Excellent Itinerary
Zaandam Cruise Review to South America
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 78
Review summary
Great itinerary. Ship was something to be desired to say the least. But we were in it for destinations so took it with a grain of salt. Service was great. Made it out to Cape Horn- that doesn't always happen on this type of itinerary.Embarkation
Really quick and organized- was able to get on board at a very good (early) time.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Main dining room had great food and customer service. Buffet was fairly standard and always had MOST of what the dining room offered. Canaletto was just OK- nothing special.
Onboard Activities
We attended the nature and geography lectures and or talks they had. nothing too in-depth which was very disappointing. Being in such an interesting and diverse part of the world I thought they could have had more talks and information specific to the region.
Entertainment
Guest musicians were GREAT! Stage shows were just average. Typical stuff.
Service and Staff
All of the staff was awesome. Very friendly. Great communication skills.
Ship Quality
Ship was clean but outdated and in VERY bad disrepair! Holy cow- can't believe HAL would not have pulled that ship out for rehab a long time ago. We had a veranda and there was actually paper folded and placed in the ceiling above our bad to presumably keep it from rattling! Tile was coming up off the floor in the bathroom and in the dining room the carpet had pulled from the edges of the room and there was white gunk coming up.
Cabin / Stateroom
Size and layout was good. Cleanliness was good. Bed was really comfy. The room was VERY dated and so many things in disrepair. Tile in bathroom was coming up, one plug in for the entire room, ceiling tiles loose, carpet degraded. Lots of little things that seemed to be ill-conceived. For example, the drawers had to be pulled by under the drawer - thus about ripping all your fingernails off to get them open.
Ship tip
Wait until the ship has been re-done!
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Not much choices as far as HAL excursions. We did a private fishing trip - it was great! BA was overwhelming big!
Pleasantly surprised about Montevideo. Very pretty. Did the Alchemist house and tango tour. Just OK but good way to see the town.
Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
Did a Falkland War tour. Cold, drizzly- to be expected. Nice was to see the island and hear about the 74-day war. Plenty of time to come back and stroll the 6 block long street of Port Stanley
Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina
We rented a car and drove to Tierra Del Fuego- about 15 minutes from town. Easy drive. Much better than taking a cab and/ or tour as we could go at our own pace.
Disembarkation
Easy and all on schedule