Zaandam

03 Dec 2019

An amazing cruise! So many highlights despite extremely rough seas at the beginning but with excellent navigation made by the Captain we were kept safe and escaped even rougher seas by sheltering in inside channels. Loved sailing through Glacier alley, Darwin channel and around Cape Horn. It was good to hear the ships horn blast as we passed the Horn and it was a nice touch to be given a certificate to say that we had been around the Horn. The cruise director Kevin gave very informative talks about each place we visited and the ship had very good evening entertainment on the stage on deck 5. As we left the ship there was a line up of staff from the ship including Kevin to see us off and we thought this was a very personal touch.

03 Apr 2019

My friend and I enjoyed every minute of our cruise on board Zaandam, sailing from Chile around Cape Horn and finishing in Buenos Aires. The vast majority of the staff team were excellent and looked after us well. Small criticisms were: The shore excursions are very expensive The food and service in the dining room was not as good as previous experiences with P&O on Oriana The wine was expensive The ship is getting a wee bit dated That said, I would sail with HAL again, even on Zaandam.

03 Apr 2019

The ship was fine and the service was good.enjoyed all the amenities and the staff were very helpful

28 Mar 2019

Unfortunately the ship did not meet our expectations because of the following; a. food was not of good quality and the system they use to have in the Lido (self service ) restaurant of serving you the main course was only for giving you limited quantity of food. b. Food also in the Dine in rest. did not meet our expectations c. entertainment was cheap and childish d. Amenities in the stateroom were limited.(They have left us only one hand soap and one shower cup for almost fifteen days) e. All drinks were very expensive and differed from their issued tariffs in internet But we have to admit that all ship was very clean, the statement also, and public toilets too. Embarkation and disembarkation were done very properly and easy Therefore we will rate the cruise with a 3

26 Mar 2019

A great itinerary with awesome scenery. The ship is geared up to older clientele and has excellent entertainment throughout the day. The restaurants and food are excellent but wine and beer are very expensive. All the staff and crew are industrious and friendly. We took Holland America organised trips at each port = these are quite pricey but well worth the expense as we enjoyed every trip. The cost of wifi is prohibitive ($25 for 24hours).

26 Mar 2019

Wonderful crew,lovely ship,even the weather surprised all concerned round South America.superb cruise.

09 Dec 2018

The fabric and layout of the ship was really good. This however was spoilt by other aspects of the cruise. The food wasn't startling and lacked variety. Service in the dining room was slow and the food was only tepid on arrival. Very little food in the lido was on a help yourself basis. Drinks were expensive with a 15% service charge on top. The excursions were also expensive and when tendering was in process it took up to 2 hours before independent travellers could disembark. The onboard activities were limited with one person delivering the majority of lectures. The house shows were however good as was the cabin service. With no laundrette on board you had to use their laundering service. Unfortunately this seemed to sum up he firms attitude of squeezing as much as it could out of people. A prime example of that was you had to pay for coffee if you wanted it at the end of your meal in the dining room.

24 Nov 2018

Thank you Iglu and HAL and all hotels and transfer's the trip was a fantastic experience. AWESOME is a word that these days is used all to frequently however in this case it is most appropriate. The captain of Zaandam sailed 20 miles off cause to sail by an Ice berg we tendered in the Falklands on remembrance Sunday and treated to a service and parade on a lovely sunny day that will live in our memory's for ever. All the ports were Iconic and rounding cape horn to eventually cruise to see a Glaser. Once again our most grateful thanks for the best cruise ever and our 32nd so we have many comparisons.

