Zaandam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Glacier Bay was scenic and a jewel to the eyes.

Skagway was fun, the train ride exceptional.

On board service was very good. 

In land passage very pretty

Wish we had more time in Vancouver.

Please read Below for all of the POSITIVES.  

If this is your first cruise, you will probably enjoy it.   HAL paled in comparison to other cruise lines in food service and food quality.

Although there were many experiences that were good, the poor dining experience, lack of professionalism from one of the front desk personnel and ethnic tensions among staff are the the reasons for the above rating.  

Due to discrimination that occured while onboard, I do not intend to use this cruise line again.

This cruise was awesome and we would return in a heartbeat.  We loved The personal attention afforded us and loved the smaller size of the Zaandam.  We have been on larger ships and they lack the up close and personal experience we had on this ship.  I would also like to note that the Holland ships are so tasteful and beautiful.  We so appreciated all of the awesome floral arrangement throughout the ship. Entertainment was professional and just plain fantastic.  The experience we had at Glacier Bay was unmatched and enhanced by the Ranger's overview and environmental expertise.  We were enamored with the ports of call on this cruise and would love to return with family members.

I really enjoyed my first cruise with Holland America.  Alaska is beautiful!  The Zaandam has a really attentive crew. The ship has plenty of places to relax away from crowds.  I would cruise with Hal again without my teenager.  Even though there are activities in place for the young crowd there just weren't enough teens on the boat.  It really is an older, laid back crowd.  For me it was great. 

The food was good, the service was excellent, and I loved the itinerary.

Holland American land tour to Denali and cruise along the Alaskan coast was amazing!

Great transportation to Denali, excellent guides on tour into the wilderness of Denali.

The cruise on the Zaandam was smooth and fun and we saw so much of the coast and inside passage. Only way to go to the wilderness.

I liked the size of our suite and the servicing of same.

I feel there is room for improvement in the food........particularly in the Lido.

The food service (Lines) needs particular attention.

Exceptional food, plenty to do, plenty of ways to work off the extra calories.

AK is amazing, ESPECIALLY Haines, which is visited only by HAL apparently. Saw whales, dolphins, seals, Eagles. Stateroom (interior) was plenty big with ample storage. Only complaint was that bathroom constantly smelled of urine, despite steward's best efforts. Would sail off again in a heartbeat!

There were plenty of things to do aboard ship. We understand that the cancellation of the Victoria port of call was beyond anyone's control. The crew members we came in contact with were all outstanding.

We enjoyed our cruise. The weather was rough which added to the adventure for us.  We were disappointed thath the ship did not stop in Victoria due to the weather,  but we still enjoyed the trip greatly.   My wife and I used several of the educational classes/presentations and enjoyed them. 

This cruise has so much variety in landscape, culture and weather.  We saw so much and learned so much!  There are a lot of sea days, so if you want a new port every day, this isn't the cruise for you.  This was on of my top life experiences in terms of what I saw...especially the Chilean fjords,  glacier alley and the penguins in their own habitat.  You get a taste but not the "full on" beauty of the jagged peaks of Patogonia.

Great cruise with fantastic scenery.  Excellent food.  Very professional service staff.  Only shortcoming was lack of information -- we would have liked more information and recommendations on shore tours and more detailed information on dismemberment procedures. 

The cruise met and exceeded our expectations for scenery.  Views were breathtaking and captain did excellent job of informing us each day of what and at what time we would pass by scenic locations.  Ship is just right size for this trip and staff was very polite and  helpful.

However, AC was very poor in our stateroom.  We were on deck seven and little to no AC in suite for the first three days.  We were not alone ...it was an issue in many cabins we learned from talking with other passengers.  It was pronouncedly bad when we were in warm climate portion of trip.   I have been on more than three dozen cruises and never encountered such a problem. It was terrible to try to sleep. It was not acknowledged by staff as a problem.  AC in activities area of ship was fine.

The dining room was clearly understaffed.  You had to ask repeatedly for anything from iced tea (which was awfully weak) to cream instead of milk for your table.  The waiters were very humble and kind but obviously overloaded every single night.

We took tours at every stop and found some good and some very poor and many were over priced for the quality we had expected from H-A.

In summary we loved the cruise itself  but found the ship in need of attention in cooling system and dining room.  Stateroom service was outstanding..

The cruise lived up to my expectations. We got very lucky in that the weather was perfect. I suspect that if we skipped a port or two due to the weather, I'd have a different opinion. The onboard activities were very good. Food was average to very good in the main dining room and casual dining buffet. Dinner at La Cirque was way over rated. The tasting of South America was extremely good.

Our cruise was fantastic!  Holland America did it again!  The Zaandam  is a great ship.  It is the perfect size for us.  Holland America's hospitality, elegance, and commitment to excellence can't be beat.

This cruise turned out to be the best we have taken.  The itinerary, the ship, the crew, the outstanding service, the shore excursions - all made for a memorable cruise.  It certainly exceeded our expectations and don't have enough words to described how pleased we are with the overall experience.

The South American cruise was amazing. Some of the places were interesting to view however one or two stops I would pass over (Punto Arenas, Ushuaia and Santiago Chile). The staff was friendly and accommodating. The only draw back is that not sufficient vegetarian choices especially when the dining room was closed for lunch. The scenic cruise is great panoramic view.  We were well rested despite the itinerary stops.

Excellent staff and ship!

We sailed from Vancouver around the Hawaiian Islands then to San Diego on the Zaandam.  It was a great cruise, smooth sailing, wonderful food and super entertainment.  The staff is so accommodating and friendly.  There was no pushing of drinks or photos and the CD, Linda had a good personality.  The  long sea days gave us plenty of time to really get to know people on board.  We had a great Hawaiian culture group with us on our first 5 sea days.  The crafts, music and dancing lesson put us in the aloha spirit.  The overnight in Oahu gave us time for evening activities too.  The weather was great too.

We really enjoyed the cruise.  The crew members were very friendly.  The programs on the ship was entertaining.  The food was good, and we had a lot of fun on the excursions.

I was disappointed that our wedding anniversary was not recognized in any way     by the staff. (Even with two cruise activity directors.)

This was our third cruise to Alaska so we did enjoy the trip. We think that going to Hubbard Bay was better.

My wife and I, both got sick the last two days, but we do not blame the ship.

We will cruise again in the future.

ok, so, here's the thing. I have cruised Princess, Royal, and Carnival and wanted something a bit more upscale, so I chose Holland. I was not disappointed; in fact, they exceeded my expectations (and hopes). While the pre-cruise had some customer service issues, they were all straightened out by the time we boarded, and, let me tell you, not ONE thing went wrong. The service was impeccable, but it was the FOOD that made the trip - FAR above any other lines I've taken. The stateroom was much LARGER than I expected and very well adorned. (I LIKE taking the least expensive rooms because they are lower in the ship and in the middle, thus, less rocking). The staff was helpful and knowledgeable; the ship VERY clean (in fact, they are all over the place, giving you hand sanitizer - I didnt see ONE sick person on board). What I DO think....is that they spend too much time in Haines, and not enough time on Ketchikan. All around, this was the best cruise I have ever taken.