Holland American 12 day Alaska and Yukon Land and Sea Tour
Zaandam Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Vote: 1
Review summary
The Land tour was exhausting and having to keep to a group schedule was grueling! We didn’t really get to see Anchorage, Fairbanks or Whitehorse. Too much day time spent traveling and in Alaska & the Yukon not much to see while traveling…….too many rocks and trees and trees and rocks. Packing/unpacking and different beds every night was not good! Finding restaurants for dinner most nights was not fun! Breakfast buffets were too $$ for what they were BUT they were a better $$ option than ordering from the menu. Our phones were on roaming through most of the land tour. That was a big battery drain most days and limited (sometimes NO) ability to charge them except in hotels (see hotel specifics regarding outlets and USB ports). Wi-fi was spotty pretty much all the time, even with the free service in the hotels. We saw Caribou and sheep (from far away), no bears, no moose, no whales, no sea otters…….We DID get to see Denali from 70 miles away twice which we were told was unusual! We did not see any northern lights but we weren’t needing to see them, we have both seen them. Our land tour guide, David Y was very good, very informative & knowledgeable as well as trying to see that we saw whatever we could and enjoy the trip. He tried to get us involved as a group/become friends. We did like Dawson and thought the time allowed there was perfect. Needing the ship’s wi-fi in order to use the Holland America App and charging people for a wi-fi package doesn’t seems right, especially since the ship’s wi-fi was spotty.Embarkation
unremarkable, easy. Getting onboard the Zaandam was easiest than I have ever done but THEN once onboard, the informational introductory talk and then the “tour” to our muster station/safety “drill” were both laughable. We were unable to watch any TV in our room until we watched the safety information on the TV, which we did that evening! Then the next day we received a letter of reprimand for “missing” the safety drill and failing to watch the safety information on our TV prior to the ship departing the city!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We went to the anytime dining for dinner our first night; Wait time was < 15 minutes, the food was good but the waiter was pushy, then tried to be funny (NOT). Breakfast in the dining room was a good experience the last morning. We did not try to have lunch in the dining room.
The Lido Market Buffet (breakfast x 3, lunch x 3 and dinner x 2) was ALWAYS busy, there were long lines at all stations. Food was so so. Pastries and desserts were not fresh/dry as if they had been frozen.
I noticed that not many people took their food outside by the pool (too cold) and the Italian specialty restaurant was actually 20+ tables cordoned off at one end of one side of the Lido Market which may explain why the Lido Market had too few tables……
The Pinnacle Grill had excellent food and service.
We also tried the HotDog/Hamburgers/Taco Bar at poolside once. Wait time after ordering was > 15 minutes and food was unremarkable. We got drinks and/or coffee at a couple of the bars (also canned water for our room). Thanks for the drink package but because most of the alcoholic drinks were > $11 we needed the shipboard credit we had to cover them.
Onboard Activities
No Karaoke on board. Trivia times and/or topics precluded us from playing. Only dance classes were line dancing (we were hoping for ballroom).
I played Bingo twice and won cash + a scratch off ticket that $$ HAD TO BE PLAYED in the casino/slot machine. We received free/complimentary eye collagen treatments and free/complimentary neck and shoulder massages at the spa which gave me a discount for the 75 minute massage I had later the same day. They did not offer reflexology and when I asked if they had it, I was told yes, but that that it would have to be be booked as a Swedish Massage and that I should request reflexology from the masseuse, which I did. She did not know how/chose not to do relfexology. I did receive the best foot/lower leg hand/up to shoulders and lymphatic abdominal massage I have ever had, so it was fine!
Entertainment
World Stage Show Dancers/singers were very good. Guitarist/singer on the World Stage on two nights (different shows) was excellent! Lounge/bar musicians were good/music choices were okay. Movie theater was good with good movies (we saw 3), small packages of (and limited) popcorn.
Children's Programs
no children
Service and Staff
the wait staff in the LIdo Market were slow with table turnover and when approached to clear a table had an “I don’t want to be here” attitude/behavior.
Our room steward was good, he supplied us with a 3-plug strip when we asked and he attempted to fix the sink drain/plug problem (sink would not retain water). Service overall was unremarkable/nothing special.
Ship Quality
I could not tell if any of the public areas of the Zaandam have been updated…..
The only difficulty we encountered (more than once) was trying to get from one area to others on deck 4.......
Cabin / Stateroom
Our cabin was pretty much as expected but has NOT been upgraded with outlets or USB ports (ONE outlet only, in the desk area, none near the couch or bed or in the bathroom). The 3-plug strip supplied by our room steward had to sit on the desk.
The bathroom hairdryer is the OLDEST I have ever seen (large box on the wall with a long flexible tube/no handle). It was too hot to handle after one minute of hair drying (I had my own travel hair dryer, but could not use it in the bathroom!). The sink would not hold water. The bathroom fan ran continuously and was loud even outside of the bathroom. The small tub was a surprise but then we found it difficult/dangerous to enter/exit it to shower especially with my short stature.
There was PLENTY of storage and hanging spaces/hangers.
Bed mattress & pillows were ok; the coverlet was too heavy, but there were lighter blankets to use.
Location of the room was at a lower level than I was thinking (my fault) which made the porthole windows DEEP and difficult to see out of using binoculars.
Ship tip
Don't
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia
Our excursion was cancelled, so we only had a choice of the transport to the airport which was $39pp or finding our independent way to the airport.
Skagway was where we ended our Alaska/Yukon land tour and boarded the ship. We took the White Pass Yukon Route train which basically took us back the way/same sights we had just seen from the bus (rocks & trees and trees & rocks), bridal veil falls……
Skagway was innundated with tourists from three cruise ships until after dinner so finding a place for lunch was difficult, shopping/exploring the town was difficult. When we went out late for dinner, after the tourists were gone, all the shops were closed! We found a nice bar and grill where we had tomato soup and grilled cheese on sourdough sandwiches (excellent!). The WestMark Skagway was almost as nice as WestMark Dawson in terms of decor and updating true to the 1890s. Internet was only available in the lobby however and no cell service.
We attended a talk from a glacierologist while waiting transport to the ship. He was good. We were told that we could return into Skagway from the ship after boarding for several hours if we desired but we chose to explore the ship instead.
Getting off was fine/streamlined at noon but finding our excursion tour was chaotic and confusing (excursion personnel didn’t seem to know what they were doing and sent people in several wrong directions….) The Lumberjack show was good/interesting, funny & fun! The Saxman Village and Totem poles, very interesting & informative. Recommend both! Shopping near the ship was good and plentiful. We were back on board in plenty of time to get ready for dinner.
Disembarkation
Disembarkation in Vancouver was easy. Drop off at the airport fine. We were too early to check in which we knew we would be but that gave us time to weigh our bags. Canadian Customs again were easy. Lots of walking in Vancouver