Problems on the Zuiderdam??

[calteacher]

I'm hoping that someone on the Z'dam this summer to Alaska can keep us informed as to whether the plumbing problems experienced earlier are still prevalent. We have booked a cruise to Alaska in July 2013 for our family. Because we need connecting rooms, with another room for four adjacent to the connecting rooms, the Vista ships are really the only ones which fit our needs.

 

I did a search to see if we could transfer our reservations to another ship and have discovered that due to the travel/vacation constraints of our family, no other ship can accommodate us. Either the rooms are unavailable, or they just don't have the rooms we need.

 

As we will have a 3, 5, and 7 yr old with us, the idea of using plastic bags to take care of bodily functions seems to be a daunting proposition. However, since we seem to have no alternative to keeping our reservations on the Zuiderdam other than to cancel the cruise completely, we're just hoping for the best.

 

For that reason, we're hoping to hear what current cruisers are experiencing and hoping that somehow the problems are fixed, or will be fixed during the short dry dock in Dec.

[canadianbear]

The most recent thread that addressed this was about a week ago-someone had trouble with their toilet. However, for reasons unknown to me, the thread was closed-no idea why. Not sure (haven't looked) if you can even find it still on here.

[momatibm]

I'm hoping that someone on the Z'dam this summer to Alaska can keep us informed as to whether the plumbing problems experienced earlier are still prevalent. We have booked a cruise to Alaska in July 2013 for our family. Because we need connecting rooms, with another room for four adjacent to the connecting rooms, the Vista ships are really the only ones which fit our needs.

 

I did a search to see if we could transfer our reservations to another ship and have discovered that due to the travel/vacation constraints of our family, no other ship can accommodate us. Either the rooms are unavailable, or they just don't have the rooms we need.

 

As we will have a 3, 5, and 7 yr old with us, the idea of using plastic bags to take care of bodily functions seems to be a daunting proposition. However, since we seem to have no alternative to keeping our reservations on the Zuiderdam other than to cancel the cruise completely, we're just hoping for the best.

 

For that reason, we're hoping to hear what current cruisers are experiencing and hoping that somehow the problems are fixed, or will be fixed during the short dry dock in Dec.

 

If your cruise is in 2013 -- I would wait to see what next years impressions are. There are many people on the ship that don't have the problem. Only a very few people on the ship report on Cruise Critic -- not to belittle their concerns -- most problems are intermittent and should be looked that way. That being said -- those who have problems have a a legitimate beef -- if/when a problem happens -- HAL tries very hard to solve the problem. I have not problem booking any HAL ship.

[Zyzygy]

Not only has CC closed a recent Zuiderdam thread, it has also nuked some posts (by me) expressing somewhat tartly my concerns that are similar to those expressed by the OP on this thread.

 

My family, too, are somewhat locked in to the Zuiderdam for this fall, and I have been candid in expressing my hope that HAL will have corrected the Z's problems by then.

 

My guess (and hope) is that they will replace any additional sewage pumps or air conditioners necessary during the fall repositioning, just as they replaced several of those components during the spring repositioning.

 

Even if posts are somewhat strongly stated, but still within appropriate language, I don't think CC should zap/nuke them.

 

Nor should a thread be locked, simply because it updates repeatedly iterated problems with a particular ship.

 

I sense some conflict between CC being both a message board and a travel agent. An independent message board wouldn't really care if travelers were critical of a particular travel product, so long as their comments were within boundaries of civility. A travel agent, though, doesn't want "excessive" criticism to interfere with its ability to make sales.

 

An example of this phenomenon is when CC swiftly moves threads about tropical weather from cruise line boards to its "graveyard" weather board. Not everyone who clicks on a cruise line board is necessarily interested in bringing wine on board or smoking on balconies. Some are actually interested in whether a tropical storm may interfere with their itinerary. But CC swiftly dispatches such threads away from the cruise line forums.

 

I guess this post will be nuked, too. Sigh...

[hypercafe]

I was on this ship in April and it did have plumbing and AC problems, it also seemed rundown to me. The AC isn't a issue in Alaska, as for the plumbing, it was hit and miss. The dry dock should freshen up the ship a bit but I feel it needs a major overall and refit. If you must use this ship it will get you there but might not be the best experience. It does seem like some people here have a personal reason for defending this ship.

[spacepotatoes]

Zuiderdam is scheduled for a drydock this fall so if you don't cruise until 2013, odds are good that the problems will be resolved. In the meantime, we're keeping our fingers crossed that we get a cooperative toilet next month ;):)

[iancal]

Our approach is always the same.

 

Why take a chance when there are so many other great ships out there??

 

And they have toilets and A/C that actually work like they are supposed to.

 

Who want to experience a 'drydock at sea'. Not us.

[RuthC]

I'm hoping that someone on the Z'dam this summer to Alaska can keep us informed as to whether the plumbing problems experienced earlier are still prevalent. We have booked a cruise to Alaska in July 2013 for our family. Because we need connecting rooms, with another room for four adjacent to the connecting rooms, the Vista ships are really the only ones which fit our needs.

You're asking the question too far in advance, imo. Whatever answers you get now, numerous and consistent though they may be, will not necessarily be valid when it comes time for you to cruise.

Everything can be running swimmingly now, yet fall terribly apart right before you go. Conversely, everything can be terrible now, yet all fixed up by the time of your cruise.

I suggest you sit back and relax. Keep reading what is said over the next months, but don't count on the current condition for the future. There are no guarantees either way.

[cruz chic]

Our approach is always the same.

 

Why take a chance when there are so many other great ships out there??

 

And they have toilets and A/C that actually work like they are supposed to.

 

Who want to experience a 'drydock at sea'. Not us.

I'm with you on that. Life is too short and vacation is too precious to waste.

[startwin]

If you take a look for the most recent closed thread (about 3 or 4 pages down now) you will see that there are still problems. The hotel manager on the Zuiderdam said the dry dock would be for cosmetic work only, so I don't hold out much hope that the issues will be addressed properly. As someone who did 22 days with a non-working toilet, I can only say why not book another ship. However, the Zuiderdam and crew still left me wishing I could sail on her again.

[calteacher]

Thanks for all the responses. However, as I said earlier, the only way to avoid this, is to cancel the cruise completely. Since this is a special cruise with our kids and grandkids, we don't want to wait another year (to 2014), so we'll just continue to hope good things are in store.

[PathfinderEss]

I'm with Ruth, it is way to early to start stressing about things that might happen on your ship and cruise. If you Calteacher and Zyzygy have not made final payments, you absolutely can change your cruise to another ship, another time. I really hate to see you so nervous about this. Yes, there were problems on the Zuiderdam, both air conditioning and toilets. I won't minimize them. Yes, we were on it the following week after the April 20th cruise and had no problems. Have they gotten all their issues solved, I'm certainly not that naive to believe that it is all fixed but I'm also sure they are working on it. Do you really think they like getting all these letters, and complains - no! So my thought is hold on, sit back, relax. If your going to be that worried about it then change ships, cruises, or cruise lines.

Calteacher there are other Vista ships that do Alaska, the Oosterdam and the Westerdam two of my favorites you might look into them.

 

I was on this ship in April and it did have plumbing and AC problems, it also seemed rundown to me. The AC isn't a issue in Alaska, as for the plumbing, it was hit and miss. The dry dock should freshen up the ship a bit but I feel it needs a major overall and refit. If you must use this ship it will get you there but might not be the best experience. It does seem like some people here have a personal reason for defending this ship.

As far as the comment that the ship looked shabby, wow, I didn't see that at all, but that is my opinion. I certainly don't have any agenda to defend the Zuiderdam, it isn't even my favorite Hal ship but I'm telling you that our cruise on her was fine and she looked good. Was everything perfect, hardly but if your looking for perfection maybe try a hotel.

Do you really think that the Zuiderdam is the first and only ship in Hal's fleet that has/had problems, I think not. One of the worse experience I had was probably on the Veendam 2003. Talk about shabby, it was sad. Bedding did not fit the bed, mattress smaller then bed frame, patio furniture was rusted, cushions were thread worn, etc.. This was a Christmas cruise and in a suite. It certainly was not what I was use to, did I have a good time yes, did they improve those issues on the Veendam ofcourse.

