Zaandam 09/30: Short cruise, long review.

[Davey Interweb]

This was a quick but much-needed weekend away on Holland America's Zaandam for the four of us; a three-night repositioning cruise starting in the ever-beautiful Vancouver and finishing in the pleasantly-warmer San Diego. Please feel free to comment or even flame, as I'm certain to have a few queries for HAL veterans. This'd be my sixth cruise in just shy of two years, and by far the shortest. I'm the cruising novice of our group.

 

Embarkation: Okay, I don't think that anyone here really cares to read about the embarkation process. I sure don't, and it's not gonna make or break my cruise experience. But, since we're on the topic I'll state that ours was, in a word, terrible. Apparently HAL's computers were "down" during embarkation, so passengers who'd just cleared customs were shuttled into a cramped holding pen by Carnival-garbed employees before being allowed to line up, in turn, for registration. Moo. Today everyone would wait an excessively long time to board (and they wouldn't be offered anything in the way of refreshments) but to make a long story short, we eventually made it to our verandah stateroom once a random staffer pointed us towards its general direction upon boarding. Not five minutes after cracking a celebratory Heineken to be enjoyed on our balcony, we were greeted by a fire alarm. No, not a drill but a bonafide fire alarm. Apparently a fire had broken out in the dishwashing area of the galley, but was quickly brought under control. Three hours later and with the muster drill rescheduled, we finally pulled away from Canada Place just ahead of the Zuiderdam.

 

Our Superior Verandah Suite was roomy, well-maintained, and there was more than enough storage space to be found. An LCD TV complete with a DVD player, and genuinely comfy beds are a most welcome touch. We weren't introduced to our stateroom attendant, though, and we were treated to a bit of a runaround with Guest Relations when we asked if he could pay us a visit when he had a minute. No rush; we just wanted him to join our beds together as we had requested, and to replace the champagne flutes that were left, obviously-used and sticky, with the rest of our bar setup. On a side note, the next day four water glasses that were replaced during the morning cabin service were practically opaque with fingerprints. Obviously they hadn't been replaced at all, they were the same glasses we had been using the day before. They had simply been moved from our table, their contents tipped out, and left upside-down on the shelf above the TV. Gross. The room service menu, although truly comprehensive, unfortunately only runs 'til 10:00PM. You can still request a cheese sandwich or whatnot from Room Service after hours, but it proved to be a challenge to even get in touch with them with their extension constantly ringing busy.

 

I found the ship itself to be attractive with a nice, classic feel to it. Someone else may have said "dated". There's a few areas that were decidedly garish to my eyes with their mix of bright pinks, greens, and acres of shiny brass - these somehow reminded me of my great-grandmother's home, circa 1985. During our initial walk-through, I overheard a number of folks commenting that the atrium's pipe organ was "ugly" or "a waste of space" and I'd be inclined to agree. Does this monstrosity actually see any use? I really appreciated the Exploration Lounge, though. Whereas most ships' libraries seem like an afterthought, Zaandam's is very complete with a wide selection of reading material (including current magazines) and even offers a large DVD selection. The Crow's Nest, typically a favorite night spot of mine, is a tad small with no security staff manning the door to ensure that kiddies are kept out during late hours - I'd rather not be drinking with thirteen-year-olds at 1:30AM. Anyway, it's readily apparent that HAL takes very good care of their ships; one would be hard pressed to find any areas of obvious neglect. Exterior wood handrails always looked flawless and one would be hard pressed to find bits of rust anywhere.

 

Dining: Fine dining, fine wine. Wait, where's the wine? We were already halfway through our entree before our bottle was uncorked by the bar service waiter; the poor guy appeared to be working a third of the entire lower dining room. We were lucky to have wine at all, considering that we were forced to have a word with the Head Steward (where's the maitre'd or their assistant?) before the guy would even glance in our general direction. Oh, and HAL? I honestly don't care if you're short staffed - as your Head Steward readily admitted to us - if you're going to bill yourself as a premium line, please act like one where it counts. Thanks. Other than this fumble (which was not repeated the following night; the bar waiter was on us like a genie), service was efficient albeit somewhat impersonal. Our waiter was fine and courses appeared quickly, but like our stateroom attendant he didn't bother to take a moment to introduce himself. I still have no idea what his name is. The fresh flowers, candles, proper silverware and wine glasses were a nice touch.

 

The dining room food itself turned out to be better than I had expected, considering the comments from the HAL regulars. The courses our table had chosen were quite nicely presented, served at a proper temperature, and were perfectly palatable. There's plenty of selection when it comes to the menu, so even finicky eaters are bound to be satisfied.

 

I know that there are a lot of folks on CC who'd ask "well, how does HAL's dining experience compare to X?" My mates and I discussed this over a reasonably-priced martini up at the Crow's Nest, and we agreed that it doesn't. At least not thus far. Dining on X is an event, an experience, and on HAL it's...well, not X. In this respect I could liken HAL to NCL, if NCL placed a lot more emphasis on the food quality and presentation itself. X offers up a head waiter, an assistant waiter, a sommelier, and a bar service waiter. HAL offers a waiter, and possibly a bar service waiter if the planets are aligned just so. I'm almost certain that there was an assistant waiter that topped up our water glasses, but even as I write this I'm struggling to recall.

 

Wait; what about the Pinnacle Grill? Meh. The service and ambiance were great but the food was a just a slight notch above what I had in the dining room. My steak (Pinnacle Cut Filet, naturally) was grilled perfectly, but the sides (asparagus, and the sauteed mushrooms) were overcooked - neither seemed to have been prepared to order and both appeared to have been sitting for a while, judging by the skin on the hollandaise topping the asparagus. Now, I've never sampled quality crème brûlée on any ship, and HAL continues the tradition. Sorry, it's oversized and really just not very good. Overall, I didn't think that the experience and food quality was commensurate with the now-$30/PP charge. Again, X simply achieves a higher standard here. Hopefully, this will change in the coming months but they have a ways to go if they hope to challenge Celebrity's supremacy when it comes to mainstream-line alternative dining.

 

Entertainment: I dunno, some lame troupe called "Park West". We hid in the casino.

 

Random accolades, observations, and gripes: Terrific, fun casino staff. The demographic of the passengers on this sailing was very young, perhaps a 45-ish average age. A three percent fee on advances in the casino? $3.95 simply to "register" for internet access? Wow, that's really petty; thanks CCL! The most in-your-face Park West presence I've ever experienced on a ship; their free champagne and myriad crap were everywhere, all the time it seemed. Go away. Assemble-your-own burritos and genuinely fresh burgers in the Lido? Mmmm, delicious greasy afternoon junk food, sign me up! If you bring wine, ensure you don't forget your corkscrew as HAL will do their best to ensure no one will ever willingly provide you with one. The Elemis body wash is now a favorite of mine.

 

Ultimately, I didn't find that famous HAL service that has garnered so many accolades in this particular forum, but then we've only spent three nights with them. The experience as a whole was forgettable, but we still managed to make the best of it. This was a "tester" cruise for us, and we're hoping that most of what we saw was an anomaly. We're booked on the Noordam in an aft deluxe suite come November, and we are seriously eager to get on this ship. My expectations are a little lower than they had been before the Zaandam cruise, though.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for writing your review.

 

I hope that your cruise on Noordam will be more to what you expect from HAL.

[Sage]

Thank you for posting your review. We will be on the Zaandam for the first time in April, and it's interesting to hear about the ship. I hope that your Noordam voyage will be better.

[travellady]

I was on this same sailing and agree with Davey Interweb on most accounts. I believe I saw my cabin steward once in the hallway - we happened to bump into each other when I went back to the cabin to retrieve something.

 

Food, mostly OK but not close to what we had on the Ryndam's repositioning in April 2005. The worst: very cold toast the first morning when we ordered room service. And, no butter to be found. Also, I should say 3 pieces of toast as one in the pile was a piece of bread. Not even toasted. The best: Prime Rib on the final night. The Ryndam compared to Celebrity food was a cut above. Zaandam compared to Celebrity: a cut or 2 below.

 

We didn't do any shows. The first night the show was too early (we had 7:45 seating), and we found other things to do the other 2 nights. But, we planned this cruise as a total relaxation jaunt and decided to read, play games in the Exploration librariy, and the in the casino.

 

Who was the cruise director? THhs is the first cruise I've taken where I didn't see hide nor hair of him/her. Possibly I kept missing them?

 

At dinner the last night, the couple seated across from us mentioned they were surprised the service didn't seem friendly as they'd heard many good things about HAL service. This seemed to be an overall theme expressed by a few people I talked to.

 

Regarding age of passengers, I was surprised as well. I thought we'd be on the younger side but actually were probably smack dab in the middle. I wonder if HAL was surprised as well. Breakfast in the Lido closed at 10 but it seemed 3/4th's of the passengers arrived at 9:45 and the line snaked around. I believe a reflection of a younger demographic as many stayed up past the normal HAL bedtime and ate breakfast much later than usual. With an older clientele, one would expect many would have breakfast much earlier.

 

We had many good experiences as well. Upgraded to an S Suite was a fantastic surprise. It was so cozy and so quiet. The casino was hopping until the wee hours of the morning. Lots of peoply partying and having fun. And the casino attendants were all good natured though I must say many looked exhausted. Probably worked longer hours than expected.

 

This cruise did meet our goal. A quick husband/wife getaway, totally unencumbered by day to day workday stress. No chores, only fun, and an environment we love.

 

When we were flying home, I asked my husband if he'd consider sailing the Zaandam again. He hesitated then said with so many ships to choose from, probably not. However, his favorite ship of all time, the Ryndam, is HAL as well so we'd sail HAL in a heartbeat. We think this 3 day Zaandam was a HAL anomaly and far better than our worst cruise experience - a 5 nighter on the Carnival Inspiration.

[RuthC]

Thank you for the reports. I am especially interested in what was posted as I'm boarding the Zaandam for the Voyage of the Spammed on Saturday.

I was very glad to read that they are still providing Elimis products. I'm sorry to read that you didn't find the service friendly.

I am also interested in information about the lounge entertainment. Can you post who was playing in the various lounges---especially the Piano Lounge, Ocean Bar, and Explorers? And if they had good-sized crowds? Thanks for any info you can provide.

[Copper10-8]

Davey and Travellady; thanks much for your honest and straightforward reviews! Couple of follow up questions/comments if you don't mind:)

It's been a while since we boarded ship in the great city of Vancouver but you had to pass through Customs before embarking the Zaandam at Canada Place?

I agree with you. Something is wrong on Zaandam if your cabin steward, dining room steward, his assistant and the area supervisor/head steward do not introduce themselves to you! They usually do! Maybe they do it differrent on a three/four-day repositioning but they shouldn't. Maybe Lisa from Vegas can share her experience on Veendam.

No doubt, HAL's atriums are not of the spectacular kind when you compare them to Princess, CCL, RCI etc. The giant pipe organ on Zaandam does play tunes, if I recall, on the hour. I guess you probably missed that - the sound is similar to a street organ in Holland, not something to spend every hour of the day listening to but then again, you never know if someone is bored:rolleyes: ! Agree with you again on the lack of enforcing underaged kiddies hanging around the Crow's Nest especially after midnight. One announcement by the DJ and no follow up is not going to do it.

Never been on X (too many Greeks;) ) but it's been our experience that HAL does offer up a Dining room steward, Asst. Dining room steward, Area supervisor/head steward (usually three for the room) and/or 2nd Maitre 'D (now asst. Dining room manager), wine steward and somebody new called a cellar master. If you have any issues/problems, the Maitre 'D (or now the Dining room manager) should (and in our experience, has) be/been present. On our last cruise, the head dude in charge, the Food & Beverage (or now the Culinary operations) manager was frequently hovering about the diningroom.

You've got me stumped as far as the lame troupe "Park West" being the entertainment in the lounge. Park West should be the company by which the lame art auctioneer and his assistant (no, we don't like art auctions) are employed (you mention them under random accolades, etc.;) ). Travellady, you didn't see the C/D at the disembarkation talk? Some C/D's are more visible then others but you will see them nightly announcing the entertainment in the show lounge (sounds like you didn't go there though) I'm assuming there was no crew show on this 3-day cruise.

Again, thanks for taking the time to write a review (there's no flaming here anymore, we now use the Spanish Inquisition and the wash rack:eek: ). Certainly hope that your cruise on the Noordam will be a chance for HAL to redeem themselves in your eyes!

[kryos]

I'm sorry to read that you didn't find the service friendly.

