Trip Report-April 8 Zuiderdam Partial Panama Canal

First, I appreciate all the information we get from Cruise Critic. Although I do not post much or ask many questions, I do read a lot and the information is so helpful.

A little about us – husband (WJ) is retired, but I (EW) am still working. Thus, we only have 3 weeks of true vacation time each year. We live in Central Texas and are active, mid-60's. We hike in the National Parks quite a bit and have been cruising every two to three years. We began this trip with a 2 hour drive to Love Field in Dallas and flight to Ft. Lauderdale late Thursday afternoon. We stayed at the Sleep Inn, Dania Beach. This is a good hotel for a night before sailing, we have found. Nothing fancy, but the room was clean and the free shuttle from the airport was an easy phone call away and the $10 shuttle to the Port the next morning made for an easy transit. It is nice to have the 24-hour Walgreens next door for picking up Diet Coke and wine to take on board. Everything worked smoothly.

This is our fourth cruise on Holland – Alaska round trip from Vancouver (2008), Alaska one way Vancouver to Skagway and then hiked in Danali for a week (2011), Western Caribbean (2014) and then this one. We like Holland for many reasons – smaller ships, itineraries, service. I think with this cruise we became two star Mariners.

We sailed on Zuiderdam – April 8-18, 2016

We arrived at the Port a little after 11:00 a.m. and after an easy check-in, we were group 5 to board. Everything went very smoothly. We chose to not go to the main dining room and just dropped our things at our cabin (which I will discuss later), and headed to the Lido. Surprisingly, it was not real crowded and we had a nice lunch. Then we explored the ship, which is always fun.

We had wonderful weather. Also, we were the only ship in port for all of the ports – which makes it really nice we think!

Half Moon Cay

This was only our second visit to Half Moon Cay. We enjoyed it. Tendering was easy. We walked down the beach a good ways and found a couple of lounge chairs and some shade and enjoyed the sound of the waves, the warmth of the sun and the beginning of unwinding and getting into the “cruise routine”. We did not go to the BBQ, but relaxed and went back to the ship at 2:30. We ate at the buffet, which was good.

We both enjoyed the new salad bar. It was always fresh with plenty of selections. The only problem I had was that they always gave me too much and I always felt bad leaving good food. It was nice to have really fresh salad.

Informal Cruise Critic Meet & Greet on Sunday

I went and really enjoyed meeting those who were there. Thanks Rothbury for setting this up! We had met Dutchie and her husband earlier at a Mixology class that was fun. Thanks again to Dutchie for her advice about our cabin. It really saved our enjoyment of the cruise. (I'll discuss later when I review the cabin).

Gala Night

There is much discussion here about Gala Night. We attended both and I wore glittery blouses with black pants. WJ wore a jacket with a nice shirt and dress pants. He did not wear a tie. We saw a mixture – there were quite a few men without jackets and just nice collared shirts and ties, and some without ties, which is fine. There were very few tuxes. We did not see shorts. The food was good.

We are more interested in meeting people, good conversation and the interesting things they are doing, etc. than their dress. With the airline restrictions these days and just being on vacation, many do not want to bring extra clothing. In our opinion, men can look very nice with a nice collared shirt and slacks or a polo shirt and slacks. There really is no need for a jacket. It is easy for a woman to bring a dressy blouse and a pair of slacks. Again, we are on vacation and we feel that people can look nice in casual clothes.

Dining

We chose Anytime dining and split eating in the main dining room and the Lido buffet for dinner. We had one dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, which is always excellent. It did not fail us this trip either. The food was very good and the service also excellent. We enjoyed it tremendously.

I ate at the Dive In a couple of times. It was very good. My husband thoroughly enjoyed the Mexican buffet by the Lido Pool each day. He said it was really good and enjoyed a “snack” each day. He had a stint put in 12 years ago and has followed doctors orders faithfully (for which I am very thankful) since then. So, when we vacation, he thoroughly enjoys food and then when we go home, he returns to what he should eat. It is nice when there are plenty of choices that fit his regular diet where he can partially eat what he should.

