Zaandam - Baja California Dec 2007

We took the HAL's Zaandam from San Diego to Baja California and return
from December 11th through Dec 21.

Ports we San Diego, Porto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Topolobampo, Loretyo,
La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, and back to San Diego.

The Zaandam is one of the larger "DAM" ships but is still not a super
big ship. The ship's decorations for the Holiday were very nice and
the ship was very, very clean. The crew were all helpful and seemed to
be really happy to be of service.
Check in was very quick and painless, including the digital picture
for the shipboard ID purposes - not the photographer's welcome aboard
snap. The photographers are still using film aboard the Zaandam, by
the way.
Our cabin was really nice. I had decided it was time to see how the
"real cabins" were different from the one's we usually use - the ones
low down. It was a "Deluxe Verandah Suite" and certainly was a step up
from our "normal" with finally more than enough drawers and closet
space. The Neptune Lounge was very nice to have, and it was nice to
get off the ship when we wanted to - no tender tickets required.

The food was very, very nice. Great variety, well prepared, and
beautifully presented. Serving sizes were somewhat smaller than what
we recalled from previous trips; something we were very happy with
since this way I got to try everything. Additional servings were
available if you wanted them with no problems. The Lamb and Beef items
were especially fine - perfectly cooked the way I like them, medium rare.

We had one meal in the Pinnacle dining room and it was nice, but not
nearly as nice as the advertising hype would suggest. The servers were
all grousing about the "travel agent gift certificates" causing them
too much work. It seems that a number of travel agents had gifted
dinners and the servers were not happy. I guess the "giftees" didn't
tip enough or something. I'd suggest any beef lovers forget the
Porterhouse Steak - it shrank greatly from the version presented and
was clearly not of the same quality as the filet.

Ports of call were varied and all the unique ports were served by an
industrial pier. A large number of passengers took the Copper Canyon
rail tour - they got up before 3:00 a.m. to leave and were not back
until well after dark. All those we talked to said it was a
disappointment and they would not do it again. "The bus ride was long
and there were no rest rooms on the buses; l the train was
uncomfortable; the canyon was bland." I don't know what was expected
by them but all we talked to were unhappy with the experience. Perhaps
we missed the happy ones.

The entertainment was nice; a good blend of everything from jugglers
to classical piano. John Davidson did a show and my spouse loved it.
Music was available in all the lounges and was of a uniformly high
quality. The production show was a Broadway medley.

The ship is scheduled for dry dock soon to undergo some much needed
refurbishment. Some of the carpeting is showing its age, as is the
show lounge.

The satellite television system needs some work; the CNN channel was
miss-tuned and had frequently chopped - broken audio. This points to
the need for some well trained technical people on the ship who can
undertake some non-front panel adjustment.

We had a great trip, we enjoyed the ship and the staff and would do it
again in a minute. HAL certainly knows how to make a cruise pleasant.
What we really would like to do next is a non-port cruise: depart,
sail around for about a week, and then return to port.

Cheers,
John in LALALand (On the Left Coast)