Review of Zuiderdam on Partial Panama Canal Dec 11-Dec 21

[vicd1969]

I recently completed the 10-day Partial Panama Canal transit tour on the Zuiderdam, along with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. We booked the cruise way back around July, and have been eagerly scooping up research on the internet thanks to Cruise Critic and a couple of the other popular HAL fan sites. I took quite a bit of photos but haven’t uploaded, much less edited them yet. However, I may post a link to them on this board in the future.

 

This was my second cruise on HAL (previous one on Zaandam in Alaska), while my parents have only cruised once before on the Queen Mary and my DS and BIL have had a couple of Princess Cruises on their belt. Therefore, our perspectives may be somewhat different than the regular 4/5 star Mariners who frequently post here. I’ll also try to rate each category with a score out of ten to summarize my long post. Since this will take me a bit of time to write, I’ll start with reviewing the Embarkation process, the Ship layout, the room, and the food. I’ll review our daily and evening activities, crew service, destinations, and debarkation later today or tomorrow.

Embarkation (9/10):

We left our Best Western hotel on a shuttle around 10:40 AM. We were only able to exit the shuttle at about 11:30, since the shuttle went to the Celebrity terminal first before coming to Terminal 26. Things were a bit chaotic at first because we didn’t realize that we had to drop off our luggage outside the terminal. We then encountered the first of many sterling examples of HAL honesty. My dad for some reason decided to carry an envelope full of cash on his person, and it somehow fell out of his jacket into the ground when he was putting items through the security x-ray machine. He only realized about 5 minutes later when we were in line for the check-in, so my sister and him ran back to the x-ray machine to see if the envelope was there. Fortunately a fellow passenger had found it and returned it to a security officer! Since my dad had some distinctly non-English writing on the envelope, it was pretty easy to verify him as the owner. Check-in went very smoothly and we enjoyed the system where HAL calls boarding by assigned group so you didn’t have to stand around waiting in line. We went to the MDR for an enjoyable lunch and were a bit antsy when not all our luggage arrived at the room afterwards. However, they came by soon after the evacuation drill. At the sail-away, I did take a photo of a nice couple on one of the condos waving the HAL flag as we sailed by (probably one of the frequent posters here).

 

Ship Layout (8/10):

I’ll start with one major deficiency that HAL should address. Because only the front set of elevators goes up to the Crow’s Nest, my parents had to walk across the outside of the 10th deck after taking the middle one up to the Club Hal (as the middle elevator had buttons for 10th deck). When my dad opened the heavy weather-tight door to get inside the Crow’s Nest section, my mom tripped over the elevated bottom edge and fell. The door only had a warning to mind the step from the inside, not from the outside. Fortunately, my mom rolled instead of resisting the impact and suffered some bruising instead of something worse. Now on to the nicer parts about the ship. She is a very photogenic ship. Having a front/middle/rear set of elevators was much appreciated by my DM. My DF, DS and BIL enjoyed walking on the promenade deck, a very nice feature of the ship. We also got to “earn” our Lido trips by walking up 5 or more decks each time we went up there. The ship didn’t seem that old, except some leaks from the ceiling of the Queen’s Lounge the first couple of days.

 

Room (7/10):

Please note that this section does not include my review of our room stewards. I'll review them later as part of my crew service category. My parents and I shared an “obstructed view” room, 4119. This room, however, had a better view than my sister’s “partially-obstructed view” room 4111. That is because only half the window space is taken up by the very last tender on the starboard side, so one has a very decent view for the rest of the window. Storage space was ample for 5 checked-in luggage spaces due to significant room underneath the main bed. The bathroom seemed adequate for our needs; I like the soap/shampoo dispenser system. With 3 people in a small space, I opted to buy the spa access for myself and took most of my showers in the spa/gym locker. No A/C, lighting or plumbing issues to report except a couple of times the toilet didn’t flush because I suspect that there was not enough air available when the lid is closed. The notable issue with this room involved the pull-out sofa bed. There was no room between the extended sofa bed and the dresser table if we left the table chair there. We had to ask our room steward to remove the chair and were without a chair for the cruise. Even without the chair, it was a bit tricky for my parents to squeeze between the bed and table on the way to the bathroom at night. At least the beds were sufficiently firm and comfortable for us.

