There are tables for two, four, six and eight in the two-level Rotterdam Dining Room, an opulent restaurant featuring good food, sea views and romantic lighting including a twinkling, fiber optics-lit ceiling. The tables are set with Rosenthal china, sparkling crystal and crisp linens. Menus are among the most extensive at sea featuring six appetizers, two soups, two salads and six entrees for dinner. Vegetarian and low-fat selections are available for those not willing to throw their diets overboard for a few days, or saving room for the midnight spread -which one night is a dessert extravaganza. Service is attentive and friendly.

Zaandam now features, as its alternative restaurant, The Pinnacle Grill (which is gradually expanding across the HAL fleet). The cozy and intimate restaurant is gorgeous and menus feature mostly Northwest-inspired cuisine. Such as? Chicken Thai soup, Dungeness crab legs, grilled salmon, and duck breast with pickled Walla Walla onions, among others. Chefs also will cook up the basics filet mignon, lamb chops and cioppino are always offered. There is a $20 per person charge to eat at The Pinnacle Grill.

For casual meals, the relaxed, buffet-style, Lido Restaurant, with an outstanding selection and presentation, is a popular place for breakfast and lunch every day and informal dinners every evening except the last one of the cruise. Help with trays was spotty.

Other dining treats include free hot hors d'oeuvres in the cocktail lounges every evening and a delightful Royal Dutch High Tea one afternoon on each sailing featuring sandwiches, petit fours, cookies and cakes (including Dutch specialties) to the soothing strains of strings. An expanded room service menu includes such favorites as shrimp cocktail, sauteed sirloin minute steak, salmon steak, grilled chicken breast, chocolate cake and warm apple pie. A mid-afternoon order came within a half hour.

The two-level main restaurant is stunning, with widely-spaced tables, romantic lighting and panoramic sea views. There are four dining seatings - 5:45 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Casual breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight buffets are served in the Lido restaurant adjacent to the pool, with raised platforms to create the appearance of dining areas.

The Pinnacle Grill at the Marco Polo is a Pacific Northwest specialty restaurant on Promenade Deck. This reservations-only restaurant features its own galley with a "1600" degree grill to ensure tenderness and taste. Bulgari china, unique holloware and a dedicated service staff add to the special experience. The wine list has a number of selections not found in the main dining room and highlights California and Washington vintages. Reservations are required and there is a $20 service charge.

Here’s how their Traditional Dining in the Main (Rotterdam) Restaurant works:

Breakfast and Lunch: Open seating. During the appropriate meal time, arrive when and with whom you’d like and you’ll be promptly seated.

Dinner: There are two sittings; First and Main. Each is further divided into an earlier and later dining time utilizing the two levels of the beautiful Rotterdam Dining Room
5:45 pm (First Upper). Guests dine in the restaurant’s upper level
6:15 pm (First Lower). Guests dine in the restaurant’s lower level
8:00 pm (Main Upper). Guests dine in the restaurant’s upper level
8:30 pm (Main Lower). Guests dine in the restaurant’s lower level

Sitting times may be adjusted according to the cruise itinerary. Guests may request any sitting time, table size and table mate(s). Sitting time may be confirmed (or waitlisted) at time of booking but specific table location and even table size may be assigned by the Maître d’ on board.

All Holland America chefs are members of the prestigious Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs gourmet society. And it shows, the moment you take your seat in the elegant, two-level Rotterdam Dining Room. A pianist or string quartet accompanies your evening meal as you sample the Continental cuisine.

Regional specialties are introduced according to your cruise and traditional favorites (steak, fish, chicken) are always available for the asking. Crisply starched linens, gleaming silver, elegant Rosenthal china and fresh flowers grace your table every night. “Relaxed and casual” are the operative words for the Lido Restaurant. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the buffet-style Lido Restaurant offers a broad selection of seafood, freshly carved meats, fresh-baked bread, fruits, vegetables, cereals, beverages, and delicious desserts. Regional specialties such as Asian stir-fry, and the ever-popular pizza, burgers and pastas are available here, too. Especially good are the fresh salads and gourmet sandwiches. Dine inside or al fresco. Evening meals provide made-to-order entrées and table service.

Any evening meal aboard Zaandam can be made even more special. Make a reservation at the Pinnacle Grill, the ship’s upscale, reservations-only restaurant. The menu is themed to the freshest from the Pacific Northwest – Alaskan king salmon; Dungeness crab cakes and Northwest clam chowder are specialties. Succulent steaks and savory pastas are always on the menu, too. The wine list is equally extensive. Bvlgari® china, Riedel® stemware and Frette® linens are on the table; a smile is on your face! A modest charge is added for this dining experience. The Pinnacle Grill is opened both for lunch and dinner.

In-stateroom or in-suite dining is available aboard Holland America. In most cases, guests may choose from the main dining room menu and as an added treat, the meal is served on the line’s signature, Rosenthal china! There is no room service charge for this service. So, put yourself in this picture: you and your companion enjoying a private, evening meal on your balcony, served on elegant china. Time to toast the sunset! Of course, there are plenty more opportunities to up the calorie count. The outdoor Terrace Grill serves up hamburgers, chicken burgers, hot dogs and regional specialties (Indonesian cuisine is tops on Holland America). Exploration’s Café serves pastries throughout the day; daily Afternoon Tea Service – and once each cruise they elevate the service to “Royal Dutch High Tea”; and the famous, late-night “snack,” in the form of a chocolate extravaganza!