Featured Photo-Tour: Holland America’s Zaandam

By Aaron Saunders On June 12, 2012 · Leave a Comment

In honour of our forthcoming Photo-tour of Holland America Line’s elegant Volendam, we thought we’d take a look at her equally-attractive sister-ship, the 2000-built Zaandam – our Featured deck-by-deck Photo Tour!

Holland America Line is widely known for their comfortable, midsize ships and their attentive onboard service, two distinct features that are alive and well aboard the MS Zaandam.

Built in 2000, Zaandam is an evolution of the Statendam-class ships that brought the line so much success in the early 1990’s: Statendam, Ryndam, Maasdam and Veendam. Like those ships, Zaandam boasts the same general interior arrangement and layout, meaning if you’ve sailed with the line previously, you’ll have no difficulty finding your way around. The main, two-story show lounge is located all the way forward, and the double-height dining room is all the way aft.

While Zaandam and her immediate sisters may have the same basic deckplan, the similarities end there. Each Holland America Line ship boasts its own unique identity; a concept that extends from the décor and art collections onboard right down to the color of the carpeting. It’s a refreshing departure from a concept that’s becoming increasingly popular on other lines: different ships that are virtually identical, both inside and out.

This uniqueness is one of the things that I’ve always personally admired about Holland America, and one that has made cruising on their ships so endlessly enjoyable.

So what does Zaandam have to offer? Let’s walk up the gangway and begin!