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Zaandam was built for Holland America by Italy’s Fincantieri yard in Venice and sailed on her first voyage in 2000. Zaandam is the seventh in a series of eight very similar ships begun in 1993 with the launch of the 55,500 ton MS Statendam. The first four ships in the series are virtual twins of Statendam. In 1997, HAL launched the fifth of the series, the 60,000-ton Rotterdam. Rotterdam’s increased bulk stems from the insertion of a fifty-eight foot section into the middle of a Statendam Class frame; a process referred to as “stretching”. Volendam, the sixth in the series, expanded upon the stretched Rotterdam design, by raising the aft pool deck one level, the process adding an additional thousand tons to her size. The 61,000-ton Zaandam is a twin for that vessel. (The final ship in the series, Amsterdam, also began service in 2000 and further clouds the issue by sharing traits of both Zaandam and of Rotterdam, although, to the casual observer, the differences are indiscernible.) Although it wasn’t until 1993 that the first vessel of the series began service, in actuality, these ships have a history dating back about a decade earlier. In the mid–eighties, Carnival, now the owner of Holland America Lines, began design on an upscale version of its popular ships. The outcome, known internally as Project Tiffany, was laid out as what, eventually was to become, Statendam. Project Tiffany was put on hold in 1989 when Carnival acquired Holland America and became the basis of that line’s new class of needed tonnage. Zaandam is intended and designed to bridge the gap between the stalwart Holland America passenger and those seeking refuge from the active nature of the Carnival mainstream product. Long viewed as a refuge for aged, more sophisticated travelers, with Zaandam HAL seeks to attract larger shares of the family and middle-aged market. Toward that end, HAL chose American TV’s “Olsen twins” as Godmothers. The two million-dollar collection of art and artifacts, while maintaining the traditional Holland America Dutch theme, also includes memorabilia from pop music’s recent past. Strolling along Zaandam’s decks, passengers will come upon a collection of guitars signed by rock musicians: the Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, David Bowie and Queen. Look also for the saxophone signed by former President Clinton. Following what has become a tradition for Holland America, Zaandam’s public areas divide themselves into a series of intimate areas, stretching the length of the ship. Nowhere will one find the huge, impressive venues typical of today’s ships. Unfortunately, such an extensive number of small areas, connected as they are by narrow winding corridors, finds passengers, during evening hours, in degrees of congestion I’ve not seen on even the largest of modern ships. For such an intimate ship, this one feels crowded! A stroll along Zaandam’s promenade decks will find huge stretches of public areas that appear identical to the stretch of ship that proceeded them. All of these small areas tend to cloud together, causing continual confusion as to one’s location on the ship: you’re gonna get lost! I’m sure, though, such confusion is limited to novice cruisers to Holland America. Experienced Holland America cruisers, and there are TONS of them, find the ships so similar to one another, that, with little difficulty, they can use past experience with other ships in the fleet to manage their way on Zaandam as well. To them, boarding any of these vessels must feel like returning home. There’s nothing wrong with that! The design and layout of Zaandam and all of the ships in the series shows a remarkable absence of practical thought. Taking the easy path to design, these ships locate the main showroom forward and the dining rooms aft, containing everything else between them. Such placements cause a continual movement of passengers forward and aft throughout the day. The ship feels huge, although the reality is it ranks as among the smallest of the ships being built today. The extent of walking needed to maneuver around these ships assures good nights sleep! What I fault in Zaandam’s design, others may applaud as maintaining the tradition of style dating back to the classic ocean liners. Nobody ever proclaimed the Normandie or Queen Mary to be designed with considerable thought towards passenger flows. They weren’t! Neither is Zaandam! Unlike what has become the norm today on Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, Holland America continues to provide premium services to ALL passengers at no additional charge. On Zaandam, passengers will find no charge for dining in the alternative restaurant. There is no charge for ice cream even with liquor toppings! Cappuccino, not only is provided free in the dining room, it also is provided at no charge at the Cappuccino Bar! Moviegoers continue to enjoy complementary popcorn. Guests using the public restrooms will dry their hands using a constantly refreshed supply of neatly folded CLOTH towels, not the paper that is the norm elsewhere! Beginning with the moment guests receive their Naugahyde folder containing their nicely packaged cruise documents, and continuing right through to disembarkation, the cruise experience on HAL, indisputably, is one of pure class, and one to be savored and enjoyed! Unlike Celebrity, a competitive pretender, Holland America’s rightful categorization among the PREMIUM class of cruise lines can not be contested! Zaandam is 781 feet in length, 105.8 feet wide with a 25.7-foot draught. She is powered by five 12-cylinder Sulzer diesels, providing her a top speed of 23 knots. (Sister ships Rotterdam/Amsterdam both intended for Worldwide cruising use five 16 cylinder diesels for a top speed of 25 knots with identical hulls.) She is registered in the Netherlands with Dutch officers and Filipino/Indonesian crew. |
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Tour the Zaandam |
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A PARNAMI Cruise Page Copyright © 2001 Mel Litzenberger. All Rights Reserved |