Zuiderdam review (7/30 - 8/6)

[marc b]

DW and I had a fun cruise. We have been on umpteen cruises with Celebrity, Princess and Norwegian - first time on Holland America. Good line, good ship, excellent service - a few gripes - but nothing that came close to hurting overall experience. For reference, I am 44 and DW is 39.

 

Trip Down: US Airways did there best to mess up our trip down the day before, but not HAL's issue. Stayed at Amerisuites in FLL - it is still just fine for one night, but it is getting a bit worn. Embassy Suites may be better choice. They moved Publix closer to the hotel, so water, soda and beer pre-cruise purchases were easy. Can't beat free shuttles from airport and to pier.

 

Embarkation: As easy as it could be. Got there around noon - minimal line - got right on the ship. Cabin not ready till 1:30 - really strange - but they took our bags, we ate lunch, and bags were in room when we got there.

 

Cabin: We had a mini-suite on the navigation deck - 8046. Plenty of room for 2; plenty of storage space; huge balcony. Room steward was efficient and stayed out of the way. We left notes whenever we needed something (extra towel; clean out mini-bar as we had our own goodies, etc.). Very quiet - you could not hear other cabins and the only occasional noise was moving chairs on pool deck before dinner (must have been stacking them, etc.)

 

Dining: We requested table for 2, but ended up at table for 6. Ate at Pinnacle Grill first night (awesome) - so told Maitre D' we wanted table for 2. Repsonse was "wait list" and I was not happy. I had to go to front desk later because keys did not work, and bumped into guest relations manger. I told her issue and she said she would put in a word with Maitre D' and see what she could do. Next afternoon we were told we got our table for 2....with a confriming phone call from guest relations manager.

 

Food was above average in dining room - usual cruise fare. Waiter and Busser were efficient and friendly. We ate at Pinnacle Grill first and last night - this is something you must do - awesome food and service !! The buffets were outstanding, and I am not a buffet person. The fact that they hand the food to you with warming tops makes a huge difference. The "station" set-up provides a dazzling array of choices. Other than eggs, have never seen this on any other cruise line. Fresh squeezed oj and the lemonade were additional plusses. Other than one late afternoon - they were incredibly efficient in cleaning the tables. The coffee is awful, but not much worse than other cruise ships. We used the coffee bar on the 2nd floor - about 2 bucks for each gourmet cup, but it was awesome and worth it. Ice cream rocks as well....

 

Part II to come - will do ports of call next......

[vicocala]

Thanks, we sure are getting a lot of reports from this cruise, which I think is great! I will be in 8044 so I was glad to hear about your comments re:noise, as I was a bit afraid of the Lido deck being above us.

 

 

Looking forward to your next segment! :)

[marc b]

Ports:

 

Half Moon Cay: Beautiful, pristine, relaxing - very nice - not much more to say. Sleep in and don't worry about being the first one there - plenty of chairs and space. Lunch was nice - we went at 1:15, right befire they were closing down - they should probably go another 30 minutes for us late-arrivers, but no complaints. A definite good stop !

 

Grand Cayman: We had done the sting rays on previous cruises, so we went on our own to 7-mile beach. Beautiful and hottt !! The cabs manage to put more people in a mini-van than clowns in a VW, so be ready to share space....we rented a couple of chairs and a floating mat - there was a bar there, so we were all set. Did a bit of shopping, picked up the Tortuga Rum cakes for co-workers and friends.....

 

Costa Maya: An absolute waste of time. There was a pier built with a shopping area that basically exists for the cruise ships to dump people into to pay too much for stuff sold in stores that open only when ships are in port - I'd bet most of the stores are owned by cruise lines. Outside of that - there's a bar and a couple of pools (hmmm - isn't that also on the ship ?), a $ 50 per person trip to the beach, or 6-8 hour shore excursion choices - yuk !!

 

Key West: Cool little town - touristy but quaint ! We went on a snorkelling tour that was very nice - an hour catamaran ride and reef snorkel. Beautiful fish and reef - well done excursion - but very, very hot out at sea - bring your hats and sunscreen !!

 

 

Entertainment: The production show we saw was just okay - entertaining but nothing spectacular - NCL really seems to have the talent market at sea. The spa was wonderful - I had a massage and DW had manicure, etc. They did a nice job. Casino was fun - usual cruise ship fare - 8 decks at blackjack (with people splitting 10s); 2x odds at craps; and the usual Carribean stud, 3 card poker, etc., along with the tight slot machines. We made some money and the crew was friendly enough, so no complaints. They had one hold 'em table, but it was constantly full. Also, blackjack tournament is waste of time. In the old days, they'd give back 90-95% of entry fees to winners - now they give $ 500 for 1st place and Pinnacle Grill dinner for 2nd (and some tee shirts). At 20 dollars per entry, unlimited entries, it's as bad as bingo.

