Zaandam - Entertainment

[Dreamin]

We will be on the Zaandam in February. Anyone just back that can tell me what kind of entertainment they had? Do they open the dome over the pool? Any other tips/secrets? Thanks!

[OldinJersey]

Let me start by saying we had the very best family vacation of our lives. Myself, husband, 26 yr old son, 20 yr old daughter, 16 yr old daughter on the Zaandam Christmas cruise Dec 21-28.

They have the dome over the pool open during the day as long as it is not raining, which didn't happen at all when we went. So each morning you can take a lido dining breakfast onto the outside deck or you can sit by the pool with the warm air swirling around and enjoy the views. Either way you are steps away from refills and the areas are bussed continuously.

The entertainment quality is up and down. The piano bar gentleman, the classical musicians, the ocean bar entertainers were all just right. The crows nest band was loud and if I recall correctly, heavy towards country western. The "kids" went there later in the evenings and danced and partied a bit, though not raving about the band itself.

The poor staff has to do a big evening of entertainment which is fun but not super entertaining or "oh wow". The comic had some great lines but not enough of them, however - and this goes for all of them - they are hired for a season at least, and so all the entertainers must have a routine and focus that is appropriate for the normal crowd which is still older than the Christmas crowd. If your only big shows you go to are the high school concert (that is us) then all this is a good time. If you are from Manhattan, Chicago and you've just seen the Philharmonic, the Rockettes or a Springsteen concert then this will be hokey. Or a hoot if you have are open to enjoying what is there in front of you.

[Dreamin]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not used to philharmonic quality, but was hoping for something good and lively. One year we saw a tribute to the Beatles that was great! I've heard that there is a similar tribute to Elton John. I don't care much for classical music so I'm hoping for a little variety. But, anything is great when it's on the high seas!

[Cruise or Lose!]

Joel Mason, who does the Elton John retrospective, is doing a LAND tour this year. Too bad, because I was looking forward to seeing him. (I was also on the Zaandam for Christmas)

 

Annie Frances, however, can sing ANYTHING and does so beautifully. DO NOT MISS HER (this is in caps for a reason!)B]

[RuthC]

susieslow, would you be so kind as to name the entertainers you're speaking of? It would be helpful if I should spot their name on a daily program.

Thanks.

[LHC]

If he is still aboard post Christmas/NYE

Harry the pianist, from the UK was absolutely marvelous. He plays a wonderful mixture of all kind of music and then as Susie Low said

Annie Frances is a must.

Linda

[Copper10-8]

Just to add, we were on the Zaandam the cruise after Susieslow so I'd imagine most of the entertainment wa the same or similar. Besides the opening nigh show in which all the ship's musician entertainers were introduced by the C/D, there were three production shows by the cast (Ultimate Broadway, Southern Nights and H2Oh) which we really enjoyed, a pianist named Harry, a magician Jonathan Neal Brown, allready mentioned singer/vocalist Annie Francis and a comedian, Tom Drake, who also had a late nite adults only show. The three person band in the Crow's Nest, Mix, we thought, was pretty good and played a variety of hits, from 50ties, 60ties, disco etc. to country. The Ocean Bar band, Studio Four, played good dance music. Not really into chamber music, but it was being performed by "Viva Music" in the Explorer's Lounge. The piano bar guy, Ian McFarlane, had his share of fans. There is a pretty good variety on board, we thought, to suit everyone's taste. :)

[Cruise or Lose!]

Would have been interested to see Tom Drake's routine, as he doubles as the CD's husband (CD is Dottie Kulasa). The comedian on our cruise, whose name escapes me, seemed to have come up with a lot of toilet humour to hide the fact he didn't know how to write jokes. However, I missed his second show, which I was told was superior to the late night one.

[Dreamin]

Thanks for everyone's input. I can't wait!

[Copper10-8]

Would have been interested to see Tom Drake's routine, as he doubles as the CD's husband (CD is Dottie Kulasa).

 

Hey, didn't know that one! Thanks for enlightening me:) We thought he had some good jokes

[Cruise or Lose!]

Thanks for enlightening me

__________________________

 

My pleasure :D

[Cruiser Mary]

Hi Dreamin,

 

My husband and I just did the Dec. 21-28 cruise. I won't lie and say it was great, but it was our 13th cruise, so maybe the luck wasn't with us.

 

The entertainment was pretty good. The comedians were only on late at night and we don't stay up late, so we missed that. The singers and dancers are pretty good and their shows are entertaining. Don't miss H2O and Southern Nights. Annie Frances is fantastic (like a female Frank Senatra) and Harry, the pianist, is great. We didn't have a magician. I wish we had.

