Joseph Swift

Age: 29
Occupation: student
Number of Cruises: 4
Cruise Line: Holland America
Ship: Zaandam
Sailing Date: March 27th, 2005
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

I just wanted to relay my experience on the Zaandam this past week. The cruise overall was fairly good, but Holland America fell short on their guest service in Grand Cayman.

It was a very hot and humid day in Grand Cayman. There was big swells coming in to shore and the tenders were not running smoothly. There was thousands of passengers from cruise ships waiting in the heat and humidity.

There were many older passengers who looked on the verge of fainting.

Looking down the way, I noticed the Disney employees collecting towels, handing out bottles of water and later on, food. I was quite dismayed to notice Holland America was doing nothing. NO water, no food, no towel collection and NO organization. People were cutting in line for the tenders and there was only 1 or 2 uniformed employees. There was no contact with the ship as the cadets batteries had apparently ran out.

Later on, the Disney employees began handing out their left over water and food and saying next time to sail Disney. After this experience, I will. I am not sure who the Hotel Manager was, but they failed at their job drastically. How they did not even send water over or additional staff is beyond me?! I had enjoyed my cruise for the most part up till that point, but this experience just made me realize how far Holland America has to come.

Joseph Swift
Ontario, Canada