Zaandam

Do NOT opt in to the " Hydro Spa " area on the Zaandam not worth $$$

January

Pros: Holland America overall is very enjoyable cruise line Zaandam spa substandard

Cons: Hydro spa is nothing more than a low quality residential hot tub--dangerous

Recommended: Yes

We have cruised on all 4 classes of Holland ships. Staff is always great and ships comfortable. Our issue Zaandam class spa not comparable as expected or advertised to other 3 class ships experienced. Tiny 3 person max low quality hot tub, no massage jets, slippery access, loose plastic rim grates literally float out of place and slide sideways when stepped on ( wife fell entering tub ) NO FOLLOW-UP from management when report filed as Guest Services stated. NOT WORTH $299 pp ($598) total. Public pool and 2 hot tubs on deck were much better. Apparently many people aggressively complained and were refunded. We had been very satisfied with Holland America cruises previous to this trip.

50 Years

August

Pros: Small ship and easy to get around- actually run into people from our land excursion so was able to chat with them again

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

Really enjoyed celebrating 50 years this way. Everything was easily accessed- entertainment was great- food was awesome. Employees gave excellent customer service from cleaning staff to servers to the staff running the entertainment. Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a relaxing getaway

Great Experience

July

Pros: Not a ton of kids, food was good, good drinks, smaller ship

Cons: drink package confusing, customer service took a long time on the ship, ship entertainment was mediocre

Recommended: Yes

Cruising Alaska on a smaller vessel was a lot of fun. Was able to see people and remember faces of people you met. The entertainment was very lack luster in the evening but if you enjoy more quiet time in the evening that was okay. There was enough to do during the cruising time and in the evening to keep you entertained. It would have been great to have some more talks in the evening about places and cultural background of Alaska in the evenings. The specialty dining in Pinnacle was OUTSTANDING. Dining room was good. Drinks are made pretty weak on the ship. There was an issue with one of the generators and the ship was delayed into the first port and people were just told their tours may be canceled but then no other info provided. When we finally did get into port there was no announcement to changes on meeting points and we wasted time as we were told to meet our tour on the ship when in fact we could have gotten off and explored for the 2 hours we had to kill. Our room was on 6 right by the stairs and thought it would be loud but in fact it was perfect. Great access to floor 5 with the bars and floor 8 and 9 with food, spa and lounge area. We couldn't hear the noise above or below us! Spa was over priced for services provided but was nice.

Almost Perfect

July

Pros: Activities, Food, Schedule, Service, Friendliness, Cleanliness

Cons: Website, Disembarking, internet

Recommended: Yes

Found Website cumbersome and not user friendly… Internet was AWFUL Disembarking Instructions issued us Blue 3. Our flight was at 12:10. We followed the given instructions and were truly moments away from missing our flight. An obvious screwup by Holland America… NO information given on Dining Room, if it was on website I never saw it and I must have been online 15+ times before cruise

Alaska tour

July

Pros: Nice room, friendly staff, good food

Cons: No negatives

Recommended: Yes

Enjoyed our first cruise. Smaller ship as recommended by our travel advisor. Good choice. Everything was well managed. Enjoyed everything. Server in Ocean Bar made our time there welcoming. Name is Tony.

Trip review

June

Pros: Staff very courteous

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

Staff and ship was unforgettable

Caribbean winter cruise

February

Pros: Great staff, great food and great entertainment!

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

Highly recommend!

Canada and New England

July

Pros: Service

Cons: Lack of options

Recommended: Yes

It was a nice cruise. The food was acceptable but not great in the Lido restaurant. OK for cafeteria-style dining. Room service was on time. The restaurants were excellent but there could have been more menu options.

Quaint small ship

April

Pros: Size of ship, friendly crew

Cons: Food is average

Recommended: Yes

Great small ship, with very friendly crew who learns your name quickly. Call brands of liquor is limited. Would not recommend getting the elite liquor package. Entertainment is more informative than entertaining

2022 Grand Africa Voyage

October

Pros: Excellent ports, fabulous food, guest focused staff

Cons: A couple ports were not completely ramped up after covid but they made a great effort.

Recommended: No

Around Africa

October

Pros: Captain andstaff excellent

Cons: Dining room food fair

Recommended: Yes

The lido food was more appetizing then the dining room. The ships staff was the most friendly of any ship we sailed

Nova Scotia cruise

August

Pros: Excellent cabins, good food, nice staff

Cons: Poor internet connection, average entertainment

Recommended: Yes

Zaandam ship is well equipped, very nice cabins and cabin staff. Food was quite good. Although we prepaid for drink package, the drinks were watered down version. The cruise we took was suited for seniors. My son and his wife are in of age 60. This cruise was not suitable for them but apart from few disappointments like flaky internet and average entertainment , they were happy. Port of Sydney could be avoided. Nothing much there

South America and Antarctica

January

Pros: Very attentive staff, excellent live entertainment, excellent port information, Antarctica scientists on ship

Cons: Food is very good but not over the top

Recommended: Yes

We felt this was an excellent cruise. The staff were above average in service and knowledge.

Cruise Delight!

October

Pros: Relaxing for seniors/Attention to detail & cleanliness

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

Had a wonderful 17 day cruise aboard Zaandam. My first cruise on Holland America & I will be a return customer. Entertainment & activities are great for seniors.

good product

September

Pros: Great Trip

Cons: none

Recommended: Yes

We began the Cruise in Boston in September and finished on 10-6 in Montreal! One of our goals was to see fall colors and we were a little early this year! Best colors were in Quebec with colors getting really pretty the day we flew home from Montreal! Overall the weather was great! It was very windy the day we were to spend in Charolete Town so they could not make that stop but they added great things for us to do that day on the ship!

Cruise from Boston to Montreal

September

Pros: The boarding and disembarkation processes, on board services, food, friendliness of staff.

Cons: Small interior stateroom. If cruise again I would opt for a larger one with a view.

Recommended: Yes

High marks! The cruise was a good value. I put a deposit down on a future cruise on the Eurodam.

Excellent Cruise Experience

July

Pros: Everything about the cruise was most enjoyable.

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

This was our first ever cruise so we were a tiny bit apprehensive but we have to say that everything far exceeded our expectations. It's our 50th Wedding Anniversary and so this trip was part of our celebrations, our experience was terrific!

Review of Boston to Montreal Cruise

June

Pros: Excellent menu choices and quality of food. Attentive, knowledgeable and friendly staff. Interesting ports of call.

Cons: 18 year old ship with a step in bathtub. Some elevators were not in service.

Recommended: Yes

Excellent overall experience. Our flight had weather delays before leaving from Atlanta and we almost missed the ship. We notified the Holland Travel Services Dept. when we landed in Boston. They alerted their crew at the airport who made sure we made it to the ship before it departed. We had booked the flight through Holland and purchased airport transfers from them also. The cruise was very enjoyable after we settled in and caught our breath.

Family Cruise

June

Pros: Smaller, easy to get around, nice crew, food very good, nice ports, older mature guests

Cons: well worn cabin, lack of craft IPA beer, outdated ports/outlets, TV/remote not good

Recommended: Yes

Good cruise, nice weather helped, no complaints of food or service.

Review of Zandam

June

Pros: Great staff and service. Great food.

Cons: None

Recommended: No

Had a great time.

Senior cruisers

June

Pros: The best cruise ship food!

Cons: Need more entertainment and activities

Recommended: Yes

Very organized embarkation and disembarkation.

Recent Trip on the Zaandam from Boston to Montreal

May

Pros: Great Crew, smaller ship...not crowded...lots of activities and excursions

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

None

Zaandam needs an update/refresh

May

Pros: Mid size ship, HA staff are great

Cons: Decor is dated and modern amenities are unavailable

Recommended: No

This is an older ship and it shows

South America

March

Pros: clean, friendly, small

Cons: small

Recommended: Yes

newly refurbished. very clean and eye appealing. some of the bathrooms in the cabins need to be upgraded. maybe even having a bigger size tv in the cabins would be a nice plus.

Lovely ship

February

Pros: Smaller ship

Cons: Main dining room food was sometimes not so interesting

Recommended: Yes

The ship was very well-maintained. We loved the size of it. In general the staff was very nice too. We didn't have to wait for things like on the bigger ships. We liked the itinerary (South America). We enjoyed the entertainment and the EXC speakers.

