jesunrise

I wasn't planning on taking a cruise this month but I was playing around online and stumbled across a 5 day Pacific Coastal on HAL. The days fit in perfectly with my work commitments and best of all it was on Zaandam. For a long while I have wanted to try this class of HAL ship having previously sailed on the larger vessels. She did not disappoint. I know much has been written about Zaandam so I won't bore you with every little detail but I would like to share my thoughts of the ship. I literally booked this a couple of weeks ago and was trying to find information about the interiors since dry dock. I had done a fair amount of research for this class of ship and was familiar with what they ship looked like prior to this recent dry dock (thank goodness for the internet and for Youtube videos). There was very little out there on the new decor so I have taken a bunch of photos which I will upload at the conclusion of this review. I hope that it will excite those of you with Zaandam bookings and I hope it will encourage some of you to book a Zaandam voyage.

 

Embarkation:

What a breeze. One of the joys about joining a cruise mid-way is the pleasant boarding experience. Only a handful of us were joining for the 5 day San Diego-Vancouver itinerary so we were processed very smoothly and went on board around 1:30pm and into our stateroom.

 

 

Accommodation:

We have only sailed on larger HAL ships; Westerdam and Eurodam to be exact. For our prior three HAL trips we booked Neptune Suites. However, for this short trip we had a mid-ship Vista Suite. Upon entering it felt like a calm space. You could tell instantly the room was recently refreshed. I only had internet images to compare to but I could identify the new components easily. It had that new room smell which I love. New bedskirt, new bed accent throw, new sofa or possibly just new upholstery (I could not get a straight answer out of anyone!), new curtains, new net curtains (very pretty ones), new accent pillows, new desk chair (or newly upholstered). I found the entry way a bit cramped. The hallway as you entered the stateroom was narrow and I felt the many closet doors were awkwardly placed especially when trying to access the bathroom. Overall storage in the Vista Suite is really good. The bedroom and living area can be separated almost completely by a curtain which is always a nice feature. The living area is spacious and very comfortable. The cocktail table was incredibly heavy and took some effort to move it. It did not raise in height so dining ensuite as a couple might be challenging. We only had room service once for breakfast and found the table height an issue. The new TV (I think it was new) was very small and it was screwed into a large black platform that you could pull out and swivel. The whole thing looked like a make-shift improvement and was not thought out well, in my opinion. The balcony furniture was comfortable and clean so I wonder if that was also new. I did not take specific photos of the balcony furniture but when you see the images I will upload at the end of this review you can see it through the balcony door.

 

 

Dining:

I will keep this brief as we all have different tastes, different levels of expectation and different ideas of what constitutes good food. For context, I live in San Francisco where we are spoiled with amazing restaurants. I also primarily sail on Crystal, Silversea and Oceania so my cruise cuisine expectations are impacted by my personal experience. we dined one night in Pinnacle Grill and one in Canaletto. Both meals were very good and I regretted not booking Pinnacle on the last night for the chef tasting menu (next time!!!). The main dining room food was good, but to me it looked and tasted like banqueting food - like you would get a a nice wedding. I have no complaints I just didn't feel the food was outstanding. In saying that please know we had lovely evenings in the dining room and enjoyed our meals.

 

 

Beverages:

We purchased an Elite package. I know there have been many threads discussing the beverages on board. Here are my two cents... I certainly don't need 15 drinks a day but I really loved the fact the package included large bottles of Evian and the specialty coffees from Explorations Cafe. I would have two or three coffees throughout the day and two bottles of Evian which made life very easy with the EBP. Throw in a cocktail before dinner, maybe a glass of champagne and a couple of glasses of wine and we were ahead of the game. On paper the beverage packages always seem to be a bit pricey but for us it worked out nicely. I think the water and coffee could easily add up so it made the daily rate for the beverage package worthwhile. I felt the splurge for Elite was worth it alone for the champagne and better choice of wines. For others it may not be necessary to upgrade.

 

 

Entertainment:

Sadly we did not participate in any shows or events. For us we wanted a quiet relaxing time at sea enjoying each other's company and having some nice meals. It would have been nice to see the production shows but we opted not to. We also did not visit America's Test Kitchen. Next time we will.