04 Apr 2016

We recently returned from a cruise around South America with a 2 night stay in Buenos Aires and a 2 night stay in Santiago at the end - all arranged by Iglu. From the moment we set off from Heathrow the whole holiday went superbly. We flew with British Airways and Iberia via Madrid to Buenos Aires and on our return Journey we flew via Sao Paulo with LAN and British Airways. All flights were good with plenty of time for transfers. Our hotel in Buenos Aires was very central within easy walking distance of many of the sights. The hotel in Santiago ( the Park Plaza ) was excellent although not central. It was in a very nice area with the stop for the hop on hop off tourist bus just outside. All our transfers were on time and in clean comfortable cars. Embarkation went very smoothly and our cabin was ready even at midday. The service was excellent in all areas without it being too familiar. We loved the Zaandam because we felt it looked like a real ship rather than a tall floating hotel. The food was very good in both the Lido and the more formal Rotterdam restaurant with plenty of choice. The range of activities provided on board was very good although we felt that there should have been one or two guest speakers talking about the area. There were plenty of quizzes, cooking demonstrations, tango lessons, a digital workshop and plenty more. The weather was superb so we were able to visit all ports. The port excursions were well organised and there was never any queuing to get off the ship. We enjoyed all ports, particularly the Falklands where we visited Bluff Cove and the penguins. The scenic cruising was wonderful. The bow was opened up and hot pea and ham soup was served on deck. The captain and his crew contributed greatly to our enjoyment. They tried very hard to ensure that we saw everything. The holiday could not have been better and we would definitely travel with Iglu and Holland America again.

20 Mar 2016

We enjoyed an excellent cruise round South America, with flights from Heathrow to Buenos Aires, return flights from Santiago via Sao Paulo. We would like to thank Iglu for organising this trip as all the connections, hotels and transfers were spot on. We had booked with Iglu on another cruise and were equally satisfied. We will definitely book with them again.