 

Food (8.5/10):

I’ll start with the MDR dinners. Mostly delicious - if you ordered the right dish. My family members have pretty high standards for quality when it comes to food and they agreed that the seafood and soups were mostly excellent. We really liked the salmon, sea bass, wild mushroom soup, and French onion soup. The lobster tail in the surf and turf did not disappoint. However, the swordfish didn’t seem as fresh and a couple of the Asian soups were not very authentic to their name. Appetizers, especially the tartars, were very well plated. The fruit soups (aka smoothies) were refreshing but the fruit-based appetizers tended to repeat the types of fruits in the ingredients. I am the main beef person in my family and while not the level of a high-end steakhouse, the beef dishes I had were of pretty good quality. Just expect to have some slightly elevated doneness to the beef (ex: medium-rare is just a bit closer to medium) and adjust your order accordingly. It seemed the featured dishes by the HAL celebrity chefs, especially the Caribbean-themed ones, were usually on point. However, some of the more traditionally named dishes like Coq Au Vin and Moussaka were disappointments. Desserts were hit-or-miss but the MDR tiramisu tasted better than the Lido version.

 

Out of the 10 nights, I partook of the late night snack from 10:30 – 11:30 eight times. I liked that HAL serves the tasty Asian food selections in most of these late night offerings. I do wish they would have more hot vegetables in the late night however. I tried to go low-carb the last few late nights but the ice cream always got me.

 

Except for the first and last day, we ate all our lunches at the Lido due to time constraints. I think the MDR was open a few days but will have to check some of my On Location copies. There was less variety in the Lido than in Princess according to my sister. The sushi was mostly fillings of rice. The salads were build-your-own and decent but not great in terms of ingredient choices. I didn’t often go to the main bistro station but my few experiences were not remarkable. Cheeses were very good, as with almost all dairy-based items due to the Dutch supply chain HAL has. Asian food except for the sushi was above-average except you can tell HAL is cutting back on veggies and side dish accompaniments. We snuck out some of the premade sandwiches for our shore outings and they were nicely packaged but nothing special. I tried the Dive-in burger once and it was equal to a nice burger joint. The fries were outstanding; I do recommend it for those who can afford the weight gain. Finding a table could take time but on the occasion when we shared one with other passengers, they were all friendly.

 

On the last day, my DS and I took a paid cooking class at the culinary center. I highly recommend taking at least one cooking class during your cruise for the notable value you get. Book early on the first day at the front desk. For $29, you get some hands-on training (and sneak-tasting) with one of the ship’s principal chefs. You also get a HAL apron and a big bottle of water. And you get a 3-course lunch at the Pinnacle Grill based on the dishes you learned at the class. But wait – there’s more. The Pinnacle Grill lunch also includes a free glass of wine! So that’s almost $40 of value excluding the 1-hour class itself.

 

Now on to breakfast. For the first half of the cruise, we ate at the Lido. I even did a couple of early-breakfast/late-breakfasts on the same day. Our favorites were the smoked salmon arranged like rose petals and the custom omelet. I usually got the English breakfast while my DS got the Eggs Benedict. We then discovered during the second half of the cruise that the MDR breakfast was a much better and healthier experience. No walking around trying to find a table and more manageable portion sizes than the temptation of grabbing all you can in a buffet. The fruit plate seemed sweeter and the baked goods were better. Also, major difference for me is that HAL no longer serves fresh orange juice at the Lido but it still does in the MDR (and Pinnacle Grill). Pretty disappointed with that cutback but at least it is still available on the ships for now, you just have to know where to find it. So unless the ship is docking in the morning at a destination, I highly recommend going with the MDR option for your breakfast. Alas, coffee was still disappointing everywhere but the Explorer’s lounge on the Observation deck. HAL also had Lipton tea instead of the higher tier Bigelow on the Zuiderdam.

 

Overall, I can see why some around here complain about the food when comparing it to what HAL served in the past. I noticed that some ingredients showed up very frequently like coconut milk and red bell peppers - indicating bulk purchases to save money over a focus on variety and sophistication. However, I imagine all other mass cruise lines are also cutting back on their food budget to keep the overall ticket prices low. HAL did a lot of things right in terms of dining. The two Gala night dinners were excellent and the Dive-In is a nice new feature. Given the ship size, the Lido can’t be as big as the ones on Princess/Royal Caribbean and thus cannot offer as many choices. Bottom-line, food was good enough for me to gain 5 pounds. I probably would have gained more if I had continued my 5 meals/day ritual like I did in the first few days.

[rothbury]

Very thorough review! Thanks and keep them coming.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great review.

Keep it coming.

[Lizzie68]

What a great review - very balanced and thorough. Thank you.

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. We've got less than two weeks before we board the Z for a partial transit of the Canal. I hope I can follow your example and only gain 5 pounds!

[POA1]

Thanks for your review!

[Cruizer Bill]

First class review, we love it! That is what we come here for, thank you.

[vicd1969]

Crew Service (10/10):

This is the standout area where HAL shined. We received service from our regular deck 3 MDR and our room stewards that exceeded our expectations. We had the early 5:30 dining assignment and Sute was our main waiter, along with Made who was the assistant waiter. Sute has a great sense of humor and was pretty candid on some of the dining choices we faced. He accommodated all our requests graciously and warmly. Things understandably went a bit slowly on the very first night but Sute and Made made sure we got our courses pretty quickly the rest of the nights. My parents preferred the personal and warm touch of our MDR stewards to the colder approach in the Queen Mary. My DS and BIL also said that while their Princess wait staff were also friendly, they weren’t at the level of service that Sute and Made provided. We went to any-time dining twice because we were late coming in from a shore trip or too full from a late lunch. The first time, Dolly provided equally cheerful and warm service that impressed us. Alas, the other time, we made a mistake and opted to go with an anytime dining room table that freed up 15 minutes before an available 7:45 time in the assigned dining. We waited and waited for our food and probably would have finished earlier despite a later starting time in our Deck 3 MDR.

 

Our main cabin steward Irwan was a bright ray of sunshine. He always greeted me by name cheerfully every time he ran across me. He and his assistant steward Sahat worked very hard covering a third of one deck side. We didn’t make things easy for them by scattering things in our room but the room was always clean after they were done. We also really enjoyed the towel animals they constructed for us.

 

There were other examples of very outstanding service on board. I forgot my nice camera bag in the Queen’s lounge one night and an hour later, I remembered in a panic and came back to the Queen’s lounge. One of the waiters said he had already sent the bag to the front desk. The front desk associate, Jennifer, remembered me from the initial boarding day when I came to the desk to book my cooking class. Everything in the bag was still where they should have been. Also, Liz at the spa treated me like a regular from day one. The bar wait staff didn’t push aggressively for drink purchases. About the only slight service miscue that I saw was one night, the Screening Room was full and people brought chairs from the Hudson room to have a seat. A crewman ordered us to return the chairs because it was “against the rules” but didn’t further explain those rules, which are probably based on legitimate safety concerns. Some of the other passengers were angry and I think they would have been a bit calmer and more understanding if further explanations were given.

 

Day Activities (10/10):

We all loved our cruise director, Rick Barnes. He served as a fantastic emcee for the main activities, so funny yet so knowledgeable. His presentations on the Panama Canal and Ernest Hemingway were memorably world-class. He also hosted the main daily trivia event, which my parents enjoyed if only to listen to Rick’s comments. I went to all the 10 daily trivias, my DS teamed up with me for 9 of them but I was the main answerer. We tied for second on the very first one and got a pin since Rick was generous that day. Then, for 8 straight sessions, we were frustratingly out of a first place tie by one or two points each day. Rick was a tough but fun trivia master. This one group dominated the trivia (though another lady spotted one of the group members reading his phone during a contest (I saw it too) - another group then nicknamed them team Google). On the very last day, my DS guessed an answer and was about to change it but I told her to hold firm on her guess. Her guess was correct, and we ended up with 11 points, all alone in first place! I like to think that was my shining underdog moment on the cruise.

