Zaandam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I can’t say enough good things about this cruise, It was my favorite. We were so fortunate with the weather and were able to explore parts of the Antarctic peninsula that the ship was unable to go to on previous tours. Our experience with the US Palmer Ststion explorers who visited the ship all day one day was great. learned so much about the research going on and the way of life at the ststion,

If you are interested in the environment, climate issues, animal survival and incredible scenery this is a cruise for you. The ship is small, 1400+ so we could get into small bays and into the fjords with ease.....

Really enjoyed being on the Zaandam. The chance to go to Antarctica is super special. Loved it!!

This was a wonderful vacation. Friends of ours went on the Princess Cruise last February but it did not go to Antarctica. That is why we went with Holland America this year. It is a once in a lifetime treat although we met one woman who went last year and loved it so much, she came back and did it again this year. The three penguin tours were great. I really liked Bueno Aires, a city of 16 million people but still manageable. Santiago was also nice, they have 8 million; but the absolute highlight was Antarctica, there is no place on earth like it. Alaska is to Antarctica as Niagara is to Iguazu Falls. There is simply no comparison. It should be an absolute must see on everyone’s bucket list. Very expensive but worth it.

It was out of this world and will be in my mind forever.seeing places I have always wanted to go.

Great cruise to see the mountains, glaciers and South America towns. The weather was cloudy but still great views (Cruise dates were Nov 19-Dec 3, 2018)

Did San Antonio to Rio on this ship! First and last time on Holland America! Lounge entertainment was a joke. 1) A classical duo playing to an empty lounge that had an unused dance floor. 2) An awful jazz band that didn't even recognize that the ship was in South America. Instead of playing sambas, rumbas, bossa novas, etc. They murdered ABBA, Beatles, etc by playing it in jazz style, and they also murdered loads of jazz numbers too! 3) A bar singer/piano player who hollered and hammered the guts out of the piano. However, he was the best of a bad bunch! Bars closed at 23:30, nothing after that as apparently Holland America felt it was past our bed time! Cruise director Bruce was probably the worst in the 24 cruises that we've been on. Paid lip service but did nothing. His response to complaints was "That's not the Holland America product that we sell!" Absolutely awful attitude!!!! Also, when an act had a night off, there was simply NOTHING replacing them. Want a late breakfast after 10am? Tough! No food available anywhere until lunch starts at 11:30 or noon depending on the day. Some sea days where the main restaurant didn't even open for lunch! Their answer? Room service is available 24 hours per day! Lido Market restaurant is supposedly buffet, but you can't pick up your own food as it is all behind perspex, so you can easily have to queue several times in different lines, just to get what you want on your plate. By the time you've got it all, the first item you put on the plate is cold as they've not understood the concept of hot plates! In the main dining room on one occasion I sent my "medium" steak back twice as it was served and replaced with a similarly rare steak dripping blood. Others at the table did similarly! One day we gave up on dessert and coffee as after waiting for over an hour to get as far as the main course, we'd lost our appetite, let alone patience! Drinks packages are horrendously expensive compared to other cruise lines, but the drinks quality is not any better. Bar staff were the saviours though with Elmer, Neil, Ronnie and co keeping us sane when we felt like jumping overboard due to the "suicide music" being played by the jazz band in the Ocean bar! Theatre entertainment was hit and miss. Some acts were excellent, but other nights were poor. One night the theatre show was a BBC Frozen Planet film without the Sir David Attenborough commentary, with musicians playing music to it. What the heck? Without the commentary, the film just loses all meaning, but I guess they wanted to save paying royalties to Sir David!!! One day our toilet stopped flushing. I reported it before 10am. Came back to the cabin at around 4pm to find it still as we left it. Complained to Guest Services, to be told the plumber had fixed it when he clearly had been nowhere near our cabin. They logged it again and I called them again an hour later, by this time irate telling them to "Get a plumber here NOW!" He eventually arrived 40mins later, well over 7 hours after I reported the fault! They knew very well that my wife was disabled and trekking around the ship to find a disabled friendly toilet was a real nuisance, but they obviously don't care! Our opinion is that Holland America is by far the worst cruise line that we have used.

The Itinerary was good, but Zaandam wasn’t, never had cause to criticize a ship like this one, never been subjected to such controlling tactics as on this ship-will never go with Holland America again! Drinks packages two and a half times the price of ANY other cruise line, and the bars closed at 11.30pm on Zaandam. Disgusting!

I was on the same cruise as gohunter and had a completely different experience. We found the entertainment excellent and the early show was always packed. We even liked the comedian and I don’t really enjoy them most of the time. The lectures on board were excellent. The speakers were not only knowledgeable, but also good and entertaining speakers. I enjoyed the promenade deck for walking and viewing the sights and I thought are shore excursions were good. The staff bent over backwards to please. One morning the captain diverted from course so we could get a good look at an iceberg they had spotted. We also liked the test kitchen series and were never bored during the tip. Most of all, the weather was fantastic allowing us many fabulous photo ops.

The itinerary was great. On sea days informative talks were provided about the places you visit, cultures, stars, whales, etc. Do not buy the thermal suite package. It was not worth the price. Not maintained.

Overall it was a very nice cruise with some itninerys that a larger ship could not do. I would go again.

The cruise itself was good, but on board entertainment was boring. The shows were good just not long enough. Libo food was not good, sandwiches were cold and hard no taste. Dining room was nice enjoyed meeting different people at dinner but did not care for the food. No tv other than news and sports channels. Internet service we paid for did not work, we had to finally had to go with our carrier Verizon so we paid for service we could not use. The customer service staff could not get it to work, so we would like a refund. Did not know that we were being charged extra for room staff on all other cruises we been on that was always included in price of trip from the beginning.

We loved our ship. 14 days is a long time, but on this ship the time went by way too fast. Our room was on the 2nd floor close to an elevator bank, we lived how convenient everything was. The service was incredible! We loved the Lido deck and the Main dining room. The people who took care of the room were happy and kind as was everyone else on this ship. We lived everything. The WiFi could use an update. It’s expensive and very slow. Each person in your group must sign up separately, ie you can’t share. In the big scheme of things this was very minor irritant. Go, have fun, you will love it!

If you cruise Zaandam and you see a special for 39$ for a mini facial. Don’t. I booked it, then they said I would be giving myself the facial, hair mask and body scrub!!!!!! I didn’t do it. I left!!

Portions in dining room were tiny. Preparation was medciore. Ship was CONFUSING! Security was adequate, did their job, but their people skills were DISGRACEFUL !! I saw one smile or glimpse of pleasantness the entire trip! They can provide security and not be so DAMN GROUCHY !!!

Our first cruise and we always said the only way we would do a cruise would be to Alaska. Well that wasn't bad at all and have taken 2nd one through the canal since. It is little wonder people do the Alaskan cruise multiple times. Holland American picked the right port stops and glacier cruises and we give it a 5 star experience.

We have taken this particular cruise before and the second time was not a disappointment. I especially enjoyed the added port of Icy Point Straight.

The Hubbard glacier was greatly to see. It was the only glacier we saw on the trip that had calving 'actively happening' the whole time we were there. Really spectacular to hear the big cracking sounds and see those huge chunks of ice fall in the water.

This was a fantastic cruise, The ship is in good shape and really didn't feel old. I really liked this itinerary it visited ports not frequented by cruise ships (like Kodiak a real gem on a nice day). Be forewarned Holland America is not a party ship and does draw an older crowd. One area they could improve on is onboard activities.

This was my first cruise and had a positive experience.