After reading these reviews, and noting the problems, I can't help but wonder if it could be that because this was a short repositioning cruise, perhaps they were very short-handed with service staff? Maybe a bunch of contracts expired right before this cruise, and new replacements were expected to board at the end of the repositioning? I only wonder about this because it sure doesn't sound like the HAL I know.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

You've got me stumped as far as the lame troupe "Park West" being the entertainment in the lounge. Park West should be the company by which the lame art auctioneer and his assistant (no, we don't like art auctions) are employed (you mention them under random accolades, etc.;) ). Travellady, you didn't see the C/D at the disembarkation talk? Some C/D's are more visible then others but you will see them nightly announcing the entertainment in the show lounge (sounds like you didn't go there though) I'm assuming there was no crew show on this 3-day cruise. [/color][/size][/font]

Sounds like maybe they didn't have a CD on this cruise? Maybe they just used people from the CD's staff to fill in when necessary? Maybe no shows either, but rather art auctions in the theater at night?

 

I don't know ... maybe things work different on short repo cruises. I do know that mostly they are populated by travel agents who get them as a freebie for selling a lot of the cruise line's sailings to their clients ... and that could explain the younger demographic on the ship. But it would seem to me that a three-day repo cruise would not be very indicative of what a regular HAL cruise would be like. But then maybe the travel agents onboard know that and are not surprised by it. After all, if I were getting a three-day cruise for zilch, I guess it wouldn't matter to me either if there was no regular show in the evenings, nor a lot of activities going on in the daytime. A cruise of that length would just be nice for relaxing ... and maybe buying art? :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Copper10-8]

Sounds like maybe they didn't have a CD on this cruise? Maybe they just used people from the CD's staff to fill in when necessary? Maybe no shows either, but rather art auctions in the theater at night?

 

I don't know ... maybe things work different on short repo cruises. I do know that mostly they are populated by travel agents who get them as a freebie for selling a lot of the cruise line's sailings to their clients ... and that could explain the younger demographic on the ship. But it would seem to me that a three-day repo cruise would not be very indicative of what a regular HAL cruise would be like. But then maybe the travel agents onboard know that and are not surprised by it. After all, if I were getting a three-day cruise for zilch, I guess it wouldn't matter to me either if there was no regular show in the evenings, nor a lot of activities going on in the daytime. A cruise of that length would just be nice for relaxing ... and maybe buying art? :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Valid points! Art auctions for nightly entertainment, yugh! :eek: We need Lisa to compare this 3-day repo to her 4-day repo on Veendam

[LAFFNVEGAS]

In all fairness my 4 day Veendam cruise was actually the first 4 days of a 34 day cruise. So we definitely had shows every night/ CD and a Cruise Consultant on board. I too find it hard to believe that they did not have any shows and there was no CD. Our cabin steward and Dining Room Steward were wonderful. It was especially great because when our cabin steward know on the door we were amazed because he had been our cabin steward on the Ryndam in 2004 and he even remember which cabin we had. Our Dining staff was great as well especially because we had extra servive because Shy would leave his station for a few minutes to rush over to see us. I think he was watching for us to come in and he would meet us at our table and pull out my chair several time. So I definitely cannot say anything but glorious things about the crew.

Our service for those 4 days were fantastic, unfortunately I really do not know what could have happened on this 4 day. Possibly like Rita said the staff was short. But then again I may not have seen it the way they saw it.:rolleyes:

[visagrunt]

I had been tempted to take this cruise to get to San Diego in order to spend some time with my brother and then reboard for the 15 day circle Hawaii on October 7. Ultimately, I decided against doing so, because many of the coastal repositioning cruises are heavily booked up by gaming fans who use the cruise as a 3 or 4 day casino trip. (The coastal cruises that are part of the Panama repositioning cruises are different, since a large portion of the passengers are on for the longer cruise).

 

It's been a while since we boarded ship in the great city of Vancouver but you had to pass through Customs before embarking the Zaandam at Canada Place?

 

There is a US preclearance facility at the Vancouver cruise terminal (officers from the airport facility come out and screen passengers). This means that no customs formalities are required on arrival.

[bobpatj]

Here's hoping things improve for the "Voyage of the Spammed." With daily reports, you all will be informed.:)

[Copper10-8]

There is a US preclearance facility at the Vancouver cruise terminal (officers from the airport facility come out and screen passengers). This means that no customs formalities are required on arrival.

 

Thanks James, much obliged!;) Learned something new! Interesting that US Customs officers are able to enforce US customs laws on Canadian soil!

[kakalina]

This is scary. We leave on the Zaandam in 17 or maybe 27 days it depends on our TA.