 

Dottie, the cruise director is really funny and nice, but she has this voice that grates on your nerves. We thought she was recovering from a cold, but one of the officers told us that wasn't the case. The shopping ambassador, Brianne is very nice. Show up early for her shopping talk the day you board, at 2 p.m. There probably won't be many people there and you stand a better chance of winning prizes. She likes people who are enthusiastic, so show your excitement and you will win some good stuff!! I won a Del Sol bag, a Del Sol hair clip and my husband won the diamond pendant (which he gave to me of course!) and it is absolutely beautiful.

 

The food needs major work though and I spelled everything out to them on my comment card. It had to be the worst of all of our cruises. The Lido Restaurant breakfast was good and variety is great. The dining room is subpar. I hope they actually read what I wrote and have taken it to heart. It may have had something to do with our waiter. He never asked how we wanted our meat cooked. After it came back overcooked, I asked him the next night and he said the meat came in 2 different donenesses. Then, he brought the wrong one. I finally asked him on 6th night of the cruise, why we had to wait until after our dessert was finished to get coffee. Everyone else in our section had their coffee, except our table. So, in Zaandam's defense, our waiter may have made our dining room stays so tough. He said he was overworked and didn't have any help, which brings up another problem with that ship. I got the feeling they were understaffed and everything seemed to be "rationed". I think they may be in a money crunch, because it was evident they were trying to save, which is a different feeling than I have had on any other cruise. It was funny when we met a retired couple on Half Moon Cay and without us mentioned it, they said the same thing.

 

All that being said, they did Christmas better than any other ship we've been on. Also, our cabin steward was great. The whole staff is very friendly, even if they aren't cleaning up the ship like you would hope they would be. They will stand there and smile and talk and offer to help carry your tray. They are definitely the friendliest crew I have seen.

 

Half Moon Cay was definitely the bright spot of the cruise. I would recommend you rent a cabana for the day - we didn't know about it in time to get one. I think it is $150, but so worth it. They are right on the beach and you have your own table and chairs set up and a private wait staff to take care of you. The island is simply gorgeous - I could just live there!!

 

Take care and I would love to hear all about your cruise!! We are sailing on the inaugural Noordam in Feb., so I am cautiously excited about that.

 

Mary

[Cruise or Lose!]

Mary, I am frankly shocked at your comments about the food and the cleanliness of the ship. I was on the same cruise as you and had none of those concerns, although, as you mentioned, it may be a problem with your waiter. Ours was fantastic and we felt we knew him by the end of the cruise. I have ZERO complaints about the cleanliness of the ship.

 

I'm sorry your experience wasn't what you hoped it would be.

 

Edited to add - Half Moon Cay is a treasure. Simply magnificent in every respect.

[Cruiser Mary]

Hi Cruise or Lose,

 

I am so glad your experience was good. I know how highly rated Holland America is, so I was really shocked too.

 

We hung out on the back of the ship (with lots of other people), two floors down from the lido restaurant (under the pool). The whole area piled up with food trays, dishes and used towels. It stayed that way all day long, every day. Our cabin was one floor up from there on the back. The whole area was cleaned every morning around 5 a.m. Unfortunately, I know this because they sprayed our window with a water hose.

 

I noticed three different times, there was no soap in one of the restrooms. That's potentially hazardous.

 

I don't want to run the cruise down, but we were really disappointed.

Mary

[Cruise or Lose!]

Sounds like the stewards who take care of that area of the ship are very poorly trained, or have not followed their training. That is truly unfortunate.

[Cruiser Mary]

I think you are right, but fortunately, I've cruised enough to know that our experiences are not always the same as other people on the same ship, and also that ships of the same cruise line are very different from each other. So, it's too soon for me to form an opinion on Holland America, after just one cruise.

 

I always say we were fortunate that our first cruise was great; otherwise, we may not have continued cruising. It was the inaugural Sun Princess. Then, after a few more, we realized it just got better and better. We always have a great time and find something we like about each ship, even if there are problems.

 

It is interesting sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami or LA, and different cruise lines. Amenities are different; people are different. We enjoy figuring out the differences each time we try a new ship or line. We do like Holland America's use of silver, china and the salt and pepper grinders on the table. It's the little things that make the biggest difference, I think. And I have to say that the Zaandam has the most beautiful interior of any ship I have sailed on.

 

Mary