Just Back From 11 Day Zuiderdam

[E-500]

I'll be posting a full review, but here is a snapshot of our 3/17 eleven day Zuiderdam cruise to the Panama Canal and southern Caribbean.

 

Have never been on a bad cruise and our luck continues.

 

The highlights:

 

1. Cabin service

2. Food quality and variety

3. Ship active after 10:00, lots of folks out and about late.

4. Younger crowd, average age probably 60-65

 

Concerns:

 

1. MDR service dreadful. One breakfast took 1 hour and 50 minutes. 10 nights of dinner, never less and 90 minutes and most ran 2 hours. This was for a 7:45 reservation, anytime dining. tried different tables, different teams, it never got better.

2. Ship condition, tired and worn. Clean and no A/C or toilet issues however.

3. Public restrooms smelled like a barn yard ship wide.

4. Crew is exhausted and walking rote zombies.

5. Happy hour was 4-5 in two bars at the same time every day, no variety in venues or times.

 

The staff cut backs are killing what used to be a fine product. No staff to serve in the MDR, lido buffet or lounges. No deck crew to remove external rust from the stern MDR windows, chipping paint on our veranda, burnt out light bulbs etc. All small things, but they add up. The HAL value proposition has diminished dramatically to the point of no future deposit while on board.

 

Will we still cruise HAL, yes probably, but not short term. Next cruise will be outside the Carnival family and then evaluate our options for future vacations.

 

Even with all the negatives above, would still give this cruise a B+

Edited March 30, 2014 by E-500

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to post the review of your Zuiderdam cruise.

[Linda&Vern]

I'll be posting a full review, but here is a snapshot of our 3/17 eleven day Zuiderdam cruise to the Panama Canal and southern Caribbean.

 

Have never been on a bad cruise and our luck continues.

 

The highlights:

 

1. Cabin service

2. Food quality and variety

3. Ship active after 10:00, lots of folks out and about late.

4. Younger crowd, average age probably 60-65

 

Concerns:

 

1. MDR service dreadful. One breakfast took 1 hour and 50 minutes. 10 nights of dinner, never less and 90 minutes and most ran 2 hours. This was for a 7:45 reservation, anytime dining. tried different tables, different teams, it never got better.

2. Ship condition, tired and worn. Clean and no A/C or toilet issues however.

3. Public restrooms smelled like a barn yard ship wide.

4. Crew is exhausted and walking rote zombies.

5. Happy hour was 4-5 in two bars at the same time every day, no variety in venues or times.

 

The staff cut backs are killing what used to be a fine product. No staff to serve in the MDR, lido buffet or lounges. No deck crew to remove external rust from the stern MDR windows, chipping paint on our veranda, burnt out light bulbs etc. All small things, but they add up. The HAL value proposition has diminished dramatically to the point of no future deposit while on board.

 

Will we still cruise HAL, yes probably, but not short term. Next cruise will be outside the Carnival family and then evaluate our options for future vacations.

 

Even with all the negatives above, would still give this cruise a B+

Thanks for posting about your recent Zuiderdam cruise. We were on the Feb. 24th - March 7th cruise. I highlighted a couple of your comments. While I am sure this is what happened to you and I don't mean to imply they did not - I would like to say that (1) We found the ship's condition to be excellent. I could not report any tired or worn conditions. (2) We saw no crew that looked like they were exhausted and walking zombies. (3) Balcony's were being painted several days on our cruise, in fact the entire Promenade deck also appeared to have been freshly painted prior to our cruise. I'm sorry your balcony hadn't been reached yet.

 

I hope despite you not being thrilled with your trip that you still had a good time and enjoyed the ports and the Panama Canal! I think the comparison of our cruise to yours proves that everyone "sees things differently" even if their cruise was only a month apart.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Linda&Vern

[erewhon]

Thanks for taking time to post these comments of your Zuiderdam cruise.

[RJ2002]

Thanks for your report of the Zuiderdam. I'll be on board in about 3 weeks.

 

Sorry to read your reports on the slow service in the MDR. Two hours is WAY too long for dinner in my book, except in certain exceptional dining venues. The MDR on a HAL ship is not one of them. ;)

 

Did you speak with anyone about the slow service?

[gelo7]

Thanks, for sharing your thoughts.

[E-500]

Thanks for your report of the Zuiderdam. I'll be on board in about 3 weeks.

