I consider myself a laidback traveler. When things go awry, I adjust to it quickly and make the best out of a situation. I don’t have a bunch of pet peeves in life. I also don’t need to be entertained or made to feel special in order to have a spectacular vacation. I am well organized with my 1.5” binder and have contingency plans for just about anything that does not go according to Plan A. My goal for holidays is to relax, have some beer, wine, and the occasional frozen cocktail, read my Kindle, and spend quality time with Walt. There, that is me in a nutshell.
Embarkation: We arrived at Pier 91 in Seattle at 11:15am. I found a porter with a cart and gave him our 2 big duffle bags and a nice tip. Since we gave our luggage to the porter, we did not have to stand in the luggage drop off line in the terminal. So, we went through security, up the escalators, and into the check-in line. By 11:40 we were sitting in the big room waiting for our letter to be called. Boarding was a little late since the ship was getting a deep clean from the Noro outbreak on the previous cruise. We boarded the ship at 12:30pm and went to the lower level of the dining room for lunch. By the time we were done the cabins were ready and our luggage was waiting for us. So, overall I give embarkation an A.
Cabin: We originally book a category H obstructed ocean view on the lower promenade deck. 6 weeks before embarkation there was a sale for the vista suite guarantee at the same price we paid for our HH. Even though we would lose the beverage package and one night at Pinnacle Grill, we jumped on the guarantee. We were assigned AA6205 on the Verandah Deck. This location was ideal. We were near the aft stairs and elevators and there is a public deck on deck 6 aft that very few people know about. There are also stairs there that go all the up to Lido.
The cabin itself was very nice. During the dry dock in April, the bathrooms were remodeled and are very modern. The bedding and couch were also modernized. The new cocktail table is huge and heavy. We did a little rearranging to make the space work for us. Surprisingly, the desk and side tables were not updated. So, those are dated while the rest of the room is modern. The cabin has ample storage, so we had no issue putting all of our stuff up.
The balcony was a very nice size with two chairs and two ottomans. The table however was tiny. There is no way to have breakfast on the balcony since the table top was the size of a dinner plate. We considered moving the giant coffee table out there, but it was really heavy.
The big thing to keep in mind if you book a Vista Suite is that it is the size of a regular balcony and that you are simply getting double points for booking it. On ships that do not have a balcony/verandah category this is a good deal. If the ship has regular balconies/verandahs, then I would not book this category. The Signature Suites and up are true suites.
The final part of the cabin portion of the review is the cabin steward. Holland America provides 2 cabins stewards and they are responsible for multiple cabins. We had July and his assistant David. July and I just never clicked. He did his job and did it well. Where we didn’t click was with my schedule. The first week he wanted to clean our cabin in the afternoon and I like to hang out in the cabin in the afternoon. By day 8 he figured that out and started coming in the morning. Also, I do open dining so I don’t have to keep a schedule. Apparently that was an issue for him too. David, the assistant, was wonderful and figured us out rather quickly. So, the not clicking part is not important, but just odd for me.
Ship: I love the classic styling of the Zaandam. It’s a mid-size ship with 1400 passengers and has a ton of public space. The ship is easy to get around due to the size. Mix and The Crow’s Nest are great bars with fantastic servers. One of my favorite activities on the ship was Sip & Savor at 5pm in Mix. S&S has $5 glasses of wine each evening – one white and one red – and gourmet appetizers. Andy, our cruise director came to most of them and was delightful. Happy Hour was from 4-5pm in the Crow’s Nest and Ocean Bar, but we only made it to one of those.
There were other activities on board that we never made it to, that I feel I should mention. Holland America has partnered with America’s Test Kitchen and has cooking demonstrations and classes during the cruise. I heard wonderful things from my fellow cruisers about that. There are also Microsoft classes to help you with Windows 10, digital photography, and other things. I saw many wine tastings and pub crawls throughout the cruise too.
The one issue I had with the ship was the carpet replacement that was happening throughout the cruise. I understand that carpet needs to be replaced occasionally, but the ship was in dry dock in April. Why was this not done in April. The problem I had with the carpet installation is that the adhesive gave me headaches. I did write about this in my survey and suggested that carpet installation only be done while in port. Most people would be off the ship and the impact would be less. They should not be doing this on sea days.
