Lovely, low key cruise to beautiful places
Zaandam Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 9
Helpful Votes: 167
Review summary
Best embarkation experience ever. Boston port was easy to get to. Lots of parking in front of the terminal. Montreal port allowed us to store our bags (great option)! Loved the ship and the experience. VERY low-key. Very relaxing. Great service. Great food overall. Ports were wonderful--we had never been to most of them. Weather was chilly for us and I had to buy shoes and a pair of pants for each of us. It will rain and be cool. Just be prepared.Embarkation
The BEST ever! Gave our bags to porter, boarded ship after a 5 minute trek through security and check-in.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Main dining room was always good. Ask for extra if you desire--portions are small. We went to Pinnacle Steakhouse and it was lovely. You can also get the items from the steakhouse in the MDR with a much lower surcharge. Buffet is not really a buffet. Everything is served by staff one by one so it creates a lot of lines if what you want is in that section. Nice Asian and sushi choices daily. Dive-in had more than burgers and hot dogs. Nice make your own taco bar daily with chicken and beef. Breakfast in dining room is better than buffet. Lunch on sea day with everyone on board was impossible in the MDR (only ran noon to 1). Ended up in the buffet which was a disappointment. Why not have a brunch instead of only an hour?
Onboard Activities
There are not a lot of activities. It is a very laid back cruise experience. The joy was recliners and lounge chars in various places. Relax and read. Gym was NEVER busy when we went. Spa has a sauna in the changing rooms (no fee). Trivia every day at 4 coincided with happy hour 4-5 in Ocean Bar and Crow's Nest. 1/2 price wine was nice.
Entertainment
2 nights was a comedian--we liked him. 3 nights were a 6-7 person dance company-dance set to music and was very nice. The last night was a music and film of BBC Earth which was well done. Movies were 2 times a day and we did not go as we were in port every day buy one. 1st night was some sort of history film. We did not attend. I like more Broadway show or theatre type entertainment, but for the size of ship it was fine.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
Excellent across the board. Everyone was out to pleas eyou and serve in whatever way they could.
Ship Quality
So easy to get around. It is a very small ship. We sailed with 1200 passengers. 3 sets of elevators and never a wait. Amazing.
Cabin / Stateroom
Very clean. Great layout. Had the updated bathroom with walk in shower (excellent). Never heard any noise from deck 3 even though the outdoor promenade was above us. Amazing amount of storage (we did not use all the closet space). Fabulous room steward Santos--let us select if we wanted once or twice a day service and always greeted us in the hall. Brought us everything we needed.
Ship tip
If you want an updated bathroom select cabins 2564-2647. Deck 5 behind the coffee bar has recliners. Deck 5 on the starboard side has comfy chars and tables to read and relax. Crow's nest and Ocean Bar have happy hours (1/2 price) 4-5 daily.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Took the ship tour for Puffins and Lighthouses. Not at all disappointed. IT was great and the naturalist on board was fantastic. The catamaran was HUGE and comfy! Inside and outside seating. Then walked around Bar Harbor and out to Bar Island--we had been before many times. If you have not been there, visit Acadia National Park!
Took afternoon ship excursion to Peggy's Cove and Titanic historical area. It was a little rushed. Take the morning tour to get more time is what we were told later.
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
When we disembarked we checked our luggage at the port ($5 per bag), grabbed a map and did a walking tour of Old Montreal. When we got back we needed to show our cruise card and luggage tags. Someone from HAL got them for us and got us a taxi to the airport. Taxi is a flat fee of $49.
Disembarkation
You can wait in cabin or public area. We chose to go to breakfast early and then come back and get ready to go. When they call you number you get of. Best and quickest debarkation ever (probably due to size of ship and how many were staying on for the next leg.