 

Sorry to read your reports on the slow service in the MDR. Two hours is WAY too long for dinner in my book, except in certain exceptional dining venues. The MDR on a HAL ship is not one of them. ;)

 

Did you speak with anyone about the slow service?

 

Yes to communication to the dining room manager on 2 occasions. That is why we tried different tables and teams. He seemed concerned, was attentive and listened, but to no avail.

[E-500]

Thanks for posting about your recent Zuiderdam cruise. We were on the Feb. 24th - March 7th cruise. I highlighted a couple of your comments. While I am sure this is what happened to you and I don't mean to imply they did not - I would like to say that (1) We found the ship's condition to be excellent. I could not report any tired or worn conditions. (2) We saw no crew that looked like they were exhausted and walking zombies. (3) Balcony's were being painted several days on our cruise, in fact the entire Promenade deck also appeared to have been freshly painted prior to our cruise. I'm sorry your balcony hadn't been reached yet.

 

I hope despite you not being thrilled with your trip that you still had a good time and enjoyed the ports and the Panama Canal! I think the comparison of our cruise to yours proves that everyone "sees things differently" even if their cruise was only a month apart.

 

Thank you for your gracious, non-flaming response. As I indicated in my first post, I still rated this cruise a B+. The ports were excellent, enjoyed the canal passage and loved Cartagena. I used to do business in Bogotá back in the days of the drug cartels, what a transformation Columbia has made. Mexico should use the Columbian model as a case study.

[RJ2002]

Yes to communication to the dining room manager on 2 occasions. That is why we tried different tables and teams. He seemed concerned, was attentive and listened, but to no avail.

 

Thank you. Disappointing that speaking to the DRM didn't make any difference.

[matondo]

Looking forward to reading your longer review when it comes out.

 

Aside from the slow service what was the food quality like in the main dining room?

 

We were seriously considering this cruise and then opted for Celebrity. Never been on Celebrity but our friends, with whom we are cruising, were not interested in the Zuiderdam after reading the reviews. We have cruised the "Z" twice and loved it but it has been 8 years since our last cruise on her.

[E-500]

Looking forward to reading your longer review when it comes out.

 

Aside from the slow service what was the food quality like in the main dining room?

 

We were seriously considering this cruise and then opted for Celebrity. Never been on Celebrity but our friends, with whom we are cruising, were not interested in the Zuiderdam after reading the reviews. We have cruised the "Z" twice and loved it but it has been 8 years since our last cruise on her.

 

Food quality was excellent. Nice presentation, correct temps, and flavor profiles were well done. Portion sizes have been reduced (a good thing in my opinion) and the variety each night was fine for all the courses with no repeats that I remember. Apps, cold soups and entrées stood out.

[erewhon]

I'll be posting a full review, but here is a snapshot of our 3/17 eleven day Zuiderdam cruise to the Panama Canal and southern Caribbean.

 

Have never been on a bad cruise and our luck continues.

 

The highlights:

 

1. Cabin service

2. Food quality and variety

3. Ship active after 10:00, lots of folks out and about late.

4. Younger crowd, average age probably 60-65

 

Concerns:

 

1. MDR service dreadful. One breakfast took 1 hour and 50 minutes. 10 nights of dinner, never less and 90 minutes and most ran 2 hours. This was for a 7:45 reservation, anytime dining. tried different tables, different teams, it never got better.

2. Ship condition, tired and worn. Clean and no A/C or toilet issues however.

3. Public restrooms smelled like a barn yard ship wide.

4. Crew is exhausted and walking rote zombies.

5. Happy hour was 4-5 in two bars at the same time every day, no variety in venues or times.

 

The staff cut backs are killing what used to be a fine product. No staff to serve in the MDR, lido buffet or lounges. No deck crew to remove external rust from the stern MDR windows, chipping paint on our veranda, burnt out light bulbs etc. All small things, but they add up. The HAL value proposition has diminished dramatically to the point of no future deposit while on board.

 

Will we still cruise HAL, yes probably, but not short term. Next cruise will be outside the Carnival family and then evaluate our options for future vacations.

 

Even with all the negatives above, would still give this cruise a B+

 

 

Have you made these comments on the survey from HAL after the cruise?

[E-500]

Have you made these comments on the survey from HAL after the cruise?

