This is long overdue! We’ve been on 3 cruises in 12 months and have used cruise critic for so much information. I decided it was time to jump in and give back! The three ships we’ve sailed on in the past year were Holland Americas Zaandam, Seaborne Oddessy, and Oceania Vista.
We sailed on the Zaandam with a group of 8 people, family and friends. We wanted the iconic experience of going through ...
This was a 14 day Panama Canal journey from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale. Zaandam is a smaller ship and doesn't have a lot of "bells and whistles" but has a lot to offer. Passengers were on the older side and only 14 or so children on board. Staff and crew were excellent. Never a long wait for a drink or to get something from the Lido buffet.
Pools and hot tubs were never really very ...
I had wanted to do the South America cruise but was not willing to fly all that distance and back. I loved the length of the cruise and the experience of traversing the entire pacific coast form San Diego south and around Cape Horn.
There are always things you can find to complain about if you want. I generally prefer to focus on what is good and then I am happier. There would have been little ...
My friend & I have cruised on Holland America around 155 days.
We found the Zaandam to be updated since our previous voyage on the ship. The rooms, services, meals and activities were all we expected.
We enjoyed the Culinary classes and demonstrations. Especially the hands-on cooking class for $29.95. One of the chefs, Sander, taught us how to make 3 different dishes. Afterwords we went to ...
32 days on the Zaandam from San Diego to Buenos Aires
Overall the cruise was very enjoyable, even taking into account that 4 of the ports were cancelled, 1 due to unrepaired earthquake damage to the port and 3 because of adverse weather. Holland America did arrange for visits to 3 alternative ports; however 2 of these were not very interesting.
The crew were 50% Indonesian, 30% Filipino and ...
Even as a solo cruiser paying nearly double the advertised rate I came away realizing that not only did I have a great time but I received much more than I paid for. The Zaandam is an exceptional experience and after reading the scores of negative reviews I fail to understand the reviewers' conception of reality.
EMBARKATION: I was informed ahead of time from Holland America and my travel ...
This was our 3rd cruise and we are planning another! The Zaandam was the smallest ship so far that we have sailed and we were not disappointed at all. Yes she was showing her age on the outside, but the inside was always clean and free of odors. One thing I wish they would clean the windows while over night in port. Most of them were salt streaked and not sure when the last time they were ...
This is only my second cruise and it's been a while since my first. This would be my first, but definitely not my last as a solo cruiser. I was determined to have a good time and to have reasonable expectations while on board, and I was overwhelmingly surprised and pleased.
While her exterior was weathered and showing the harsh wear and tear of the time in the salt and its previous voyage to ...
We booked an inside cabin and had the opportunity to upgrade, several weeks before the beginning of the cruise (for a fee). We chose to upgrade to an outside cabin on the Dolphin deck (1879). It was a wonderful cabin, large with a window and bathtub. It was noisy as they were loading the ship, as a cargo door was just below the cabin. After sailing, we didn't hear a peep in our cabin, except ...
We signed up for this cruise because we can drive conveniently to San Diego, and we like the HAL cruise line. It was mostly very pleasant. A few plumbing issues around the ship, but when we reported it from our cabin, a maintenance person came within the hour & had it fixed. We thought the food in the Main Dining Room was great - we are not fussy about food - and we ate most all the breakfasts and ...