 

 

Zaandam:

LOVED it. I know its an old ship - that does not worry me. I know there is rust if you look closely - again that does not worry me. I know there are pipes on the promenade deck that are wrapped in old white sticky tape - does not worry me. I know there are occasional smells and issues - again that does not worry me. Why did I love Zaandam? Firstly the size. 60,000 tons is perfect. I am used to sailing on smaller ships - its just my preference. Despite the fact we sailed full I did not feel crowded. The public spaces were laid out well and there seemed to be plenty of little nooks and crannies where you could curl up with a book and a coffee and enjoy a calm day at sea. The Lido, at times, was a bit busy but name me a ship where this isn't the case. We timed our visits to the Lido accordingly and did not have to battle crowds. I love the promenade deck. It is wide and was never busy. We would walk and talk for 'miles' with the sea surrounding us and breathing in fresh clean air. I could not be happier. I also liked the new decor in the areas that have been refreshed. I am certainly used to the brighter and more colorful HAL interiors so, for me, it was refreshing to see the new color palette. I found it calming and the blue/grey/gold resonated with me. Carpet has been changed out in many places such as the elevator and stairs, the main dining room, Pinnacle Grill, Crows Nest and I was told more carpet is on its way but apparently it was not all delivered during dry dock. I am sure some of you know more details than I - but that is what I was told when I asked the crew. The newly reimagined Crows Nest is welcoming with lovely seating areas which have been refreshed (I never saw the old one, remember, so I did not have the image of the DJ booth and dance floor of yesteryear). They changed up the bar in Crows Nest apparently and this new one is really nice. The Explorations Cafe and new library is really lovely and well laid out and its a great social spot or perfect for a quiet read and a coffee. I am not sure what was in this area before but I was very happy to see this new-to-Zaandam feature.

 

 

Disembarkation:

A breeze! We decided to spend the day in Vancouver seeing friends and visiting the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens so we were able to disembark around 9am. Being independent and being able to choose from a selection of disembarkation times was convenient. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast ensuite and then walked off the ship when our color was called.

 

 

Overall:

Were there a few things that could be improved - of course there were, but overall we had a great time. I loved the ship, we met some nice people and we will be back for another HAL cruise and most likely sticking with the smaller vessels. I would like to sail on Rotterdam and Amsterdam. I also have my eye on Prinsendam as that is one I really want to experience as she is steeped in so much history.

 

 

I will upload some photos of our cabin #6166. I will also include some photos of the newly renovated spaces. There are two photos of the main dining room carpet and a couple of photos from the Pinnacle Grill. The chairs and carpeting in Pinnacle are really elegant.

 

 

If anyone has questions I will be more than happy to try and answer but please remember this was my first Zaandam so I won't be the best resource if you have specific questions about what she looked like before the dry dock.

 

 

Thanks for reading,

 

 

Ashley

Wow! May I express my sincere appreciation for such a current and detailed review of the ZAANDAM! You took a lot of time and trouble to help others and I am so glad that I found this under a different sailing. We cruise Zaandam on June 18th and I am, as always, looking forward to the next cruise! I also cruise A LOT and hope to see you at a CC M&G someday! Thanks again!

Thanks for your review. I'm heading out on one of the Cuba overnights in a few months, and there is not a lot of info out there about the Empress.

 

Can you comment about any loyalty perks? I know there is no D or D+ lounge, no happy hour (3 drinks loaded on the card instead), and I believe I read something about a past passenger sail away celebration?

 

Did you use the WiFi? If so, how was it?

 

I suppose they may make some changes when the itinerary changes, but it is helpful to have any advance info.

THREE DRINKS for HOW MANY NIGHTS were you cruising???

Thank you for the time and effort to give us all important information on Empress of the Seas!

HOPE that RCCL immediately reserves space somewhere for Diamond and Diamond Plus Lounge for daily Coctail Party as well as Diamond and Diamond Plus past guest Welcome Back Party!!! That is expected and why we booked with RCCL instead of competition to CUBA!

We just returned on a cruise with Princess on the Royal Princess cruising the British Isles. We had a balcony on the Dolphin deck, mid ship and thought it was a great location. The cabins were well insulated and we heard minimum noise from any other cabins.

 

Many people here have written great things to do while in port, so I wanted to share, what we did and how it was, to help others.

 

We arrived in London on the day we were to board the ship, we took a Princess transfer to South Hampton. We met others who had arranged their own transportation, but our experience was very good, although it was a little pricey. The boarding process was a little backed up, but we boarded within 1 hour of arriving at the Princess terminal.

