Zuiderdam Or Miracle

[HMAN]

I have a dilema.... My 32 year old wife wants to go on the Zuiderdam and I would prefer the Miracle. We will be traveling with our 9 month old daughter in Nov 2005. We have cruised Carnival Triumph, Victory, Destiny and the Grand Princess.

Has anyone ever been on the Zuiderdam???? Is it a "BORING SHIP"???? How is the Miracle?????

Please help I want to get booked soon....

The Zuiderdam is the 7 day east and the Miracle is the 7 day west.

 

PLEASE HELP ASAP>>>>>>

thanks.

H

[doone]

I just sailed the Zuiderdam this past March and I can tell you this, its far from boring. Its classy, elegant, fun, colors leave a bit to be desired but I truly didn't mind the neon of the ship, it was truly a great ship. We found the service to be wonderfully sincere, the food excellent and the crew was spectacular, we all felt like we were treated more like a guest vs. a passenger. We had an aft corner suite, 5187 (my first time in a suite and it was great). This suite was incredible, the balcony was HUGE. If you are thinking of a suite, do an aft corner suite, you'll love it.

 

I agree with your wife, sail the Zuiderdam, but I am sure if you go to the Carnival boards, they probably will tell you the Miracle.

 

HAL has been trying to market the Zuiderdam as a "family friendly" ship. We found enough lounges to keep us busy and lots of activities, if that's what we wanted. We are all in our mid-40's and had a wonderful time. We're planning our next cruise together for when we turn 50!!!!!!

 

You will be told that HAL caters to older passengers, I find this NOT to be true at all, especially on a 7-day cruise. We had lots of different age groups on the Zuiderdam. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that. Although, just remember, the longer the cruise, the older the guest onboard will be and that's true of any cruise line, not just HAL.

 

I am sure there are some others here on the boards who may have sailed both ships and can give you their honest opinions. Hope this helps.

 

P.S. I prefer the eastern caribbean vs. the western caribbean.

[catjohnsn2]

I am a middle aged cruiser and have cruised on HAL, Carnival, and RCCL. The level of service on HAL is superb...far superior to that on Carnival and RCCL. There are many activities to choose from or you can just sit with your wife and daughter and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean.

 

I prefer Eastern Caribbean over Western but that is a personal preference.

 

HAL offers better in room movies, has a movie theatre on board, superior food, larger cabins, and will cater to a more upscale clientelle. Their ships are more like floating art galleries and it is a marvelous experience to be pampered by their well trained waiters, room stewards, and spa personnel. You will find a wide range of people cruising HAL but you won't find the "beer and t-shirt" cruiser" or swarms of unsupervised kids riding up and down the elevators all day. HAL may offer High Tea in the afternoons but you will still be able to find a Hairy Legs Contest at the pool or other activities conjured up by the Cruise Director and his staff.

 

We are sailing November 26th and can't wait for our next HAL vacation.

 

Cat

[cruisefar]

I have not cruised on the Miracle, but we had a fantastic time on the Zuiderdam. It was our first HAL cruise and I was a little concerned by some of the reviews. We have sailed Carnival, RCCL and Celebrity. I loved HAL. There are more older passengers than Carnival. I found that a good thing. Alot of passengers stay on the ship or get off at different times so there were very short lines if there was a line at all. Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze. They let you leave your carry-on luggage in your cabin while you go to breakfast the last day. That is itself would make me go back. The shopping was very limited on board, but I typically buy most things in the ports. The eastern caribbean is great. Half Moon Cay can't be beat. The nicest private island I have ever been to. St Thomas is alway a great stop. Tortola was interesting. Do a tour or get a taxi. To find the shopping in the town was kind of confusing. Whatever you pick I'm sure you'll have a great time.

[Tak8]

I would also vote for the Zuiderdam. I prefer Eastern over Western. The service was good to excellent and the food was very good to excellent. I thought there were plenty of activities to do on board. I have not been on Carnival, but have been on Royal, Disney, Princess, and Norweigen.

[Sharonbel]

I recently cruised on the Zuiderdam and can tell you after being on 30+ cruises I would give this ship THE BEST service & service personel of all of them. I was on one Carnival cruise and found it to be younger (but the HAL cruise was very mixed, with many singles in their 20's) and service was nonexistant is some areas.

 

We were in an S suite (7050) and loved it. No matter what you wanted it was there immediately...free laundry, pressing & dry cleaning...quick embarcation desk...4 Captain's cocktail parties with open bar...Captain's caviar/mimosa brunch...concierge GETS you into whatever you want...high tea anytime in your cabin....nice hot appetizers in your room prior to dinner....stay in your room (any cabin) till your color is called at departure...wonderful slippers (to keep)...great robes...and every cabin had wonderful bath ammenities, fresh fruit and loads of other things. All cabins seemed to offer upgraded items & service over Carnival. The early diners got to go to all the game shows etc, whereas if you went (and were main seating dinner) you would be late for dinner. I complained about this and I think the cruise director may rethink this. By the way,the cruise director was young, energetic and has made the activities more geared to all ages & this will be an encouragement to younger cruisers.

 

Basic cabins are very similar, HAL has better ammenities.

 

HAL has the best movies, movie theater (with popcorn), Lido cafe (many cooked to order items), quiet spaces, deck chairs & pads (quality & amount), grill ( with nacho/taco bar), ice cream bar and much much more.

 

The pluses to Carnival are variety of entertainment, more of an upbeat (if that's what you want) atmosphere, disco, larger casino and may offer midnite buffet everynite (not sure) but who can honestly eat again?...you'll pay towards the end of the cruise and it won't be pretty!!

 

Sharon

[peaches from georgia]

"wonderful slippers (to keep)"??? Never heard of slippers being an amenity and we have had a suite on a number of HAL ships. Something you had to ask for? :confused: