On the Zuiderdam

[finest14]

I see kids acting stupid everywhere I go: restaurants, movies, grocery stores, water parks, ballgames, etc. They act that way because their parents don't care. Sometimes they bother me, sometimes they don't. I also see plenty of kids with good manners and respect for the people around them. They act that way because their parents have instilled a sense of respect and responsibility in them. It doesn't surprise me that behavior on a cruise is the same.

 

Meglet....my family will be joining you on the Zuiderdam 7/16. My 14-year old may be a handful at home, but in public he always minds his manners. My three-year-old is always by our side because my wife won't have it any other way. If we wanted a vacation without kids, we'd leave them at home. When they travel with us, they are our responsibility. No, they are not perfect, but definetely well behaved in public. If they act up, we remove them from the public place.

 

They also have their own tuxedo's for formal nights!

[Time2sail]

"They also have their own tuxedo's for formal nights!"

 

 

Just about the cutest thing we have ever seen was the two-year-old dressed in a tuxedo on our cruise last week. He was the hit of formal night and got major time on the cruise video when we viewed it.

 

Your sons will be handsome in those tuxes:)

[Sailure]

Sailure:

 

Has HAL finally replaced that velour type of fabric on the elevators yet? All the kids (I would guess they were kids) used to write their favorite obsenities on those velour elevator walls until someone wiped them off.

 

Just wondering...

 

They still have the red "velvet" for the forward elevators, blue/purple for the midship elevator and burgandy for the aft elevators. I have seen writing on them, but I very carefully...."remove it".;)

[Sailure]

uncialman

 

We had 30 children on the first segment and 33 on the second segment. We didn't catch any of them "etching" on the elevator panels, but we saw a couple in their late 20's - early 30's "writing" on the panels. We just glared at them. To report them would have been useless as we didn't know their names or cabin number.

 

Found out from the matri di last night at dinner that there are 300 children onboard this cruise! They are for the most part the most misbehaved, unsupervised bunch of children I've ever had the displeasure of encountering. The parents who let them roam around unsupervised are even worse. I can't believe that parents care so little about their children that they let them roam around a "city" alone as these do! The class of passengers that HAL has been noted for is certainly diminished in my view. I've also let them know about it on my comment card.

 

I refuse to go to the Lido and prefer having my meals served in my suite rather than to deal with this bunch of hooligans.

 

Unless HAL does something about this, I have heard from other pax that they will not sail this ship again either.

 

I booked the Volendam for the Nov. 5th sailing...and can't wait for that cruise.

[Sailure]

If we can help it, we will not sail on the larger ships ever again. We just returned from Alaska on the Amsterdam--we loved the capacity and size of this ship. There were children from nine months through the teen years and the children were all well-behaved. and fun to be with. They appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, too. Sorry that the children on your cruise are being allowed to run loose without discipline from anyone; that is very annoying.

 

I talked with many parents who had their children with them on the cruise and they were very happy with the Club HAL program on the Amsterdam.

 

Hope the rest of your cruise is enjoyable:)

 

I don't even know if anyone has their kids in Club HAL this trip.

[Pita817]

I noticed on Key West ship schedule the Zuiderdam was cancelled for their port of call today:eek: . Are you sailing on the eastern side of Cuba back to Fort Lauderdale? Hope you have smooth sailing!

 

Wanted to send a message to Hunky Dory to have a great vacation! Hope the passengers and staff threw a great going away party!:D Wish I was there!

[Sailure]

what with tropical storm arlene on the nearby horizon, i wonder if today's weather on the zuiderdam is less than hoped for? guess we'll find out eventually...

We skipped Key West today and are having a day at sea. He's heading toward Grand Bahama. That's ok, I love sea days.

Just to let you all know...the kids and the ruts in the hallways, which I was told by an officer WERE part of repairs done to the ship, have not made my cruise an unhappy one. I have the means and resources available to avoid it. I only mention what's going on so that everyone who reads this board can know what's going on on this ship.

