door to the Pinnacle Suite

Standard cabins on most cruise ships include inside, ocean view, balcony, and suite, often with variations within each category – especially the suites. On the Zaandam, one of those categories is missing. That is balcony cabins. On this ship balconies only come with suites, but even the inside cabins have a sitting area with a couch. Fully accessible cabins have roll-in showers while ambulatory accessible cabins have showers with no threshold. Showers only are standard in inside cabins, but other than the accessible cabins ocean view and above have bathtubs with shower included.

inside cabin with one bed

Inside cabins are found on every deck that has cabins, though the majority of them are on the lower decks with the oceanview cabins with just a few sprinkled among the center of the suite decks higher up. Interior cabins range from 182 to 293 square feet with most of them a lot closer to 182 than 293. As with any stateroom category, the largest cabins are generally the accessible ones as they need more space for wheelchair maneuverability in the main cabin as well as larger bathrooms to allow wheelchair access.

inside cabin with two beds and a lived-in look

Most cruise ship cabins on most cruise ships have the option of having the beds set up as one or two.

porthole cabin

Ocean view cabins are mainly found on the 3 lowest passenger decks, though there are a very few at the front of one suite deck and back of the other. Ocean view cabins range in size from 140 to 319 square feet. Those nearest the bow of decks 1 and 2 have portholes rather than full windows. The portholes on this ship are double small portholes rather than one large round window.

oceanview cabin

There are no cabins behind the lifeboats on this ship, though there are still some with partially or fully obstructed views. Cabins on decks 1 and 2 have windows directly overlooking the sea.

cabin windows on the promenade

The outside promenade deck runs completely around deck 3 so cabins on that deck are set back behind the promenade deck with their views looking across the promenade. Even the ones not marked as partially obstructed will have the deck railing and any people walking by in their view. Partially obstructed view cabins on the promenade deck have some of the ship’s exterior metal structure in their view whereas fully obstructed cabins are completely behind the metal structure and just have a view of the promenade. The better ocean view cabins are found on decks 1 and 2 where there is no promenade between the cabin and the sea. Some of the deck 3 cabins are under the stage or under the galley. The stage will be noisy until shows end and the galley can be noisy all night so definitely not the best locations on the ship.

some promenade cabins are behind partial structure like this or full metal structure completely blocking the view

Cabins at the very back of the ship may experience engine noise and vibrations on any level of the ship, more pronounced the lower you go of course. The bow cabins can be noisy in stormy weather. When the ship slaps into big waves it can sound and feel like it is bouncing over logs. We like cabins toward the bow anyway because you are more likely to see flying fish from there when sailing through areas where they live. They are seen more near the bow because they are fleeing from the ship as it passes through the water where they were. Bow cabins are also likely to hear the anchor drop at tender ports.

Vista Suite

Vista suites are found on decks 6 and 7. These rooms are comparable to what many ships refer to as mini suites. They are 297-379 square feet. Vista suites include a whirlpool tub rather than just a bathtub and have private balconies. The balconies are larger than the standard cruise ship balcony. There is also lots of storage space within the room. Cabins located on a deck between two cabin decks are usually the quietest, but that is not an option for these as deck 6 is above a public deck and deck 7 below one.

Neptune Suite

Neptune suites are found on deck 7. They are 558-566 square feet and have larger balconies than the Vista suites. These suites come with more perks than what you get with smaller cabins. Some of the extra perks include use of the Neptune lounge, concierge service, in-suite coffee, complimentary laundry service, and priority boarding and tender.

pinnacle suite

There’s just one Pinnacle suite on this ship, which is Holland America’s biggest suite. It’s 1296 square feet including the spacious veranda. This suite includes a living room, dining room, second bathroom, and pantry. It takes up the same amount of space as 2 full Neptune suites, with more interior space than the two Neptune suites combined due to the equivalent of one Neptune balcony being interior space.

different colored arrows for each side of the ship

If you’re not sure whether you’re on the correct side of the ship (odd numbered cabins starboard and even numbered on the port side) just check the arrows on the mat that points the way forward at elevator/stairway intersections. The arrows are red on one side of the ship and green on the other.

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