[sapper1]

If you take a look for the most recent closed thread (about 3 or 4 pages down now) you will see that there are still problems. The hotel manager on the Zuiderdam said the dry dock would be for cosmetic work only, so I don't hold out much hope that the issues will be addressed properly. As someone who did 22 days with a non-working toilet, I can only say why not book another ship. However, the Zuiderdam and crew still left me wishing I could sail on her again.

 

I also asked the Hotel Manager what would be done in dry dock and he said they would be painting the hull, replacing carpeting and doing cosmetic work in the cabins. There was no mention of an overhaul of AC and plumbing systems.

 

It is too bad those issues seem to plague the Zuiderdam because it has everything else going for it. Sort of like "Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

[iancal]

Given the choice, I would pick functioning plumbing and A/C over faded carpets and worn furniture and fittings.

 

Unfortunately I suspect the cost and time in drydock for the former far exceeds that for the latter.

 

Much easier to just pick another ship that delivers what you pay for.

 

Functioning plumbing and A/C, updated softgoods, furniture, and fittings,etc are not mutually exclusive. There are many ships that provide both-as well as great service. We only 'encourage' the cruise lines by accepting less than we paid for when when we book ships that are in this state for months on end.

[Guernseycruiser]

We were on the Zuiderdam in mid-May, and we only experienced an issue with the plumbing once, and this was resolved very quickly, to the extent that we would not even mention this as a negative, we are purely responding to the question posted. We did not hear of any issues from other passengers on this issue.

 

I would not change to the Westerdam or Oosterdam, as I understand they do not travel through the inside passage, which was one of the highlights of our cruise.

[SwissMyst]

..... As someone who did 22 days with a non-working toilet, ......

 

Can you be more specific about what you mean by a "non-working toilet for 22 days"? Did this mean it was a delay-flush toilet, or you had to use facilities down the hall for 22 days? Thank you.

[sapper1]

Can you be more specific about what you mean by a "non-working toilet for 22 days"? Did this mean it was a delay-flush toilet, or you had to use facilities down the hall for 22 days? Thank you.

 

Startwin has already detailed her toilet woes umpteen times. She should not have to do it again.

 

For us it was a delayed flush problem---about an 18 hour delay. Does that mean it wasn't broken?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We jumped ship ...

[SwissMyst]

.....

 

For us it was a delayed flush problem---about an 18 hour delay. Does that mean it wasn't broken?

 

It means there was a delay flush problem for 18 hours. Thank you.

[luxurysailer]

Thanks for all the responses. However, as I said earlier, the only way to avoid this, is to cancel the cruise completely. Since this is a special cruise with our kids and grandkids, we don't want to wait another year (to 2014), so we'll just continue to hope good things are in store.

 

 

Why not consider another cruise line? HAL is our favorite cruise line, however, we will never sail on Zuiderdam again regardless of what itinerary it offers.

 

As an alternative, may I suggest one of the Princess ships? Some differences would be noted compared to HAL, some of which are better and some of which are less desirable. Overall, though, I think the two lines offer much the same experience.

 

If enough passengers would refuse to sail on Zuiderdam maybe HAL would definitively fix it. That is, if it is definitively fixable. I hope no one brings up the idiots who flush inappropriate items down the toilets. These miscreants aren't limited to Zuiderdam, so the problem can't legitimately be blamed on them alone.

[kazu]

Why not consider another cruise line? HAL is our favorite cruise line, however, we will never sail on Zuiderdam again regardless of what itinerary it offers.

 

As an alternative, may I suggest one of the Princess ships? Some differences would be noted compared to HAL, some of which are better and some of which are less desirable. Overall, though, I think the two lines offer much the same experience.

 

If enough passengers would refuse to sail on Zuiderdam maybe HAL would definitively fix it. That is, if it is definitively fixable. I hope no one brings up the idiots who flush inappropriate items down the toilets. These miscreants aren't limited to Zuiderdam, so the problem can't legitimately be blamed on them alone.

