Review of Zaandam to Hawaii 12-7 to 12-22 Captain: Sybe de Boer CD: Lizabeth Knight HM: Frank Ulbricht 12/6: Arrive in San Diego and we are staying at the Holiday Inn, right across the street from the cruise terminal. The location is great and the room is OK. We dined at Anthony's on the pier and got to watch the Oosterdam sail away. In the am we watched the Zaandam sail in from our balcony. An ambulance arrived shortly after the ship docked and an individual was brought off by stretcher to the waiting ambulance. We could see the Captain on the bridge supervising. 12/7 Embarkation: Arrived at 11 am, after rolling our luggage across the street ourselves. The check-in line moved very quickly. We had to wait until about 12 noon to board. We had lunch at the Lido. Rooms were not ready until 2 PM. Our luggage did not arrive until after 5 PM. We were some of the last to get our luggage. I was getting nervous since we didn't have one suitcase yet! Sea days: We had 5 each way. Plenty of time to enjoy enrichment lectures, cooking demonstrations, the thermal spa, Royal Dutch high tea, the Indonesian tea, water color class, golf putting and chipping contests, learn how to hula, attend a floral arranging class by the onboard florist, go to a movie or watch one in the room, attend a chat with the Chief Engineer to learn about the ship, and many other activities. Ports of call: We had been to Hawaii before so we did not do that many excursions. Hilo, Hawaii: First was Hilo where we took a ship's excursion to Volcano National Park. This was a great excursion and we visited the Visitor Center, the Jagger Museum and stopped to see the steam vents, stopped at a local black sand beach and that evening we sailed past the volcano as it was splashing lava into the sea. We were able to watch it from our starboard verandah and the Captain announced he got the closest ever - ½ mile away. It was spectacular. Volcano viewing was excellent. Pictures can't do it justice. Binoculars helped with viewing. Lahaina, Maui: This was a tender port. We waited until after most of the excursions had left and took a free shuttle to Whaler's Village for shopping and then went back to Lahaina for more shopping and a late lunch at Bubba Gump's. It was lightly raining by late afternoon when we returned. Tendering was difficult because the sea was very rough. We were there until 10pm, but the Captain actually suspended tenders in to shore around 6 pm because he determined it was just too risky. Those that wanted to come back to the ship were brought in, but no one else could go back ashore. We were a little late leaving because it was difficult getting the tenders hooked back up to the ship. Nawailiwili, Kauai: We went ashore to Duke's Canoe club at the Marriott for lunch and drinks and then did some shopping nearby. There is an ABC store, jewelry stores, clothing stores, etc. Beautiful sunset that evening. Honolulu, Oahu: Got up at 6 am to watch the ship sail in to harbor and was treated to the most spectacular sunrise with Diamond Head from the starboard verandah. This was one of the highlights of the cruise! We took the Natural Highlights ship's excursion and it was very good. We went to Diamond Head - in the middle of the crater, to Hanunama Bay and along the coastline, saw the beach where "From Here to Eternity" was filmed, and to a sacred, ancient Hawaiian temple ruins and then on to the Pali Lookout. We had an excellent guide who was an expert in his area. Then back to the ship for a snack and then in the afternoon we took a taxi to Waikiki beach to the Halekulani Hotel to House Without a Key for Hawaiian music, hula, cocktails and pupus. It was overcast so no sunset. Mai Tai's were very strong. Very good! Then around 7 pm we had another taxi drop us off at the Honolulu City Hall for the "Honolulu City Lights" Christmas lighting display. It was lovely. They really decorate for Christmas and inside City Hall were all kinds of Christmas Tree displays. Many families were there and there were pictures with Santa. We walked back to the ship - past the Iolani Palace and the State House, etc. More beautiful decorations! The ship docks at the Aloha Tower and there is shopping, etc. there. Kona, Hawaii: Another tender port. We just walked around the town to see what had changed since we were there last. Did a little shopping and stopped for Kona coffee. There were free shuttles offered here for shopping, as well. Some high points from the cruise: -The Pinnacle Grill: We ate here 4 times. This was our 4th HAL cruise, but we had never dined in the PG. We thoroughly enjoyed it! The food and the service were excellent. -The shore excursions we mentioned and the nighttime viewing of the volcano -The Hawaiian guide and enrichment lecturer, Kainoa. We attended every single talk he had and he was excellent. We learned a lot about Hawaiian culture and beliefs. He made the cruise for us! Definitely a highlight! -Don't forget the culinary demonstrations. Many are free and they are very informational and entertaining. -Free hands-on water coloring classes in the afternoons -Bought a lei in Hilo for $8 right at the pier as well as a cabin arrangement for $10. Great bargain! -Classical music in the Explorer's lounge and at dinner by Spring Breeze -Piano Bar : Ed Kelly and also Sonja Marie Happy Hour from 4-5 pm - great chance to try all the signature cocktails. We had fun with those. -Mariner brunch was handled very nicely on this ship. -The Christmas decorations were very beautiful We had a couple of problems that were taken care of. One was no hot water for the first 3 days. We called our telephone concierge each day, but nothing improved. I contacted the HM and it was taken care of within a few hours. The other thing was the bed was just not as comfortable as on our 3 previous HAL sailings. I had read 2 reviews lately that complained about the beds and I was surprised. But, we had the problem, too, and it was easily taken care of with an egg crate mattress. It was a great cruise!