For me, I rarely eat breakfast, so it was a treat to have freshly made pancakes, bacon and hash browns with orange juice each morning. My one question is why they do not have the smaller glasses for the orange juice – like the ones that have for the other juices. Just wondering.

ENTERTAINMENT

All in all, we thought the entertainment was good. We went to the first singer/dancer production. We also went to see the illusionist. We went to the big production of BBKing and also went to the BBKing Blues Club. They were all good. We did not go to see the comedian or the combination musicians. The main reason we missed some of the evening entertainment was because of dining later, which was our choice.

We did go to the Piano Bar. We loved Annika. She really is good. We also went to her Carole King tribute which was fantastic. We hope that she will be on our next cruise. She really is great!

We also stopped while walking past the Adagio to listing to the violinist. It was beautiful.

We went to the Captain’s interview, the presentation by cruise director, Jude, on where the crew lives, etc., which we thought was very interesting. We played bingo and also participated in a Mixology class that was lots of fun.

Casino --- Well, the slots were beyond TIGHT!!! On previous cruises, although we did not win in the end, we were at least allowed to play a little without having to bet the maximum. The bonus wins on anything other than the maximum bets were beyond terrible. This really put a sour taste in our mouths as far as the casino went. We know going in that you do not usually win, but they should not be set so tight that you don’t win anything and therefore you can’t play. I know slots aren’t the best place to bet, but it just was not fun to hit a bonus and win $1.75!! However, the casino is never the focus of our cruise. It is just a nice place to stop in for a little fun before or after dinner.

EXCUSIONS

As I said, we were the only ship in port. This made for almost private excursions.

In Aruba, I had booked Trikes. This was such fun! We really had a blast. There was only one other couple, so it really was a private tour. We went all over the island. This is a great way to see the island and have some fun driving/riding a Trike!! We highly recommend this tour. Also, we stopped and had a wonderful smoothie and a pina colada! They are easy to book and very easy to work with. They meet you at the port and take you to their site. It was a really fun afternoon.

In Curacao, I booked the Irie Tour bus. Here again, there were only about 10 of us that had booked. They ended up getting a few more to join. This is a 3 to 4 hour tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and lots of fun. It’s all the sodas, water and beer you can drink – included. They dropped off some of the folks at the beach and were going back to get them in an hour. We chose to go on back to the ship, but we were allowed to go to the beach for a quick look. Again, I highly recommend this tour. It was very interesting and fun.

In Costa Rica, we took the Adrenaline Zip Line excursion with Holland America. This was the highlight of our excursions. I normally do not book ship excursions, but this one was absolutely fantastic. There were only 29 of us, so we were able to zip three extra lines. The tour guide was really good. He brought examples of the banana blooms, flowers, cocoa pod, cashew pod and was so interesting. We highly recommend this tour. Granted a lot of it had to do with our guide who pointed out so many interesting things on the way. The guys at the Zip Line were fantastic. The sack lunch was not the best, but after all, we weren’t there for the food. The zip lining was great!! There were several who had zip lined before and were very impressed with the safety and the all-around exceptional service provided. We were very pleased.

We chose to stay on board the ship for the Panama Canal locks and were very pleased we did. This was the whole purpose of the cruise and we were not disappointed. We had absolutely fantastic weather and enjoyed the commentary from the lecturer who came on board. We also enjoyed being able to go to various places on the ship to see the different views and take pictures. It was incredible!

We had a wonderful cruise. We really did not have any complaints. We got some rest – actually sat in a deck chair and took a nap now and then. We met some very interesting people and enjoyed sitting with different people at dinner. We can’t say enough good things about the crew. They work really hard and are so pleasant. Our cabin stewards were wonderful! They really took good care of us.

Thus we come to the only negative thing – which really isn’t negative because HAL fixed it.

Cabin 1127

We were upgraded from an inside guarantee to an ocean view – cabin 1127. When our PCC told us about it, of course we were happy that we had been upgraded. However, when I looked at the deck plan, I saw that it was the last cabin aft on the main deck. I could see that the dining room was above it, but I could not tell what was below. So, I asked our PCC if the engines were below it. He told me that this cabin was a great upgrade and that there were crew quarters below and it should be quiet. So, we thought this will be fine, even though I really had my doubts. I even posed the question on CC.

