Zaandam Review
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I recently went on the Alaskan cruise with my grandmother, June 20th - 27th, room 3350, and it was a wonderful trip. The views were breathtaking, the scenery was beautiful, and back on the ship everyone was friendly and helpful. As my first-ever cruise, I was starstruck by the ship's layout and décor, and, overall, truly enjoyed everything. The hard-working crew is truly the heart of the Zaandam, and they made my trip as amazing as it was for my grandmother and I (the tiny towel animals left behind after the cabin was cleaned up each time were adorable and truly a nice touch).
My only complaint, however, were the shows.
Now, it is unfair to lump all the shows together, because the overwhelming majority of them were fantastic! The dancers and singers are truly talented people, and I'm grateful I got to experience such talent (especially when they were leaping and belting out tunes while the sea was rough and bumpy). I actually would have no complaints at all if it had not been for the last show, the Showcase of Alaska I believe it was called. It started off as great as all the other shows before it, but honestly, by the end of it, I was extremely upset. The hostess warned us that there would be cheeky humour involved, but honestly, it was poor taste to insult Mounties in such a manner, particularly after the tragedy of three Mounties being shot not too long ago. It is one thing to insult Canada, as jokes against my country aren't really a new thing, let's be real here, but have some tact and decency. Furthermore, it would have been lesser of an insult if it had not just been Canada insulted. The dance numbers ranged from sweet to serious to touching, but the Mountie number was an abrupt change, as it was goofy and horribly rude. I cannot blame the singers and dancers, because they are talented at their job, but whoever believed this to be a 'hilarious' part of the show - please, think about your choices. I spent the dinner after the show feeling uncomfortable and admittedly angry, along with the other Canadians I was fortunate enough to dine with. This was unnecessary and very poor judgment in allowing to happen at all.