Zaandam Review

4.0 / 5.0
558 reviews

Exceeded expectations by far.

Review for Alaska Cruise on Zaandam
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ShoeGoddess
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Aug 2014

My husband and I had long-since sworn off sailing with larger, main-stream cruise lines. We had become enamoured with the cruise experiences on the likes of Regent, Crystal and Paul Gauguin, and found that when we attempted to go back to the cheaper cruise lines we truly hated the experience. It had been a few years since we had last sailed with one of the big lines (the last time we sailed on Princess in Tahiti we absolutely HATED every second of it, the food, the service, the lineups, the entertainment, the cabin, just everything), and then one evening after a bottle of wine on the patio just last month, my husband was sent a last minute deal on the Zaandam departing from our hometown for such a cheap price, that we thought we'd give it a whirl.

I truly went aboard this ship expecting very little. We hadn't paid much at all, so I figured it would just be a means of getting out of town for a week. Well, lo and behold I was happily proven wrong and we had just a wonderful wonderful time. The staff were absolutely warm, friendly, and delightful. Our cabin, a Verandah Suite, was smaller than what we are used to but we found it very-well appointed with a decent sized deck. The bathroom is really my only complaint, it's fine for size but it reeeeally could use some updating to match the standard of the rest of the ship. The tacky peach and blue tiles and out of date fixtures were an eye-sore... But! The toilet never clogged (a regular problem on so many ships), the shower/tub combo was roomy and the water pressure was good. All in all I'd give the cabin a solid B+.

The programming aboard ship was excellent in terms of variety, organization, and presentation. Kainoa the location lecturer is an incredible wealth of knowledge who speaks from the heart without notes. His talks were something we never missed. I participated in (and won!) the Dancing With the Stars at Sea competition, which I think is just a brilliant marketing concept. Bravo to HAL for partnering with this popular TV program so successfully. It truly appealed to all ages, walks of life, and dance abilities. While I can't speak to the experience from the audience point of view (since I was performing in it), I can say all the classes were very well attended, and everyone I dealt with from Christine the cruise director, the professional dancers, the judges, the back-stage crew, to my wonderful dance partner Gene Biscontini, this program was a hit. Not to mention the standing-room-only audience for the finale competition.

Cabin Review

Lovely deck, very comfortable bed, serviceable size, very quiet, convenient location. The bathroom is functional but nothing more. It's rather ugly but with good water pressure and no issues with the toilet.

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