Anyway, to make a long story short – the engines or at least the loud roar of the engines are below this cabin. WJ is hard of hearing and he could hear it through ear plugs!! Not fun for sleeping. Needless to say, I was really disappointed since I had specifically asked about this. But, when you book a guarantee, it is pot luck and we knew this, so we were going to make the best of it.

Thanks you Dutchie, who I met at our Meet & Greet on Sunday, she told me to check with the front desk, which we did. The front desk could not have been more helpful. We went by and explained what we had been told, etc. and asked if there might be an alternative. She was so helpful. She went to our cabin and definitely heard the “roar”. She told us that she would see what she could do. That evening when we returned to our cabin, we had a message and she took us to Cabin 1033 to see if this cabin might work for us. It was wonderfully quiet! Same deck – forward. In an hour, we were completely moved. We could not thank her enough for helping us. Of course, we realize that there has to be an open cabin for something like this to happen. But the way this was handled and the willingness to see if there was a solution was so very nice. We were determined to not let the “roar” ruin our cruise for us, but we would have been very tired from the lack of sleep after 10 days. We just cannot praise them enough for listening and finding a solution.

Well, this has rambled long enough. In a couple of years, we hope to go on either the Zuiderdam or the Koningsdam to the Baltics. I am sure I will be asking for opinions and reading the Boards to get information when planning for that cruise. Until then……..I hope everyone enjoys their vacations as much as we do.

Thank you for your report on the Zuiderdam. It was good to hear your good reactions from the Front Desk regarding your cabin problem.

Thank you for reviewing your Zuiderdam cruise.

Am pleased that you were able to have a quieter room allocated.

Did a room steward help you with moving your belongings?

I am unaware of airline baggage restrictions. Fees, yes, but nobody is stopping me from bringing another suitcase. Funny how people think that that there are restrictions. You are not the only one to say so.

igraf

Quote: "With the airline restrictions these days and just being on vacation, many do not want to bring extra clothing."

Here are some captures of your ship in the Gatun Locks:

(ship following was Nieuw Amsterdam). EM

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad that you were able to be moved to another cabin and got rest.

Glad that you had a wonderful cruise.

Thanks for the review...this is the itinerary my husband and I are hoping to enjoy next March on the Zuiderdam. Sounds wonderful!

Thanks for posting your thoughts, sounds like a good itinerary. I have visited the canal and loved it so would like to actually sail it at some point.

We are doing an upcoming Baltic on the Koningsdam so will let you know, we also had to choose between Zuiderdam and Koningsdam in the end we went with the new ship although the Z probably had a slightly better itinerary.

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you had an enjoyable cruise.

erewhon -- yes, a steward came and took the hanging clothes and our suitcases. It was very easy.

TexasHikers - Loved your review. The Front Desk handled your cabin issue very professionally. So nice they had a vacant cabin to relocate you to.

The itinerary was a really nice one. Can you tell me how the "partial Panama Canal" transit works? Where did you turn around? We have only seen the Panama Canal from the Miraflores locks and thought it was so interesting. Would love to be on one of the ships making a transit.

I just returned from visiting friends that I made when on the Zuiderdam in 2008. I was then cruising with 3 teens, ages 16 and 18, and we had so much fun in the piano bar every night. Hearing about the Zuiderdam brings back so many good memories for me. Thank you for posting your review. Cherie

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. We will be on the Zuiderdam for our Baltic cruise the end of May. It's nice to hear about your customer service experience. We all know that things can go wrong...its how they are addressed that makes all the difference. :D

erewhon -- yes, a steward came and took the hanging clothes and our suitcases. It was very easy.

Good, pleased you had assistance.

Thank you for your review. I was on the Zuiderdam in December. Like you, I experienced top-notch service from the ship's crew - everyone from front desk to our cabin stewards.

TexasHikers-Did your room have the new televisions with on demand entertainment? Just curious.

The itinerary was a really nice one. Can you tell me how the "partial Panama Canal" transit works? Where did you turn around? We have only seen the Panama Canal from the Miraflores locks and thought it was so interesting. Would love to be on one of the ships making a transit.