 

For the op - there is now a review on a recent Zuiderdam sailing posted. You might want to take a look.

 

Totally understand the op's concerns - when we sailed on her there were no issues (thank heavens) as we had two newbie cruisers and friends on their second cruise and I had recommended this sailing. Imagine my chagrin if we had gone through this.

 

I will say this - listen to Sapper1 and startwin - as they both loved the ship and the crew and it didn't destroy their cruise. That speaks measures IMO for the ship and the crew.

 

I will say when we were on the food in the MDR was incredible, service was very good and dining was a joy.:)

 

But we didn't have any issues as they did.

 

As others have said (and it's true) there is no guarantee on any ship - things or 'ship' happens. I will just wish you smooth seas and a wonderful cruise:D

[calteacher]

Thanks for the encouragement. I talked with one of my DDs this morning and due to school starts and ends (one DD is a teacher in CA so her school doesn't end until mid-June and DGD and DGS live in IL and their school starts again in mid-August), vacation restrictions, and a three-times yearly meeting for my DH, it is really difficult to reschedule for another time slot--to say nothing about not being able to get rooms we need on the O'dam or the W'dam.

 

As far as another cruise line, we are using FF credits for the down payment; and as we don't anticipate taking everyone on another cruise soon, we would lose that money. While that may not be a deciding factor for some people, it does play into our plans as we will also be providing air fare/hotels/car rental pre-cruise for eight people.

 

So, at this point we will just hope that things get fixed and try to anticipate a wonderful cruise. DH and I don't cruise as often as a lot of people on CC, but we did just get our 100-day medal in January, so we can think of lots of reasons to be able to enjoy the cruise.

[startwin]

Thanks for the encouragement. I talked with one of my DDs this morning and due to school starts and ends (one DD is a teacher in CA so her school doesn't end until mid-June and DGD and DGS live in IL and their school starts again in mid-August), vacation restrictions, and a three-times yearly meeting for my DH, it is really difficult to reschedule for another time slot--to say nothing about not being able to get rooms we need on the O'dam or the W'dam.

 

As far as another cruise line, we are using FF credits for the down payment; and as we don't anticipate taking everyone on another cruise soon, we would lose that money. While that may not be a deciding factor for some people, it does play into our plans as we will also be providing air fare/hotels/car rental pre-cruise for eight people.

 

So, at this point we will just hope that things get fixed and try to anticipate a wonderful cruise. DH and I don't cruise as often as a lot of people on CC, but we did just get our 100-day medal in January, so we can think of lots of reasons to be able to enjoy the cruise.

 

 

The food is excellent, the crew is superb, and the ship is lovely. You may very easily be amongst those who experience no problems at all with the plumbing or even the air conditioning. It seems to be sporadic all over the ship (my neighbours on one side had no air - ours was great - and on the other side they only had occasional plumbing issues. Whereas ours was constant. Public washrooms took turns going out). If you go for it, please come back and let us know how it was.

[PathfinderEss]

The food is excellent, the crew is superb, and the ship is lovely. You may very easily be amongst those who experience no problems at all with the plumbing or even the air conditioning. It seems to be sporadic all over the ship (my neighbours on one side had no air - ours was great - and on the other side they only had occasional plumbing issues. Whereas ours was constant. Public washrooms took turns going out). If you go for it, please come back and let us know how it was.

If she is doing a cruise to Alaska, I think air conditioning probably won't be an issue, toilets on the other hand certainly could be.

I also hope when Calteacher goes on her cruise there are no problems. I think that would be great and like you, I hope she comes back to tells us all about her cruise.

[iancal]

My guess is that the response would be something like a delay on any other cruise line is unacceptable.

 

A delay on a HAL cruise of any duration is not only acceptable but most certainly is attributable to other passengers and not the fault of poor or non existent preventative mtce or updating by HAL.

 

 

If a HAL ship sank, I am certain that there is at least one HAL apologist on the board that would find a reason to blame other cruisers.