I blame the parents for their children's behavior...no one else. There are no excuses for unsupervised children and when parents and other adults try to push the blame on HAL, it just proves to me that there are more people than I would like to think who can't take responsibilty for their own actions and those of their children. Sorry. Those people need to understand that it's not all about them and that there are other people to consider when you decide to join 2000 other people to share a small city for a period of time. :(

[Pita817]

We skipped Key West today and are having a day at sea. He's heading toward Grand Bahama. That's ok, I love sea days.

Just to let you all know...the kids and the ruts in the hallways, which I was told by an officer WERE part of repairs done to the ship, have not made my cruise an unhappy one. I have the means and resources available to avoid it. I only mention what's going on so that everyone who reads this board can know what's going on on this ship.

I blame the parents for their children's behavior...no one else. There are no excuses for unsupervised children and when parents and other adults try to push the blame on HAL, it just proves to me that there are more people than I would like to think who can't take responsibilty for their own actions and those of their children. Sorry. Those people need to understand that it's not all about them and that there are other people to consider when you decide to join 2000 other people to share a small city for a period of time. :(

 

Thanks for the quick response! Guess I just got lucky you were on the boards! Have a great day at sea!

[HAL92]

Sailure, It sounds like the Zuiderdam's passengers on your cruise are not like HAL's standard passengers. I went on the zuiderdam twice and there weren't as many kids and they weren't as terrible as you describe. It's probably because you went on a cruise during the summer in the Caribbean, where there are many kids. HAL should fix the problem of kids roaming alsone, as their parents should be required to be with them, as the cruise ships are like a "floating city". I hope that your cruise gets better and that HAL fixes some of those problems.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Sailure, It sounds like the Zuiderdam's passengers on your cruise are not like HAL's standard passengers. I went on the zuiderdam twice and there weren't as many kids and they weren't as terrible as you describe. It's probably because you went on a cruise during the summer in the Caribbean, where there are many kids. HAL should fix the problem of kids roaming alsone, as their parents should be required to be with them, as the cruise ships are like a "floating city". I hope that your cruise gets better and that HAL fixes some of those problems.

 

Sounds like a fir rule if the kids aren't in Camp. At what age would you say the cutoff age should be to stop requiring parents be with their children?

 

Bill

[Sailure]

I spoke to many people today who were on the Zui last year and said that this year it is worse than ever as far as the unruly kids onboard. Some say they'll never sail the Zui again.

I spoke to Janee, our consierge and she says she noticed it too and to make sure we put it in our comments.

I sail the Carrib. during the summer every year and except for Carnival I've not experienced the kids the way I do this trip.

Now today the weather is pretty bad and I can understand that kids can only be amused for a certain amount of time in the pool, but I think if HAL is going to try to sell this ship to families they'd better change their mindset and provide more activities for the kids sans the parents, because I can understand parents would like some time away from the little darlings too.

They just don't seem to have things planned very well this trip. Also they have a new cruise director named Bob (I think) and he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer either.

At the disembarkation talk yesterday he was telling people they could take FIVE bottles of booze without paying extra and FIVE cartons of cigarettes as well. I know you can do that if the cruise went to St. Thomas, but not on this cruise. It caused quite a bit of confusion for alot of people. I just attributed it to him not remembering which cruise he was on!:D

For anyone taking laptops, there are wireless hotspots onboard at the internet cafe, the java corner, the lido pool, a couple of other "rooms" and the Crow's Nest, where I am now and getting an excellent signal.

There is also dialup in the cabins...but it is separate from the package deal and costs 50 cents a minute and is very very slow. I didn't even try it.

I must say though that the satellite wireless signal is probably the fastest I've experienced on any ship so far. The Volendam last year was pretty slow on wireless.

All in all, my cruise has been wonderful and I'm enjoying myself alot...thankfully, I'm not a person who minds missing ports and the rain isn't bothering me or many other people at all.

Like we say....it's much better than being on land!