 

Hearing about the Zuiderdam brings back so many good memories for me. Thank you for posting your review. Cherie

We just did this (twice) in February and the year before as well. You begin the canal transit early in the morning, before sunrise. We normally see this part from our balcony. By the time you get to the Gatun Locks the sun is up, and there is coffee & Panama Rolls out on the bow, which is open for passengers. There is also an open deck across the front of Deck 6 which passengers are allowed to access. Sometimes you can access an outside deck by going through the fitness center, although this was locked on one of our cruises.

It's very interesting to watch from outside as the locks fill & empty, and of course there will be another ship in the lock next to you (usually!). I'm not exactly sure how long it takes, but I think at least 30 minutes? I'm usually busy taking pictures and going from side to side and deck to deck, depending on what else is out there.

Once you go through the locks, the ship barely goes into Gatun Lake. Each time we have done it, the ship backs around so that it is facing the same locks it just went through. They drop anchor, and then those guests who are going on shore excursions are tendered off to a nearly dock where they get on buses and go on their various ways.

The ship just sits there for several hours, usually leaving around 1:30/2 pm to go back through the locks and back out the way it came in. Keeping the coast on the port side, the ship makes an arc over to Colon, where it ties up to the pier, takes about an hour. There are various activities inside the ship if you don't want to sit & watch the ships go by.

Even though there are usually several hours left before the excursions return, there haven't been any Colon-based excursions offered, and there doesn't appear to be a lot to see. Of course there is a shopping area with souvenir shops & a few bars, but that's about it. There have been taxi drivers offering quickie tours of the area, but we've never done more than walk around the immediate area and take pictures.

We've done this three times, and a complete transit once, and have enjoyed it each time! It's just one of those things that we find very interesting, and we would be happy to take another trip through the canal any time.

Lady Chew - Thank you for the info on the partial transit. It seems like such a nice itinerary. Often the full transit cruises take a minimum of 14 days. We just loved watching the ships, large and small, going through the Miraflores lock. As you said, it is fascinating. It is nice to know that you have never get tired of it, even having done the full and partial transits more than once. Thank you again for taking the time to give me all of the info!!!! I am going to see if I can find one for Sept. or Oct. Cherie

Nice report, thank-you!

The Front Desk bunch treated you very well, the way they should. I am glad things worked out for you in regards of the cabin.

Great, fairly written review that was interesting and a good read.

Thanks!

Thanks, Texashikers. It was nice to see so many people show up for our meet & greet. It was also nice sharing the Mariner Luncheon table with you guys.

Lady Chew is pretty much right on with the anchorage and all. In Colon it is almost not worth getting off the ship unless you just want to walk on the pier. We stayed on our balcony and had breakfast delivered when we went through the locks. It is almost so slow you don't know you are rising or falling unless you look at some landmark for perspective. I don't know if there was a holiday on our lock day but they were shooting fireworks in Colon. I'm sure it wasn't for us though.

Kona921....They do NOT have onboard entertainment from the TVs. they are pretty basic actually. No intuitive TV. They do have DVD players and a library of movies you can request. There is a channel for current route info, a fore & aft camera channel. Several shopping and shore excursion channels. They have Fox, MSNBC and BBC World and that is about it. There was one more but I can't remember. As has been reported here recently they do not broadcast any onboard entertainment anymore.

Thanks for the info Rothbury. We were on the Niew Amsterdam in March and they already had the new flat screens and on demand entertainment in the cabins. I guess we just got lucky. I highly doubt it will make or break our May trip:D

Thank you for your review! This is why many of us come to Cruise Critic.

Thanks for the review! We booked this itinerary a few days ago and are really excited to experience the canal. :)

Lisa

Thanks for the info Rothbury. We were on the Niew Amsterdam in March and they already had the new flat screens and on demand entertainment in the cabins. I guess we just got lucky. I highly doubt it will make or break our May trip:D

All cabins on the NA have been converted to the on demand tv.

Thanks you for sharing the good and the not so good without being overly dramatic. Some complain about every little thing. Glad your issues where dealt with quickly.