 

Ports:

 

Guernsey, St. Peter Port - This is a tender port.

- We did this on our own, listening to others who advised to take the local bus, bus #91 (or #92, which is the same, it just goes around the island on the opposite way). It is a local bus, so there is no guide/information. It takes you around the island and shows you the beautiful coast as well as other small towns/villages on the island. We had a local get on and share some information until he got off at the golf course. We had a pleasant day, speaking with other cruisers, but didn't learn much about the island. It was 1 pound per person, you can buy tickets from the bus driver directly. Near the stop where the bus begins, there is a great coffee shop and local restrooms.

- We also went to the Castle Cornet, which is to the left as you exit where the tender comes in. It was interesting, but not the best castle we saw on the trip.

 

Cobh, Ireland - We docked at this port

- We did this on our own as well. We had been to Blarney Castle and Kinsdale before, so we didn't want to do that.

- We were going to take the Cobh Road Train as we'd heard good things, but due to the wait, we decided to walk around the downtown area, bought some Irish Scarves and walked slowly up to the Cobh Cathedral. It was lovely, although the day we were there they had services with first communion, so we didn't tour it.

- We spent part of the day in the local park people watching and had the opportunity to talk to some locals to hear about their lives. That was the best part of our day.

 

Dublin, Ireland - We docked at this port.

- We chose to take the Princess bus, at a cost of $18 round trip to downtown Dublin (they dropped us near Trinity College).

- We had recently visted Dublin, so had no desire to do Trinity - Book of Kells, Guinness, etc.

- We had booked a tour with Dublin bus tours for their Castle and Mountain Tour. It was quite lovely. We drove up to Malhide Castle, which was fantastic with very nice grounds. The cost was included in our overall trip, but normally is about 12 euro/pp. It is nicely done with furnishings and great stories by the local guides. We then drove up to Howth, a great village and enjoyed the town for lunch and walked part of the pier to look for local seals. This also included a Hop On Hop Off, but as we'd recently been in Dublin, we didn't take advantage of this. The tour was about 24 euro/pp. It ran from 11-4. We then caught the bus back to the ship.

 

Belfast - we docked at this port.

- There is a free shuttle to downtown, right across from the town hall. The day we were there, it had a fair (bank holiday). So we got to enjoy this with some local artist, food and crafts.

- We had recently been to Belfast and toured the "Troubles areas", as well as the Giant Causeway and LondonDerry. If we had not just recently done this, we would have stayed in Belfast or done one of these things. Belfast is one of our favorite cities as the people are so friendly and helpful and willing to share their history with us.

- We chose to go to Carrickfergus Castle on our own. It was was a quick 20 minute train ride away. It costs us about 4 pounds/pp. We arrived and followed someone's great directions of heading left from the train station - walk downhill on Victoria Street, cross Albert Road/St. Brides' Street using the pedestrian crossing; continue downhill through the North Gate. Continue Straight down the road and in about 5-10 minutes you'll reach Carrickfergus and the sea. It was about a 10 minute total walk from the train station to the Castle. The castle was not furnished, but is quite nice with some great history. They do free tours and we arrived about 1 hour before one began, so we explored on our own. We spent about 2 hours in the Castle before going back into the little town. We had lunch at a place called The Central Bar, which had very reasonable lunches and excellent food. We were the only tourist in the bar, and had some great conversations with the locals, who were quite friendly. If it is full, there is additional room upstairs. You order at the bar with your table number and they bring out great food. We had fish and chips and one member of our party did the soup and bread. We all greatly enjoyed it. Taking the train back into Belfast, we walked around the fair area before catching the free shuttle back to the ship.

 

Greenock, Scotland. We docked at this port.

- We took the train into Glasgow as we'd never visited Glasgow before. We did the Hop On Hop Off bus, for a cost of about 13 pounds/pp. We enjoyed some time in Glasgow before catching the train back to the ship.

 

Orkney Islands, Scotland. We docked at this port.

- Unfortunately, by the time I booked this cruise for our group, all the local tours were full. We ended up taking a Princess tour of Skara Brae and Skaill House. I had also considered taking the Ring of Brodger tour with Princess, but it was waitlisted and unavailable. Frankly, after taking the first tour, we drove by the Ring of Brodger and I was glad I hadn't spent the money Princess requested for the second tour. We booked this online prior to the cruise and were glad we did as the cost to book on the ship was higher than pre-booking.

