"The reason I given was that previously, a guest had tripped on the orange carpet, which designates the orange line for people that pay for faster service.Last but not least, the temperature in the ship was extremely cold, the last three days of our cruise, even after asking staff to do something about it, and I heard from many other passengers, the same thing...."Read More
mikembs
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1-10 of 14 Panama Canal & Central America Zaandam Panama Canal & Central America Cruise Reviews
I chose this cruise as an option. I was offered by Holland America . The employees on the ship were doing the best that they could although I think most of them were brand new. The main reason for my review is the “orange package”. It was not what it appeared to be. Getting on and off the ship it worked wonderfully, but on the ship not so much. There was not a dedicated line for shore excursions ...
Having been on the Zaandam in January 2018 and been very impressed with the ship and its amenities, I chose this cruise for the chance to be on her again and to transit the Panama Canal again with stops in South America.
Embarkation/debarkation: As always, HAL did these impeccably for a mass market cruise line. Both were a breeze and I was onboard for a nice lunch in the MDR in minutes. The ...
Why?
The Itenary
A not so common one, long and much to see.
Done out of Europe, by a German travel office: Berge und Meer
Yes we know it's an old ship wich had the atmosphere of faded grandeur
But the compagny plays it all very poche, a bit pathetic...
This was our 23rd cruise, and the first with HAL.
There was a cabin on the promenade deck confirmed by the HAL 5 months ...
Choose this cruise for the itinery and appeared good value.
Cabin fine we choose interior and are happy lots of storage. The itinery was good and we saw lots the highlight was transitting the Panama canal AWESOME. Yes there were senior passengers on board but we were treated as aged and any entertainment past 9.30 pm was considered to be a disturbance to those asleep in bed according to the ...
I think I should start with what I did like. The new (i had not seen these before) hand wash system in place and the covers over the dining selection in the Lido dining room.
Its a pity that guests do not adhere to using these and it is not monitored by staff. Only one sanitiser as you come out of the lift and again not many use this either before going to the food counters. I think the ...
This was a tailor made holiday to Brazil and ended with the cruise from Bueno Aries to Santiago.
The facilities were fine. Food in buffet was excellant but in restaurant I was underwhelmed.
Tendering was a shambles. Missed my private pre booked trip because the steward would not allow me off the ship although I explained I needed to leave to meet my tour. Even when I booked a ship tour I had ...
The ship was badly affected by what can only be described as the Holland America cost cutting strategy. This was evident everywhere on the ship and throughout the 34 day cruise.
The main restaurant should be the main attraction of any cruise ship, this was our 22nd cruise on various cruise lines and ships and our worst possible main restaurant experience by far. The plates were very nice, but ...
Spouse wanted to transit Panama Canal and this cruise was the right time, ports and price. However we found out Zaandam was coming out of dry dock for this cruise from Cruise Critic, not HAL. It was not ready. Our cabin reeked of construction adhesive for the while 23 days as the bathroom had been completely remodelled (looked great, smelled horrible but love the new shower which replaced the ...
We chose this two week cruise as it was visiting some places we had not been to before. From Chile north through the Panama Canal to Florida.
We like the ship and the size; not too large.
So assume everything is good except for the following comments:
The daytime 'entertainment was quite poor; no lectures ; no silly sports games; no competitions for table tennis or tennis or ...
Hadn't cruised since last fall and the So. American ports was something new and the e-mailed price was very good.
Much of the HAL experience is excellent as always. Dining Room, Cabin Stewards and Bar staff do a great job.
Am a 4 star mariner with HAL and have witnessed a continual reduction of standards. Evening dinning menu choices were just OK. Number of options have been reduced a good ...