13 Mar 2015

We traveled to Antarctica on the Zaandam on the 30th January 2015 and were absolutely blown away by the ship, the people, and the scenery. We had two nights in the Kennedy in Santiago which was a very nice hotel but a little out of the way for city centre sightseeing. It was close to a very big shopping mall which in honesty could have been anywhere in the world but did have some nice bars and restaurants. Hotel cars into the centre cost about £10 each way but you could also get the metro if you were prepared to walk 15 minutes. Iglu had prebooked us a tour to Concha y Toro for 9 o'clock in the morning which would have been OK but it was changed to 12 o'clock which rather spoiled our plans for the day. I understand this was a last minute change by Concha y Toro and not by Iglu. The trip was OK but the wine tasting was quite limited and strangely no food (not even nibbles between drinks) was provided. Overall I would describe the tour as an overblown shopping trip. Santiago itself was a great city, very friendly and clean with some nice tourist attractions. I thought two days was probably enough to see everything you needed to. We were transferred to Valparaiso to pick up the ship and everything went like clockwork. We gave our bags to a porter and watched them get scanned and the next time we saw them was in our cabin. Check in was smooth and quick. The ship was very nice although perhaps a bit "old school" for some. Personally, I thought it was great, very comfortable and spotlessly clean with large well furnished public rooms and lots of bars. There are 3 banks of 4 lifts which means you don't have to walk far or have a long wait for them. The ship is of a size that feels intimate (1400 passengers) and is very easily walked. The lower promenade deck is a fully outside deck meaning that you can walk round the ship without ever going indoors or climbing stairs. Strangely, you are discouraged from running/jogging but people were anyway. Overall the ship feels like a club with lots of brass and wood and even has wooden deck chairs on the promenade deck (which are really comfortable). A nice touch was that at times of sightseeing, the bow of the ship was opened up to allow people to great views all round. Our cabin (inside, deck 3) was a good size with a large comfortable bed and a settee. It had lots of wardrobe space (we didn't use all ours) and the bathroom was clean and quite large. It had a flat screen TV and DVD player (DVDs from the front desk) and two hair dryers. The ship provided good quality toiletries and the towels etc were very nice and thick. We had a problem with our toilet frequently refusing to flush but despite several complaints to the front desk, they seemed incapable of solving the problem. The staff were always attentive without being fawning and seemed genuinely happy to be there. The food on the ship was good without being spectacular. We ate most of our meals in the Rotterdam Restaurant because it was a bit more relaxed. It was probably slower than eating in the Lido but you were seated and waited on rather than having to find your own table and then queue up for food at the buffet. We were also on "free" dining plan which meant we met many different people from around the world, an aspect of cruising which I particularly like. The Lido was available at extended hours and we did eat there sometimes. The food was good there too with a greater choice (obviously) than the main restaurant. We didn't eat at the speciality restaurants. Drinks on board were surprisingly well priced and if you made use of the happy hours, it was amazingly good value. We could get beer for just over $5 and two gin and tonics for about $12 which worked out at the time to be about £3.50 and £8. Wine was perhaps a bit more expensive but not outrageous. The cheapest bottled wine I saw was about $24 but you could get a carafe for about $14. During happy hour, you could buy a beer and get a second beer for $1 (applied to all drinks less than $7 I believe) - two beers for $6 was very good value. Tea and coffee were available free 24 hours a day from the Lido. Trips from the ship were mostly overpriced in my opinion but you were able to get local buses and taxis in all the ports of call. The only trip which was exclusively available from the ship was the 4x4 trip on the Falklands, simply because the ship booked all the available cars. As an example, the ship were offering Petrohue Falls for $89 each but we were able to do this in a taxi for $70 for the car. The taxi driver was happy to wait for us when we stopped and was able to explain things as we traveled. No waiting for bus loads of people to get off or back on the bus. On the positive side, the ships tour director provided a really good overview of upcoming ports of call and was surprisingly honest in his description of locally available tours. The cruise itself was magnificent. We were glad we went from Valparaiso (it operates in both directions) because we saw the Chilean Fjords before Antarctica. They were magnificent in their own right but may have been an anticlimax had we seen Antarctica first. We were able to call at all of our ports of call but the cruise before had been severely restricted due to bad weather and had been unable to call at Stanley and Chacabuco (I believe). I was not particularly impressed with Ushuaia because there was very little to do in town and we didn't take a trip - perhaps a mistake. Cape Horn was interesting and thankfully not rough at all. We were able to sail around and went from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back again! Hot chocolate/coffee and sausage rolls/cheese croissants were served on deck by waiters walking round so you didn't miss a minute. Antarctica was amazing from the point at which we arrived (4 am) to the day we left! Unfortunately, restrictions meant no food or drink on deck. The scenery was breathtaking. There was live commentary from the onboard expedition team at points of interest coupled with a good programme of presentations/lectures about many aspects of life in Antarctica. The captain was able to manoeuvre the ship very close to icebergs and glaciers and the views of penguin colonies, all manner of sea birds, and seals was fantastic. We were lucky enough to see a group of killer whales kill a young humpback whale and proceed to eat it right at the side of the ship - something I'm unlikely to ever see again. The Falkland Islands were very scenic although barren and very windy. We were able to see penguins at Gypsy Cove (£10 from the pier) and then look around Stanley and have a couple of pints in the Globe. Montevideo was a surprise as I had thought it looked quite boring on the internet. It was actually very atmospheric in the old town and there was enough to keep us happy sightseeing for most our stay. The market at the side of the port was fascinating if only for people watching. We had a night stay in Buenos Aires on board ship and then two further nights, courtesy of Iglu, at the Savoy. The city is massive and comes as a bit of a culture shock given the previous three weeks in landscapes largely devoid of people and traffic. We had a great meal in a local parilla (steak and chips) and we enjoyed going round the Palacio del Congreso Nacional Argentino which is the Argentinian legislature. On our final night we went to the Tango Night, again arranged by Iglu. This was spectacular with a great meal beforehand and all drinks provided. Flights to Santiago were with KLM and were very good. Flights back from Buenos Aires were with Air France and were pretty bad (surly stewards and poor food). If I were to go again, I would try to get KLM both ways. Overall, this cruise package was fantastic value for money and the trip was everything I could have hoped for. I had been slightly concerned about the number of separate transfers involved but everything ran amazingly smoothly. Well done Iglu.

22 Feb 2015

Excellent cruise and all arrangements made by Iglucruise for pre and post cruise transfers and accommodation worked well. If there is any criticism it is that the Frier's Park hotel in Buenos Aires is not really five star and was a disappointment.