A few Zaandam and HAL questions

[Kate45]

Happy Super Bowl Sunday to all..... a few questions please. I booked our flight ease on Friday for our upcoming Sept 3 cruise on Zaandam. After a 45 minute conversation, they were done and I received a confirmation email. However, the Travel agent Information in the top right corner is wrong. They have the wrong consultant name and the wrong location of agency. The info is from our last cruise in 2019. We dealt with the same agency th3n but a different location and consultant (specifically because the consultant screwed up so many things, we had to cancel and fight with the cruiseline together our deposit refunded - I worked hard but I got it refunded.....will never,ever bookthere agin). Anyway, do I have to phone HAL back to get this corrected? Remember, it's the same company, just a different location.

 2. What are the  big differences I will notice between the Zaandam and the Zuiderdam and Westerdam our other cruiseswith HAL? I'm a little worried about the small size. Should I be? Thanks

 

[Tampa Girl]

7 minutes ago, Kate45 said:

Happy Super Bowl Sunday to all..... a few questions please. I booked our flight ease on Friday for our upcoming Sept 3 cruise on Zaandam. After a 45 minute conversation, they were done and I received a confirmation email. However, the Travel agent Information in the top right corner is wrong. They have the wrong consultant name and the wrong location of agency. The info is from our last cruise in 2019. We dealt with the same agency th3n but a different location and consultant (specifically because the consultant screwed up so many things, we had to cancel and fight with the cruiseline together our deposit refunded - I worked hard but I got it refunded.....will never,ever bookthere agin). Anyway, do I have to phone HAL back to get this corrected? Remember, it's the same company, just a different location.

 2. What are the  big differences I will notice between the Zaandam and the Zuiderdam and Westerdam our other cruiseswith HAL? I'm a little worried about the small size. Should I be? Thanks

 

 

What concerns you about the size?  Safety?  Things to do?  If you are concerned about entertainment, I cannot respond, not having been on either of these ships since 2019.  .

 

Regarding safety, we have been on the Zaandam  in Antarctica waters.  No problems.  We sailed on her during the Grand Asia , through the  Pacific Ocean, Bereng Sea, the China Seas, etc.  No problem.  The Zaandam is the same size as the late  Amsterdam, which was used every year for the World Cruise.  If it is the size of the ship that is bothering you, bear in mind that it is not the size of a ship  that determine its ability to take heavy seas; it is the hull design that determines its seaworthiness.  And, BTW, the Zaandam is only "small" by comparison to some of the behemeths that are currently sailing the high seas.

 

Enjoy your cruise!  It is a comfortable and safe ship.  

 

 

 

 

[lissie]

The Zaandam carries about 1400pax - that's not "small" by any definition.  Plenty of high-end lines have a maximum of 300 or 600 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Because Zaandam is a smaller ship, there will be fewer/different entertainment options than on the larger ships. With HAL making changes to the entertainment program, what I've experienced on the smaller ships could be different by September.

 

For me the only downside to the smaller ships is that the spa doesn't have a hydropool, just a jacuzzi. I will miss the hydropool on my next HAL cruise (Zaandam), but the itinerary will make up for it and then some. 

 

The other difference that comes to mind, and this is really picky, is that the Pinnacle Grill is dark. It doesn't have the windows that Pinnacle has on the larger ships. 

 

On the upside, it's a shorter walk to wherever you're going. 

 

For the problem with the booking, call HAL and explain the error. 

[AFNavigator]

6 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Because Zaandam is a smaller ship, there will be fewer/different entertainment options than on the larger ships. With HAL making changes to the entertainment program, what I've experienced on the smaller ships could be different by September.

 

For me the only downside to the smaller ships is that the spa doesn't have a hydropool, just a jacuzzi. I will miss the hydropool on my next HAL cruise (Zaandam), but the itinerary will make up for it and then some. 

 

The other difference that comes to mind, and this is really picky, is that the Pinnacle Grill is dark. It doesn't have the windows that Pinnacle has on the larger ships. 

 

On the upside, it's a shorter walk to wherever you're going. 

 

For the problem with the booking, call HAL and explain the error. 

Probably the biggest entertainment difference is addition of the Music Walk concept on the Vista, Signature, and Pinnacle class ships.

 

Perhaps someone who has sailed on the Zaandam recently can verify whether all cabins have refrigerators (or not) and whether all cabins have received the upgraded interactive TVs.

[Navybikermom]

I’ve done the Canada/NE cruise twice on the Zaandam and enjoyed it both times. It’s port-intensive enough that there’s not much downtime. I prefer the layout of the Zaandam compared to the larger ships, but it is lacking the Tamarind and Dutch Cafe. I thought the entertainment was sufficient for a 7-day cruise, but the 16-day one I just did on the Zaandam was MUCH better. Not sure if they change it up for longer cruises, or it’s just starting to recover back to what it used to be. Everything seemed to be in good working order, clean, but a little worn in some areas. She’s getting a bit “long in the tooth”, unfortunately. Can’t beat the nice promenade deck with the steamer chairs that the bigger ships don’t have!

[Navybikermom]

6 minutes ago, AFNavigator said:

Probably the biggest entertainment difference is addition of the Music Walk concept on the Vista, Signature, and Pinnacle class ships.

 

Perhaps someone who has sailed on the Zaandam recently can verify whether all cabins have refrigerators (or not) and whether all cabins have received the upgraded interactive TVs.

The ocean view cabins do not have fridges but you can rent one for a small fee. I don’t know about the insides. Balconies and above have fridges. The new TVs had made it down to at least deck 3 by the time I got off her in January. 

[RuthC]

14 minutes ago, Navybikermom said:

The ocean view cabins do not have fridges but you can rent one for a small fee. I don’t know about the insides.

No fridge in an inside cabin, either. As with outside cabins, a fridge can be rented if you feel the need for one---the question is where to put it. On top of the already small desktop is one place; in the kneehole of the desk is another. That's about it, however, and each choice has a downside. 

[dfish]

49 minutes ago, RuthC said:

No fridge in an inside cabin, either. As with outside cabins, a fridge can be rented if you feel the need for one---the question is where to put it. On top of the already small desktop is one place; in the kneehole of the desk is another. That's about it, however, and each choice has a downside. 

Plus it takes up an electrical outlet!

[AFNavigator]

6 hours ago, dfish said:

7 hours ago, RuthC said:

No fridge in an inside cabin, either. As with outside cabins, a fridge can be rented if you feel the need for one---the question is where to put it. On top of the already small desktop is one place; in the kneehole of the desk is another. That's about it, however, and each choice has a downside. 

Plus it takes up an electrical outlet!

Sounds like a modest cabin refit might be in order at the next dry dock.  Bring the Inside and oceanview cabins into the 21st century...