Zuiderdam 4 day Pacific Coastal May 8-12 review

[canadianbear]

This is the first time we have tried a short Pacific Coastal cruise. We flew to San Diego from Vancouver the morning of the cruise with no problems. (meaning no job action by Air Canada thankfully). We arrived at the cruise terminal around 11:30 and they started boarding around 1pm. They did announce the cabins were not ready so everyone went for lunch. By the time we finished lunch our cabin was ready.

 

This was also a first for us in that we booked an aft cabin #5185. We have previously tried deluxe verandah suites and superior suites so this was a test for me to see if I felt claustrophobic at all. I found the entry to the cabin "tight" but the rest was fine although I don't think I'd like it on a longer cruise to be honest.

 

What I really loved was the balcony. WOW! We had 2 loungers, 2 chairs and a small table and foot stool and still had room to move. Very impressive. It was a very rough ride this trip which started the 2nd night so much so that we had to miss our only port which would have been Port Angeles. I didn't mind missing it to be honest-although the seas were rough I found I sat out on our deck for several hours every day. I'm not sure if it's because we were an aft but I did not feel cold or the wind (even though they closed the upper deck). We did find out that my husband can not tolerate an aft cabin though :( Our other cruises have been mid ship and it was obvious that because of the rough seas and our location he got sick so we won't be booking an aft again.

 

The toilet in our cabin always had delay flushing and the first couple of days would some times take up to 2 hours to flush but mostly anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 hours. On our last day before disembarkation it was over 2 hours and still hadn't flushed. We again advised the front desk staff who hopefully will have it dealt with before the Alaska people arrive.

 

I like to have a very cool room and kept our a/c on the coolest position. It never really got cold in the room but was comfortable. I'm not sure how or if it would work properly in a hot climate.

 

The crew on board are fantastic in my opinion. Our cabin steward, Sugeng (Su for short) was wonderful. He always checked in to see if we needed anything but was not intrusive. There was no extension cord in our room as I had requested on our booking (for my CPAP machine) and he had it in our room when we came back from dinner.

 

Although it was obvious of some sort of cut-backs in the MDR and the service was slower, we were not in any hurry at all. We did the any time dining. The food was delicious as always too and the servers are polite but look a bit run off their feet now. We also had dinner our last night at the Canalleto which was very good.

 

My husband commented that he was very impressed on how the staff everywhere always said hello to him when he was walking about the ship. It's little things like that that are so nice to see haven't been lost on HAL.

 

I did the shows (including when hubby was sick in our room) and enjoyed them all including the marriage game on the last night. I also managed to have a drink in the piano bar to listen to Jimmy Maddox on North to Alaska night.

 

I went to my first M&G which was interesting. I now know I should say no thank you when offered wine that early in the day! Was nice to put faces to the handles on here.

 

Unfortunately I'm still not convinced that we will keep our deposit down for April 2013 for the Panama on the Zuiderdam. We talked to several people while wandering the ship who had issues with either a/c or their toilets while on the Panama cruise-combined with other threads with on going trouble over the past couple of months and our roll call people that had issues we are going to wait and see if improvements come. Having a/c and a working toilet are important enough to me on a 22 night Panama cruise that I will continue to monitor reports on the Zuiderdam and decide whether to change our future cruise deposit to a different cruise.

[Mar56]

Thanks for your review. It's wonderful that you were able to " try out" an aft cabin. Sorry that your DH didnt enjoy it quite as much!

[sunviking90]

Canadian Bear, thanks for posting your review. It sounds like you had a good time. I agree about the staff on HAL. Their smiling faces are what bring us back again and again.

Can I ask if there was a charge for Canaletto? On the Westerdam, it said on the TV that there was a $10 charge. I don't remember one before.

[kazu]

Well you did a great job on this review I have to say. :):) very nice and a pleasure - thanks for sharing:)

 

Tell your dh not to worry - my dh can't do aft either:eek:

 

Great review - thanks:)

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks for the balanced review. Hopefully, the Zuiderdam will get its act together in the plumbing area. We are currently booked on its last Alaskan cruise in September and will be watching CC comments all summer. Barbara

[canadianbear]

Canadian Bear, thanks for posting your review. It sounds like you had a good time. I agree about the staff on HAL. Their smiling faces are what bring us back again and again.