 

Great question, short answer is no. Got a note in the stateroom that HAL will send an e-mail with an on-line survey. Have not yet received it. Only got off the ship on Friday 3/28. They appear to no longer give you the paper form the last day or so.

 

The long answer is yes, I will give HAL as much detail as they care to read.

[misterd21]

interesting bit of info.... these are things i find important to know when selecting a future cruise. The word of mouth information given by fellow cruisers on their experiences can give one an exceptional insight into a cruise line's operations. more importantly, a particular ship and itinerary.

 

while as cruisers, our individual tastes and expectations may vary slightly. We generally tend to look for the same things.... quality of service, food, entertainment, ship impressions, and value. I never tire of reading my fellow cruisers reviews and opinions of their cruise experiences because i learn so much from others experiences. doing so help me do several things. such as, select an itinerary, choice of cruiseline, a particular ship(or ship to avoid maybe), get a realistic expectation of what i can expect from my personal cruise experience, etc... usually after reading several reviews i can get a sense of weather or not i want to book a particular cruise, or save it for a later time when reviews improve. i have found that when i get information from fellow cruisers i can set my expectations accordingly, and usually i end up having a better than expected cruise experience.

 

So thank you to all of the OP's who take the time to post their opinions and reviews of their cruise experiences. you offer a wealth of information for other cruisers selflessly, and freely...again, thank you.

 

I will be sailing on the Zuiderdam in the late fall, on an 11 day panama itinerary.... so this indeed helps me alot...

Edited March 31, 2014 by misterd21

[erewhon]

Great question, short answer is no. Got a note in the stateroom that HAL will send an e-mail with an on-line survey. Have not yet received it. Only got off the ship on Friday 3/28. They appear to no longer give you the paper form the last day or so.

 

The long answer is yes, I will give HAL as much detail as they care to read.

 

If I recall correctly, there were several spaces on the e-mail survey to write comments.

We received the survey within a few days of arriving home from our last cruise.

[retdon]

We will be doing the 10 day version in Oct. with a group and I have a few questions.

 

Were there any theme nights, ie: Caribbean, Tropical ??

Was there a pool BBQ any night?

If you have menus, would love to see them.

 

Thanks for the review, the on-line survey usually is sent about a week after the cruise.

[fsdj1097]

We will sail on Zuiderdam in June. Did you notice if the Terrace Grill had received the upgrade to the 'Dive In' that's been discussed on some of the other threads on CC?

[Himself]

Thanks for the report on the Zuiderdam.

[E-500]

I'll kill three birds with one stone.

 

1. The "Dive In" upgrade has not been added to this ship yet. The burgers were excellent in the existing space along with the Mexican buffet layout. Long waits during busy times (15-20 minutes), combination of staff shortages and cooking the thick burgers to medium well.

 

2. One or two sail away parties on deck and one dinner BBQ around the lido pool. Did not attend any of these so can't comment on the quality or execution.

 

3. Sorry no menus.

Edited March 31, 2014 by E-500

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the report..

[fsdj1097]

I'll kill three birds with one stone.

 

1. The "Dive In" upgrade has not been added to this ship yet. The burgers were excellent in the existing space along with the Mexican buffet layout. Long waits during busy times (15-20 minutes), combination of staff shortages and cooking the thick burgers to medium well.

 

2. One or two sail away parties on deck and one dinner BBQ around the lido pool. Did not attend any of these so can't comment on the quality or execution.

 

3. Sorry no menus.

 

Regarding the Terrace Grill, can I assume, from your response, that they are now making the burgers patties from scratch, rather than using the frozen patties as before?

[Hertz Von Seasider]

Maybe I'm missing something but surely your highlights should include the wonderful places you visited, the fantastic people you encountered and the learning and appreciation of new countries. Rather than the food ?

 

Glad you had a good time though. ;)

[E-500]

1. I think the Terrace burgers were frozen, as long cook times and uniform shape would suggest. They have not implemented the "Dive" concept yet.

 

2. As I indicated in my first post that this was just a brief snap shot of a cruise I had just completed. Please see post #8 for a comment on the ports. Yes, met some interesting people and enjoyed their company. Full review to follow this weekend in the formal review section.

[seaside sally]

Thanks for all the good news from The Zuiderdam!!

 

Will be on this ship April 18th to do The Panama Canal cruise again -- did this cruise 2 years ago, and our CD was JT Watters -- look forward to reading your full review :)

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Looking forward to hearing more.