- The Skara Brae and Skaill House tours were very nice. I had read great things about the Skara Brae. However, I was unprepared for the wind and mud. I wish I had brought some rain/water/mud proof boots as much of the island was muddy. The island is also known for its wind, so be prepared. The Skara Brae is over 5000 years old and well worth the trip. The tour guide did an excellent job. If you can arrange a tour on your own, I would recommend it. We went with Princess, which was pricey, but with everything else being sold out, were glad we didn't miss out on these treasures.

- We also walked into Kirkwall as a local guide had recommended going into a store called the Oden Stone. I was very glad we did as they had some local art work and some interesting items. Everyone in our party bought a little something here. We also walked up to the Earls Palace and the Biships Palace and the St. Magnus Cathedral. Here too, there was a local art festival across the street which we had the opportunity to go and see some local artist both at work and selling their wares. It was quite nice.

 

Invergordon, Scotland - We docked at this port.

- We booked a tour with WOW Scotland Tours. This was a great experience. The local guides can not meet you inside the port gates, so after you walk down the pier, you have to leave the gates and the local guides are waiting across the street. We took the Outlander tour and HIGHLY recommend it. We went to Culloden battlefield, Loch Ness, Beauly Priory, Clava Cairns, the Clootie well and many other places our guide shared with us. It was one of the major highlights of our trip. It was not the most inexpensive trip we took, but Gordon and his team give you a day well worth it!

 

Edinburgh, Scotland. This was a tender port.

- We chose to take a Princess tour due to the tender port as we'd heard concerns with not always being able to get into town. This was a good choice as those who went into Edingburgh on their own were in after all the Princess tours for the tenders and got in too late to be able to get into the Holyrood Palace and other areas of interest. We took the tour to Glamis and St. Andrews. We booked this online prior to the cruise, which was more cost effective than booking from the ship. Glamis castle is still a functioning home, so it is fully furnished and the tour guide did a great job. The tour was about 1 hour, and there is a small cafe and gift shop as well as restrooms here. We then drove onto St. Andrews and of course had to visit the old course (where the Open was being set up) and visited the town, including the old church. This was an all day tour and we did enjoy it and felt it was one of the Princess trips that was worth the money.

 

Le Havre, France. We docked at this port.

- We rented a car from Rent-A-Car in advance. They are the only rental car agency at the port. They had a number of rental cars ready for those of us that had reserved our cars in advance. Please note, it will be a stick shift, everyone that rented had one, although some said that they requested an automatic. They open at 8:00am

- We took a chance and drove to Mt. St. Michel. We left the car rental agency by 8:15am. We had decided if we were by Caen in about 1 hour, we'd go to Mt. St. Michel and if not, we'd go North to the Normandy beaches. We did well and go to MSM by 10:45. We parked in the lot. Note: Parking is 12 euros, unless you park where the buses or campers then it is more. We caught the free buss up to the MSM entrance. We walked up the hill to the abbey and took the tour. It was 9 euro for the tour a few more euro for the audible tour. We stayed until about 2 pm and then thought we'd drive to the Normandy beaches on the way back. Unfortunately, we got a little lost out in the country and lost our cell phone signal, so we decided to stop in the city of Bayeaux where there is a beautiful church and drove onto Honfleur where we enjoyed the little town, before filling up and heading back to the port.

- We dropped the car off at the port and the cost was about 90 euro for the car and 56 euro to fill it up. We filled up in the city of Honfleur and still arrived to the port with a full tank. It was about 15 minutes away on the highway.

- We brought an international data package, which we used on the drive as roads from Google Maps were different. We did fine with this until we got off on a road to head toward the Normandy beaches, but lost the cell signal and had gone a different way than the Google map print out. Lesson Learned for not downloading the directions before losing the signal....

 

Overall, we had a great trip and would highly recommend both the Royal Princess and the ports to anyone. The ship had lots of entertainment and many different venues to keep us all engaged.

 

Hope this was helpful to you as others who posted gave me great ideas for my trip! Bon Voyage!

This port report on ALL of your experiences took a LOT of time and may I say how much it helps to have!

Thank you for your trouble on behalf of others!:D

If you could get two weeks off now....and do a back to back cruise...with the air and time and money...lets say 6000.00 in your pocket, one or two people....what would you want to do? Carnival and another line? Two weeks on same ship...two different Carnival ships... There are some deals out there....What level of cabin...would you go down a level to try a certain line or ship??