 

We also participated in scavenger hunts hosted by Andy, very fun time. My DS and mom also went to a few of the cooking demos hosted by Ashley. The Microsoft classes were very educational (and that’s considering that my BIL and I are pretty tech-savvy). Secret tip: the computers in the Microsoft class are all connected to the Internet. If you come early and are able to get to a computer in the back – well you know how to use a browser, right? ;) My BIL learned how to create movies using the Microsoft movie app thanks to one class session and created a really fun movie of our zip-lining in Costa Rica.

 

As most reviews attest too, the library was a slice of heaven for those who like to read. The events are nicely spaced out and there were enough activities during the day. For the more popular ones like trivia, you do have to show up about 15-20 minutes (30 minutes in the case of the Microsoft classes) early to hold some seats for you or your group.

 

As I stated earlier, the ship does offer the chance to burn off calories with the wraparound promenade deck. There were a couple of days at the end when it was too windy to walk the deck, and so the fitness center did the trick with machines equal to my fancy gym on land. Since I did purchase the spa pass, I took advantage of the steam room and/or thermal chairs every day. The thermal room was never busy. I also used the hydrotherapy pool a couple of times and wished I found the time to have done more of that.

 

Night Activities (7/10):

I don’t consider the lack of late night events a drawback. We were either too tired or had to wake up early the next day for most of the nights, so 11 PM was pretty much it. The standout events were the 3 game show nights hosted by Rick. I won’t spoil the format for 2 of them but the third was the usual marriage game with 4 different contestant couples. We were rolling in laughter for all three. I also enjoyed the guest Piano player Rick Ahern who plays the piano at two speeds: faster and light-speed. The piano becomes a different instrument when he plays it.

 

BB King All-stars had a fantastic set one night. One night was so-so but I enjoyed watching my 80-year old dad grooving on the dance floor with my mom. The other night was also very good in terms of their song set, I was impressed with the female singer who brought it every night. Acoustics were not the best in the Queen’s Lounge for the band, but that’s the tradeoff in having a mid-sized ship.

 

The main singing performers in the Vista Lounge, sadly however, did not measure up. They didn’t have the vocal range or depth for a lot of the covers they sang. It was agonizing to hear at times. While slightly better than my previous cruise, which was almost like a high-school production, the main act still needs to do better. On the positive side, the ship’s dancers and the Band were up to their stuff. There were times I wished that they could have combined the BB King singers with the dancers to get a really nice show going. The Dancing with the Stars is due to end next year, and I’d be surprised if the 11-year old girl who won our ship’s contest isn’t in the HAL-wide final round next year. She was that good, the best male ship dancer had trouble keeping up with her in their samba!

 

Destinations (9/10):

I’ll try to keep this short, may post more in the destinations sections of the forum.

 

Half Moon Cay: Got early tender ticket to grab choice seats under tree shade near the canoe/paddleboard rental place. Did quick walk on the trail to see the stingrays from the shore. Sparse fish count while snorkeling off the big guest house near the dock but managed to follow a small turtle for a bit. The Nieuw Amsterdam was also there but the beach didn’t seem overpacked.

 

Aruba: Car rental guy was a no-show. Went instead with one of those tour guys waiting by the Diamonds International place offering a private vehicle for us five. Courth was surprisingly an enjoyable and nice guide who agreed to our plan to visit a snorkeling beach, the Casibari and Ayo rocks, and drop off my parents for shopping. In some respects, we are glad we didn’t rent a car and have to try to navigate the side roads to reach the rocks. Water wasn’t very clear during snorkeling, but did see a beautiful blue spotted cornetfish.

 

Bonaire: Took Woodwind snorkeling tour on their sailboat. Was our second time on Woodwind and it was surprisingly more intimate than our previous non-cruise ship trip. Dee, one of the owners, was our group’s guide and she is excellent at spotting creatures in the crystal-clear waters. Got close to like 6-7 turtles and took some nice videos with my GoPro. Tour came back just in time for me to run to get the same stuffed donkey for my nephew that he lost last time, and some of the noted sea salt there.

 

Panama Canal: Stayed on the ship and didn’t feel like we missed much. The passage into the canal was of course crowded on the bow (deck 4) but 3 upper decks in addition also had viewing spaces since they opened up their front areas. On the departure, a lot more viewing room on the bow but try to experience the canal from the promenade side as well. Tall BIL got to touch the lock while the ship was passing through it. DS and I got to take photos with a railcar driver since he was just like 5 feet away from us. I did notice that there is an officer’s bar tucked all the way in the front of deck 4 that’s right by the door to the outside, wonder which passengers have actually been there?