Can I ask if there was a charge for Canaletto? On the Westerdam, it said on the TV that there was a $10 charge. I don't remember one before.

 

There was no charge on the Zuiderdam for the Canaletto. I hope they don't start charging-such a shame if they do.

 

You know what I missed was not getting a tile-never thought of that. I guess you have to be on a 7 day cruise to get one, darn. I also missed the lobster! So, I told my husband if we do another Pacific Coastal we are staying on for Alaska too!

[bysea]

I enjoyed your review, especially as we are booked in the same cabin (#5185) to Alaska in August. Glad to hear you liked the aft balcony - it will be our first aft, too.

 

Silly question, I know, but I was wondering if the bathroom and bed are on the right or left side as you enter that cabin? Just trying to picture it in my mind!

 

I certainly hope the plumbing problems will be fixed soon. It's quite a worry, since some of our family will be joining us for their first cruise experience, and we want it to be wonderful for them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

Waiting up to 2 hours for a toilet to flush -- not good.

We also like very cool cabins.

Thank you taking the time to write your review.

[GTVCRUISER]

I did the Oosterdam 4 day Coastal Cruise a few weeks ago , I went to the front desk and asked for a tile and they gave me one

[peaches from georgia]

 

Silly question, I know, but I was wondering if the bathroom and bed are on the right or left side as you enter that cabin? Just trying to picture it in my mind!

 

You can tell which side the bed/bathroom is on for each cabin when you look at the deck plan. If the little opening for the door is on the right side of the cabin when looking at the drawing (pretend you are standing in the hallway looking at your cabin) then the bed/bath is on the left. If the doorway opening is shown on the left then the bed/bath is on the right in the cabin.

 

If you were standing in the hallway at the door of 5185 facing into your cabin it is on the left so your bed/bath is on the right.

[canadianbear]

bysea-I would suggest if you have a very long delay in the flushing to notify the front desk right away so they can be "on top of it". I truly loved the balcony on the aft but in rougher weather I think you end up feeling it a lot more and we had a rough few days. peaches from georgia is right-when you walk in the door to the cabin the bathroom and bed are on the right. We found ample storage for us and the suitcase fit under the bed. I'm sure you will love the balcony as much as I did.

 

gtvcruiser: gee, I guess I should have asked at the front desk-stupid me. Will know for next time as I'm sure we will do another 4 night cruise one day again. It's a good way to try out a ship and see if you like it.

[bysea]

Thanks for the info, Canadian Bear and Peaches. Getting excited now, and keeping our fingers crossed!

[canadianbear]

Canadian Bear, thanks for posting your review. It sounds like you had a good time. I agree about the staff on HAL. Their smiling faces are what bring us back again and again.

Can I ask if there was a charge for Canaletto? On the Westerdam, it said on the TV that there was a $10 charge. I don't remember one before.

 

Apparently sapete is on the Westerdam now and said they were charged $10 for the Canaletto :( I guess we will watch our credit card bill when it comes in because we were never told of a charge nor was it on our bill when we received it before be disembarked.

[DaveOKC]

I also was on this cruise (and met CB at the meet and greet). HI!

 

Anyway, we were in a cabin near the mid-ship elevators on deck 7, so I thought I would add what we experienced. The seas were rough, but neither of us got sick, and quite frankly we have experienced rougher seas more than once. On one of the rough days, we walked to the aft cabins on decks 7 and 5 (right past 5185 by the way) to see how it would be (we were considering booking an aft in the future). There DEFINATELY was a big difference in the movement from our midship cabin.

 

That made me decide to only book an aft cabin on sailings with a history of calm seas (such as an inside passage to Alaska).

[thecook]

DH and I will be aboard the Zuiderdam in June, so I found the information you provided interesting. It's nice to know that the staff is so accommodating and the food so good that your cruise was enjoyable despite some bumps in the road. Thank you for taking the time to write your review!