 

Random Thoughts: A wonderful vacation - I long for the days when ships were smaller, but to HAL's credit, the ship never seemed big. There are plenty of nooks and crannies and small bars, and we never felt crowded. On sea days there were always seats either at the pool, or one deck up. Would do HAL again, they are a notch above Princess with service, but the lack of anytime dining is a bit of a negative for us. Also, with dressing up, it seemed that informal and casual were one in the same. For men, collared shirt and khaki pants were fine - no need for an extra blazer.

 

Gripes: Few and far between. Service was excellent. They took good care of us. One major concern is that their drink prices are way too high. I'm okay paying $ 6.95 for a Pina Colada in a take home cooler on Half Moon Cay, but $ 6.95 for a poolside bloody mary on the ship is piracy. Also, $ 3.95 per beer is ridiculous. They should run specials on these if they are going to charge those kinds of prices (i.e. - other than making folks buy them in volume).

 

Disembarkation: Easy and relaxed. HAL does it right. Cab to FLL was 14 bucks with tip - US Airways lost our luggage (again, not HALs fault) - was glad we had cruise insurance, but it finally showed up at our doorstep sometime between midnight and 5 a.m.......

 

 

Please let me know if any questions, etc.

[JoyAnn]

Was there only one ship at HMC the day you were there? There certainly were not enough chairs on our first stay when there were two ships. We got there early (first tender) so we had chairs but we "shared" with others from another ship because they had nowhere to sit.

[JoyAnn]

Sorry for the duplicate post, board acting weird again.

[marc b]

we were the only ship there. Do other HAL ships sometimes use the island simultaneously ?? I could see where that would get way crowded !!

[mrsred]

Hey Marc B!

 

I must agree with you about Costa Maya being a tourist trap. From what I understand "someone" poured a couple of million into creating the little port area and then contacted the cruise lines....I see no point in stopping there.

 

It has helped the local economy, and I did love the David and Ivan tour to Chacchoben...but we couldn't wait to get out of that port area!

 

Glad we weren't the only ones wondering what the heck the deal was with that stop.

 

Happy to hear you enjoyed yourself the rest of the time.

 

Sorry to hear about your luggage going MIA for a bit...but happy to hear it worked out in the end!

 

~e

[JoyAnn]

Yes, the first time we were there on the Maadam, the Amsterdam was there as well (on their way back from a world tour).

 

we were the only ship there. Do other HAL ships sometimes use the island simultaneously ?? I could see where that would get way crowded !!

[artvlay]

Hi Mark,

 

Good Review. We were on the Zuiderdam in Feb. and going again in two weeks. I agree with most of the stuff that you said. We also tryed HAL for the first time and much prefer RCI and Celebrity.

We are staying pre-cruise in the Lago-Mar and we are not renting a car. If we take a cab to the Publix, is there any decent restaurants in walking distance? Thank you

[marc b]

There's an Italian restaurant in the strip mall on 17th in front of Publix that looked crowded, and there's an Outback Steakhouse and a Mexican restaurant just to the West of Publix in front of the Amerisuites. We ate at Outback - nothing wrong with it ! Enjoy your cruise !!

[artvlay]

Thanks Mark

[SeaMaster]

One major concern is that their drink prices are way too high. I'm okay paying $ 6.95 for a Pina Colada in a take home cooler on Half Moon Cay, but $ 6.95 for a poolside bloody mary on the ship is piracy. Also, $ 3.95 per beer is ridiculous. They should run specials on these if they are going to charge those kinds of prices (i.e. - other than making folks buy them in volume).

 

I agree on the Bloody Mary, but 4 beers for $10 poolside is reasonable to me. Heck, who can have just one anyway???

[psc11]

I agree that the drinks are exceptionally high (especially when the kids get "mocktails" with no booze of course) but the beer was reasonable. As a matter of fact, we always went up to the crow's nest before dinner (we were late dining) and sat at the bar. Raoul only charged us $2.00 per beer - not sure what was up with that - maybe because we became his "regulars." Drinks and mocktails were normal prices. Also, he would then go and get appetizers for us. It was very cozy - only a couple of the tables would be occupied but that was it - pretty empty up there before dinner.

[JoyAnn]

I think the bars have specials on mixed drinks most nights as well, don't they?

[marc b]

They had a "drink of the day" in the Cruise News every day, but as I recall, Princess and NCL would run a 3 or 4 hour special on a number of drinks. And I think their Pina Coladas, etc. were 4.95 if you did not want a souvenir glass. Agree on the beers by the bucket - a good deal, but unless all the cruise lines have increased their prices (possible) or my memory is failing (probable), I never recall paying 6.95 for a cocktail....