is a little muted but noticeable, especially if you do not sleep with earplugs. 
 

Again, you may have different weather but that has been our experience. We felt shaking and heard the foghorn but it is part of sailing and would not prevent us from sailing on the Zaandam again. 

Thank you! I am thinking about moving to a lower level. 

[ShipsAreTheBest]

13 minutes ago, semibeater said:

Why did you bypass Charlottetown  today?

I don’t think it was on itinerary.  Today is sea day, Quebec tomorrow, Montreal Saturday.  Remember, this trip was in Boston on Sunday, not Saturday.  Something had to go in order to arrive in Montreal on Saturday.

Edited May 19, 2022 by ShipsAreTheBest

[QuiltingGirl]

6 hours ago, seatrial said:

The excursions that were canceled for me were both in Sydney NS. The first was “A Taste of the Cabot Trail”. I then booked a bird watching cruise on Cape Brenton Island which was also canceled. I don’t remember the exact name of the second excursion. Both were canceled due to low bookings. 

Sorry, the Cabot Trail was cancelled.  It was a great tour, when the weather was good.  First time,weather was bad, 2nd was great.