A less than expected New England - Canada cruise
Zaandam Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 31
Review summary
The ship and the cruise are mostly for the old people. We liked the easy and relax style. Maybe in October when the leaves have turned red it would be more beautiful. The price is reasonable. If we had not spent $500 for covid-19 testing and had less expectation, it would have been a nice cruise.Embarkation
Our biggest complaint is about the Covid-19 test requirement. We checked the Canadian border requirement online and there's no request for testing, but one day before embarkation we received a notice from the cruise saying that a negative-test result is required by Canada. We had to fly to Boston and had no time for a free test in Seattle. We paid $250/person for testing in Boston airport. We could have saved $500 if having received the notice 2 days earlier. When we filled the Canadian entry form and when we entered Canada, nobody ever asked for a test result, it seemed to us that we paid $500 in vain.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food is fair and drinks are expensive. The quantity of each dish is adequate. We paid $35 extra for a lobster but it seemed not very fresh.
Onboard Activities
quite limited
Entertainment
We liked the piano concert. Hope there are more painting lessons.
Service and Staff
Services are very good
Ship Quality
The ship is clean but seems quite aged.
Cabin / Stateroom
The biggest problem is the toilet. Most of the time it won't flush. We had it repaired for three times. You usually need to push the button three+ times to flush.
Ports of call
The Arcadia National Park is ok. Comparing to NPs in Washington and Oregon, the view is just so so.
Thumbs Up
0
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Nice and big city. The reason we have chosen Zaandam is because other bigger ships won't come to Montreal. Unfortunately we had several rainy days in the city.
Disembarkation
Very efficient