Excellent Ship

February

Pros: Good size; attentive staff; excellent food; excellent variety of entertainment

Cons: none

Recommended: Yes

Most enjoyable

Antarctica

December

Pros: Friendly staff; incredible scenery; outstanding Neptune Suite service and concierge

Cons: Rough waters (got seasick);Older vessel (a bit tired looking); Thermal suite was small

Recommended: Yes

This was a trip of a lifetime. We had great excursions, including ordering private car through HAL twice--great English guides/drivers gave us incredible insight into the local community. Scenery did not disappoint. Some of the ports were small but that gave us variety and we don't love a big city. We ate almost exclusively in the Pinnacle (upcharge for dinner, but breakfast service was free to Neptune Suite). We never ate in the Lido (buffet). Neptune Lounge food was the same every morning/noon/evening--a bit monotonous but you knew what to expect. Concierge was absolutely superb! Handled everything I needed and MORE! Incredible! She really pushed the trip to 5 Star status for us!

Amazing ship and crew!

August

Pros: Stateroom attendants, Neptune Lounge concierge, food quality and presentation

Cons: Female shore excursions rep had a bad attitude

Recommended: Yes

LOVED Ms. Zandaam! Took the sea/land journey and had an amazing time. Park Rangers on-board presentation exceeded expectations.

Relaxing trip to Alaska with perfect weather

June

Pros: Food and drinks excellent, verandah suite (with bathtub!) had plenty of storage room and fine service from Agus, our cabin steward. We saw the top of Mt. McKinley on the land portion of the package and got close to bears, caribou, moose.

Cons: Bathroom door spring too tight.

Recommended: Yes

This was our third trip to Alaska. This time the weather was excellent and views of Denali were spectacular. We had seen all the ports in previous visits, so we knew what to expect and skipped the offshore ship excursions. All in all it was a chance to unwind and enjoy the pampering. Would have liked to see more marine life from the ship. Not even many animals in Glacier Bay this time. But that's something the ship can't control, like the weather.

South America - Buenos Aires to Santiago

February

Pros: Overall a great experience. Great entertainment. Good food. We had good weather.

Cons: The Lido could have had a few more working.

Recommended: Yes

The ship has not been refurbished for several years and that does show. Still, the ship was always clean and well cared for.

A Touch of Antarctica

January

Pros: Many

Cons: Some below

Recommended: Yes

I thought I would see more animals,sea animals and birds than I did. Due to my age and ability I had to be selective on the choices I made at ports. I felt the tours were pretty pricey. I have become used to inclusive cruises so missed that convenience. My stateroom was smaller also than I have had on Crystal and Regent. Too bad the gentlemen hosts have been eliminated. I thought that the big evening shows had been too as the back of the daily listed entertainment in the "lounges." When I discovered the big room entertainment I found the spot lighting sweeping the audience was very annoying. The desserts were very, very good. Breads were good but never warm and the butter was ice hard so spreading was impossible. The pizza in Lido was never hot. I found Lido confusing so did not like eating there. We appreciated the room service. It was excellent. The print was very faint in places on the Navigator and a Gala menu was hard to read. I found using the computer room very frustrating as it was a long series of steps to remember and follow. It had always been simple on other ships and help available in the room. The lectures were very informative. It was hard gathering port info re alternate available shuttles, taxies, vans, etc. or whether town would be available to just walk a bit and return to ship. I wanted to avoid food waste by having small portions. That was difficult. Really appreciated being able to stay in stateroom at debarkation time until our number/color was called. Long periods away from your bathroom is not good! Buying the transfers is a must. Very efficient and inexpensive. The service people were wonderful.

Kudos to HAL and Laurel

September

Pros: Classy ship, great service, excellent food, good excursions. Saw Denali on a perfect, cloudless day.

Cons: Small kitchen fire on the first afternoon, right after safety drill. Handled quickly, no danger to anyone.

Recommended: Yes

Hoped to see humpback whales bubble-net feeding, but most whales had already headed south to Hawaii by September, and not enough remained to cooperate in bubble-net feeding.

Alaskan Cruise 2016

August

Pros: The staff and rooms were excellent

Cons: Not enough activities and food options were not as good as other cruise lines

Recommended: Yes

Improvement need in dining and onboard activities

Alaska with Denali extension, Cruise and land

August

Pros: Having everything prearranged and organized for traveler

Cons: ?

Recommended: Yes

It was a wonderful experience. Shore excursions were very well organized and we were lucky with weather. Land portion was also very interesting, again we were lucky with weather and with wild life sightings during tundra tour. Travel from Seward to Denali by coach is a little long. Travel on return from Denali to Anchorage by train was a much more pleasant experience.

Alaska cruise on Zaandam

June

Pros: The ship staff were very friendly and helpful. It was a smaller ship, so it was fairly easy to get around. The best thing they did was to put the day of the week mats in the elevators. There were plenty of different activities for people to do. My group gambled at the casino, entered touraments there, played in trivia contests, and went to the nightly shows. There were programs teaching people how to use computer apps, forest rangers came on and gave programs, and there were other programs that I don't recall now.

Cons: The staff at the main restaurant (Rotterdam) continually got confused as to who ordered which appetizer, entree, etc.

Recommended: Yes

My sister, who has cruised before, thought that the ship was an older one, but it was well set up, with plenty of room.

Alaskan cruise

June

Pros: Alaskan rail road trip. Good program to experience Alaska overall at first time visit.

Cons: Very poor internet WiFi services. Too expensive and too slow. Vessel engine noise and vibration was a little too high to sleep comfortably.

Recommended: Yes

Generally OK, but most of cost of every excursion was too high for the quality of service. The service of Westmark was so poor and unkind. They looked so exhausted.

Holland Zaandam--Vancouver to Seward AK

June

Pros: Well organized; great service; great food; good atmosphere; beautiful scenery; great happy hour

Cons: Too much side sales of Holland items

Recommended: Yes

I would take a Holland trip again when going to the place that I want to go. Very professional organization. Alaska is great, and Holland brought us in touch with the State. Too much Tourists sales in the cities, but that is not Holland's fault. Typical for cruises.

18 day trip from Vancouver to Hawaii

May

Pros: Well organized, smooth operation as always by HAL

Cons: Somewhat monotonous after 2 weeks

Recommended: Yes

The quality of the food and evening performances is less than it used to be.

Circle Hawaii Cruise

September

Pros: One of the better HAL ships

Cons: Noisy cabin just below the aft deck lounge chairs

Recommended: Yes

Responsive crew, well trained, most congenial. Part of the Pearl Harbor tour was cancelled because of wind, not allowing a visit to the battleship Arizona, but the bill was compensated for the cancellation. Ship activities available were extensive. 5 days each direction just cruising the Pacific Ocean tended to be slow in passing.

FIRST TIMER

July

Pros: Nice dining, lounges and entertainment.

Cons: No WiFi fees to high considering the charge of the cruise

Recommended: Yes

Will consider another trip just maybe not Holland. There are none going out of Houston out of Galveston

first cruise ever

June

Pros: beautiful aletoship....great service...pinnacle and canilato superb

Cons: rotterdam dining room overrated

Recommended: Yes

great cruise would do it again

Patagonia cruise

February

Pros: Single opportunity to see places otherwise difficult to visit.

Cons: see below

Recommended: Yes

1. They accomplished what was advertised. 2. Internet access horrible, and cost criminally high. 3. They fumbled badly at the end. Our luggage was to be delivered to Santiago airport in time for our departure. It did not arrive, and we had to spend an extra night in Santiago ($205) waiting for it...and thus lost $300 on the prepaid room at out next destination. I expect some form of reimbursement.

cruise

January

Pros: scenery/safety/comfort/enertainment

Cons: few rough sea days

Recommended: Yes

Our overall experience at Zaandam was great.

7 day Alaska cruise, from Vancouver

June

Pros: Whole trip was good

Cons: None for us; might be slow for teenagers looking for lots of new teenage friends on the ship

Recommended: Yes

Nice ship and staff, excellent food. Very smooth sailing. Plenty of activities, although our 17 year old did not attend the youth activities (didn't look like there were many older teens aboard). Shore excursions we took were good (Juneau - dog musher's camp, Skagway - White Pass railroad round trip). Took a bus to the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau as well - glacier is really interesting and good visitor's center. We were glad we got a cabin with a window - next time would like to get a balcony. Tracy Arm was beautiful - this was the first sailing of the summer that was able to get into Tracy Arm (too much floating ice earlier in the season).

DB's idea of fun

April

Pros: The "Horn" cruise and the glacier trip.

Cons: Room too small and only one laundry. Overpriced wine list and a ridiculous corkage fee.

Recommended: No