One year ago I told my husband that we should plan a New Years cruise. While we have cruised previously (3 times on Celebrity, 3 times on Carnival and 1 time on Royal Caribbean) we have never cruised with our parents, and never on a Holiday Sailing. We were a group of 7, my husband and myself, both early 40's, our kids 10 and 14, my in-laws, both in their 70's and my father who is 88. Since we had such a broad range of ages we decided on Holland America. We felt it was the best cruise line for such a diverse group. We also like to cruise from Port Canaveral and the Zaandam seemed to fit our needs nicely. Everyone except my father are all experienced cruisers. To date our favorite cruise line is Celebrity, with the Infinity being our favorite ship. We knew that Holland America would compare in many ways with Celebrity. In many ways HAL exceeded our expectations, but in a few areas they didn't. Please bear in mind that this review is based on our personal opinions and our own observations.

Embarkation:

We had Basik Shuttle Service pick us up at our home at 11:15 am. We always find it easier when traveling with a large group to arrange transportation, rather than having to take two cars. They came out with a 15-passenger van, and about an hour later we were pulling into Port Canaveral. The lines weren't that long and after a short wait we were on board the Zaandam at about 1:30 pm. We heard music being played and were warmly greeted and escorted to our cabins. Being escorted to our cabins was a nice touch that we missed on our past two cruises. After going to our cabins we were all happily surprised to see our luggage was already in our cabins. Shortly afterwards we all met and went to the Lido Deck for lunch. The selection was wonderful, and there was not one complaint about anyone's choices. Afterwards we unpacked and explored the ship. What a beautiful ship the Zaandam is. On Holiday cruises ships are decorated magnificently and the Zaandam was no exception. Glorious decorations were everywhere, even on each cabin door and they really added a festive touch to the cruise. Read more