 

Let's dream a bit....:).

Please accept our invitation to join our Bucket List Bunnies on the April 26 cruise on CARNIVAL DREAM which sails from New Orleans and Pre-cruise is the New Orleans Annual JAZZ FESTIVAL! Amazing list of Entertainers daily beginning with the Gala April 23.

April 26 leg includes Mexico, Belize, and Honduras and the May 3 leg goes to Key West and Bahamas.

Always recommend Back to Back! All the stress is in the going and the coming, right? Once you are on the ship, the longer the better!

Love the Fantail Balconies and Suites if any left. I booked the Forward FRONT CORNER JR SUITE of the Ship this time.

Best Successes!:)

This is our first CCL cruise, but not our first cruise out of New Orleans. ;)

 

Last time we stayed at the Ramada in Metairie LA about half way between the airport & the port. They have since been bought out by Country Inn & Suites but still offer all the amenities that Ramada had.....free airport shuttle, free shuttle to cruise port as well as free parking during your cruise. They have undergone a remodel since Oct of 2013 when we were last there.....and I thought it was sure nice enough then! There is a K-Mart right behind the hotel that you can walk to for cheap sodas & water for the cruise as well. They also had a wonderful free breakfast in the mornings.....not just donuts & coffee but real food. We are booked there again for a super rate of $78, but I booked that over 3 months ago and the rates have gone up since. We really liked this hotel.

THANKS so much for sharing your GREAT TIPS above! Important help for a lot of ladies in our group!:D

Embarkation was a breeze. On the ship by 11:00am . We had priority boarding because our cabin was a mini suite. Well worth the extra $ for all the extra room and large bathroom. Ship is beautiful and easy to get around. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Food in dining room pretty good overall , lido deck buffet not so much. Most things looked good but lacked flavor. Shows were pretty good and the bands were excellent . We especially enjoyed The Blackjack Band. Debarkation was a little slow but not too bad. We had a very relaxing week on The Dream!

Hi from Arkansas!

Booked 9206 for April. Were you in it or 9206 or 9205? Is there a window in addition to the balcony? Is there a door next to the suite to go outside on front of ship? Please provide details and THANKS!:)

CABIN#2130 Solstice

 

Deck RESORT

Cabin # 2130

Class SKY SUITE

Oversized handicap suite was about 30% larger with 1 extra floor to ceiling window (we had a double wide, it was the same size as the balcony doors, very nice.

Starboard

Bed near balcony (loved that!)

 

Quiet Cabin

Balcony View - too bad the overhang from sun deck obscured our view of

the sky.

 

Balcony Oversized-balcony was about 30% longer, same width as a normal sky suite balcony. Very shady at all times.

 

Was wind a problem? no

 

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? no

 

Any specific problems with this cabin?

Missing 2 amenities. No pillow menu, and no celebrity tote bag. (customer relations desk said they did not get their delivery, so they'll ship it to my home)

 

*Any other comments? *

The sky suite is just a glorified, concierge cabin, same wine, flowers bath products and such.

More importantly, in my opinion, (which was shared by other,experienced suite cruisers, who we spoke to, sailing in a celebrity suite),

the butler service was almost useless.

Lots of issues, our simple requests, like a pitcher of water in suite, morning coffee and pressing services, not fulfilled adequately. Forget about unpacking, and packing assistance. It did not exist! We asked our butler on arrival, with bags sitting in front of us, what services we could expect... did not offer us any assistance, and he was nowhere to be found the last sea day to help with packing either. however, he did manage to pop out of a corner the last morning to receive a gratuity, it would seem his timing had magically improved...

Yes, I could have complained to guest services, but we preferred to chalk it up to experience, as this was our first butler experience.

Needless to say, we will not bother to get a sky suite again.

Room steward service was and is always excellent. It is all we need.

The ONLY advantage to a suite is room size. But I think a handicapped cabin in concierge would have been just as good. Aqua class actually includes more amenities, like bottled water and dining in Blu, but as suite guests we had to pay extra to eat there? Ridiculous!

(We often ate in Blu anyway, because the food and service was fabulous!)

---End Quote---

Hi from Arkansas!:)

Thanks SO MUCH for the great advice!!

To be clear, did you allude that AQUA CLASS gets daily bottled water INCLUDED as an ammenity??:confused:

THAT WILL BE A REAL VALUE to us!:D