 

RuthC: we will count on you to let us know is the service level has dropped dramatically.

[lindaa]

We were on this cruise and had a terrific time. Special thanks to Rika in the Neptune Lounge. She could not have been more gracious.

 

I agree that boarding was a nightmare. Our friends had purchased transfers from the airport through Holland and it took them 5 hours from the time they landed until they were on the Zaandam! Very troublesome.

 

Yes, there were shows nightly and yes, there was a CD - Erik. Erik was at the shows and he also introduced the Captain at the "Meet and Greet". Yes, the crowd was much younger than you might encounter on longer cruises. Yes, the casino was always packed (too much cigarette smoke for our taste).

 

It was clear that the crew was very happy to be going to warmer climates. The staff that we encountered was always happy and helpful.

 

Disembarkation in San Diego was also troublesome. We were over an hour late in starting the process. And I think most of the pax (as did we) elected to use the express disembarkation. Lines were extremely long when we were finally cleared with people and luggage! By offering the express departure, IMHO, it has taken away another "perk" to the suite pax.

 

All in all however, we had a great and relaxing short cruise.

[MrsMuir]

Regarding Zaandam, we were on the next-to-last Alaska cruise (9/15 to 9/22) and we were treated like royalty by almost everyone. Our waiter and his assistant were efficient, funny and friendly, though too busy to get acquainted with. Our room steward, Suko, was about the best we've had in 3 HAL cruises. I must echo the experience of the overworked wine steward. I had to have a word with the Dining Captain (?) because he ignored our off-to-the-side table at first. Thereafter, he was quick to arrive. The clerk in the Kiosk was a throwback to the Soviet era in her lack of charm, but we had a good giggle after every encounter. The stern-looking photographer turned out to be really friendly and from Turkey. I'm so glad that Richard is good at bringing people out. It's a gift.

 

Rita must be right about the repositioning and lack of staff. Richard and I were constantly warmed by the genuine smiles bestowed on us by almost everyone on Zaandam, even at the end of the Alaska season. Or maybe we just looked funny.

 

Mrs Muir (Linda)

[RuthC]

John, when boarding in Vancouver and heading to the United States it's Immigration you go through. It's handled that way heading out on the Alaska cruises since the next port is USA and you have to clear; might as well do it the same way when the ship is heading south!

In the Vancouver airport you clear US Immigration and Customs.

No wonder sometimes Americans think of Canada as the northern part of the country. :rolleyes:

[Copper10-8]

John, when boarding in Vancouver and heading to the United States it's Immigration you go through. It's handled that way heading out on the Alaska cruises since the next port is USA and you have to clear; might as well do it the same way when the ship is heading south!

In the Vancouver airport you clear US Immigration and Customs.

 

No wonder sometimes Americans think of Canada as the northern part of the country. :rolleyes:

 

Cool Ruth, thanks!:) I knew about the US Immigration checks at YVR but not about US checkpoints at Canada Place. Some Canadians in BC we talked to wouldn't mind being part of the US;)

[Vic The Parrot]

(there's no flaming here anymore, we now use the Spanish Inquisition and the wash rack:eek: ).

 

 

 

Don't forget the "comfy chair"

 

 

:D

[visagrunt]

Thanks James, much obliged!;) Learned something new! Interesting that US Customs officers are able to enforce US customs laws on Canadian soil!

 

Actually, they are not. Under the terms of the preclearance agreement, customs and immigration officers can only make recommendations to the carrier not to transport an individual or a piece of cargo.

 

However, there is Canadian legislation that authorizes US officials to undertake certain administrative actions while inside Canada. The big one that is not included is the authority to detain or arrest!

[Copper10-8]

Actually, they are not. Under the terms of the preclearance agreement, customs and immigration officers can only make recommendations to the carrier not to transport an individual or a piece of cargo.

 

However, there is Canadian legislation that authorizes US officials to undertake certain administrative actions while inside Canada. The big one that is not included is the authority to detain or arrest!

 

Thanks! The other thing I'm surprised about is that Canada allows armed US federal officers on their soil. We had an officer from my Dept. go to Canada on vacation some years back in a R/V and he decided to take his Dept. weapon with him. At the border they promptly took his Glock Model 21 from him never to be seen again. Canada's gun laws are much stricter than the US ones

[Davey Interweb]

Thanks for everyone's comments. I was being facetious when I mentioned Park West having been the entertainment on this cruise, seeing they were so pervasive and put on a few shows (art auctions under the guise of FREE! WIN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF STUFF!) of their own in the Mondrian Lounge. I couldn't tell anyone much about the rest of the entertainment, as we were making a beeline to the casino every night after dinner. Our winnings from the Blackjack tables came close to paying for this cruise.

 

About the crew. The staff were friendly and smiling and all, it's just that they weren't very personable. Like kryos, I also believe that possibly they were short-staffed as contracts expired at the end of Zaandam's Alaska stint, and that they will probably be picking up contracts prior to its Mexico and Hawaii sailings. Still, little details like simple introductions were missed. We weren't the only HAL newbies who were a bit disappointed by the service.

 

travellady: Hahah, I forgot all about the toast. We had breakfast delivered to our stateroom on the first and last morning of the cruise, and our toast was stone cold both times. The warmer scrambled eggs and bacon tasted just like every other lines' - bad - so I no more than pecked at these. I'm not a big breakfast kinda person, so I didn't eat much anyway. I did enjoy the food offered at the Lido during the afternoon, though.

 

To add to a couple of recent threads on the HAL forum: Yep, there were Elemis toiletries as well as Royal Dutch (shampoo and bar soap). They may have been using up their last stocks of the products, I don't know. I also made a point to keep my ears open as someone had started a thread regarding the music that HAL played in public areas. We sat in the Lido area by the bar a couple of times in the early evening, and the music selection was generally of the soft rock/Top 40 genre (Coldplay, Killers, etc.). Same thing in the casino. It wasn't overbearingly loud or anything, although I found myself chuckling a little when a Hip Hop track started playing. Bizarre. The DJ at the Crow's Nest was of the generic type found on the majority of ships.

 

Last thing regarding the ship: I was a bit troubled that I never had to use my ship card for anything other than unlocking our stateroom door. A few times we had purchased drinks and the bartender simply asked for our room number, but didn't verify our names against the ones on the account. I can see how this could be exploited by a dishonest passenger, especially on a short cruise.

 

We had a nice start to this cruise with our stay at the Marriot Pinnacle. The hotel is beautiful and modern, the staff and service excellent and we were able to snag a cheap rate on Priceline. It was great to be able to leisurely stroll over to the pier in under five minutes, and if we had been carting tons of luggage (we only had a couple of carry-ons) we would have used the hotel's free $10 cab voucher. I'd highly recommend this hotel to anyone embarking in Vancouver.

 

I don't think I'd be eager to go on another short three or four-night cruise again, on any line. It's just too abbreviated a cruise considering the inevitable embarkation/disembarkation hassles. As I had mentioned, we're eager to set sail on our much longer Noordam cruise in November. Look for my direct comparisons between it and Celebrity's Constellation. The bar, it has been set high and it'll be interesting to see how a similar HAL ship stacks up.

[californiacruiser]

We were on the Statendam for the 4 night repositioning cruise. While we did enjoy it. I have to say the service is just not what it used to be on Holland America. The dining room staff seemed to be doing everyone a favor by serving them. The head server still could not get the orders correct after three nights. There was a lack of conversation between us. There was no telling us what time breakfast was, or don't forget about the show this evening. My husband and I feel maybe it is due to the tips they are going to get regardless if they do any more or less. Although tips used to be included, so I don't know. But there was definately something missing in service. On a four day it didn't bother me too much but I must say if this is how it is on a longer cruise of theirs I would be extremely disappointed.

[SaltwaterTwo]

Ultimately, I didn't find that famous HAL service that has garnered so many accolades in this particular forum, but then we've only spent three nights with them. The experience as a whole was forgettable, but we still managed to make the best of it. This was a "tester" cruise for us, and we're hoping that most of what we saw was an anomaly. We're booked on the Noordam in an aft deluxe suite come November, and we are seriously eager to get on this ship. My expectations are a little lower than they had been before the Zaandam cruise, though.

 

We took the identical cruise (except it was a four nighter) on the Zaandam in the fall of 2004 and if I were to write a review about that trip it would be almost identical to yours. I hope that the poor service had to do something with the repositioning or the short trip to San Diego. The service was sometimes downright rude and overall indifferent. We will be leaving on the Ryndam next April for a ten day cruise and expect things to be much better. If not, bye bye HAL.