HAL Zuiderdam-- any other recomendations?

[CanadianMAG]

I recently was on HAL Zuiderdam we had a wonderful time. I am unsure if we should stick with this cruise line or go for another when we go again in May... What cruiseline would be similar to HAL. IMO, this ship seemed to be somewhat classy (with the exception for some people) we don't want a party boat.

 

What are your thoughts on Royal Carribean? It seems like a pretty nice cruiseline? I have been on a one night Princess cruise but my Zuiderdam trip was much more memorable.

[suz1607]

Try Celebrity - we like that cruise line and Holland America. Both have excellent service and good food. Celebrity's spa is better but Holland America tends to go to more interesting ports and of course, Half Moon Cay is the best private island. We are going on Zui June 23. it will be our first time on one of the larger HA ships so I am anxious to see how it compares.

[JohnSki]

I would agree. Celebrity has given our family great cruise experiences on our four cruises with them. The food and servive was exceptional, though some of the entertainment needed improvement. Our family of five is trying our first cruise with Holland America on the Zuiderdam 6/18. We have also cruised with Royal Caribbean and Carnival, and all agree we have liked Celebrity the best thus far.

[Tarkus]

i'd suggest also giving princess a look... as of right now, they're probably my favorite.

[peaches from georgia]

Since the Zuiderdam and other Vista class ships are not considered "typical", why not try one of the other smaller HAL ships, like the Volendam or others. To a lot of people it would be like trying a different cruiseline. ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

I agree with peaches.

Try Volendam, Zaandam, Ryndam.

RCI - too - bit - too many people.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You mentioned that you won't be cruising until May 2006. Are you interested in returning to the Caribbean? If so, you may have a hard time finding s cruise ship in the Caribbean. Most of the cruise lines sned their ships to Alaska and Europe. For the first time, next year won't have a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Even the Zuiderdam will be in Alaska.

[Tarkus]

i just did a quick spot-check... while hal and celebrity do appear to abandon the caribbean after april, there are options on princess, rcl, or ccl (dunno of the latter is of any interest to you or not). you could also try some of the smaller specialized companies as well (windjammer springing to mind as i type this).

[Tatka]

If you want similar experience, definitely try Celebrity... :)

[salboz]

RCCL was our favorite and used to book most cruises with them. Then we took a Celebrity. New favorite. Did a few with them. This will be our 2nd HAL when we leave this Saturday. Only other HAL was the one to Alaska on a smaller ship, so not sure what this will be like. So far, my opinion is that overall,Celeb and HAL are the most similar, although I do enjoy Celebrity's free welcome aboard drinks and the gifts found in the stateroom for past guests. Would probably book Celebrity if given the choice. See how I feel when I get back after this HAL trip.

[Oceanwench]

Ater our first HAL cruise [Zuiderdam 2003] we tried RCCL for a 5-day Caribbean. While the service was good and the food OK, we preferred HAL.

Our experience has only been on the Vista ships, but we are considering the Volendam for next year.

 

We would also consider trying Celebrity or Princess as well.

[RuthC]

Here's a third vote for trying a non-Vista class HAL ship. You will still get the feeling of "classy", but in a different atmosphere.

Many of us who love HAL feel that way because of the crew. On a different HAL ship you will get the crew, but it will have a different feel.

[bepsf]

I agree w/ folks about trying another HAL ship...

 

...but after the Vista Class, I'd suggest trying the R Class ships (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Volendam or Zaandam) before trying the S-Class. You might find that it makes transitioning to the smaller ships easier that way...

[CanadianMAG]

You mentioned that you won't be cruising until May 2006. Are you interested in returning to the Caribbean? If so, you may have a hard time finding s cruise ship in the Caribbean. Most of the cruise lines sned their ships to Alaska and Europe. For the first time, next year won't have a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Even the Zuiderdam will be in Alaska.

 

I knew it was hard to find a good Carribean cruise last month, I haven't look at anything yet for next May yet as I am not sure when my vacation will be... it could be April,May,Jun we are flexible. All I know it I want one last cruise before we start a family.

 

I looked on HALS website and it seems that their last Carribean cruise is in April then again in October, is that correct??:eek:

 

Looks like it is Princess, Carnival, and RCCL

[arzz]

I cannot comment on Celebrity -- but I have done RCCL and did not like the product -- too many people, too crowded (we were on Enchantment of the Seas when it was rather new) and they were always trying to sell us something that was overpriced. The spa experience was more sales than treatment (only other line I experienced this behavior to this extent was on NCL -- don't get me wrong here, there is always a short sales job at the end of any on board spa treatment, but I do not like to pay for my spa time in order to listen to a sales pitch - that should be free) and the deck service for drinks was not "what can I get you" but rather, can I sell you this very overpriced and somewhat old drink special that I have on my tray" ?

 

Of all the lines that we have been on, we like not just the ambiance and service on HAL, but we also like the people. The majority of cruisers we find are fascinating people who are fun to spend time with.

 

The people issue on Princess was very different on my last Princess experience two years ago. We enjoyed very few of the folks that we met and with the "anytime dining" we met a whole lot of folks very briefly -- not an experience that I wish to repeat.

[Oceanwench]

I knew it was hard to find a good Carribean cruise last month, I haven't look at anything yet for next May yet as I am not sure when my vacation will be... it could be April,May,Jun we are flexible. All I know it I want one last cruise before we start a family.

 

I looked on HALS website and it seems that their last Carribean cruise is in April then again in October, is that correct??:eek:

 

Looks like it is Princess, Carnival, and RCCL

 

I have been looking for a cruise for the first half of 2006 and found very few choices after March ... And next to nothing in May.