Food: We utilized all of the dining options on the Zaandam, so I will break this down by venue.
The Pinnacle Grill is awesome! We went there 3 times for dinner, 5 times for lunch, and once as the pop up Sel de Mer. Lunch at Pinnacle is $10 per person and the best $10 you will spend on the ship. A few of the dinner offerings are also on the lunch menu and then some unique items. Go to the Pinnacle for lunch and get the Fudge Brownie with Coffee Gelato for dessert. The brownie is so good that I had it 5 times. Dinner at Pinnacle is also excellent. I had King Crab, Filet Mignon, and Ribeye Steak for my three entrees. Yum oh yum. The chefs at Pinnacle know how to perfectly cook a steak. Our other dinner in there was Sel de Mer. Honestly, I didn’t care for the menu choices. The escargot was outstanding, but everything else was forgettable. I wish Holland would bring Le Cirque back and get rid of Sel de Mer.
We ate dinner in Canaletto 3 times as well. Canaletto is a good bargain at $15 per person if you want to get away from the insanity of the main dining room or the buffet (on this cruise the buffet was more crowded than usual at dinner). The regular menu is decent Italian fare and then there are specialty dishes each night. I am a HUGE fan of osso bucco. The osso bucco special was excellent. The tiramisu was phenomenal, so get that. Canaletto will never be the mom and pop Italian restaurant that you love, but the food is good and the atmosphere is pleasant. Since it is inside of the Lido buffet, you do get to people watch a bit. Every 10-15 minutes someone tries to walk in with a plate of buffet food thinking it is part of the buffet seating. They always look confused.
We ate in the Main Dining Room for breakfast on several occasions, dinner twice, and lunch on embarkation day. I have to say that breakfast service was much better than open dining for dinner. Dinner was slow and drink refills were difficult to come by. It was also loud during dinner and difficult to have a conversation with Walt. I guess that is why we only went there 2 out of the 14 days. Our plan was to go 9 evenings, but after 2 we booked a couple more nights at Canaletto and did Lido 5 times for dinner. Breakfast in the Main Dining Rooms was wonderful and the options were great.
The Lido Marketplace/Buffet was small on this ship and didn’t always open when it was supposed to in the mornings. The food itself was good, and I could usually find something I liked. The carving stations at lunch and dinner were the best I have had on any cruise line or ship. I ate lots of sandwiches from the carving station. Cooked to order eggs were excellent in the mornings, and the bacon was always crispy…just the way I like it.
We only did Room Service one morning. They were on time and the food was hot. The warming trays under the plates do a great job keeping the food at the correct temperature.
Pools: I went swimming twice in the aft outdoor pool and enjoyed the hot tub once. The ship needs hot tubs that are next to the outdoor pool. The pools are heated for Alaska, so the issue is getting out of the pools into the cooler air temperature. At Hubbard Glacier I did the Polar Bear Plunge along with 63 other passengers. It was fun, but chilly getting out of the pool. Since this was an Alaskan cruise, there were no chair hogs near the pools (they were hogging tables in the Lido Marketplace for hours at a time).
Debarkation: We decided to utilize Port Valet. Port Valet means that you put your checked luggage for your flights outside your cabin before midnight the final evening and pick them up when you arrive at your final destination. There is paperwork to fill out early in the cruise and if approved, you pay Holland America any luggage fees and following the instructions on the approval paperwork. Oh, and you can be over the weight limit!!!!!!! YES! No fees for overweight bags. So, that’s what we did. Debarkation the next morning was a breeze. We left the ship at 8:30am and were waiting outside for our ride by 8:45am. When we got to our home airport our luggage was on the carousel. Now I can recommend Port Valet. It was great being able to go straight to security at SeaTac…you get your boarding pass with all your Port Valet stuff.
Overall: So overall this was an amazing trip. There is no other mainstream cruise line that does a 14 day itinerary to Alaska…just Holland America. The ports were fantastic, the breweries were a dream, and the ship was lovely. Taking a chance on the guarantee vista suite was the best decision I made for this cruise. While you do not need a balcony for Alaska (or any cruise), the balcony sure made the entire voyage even more enjoyable. I loved the scenic cruising and glacier viewing from my own space.
If you are thinking about an Alaskan cruise, I recommend that you look at Holland America’s 14 day Alaskan itinerary round trip out of Seattle.