Zaandam Ship Photos

I will wrap up our Panama Canal cruise posts with some photos from onboard the Zaandam.

This was our 2nd Holland America cruise...the first being on the Nieuw Amsterdam just 6 months earlier. The Zaandam and the Nieuw Amsterdam are different class ships with the Zaandam being the smaller of the two with a capacity of around 1400 passengers and a length of 781 feet. By comparison, the Nieuw Amsterdam carries over 2100 guests and is 936 feet long.

This cruise was the first sailing AFTER the Zaandam being was in drydock for refurbishment. Our week on the Nieuw Amsterdam was shortly BEFORE it went into drydock for some major changes. Since the itinerary is our main focus when we cruise, I won't try and do much comparison between the ships. Although there were some things we enjoyed more on the Nieuw Amsterdam (such as our balcony cabin, interactive TV's and the BB King Blues Club) the problems we encountered with the ports on that cruise were a negative. (All totally due to weather...because of storms and hurricanes, our ports kept changing.)

Our cruise on the Zaandam will be one we remember fondly...not so much for the ship, but the experience. We were traveling with good friends, met some wonderful people on the ship, and visited some new and very interesting ports. Also a 23-day cruise compared to a 7-day cruise is always better!

The photos posted below were taken throughout the cruise but rather than post them day by day as they were taken, I will group them all into a single post. This will be a hodge-podge sort of thing...in no particular order! Enjoy...and let me know if you have any questions!

We chose to separate the beds. More floor space and easier to look out the window. The magnetic hooks we brought really only stuck to the wall on either side of the windows but gave Bob a place to hang his backpack and me a spot to organize papers and show off my craft project!

More of a love seat size sofa...but still nice to have. The table height was adjustable. The waste basket had a section to recycle paper which got put to use with all of the "junk mail" from the spa and art auctions.

Not sure what function the curtains served between the desk and the bed. It was just a narrow panel so nothing that could be used to divide the beds from the rest of the room. There was also a heavier curtain that could be pulled between the closet area and the rest of the room. You can see the orange edge sticking out. This one was nice when I got up earlier. I could turn on a light and get into the closets without waking Bob.

Our nice new shower. I love adjustable shower heads. I put it down as low as it would go when I showered because I am short. Obviously Bob had been the one showering before this photo!

The lights are actually part of the mirror.

There was enough space IN the closets, but when one of the closet doors was open it totally blocked this area. Our room steward was able to get us extra hangers which was helpful.

The view from our window.

Only one regular outlet. We brought along a power strip to be able to charge several things at once. The hair dryer that HAL provides plugged into the round outlet.

The TV was very small and also so low that it made the end of the desk pretty much useless. There is a booklet with hundreds of DVD's that are available to check out (for free) from guest services but often the disks were damaged and wouldn't play. Bob watched a LOT of movies and got to know the guest services staff quite well! We much preferred the big screen interactive TVs on the Nieuw Amsterdam which had movies on demand.

In the warmer part of our cruise these chairs would mostly all be taken...or at least those that had cushions.

Our window from the outside. The glass has a coating so that no one could see in during the day. When lights were on inside the cabin at night people could see inside so we had to remember to keep our curtains closed. Not sure why HAL couldn't buy a few more cushions for these loungers...they were pretty uncomfortable without.

The potty station for a service dog onboard. 

Extra sod for the pooch potty area.

Crow's Nest...at the front of the ship on Deck 9.

Main pool on Lido Deck (Deck 8). The sliding cover made it usable even when the weather was cool or rainy.

The Lido buffet area. Serving area is closed in this photo. 

Area around Sea View pool at the back of the ship. This was one of my favorite areas.

Cows in the pool. 😲

This is where you could find me on sea days...at least until we headed north and the temperatures dropped. On some days the ship was rolling enough that the water was sloshing out of the pool. This pool is not a good choice if you don't know how to swim...I could not touch bottom and keep my head above water anywhere in the pool.

Seating area on deck 9 overlooking aft pool.

Deck 9 heading towards the tennis court.

The tennis court which Bob (and others) used as a pickleball court. On most sea days it was too windy up here to play. A basketball court was on the opposite side of the ship.

It is always fun to check out the artwork in the stairways. Here are a couple of pieces by M.C. Escher. He is famous for his work with tessellations which I taught about in my middle school math classes.

Another tessellation by M.C. Escher.

The one and only main dining room on the Zaandam.

An elaborate floral display at the entrance to the dining room. Fresh flowers were used throughout the ship.

Upper level of the dining room. We had a great location with a view. Our table was located along the back windows.

These large displays were located by each elevator.

I didn't get a photo inside the digital workshop. The room contained rows of tables with computers where multiple lessons on various Microsoft topics were taught each day. Most of the classes were ones I had taken on our last cruise so I only attended once on the Zaandam.

The coffee bar...a popular place.

Library.

Jigsaw puzzles were available.

Very large artwork by library.

The Zaandam has a music theme and had many musical instruments on display.

Bill Clinton's saxaphone.

Autographed guitars...sorry I didn't notice who signed them.

The casino. We walked through a couple of times to get from one end of the ship to the other but otherwise spent no time here.

Card games in the Hudson Room

Explorer's Lounge. Adagio played here (husband & wife on violin & piano.)

Flowers in Explorer's Lounge.

Yes...these are live flowers! Tiny vases are wired to the main arrangment.

Large mural by the Explorer's Lounge.

Pinnacle Grill. 

The seating area in the Wajang Theater. This room was used for both America Test Kitchen classes and also movies.

America's Test Kitchen presentation. 

The EXC host had scheduled times to be here. We did not find her to be all that helpful.

The organ (deck 3) in the center of the atrium. Our cabin was located just down the hallway. I've read that they play the organ everyday at noon, but we never heard it nor did we see it listed on the schedule of events.

Top of the organ.

Looking down from deck 4.

Photo gallery.

This was the hallway to our cabin.

A stairway at the very back of the Lido Deck (near the aft pool) leads down to this open deck.

And going down one more level (to deck 6) brings you to an even larger open area.

Stairway going up to the aft pool area.

There are two oceanview cabins on Deck 7 which are considered obstructed view cabins. Cabin #7086 would be the better of the two.

Cabin #7083's view is blocked by the stairway.

A tour through the backstage area of the theater. The singers & dancers must get dressed in a very tight area.

Props for the production numbers in the theater.

The view of the Main Stage theater from the stage.

Congratulations if you've made it through all of the posts for this cruise! After 23 days on the Zaandam, we are looking forward to our next cruise...on the Zaandam! Our friends (who have never cruised on HAL) will be joining us and the room steward let us peak into their cabin on the Dolphin Deck when it was being turned over in Vancouver. Our cabin is just a few doors away so will look the same. Counting months & weeks until then!

A full size couch instead of the love seat that we had in our cabin this time.

Notice how high this TV is compared to the one in our cabin.

A bunk recessed into the ceiling.

Not as nice as our walk in shower this time, but still roomier than showers on most ships.

Not the greatest hairdryer, but there should also be a newer model in the desk drawer.

Well...that is it. The end of the blog posts for this cruise. Thanks for reading!

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