 

Puerto Limon, Costa Rica: Reserved our own private tour with Lucky Tours. Went to the banana plantation, zipline (my parents watched from the rest area), and Tortuguero canal boat trip. Banana plantations was pretty informative. Zipline part was awesome, got some nice videos of DS, BIL and me doing the ziplines. Tortuguero canal was underwhelming possibly due to the high heat of the day making most creatures hide in the shade. Did see a couple of sloths and some howler monkeys over the course of our tour. Our driver spotted one sloth right next to the road near the port.

 

Debarkation (9/10):

Went smoothly for the most part. Our actual time to leave was pretty close to our scheduled time. Rick Barnes was present to personally see off the passengers, a nice touch by him. We only had to wait like a couple of minutes to catch a cab to the airport. The only minor issue was that we thought we had to separate my dad in the immigration line because he is a non-US citizen while the rest of us have US passports. This complicated things and it turned out he could have been with us all along.

 

Conclusion:

Overall, I would give the cruise a 9/10. We had a memorably good time and my family would gladly recommend HAL to our friends and other family, when the destinations are a fit for them. While I can’t say I would cruise every year, I only have 13 more days to go for my second mariner star, so it shouldn’t be long for that to happen! I’d be glad to answer any questions about this trip or any Alaska-related cruise trips. Thanks for all the kind words so far.

[Barrheadlass]

It was fun for me to read all your comments as my brother and sister-in-law were on this cruise too. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

[Caribbean Chris]

Very enjoyable and much-appreciated. Looks like we'll have lots to look forward to next April on this ship, similar itinerary.

[pbnjrockette]

Nice review! We'll be on the Zuiderdam in January.

 

Can you tell me how much the Spa pass was for 1? What time do they open the decks for viewing when you get to the canal?

 

Looking forward to your photos if you post them!

Edited December 23, 2015 by pbnjrockette

[Mtn2Sea]

You indicated that Rick Ahern was the guest piano player. Does that mean he did a performance in the main theater? If so, do you remember who performed in the piano bar each evening? We were on a cruise a couple of years ago with Rick Barnes. We also enjoyed him as the CD.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review.

At which ports were you permitted to take the pre-made sandwiches ashore?

[vicd1969]

You indicated that Rick Ahern was the guest piano player. Does that mean he did a performance in the main theater? If so, do you remember who performed in the piano bar each evening? We were on a cruise a couple of years ago with Rick Barnes. We also enjoyed him as the CD.

 

Yes, Mr. Ahern performed in the main theater. For the piano bar, the performer was Tom Casey. I didn't hang around the piano bar much but there were quite a few attendees whenever I passed by. The adagio pair were a couple I think and the man also played the piano while his significant other played the violin very well.

[vicd1969]

Nice review! We'll be on the Zuiderdam in January.

 

Can you tell me how much the Spa pass was for 1? What time do they open the decks for viewing when you get to the canal?

 

Looking forward to your photos if you post them!

 

Thank you for the compliments. Spa pass was $200 for the 10 days. It was $300 per couple. I kind of justified it to myself by considering it as an "excursion" trip combined with cabin upgrade type of expense. Hope you enjoy the Zuiderdam!

[kazu]

Great review.

 

You covered a lot and did a lovely job.

 

Thanks so much for taking so much time and doing such an in depth review.

 

Nicely done :)

 

We really enjoyed Rick Barnes when we had him and consider anyone on a cruise with him to be lucky indeed. He's tremendous.

 

and, of course, welcome home :)

[vicd1969]

Oh, and I believe the decks open at 630. It really depends on when the ship starts its transit, as there can be a long line of ships wanting to enter around that time and the cruise ship doesn't get priority. Don't miss the presentation the previous day about the Canal, seats in the main theater fill up fast and so you may want to get there about 30 min early.

[vicd1969]

Thank you for your review.

At which ports were you permitted to take the pre-made sandwiches ashore?

 

umm, either all of them or none of them? :D:D

 

I don't think we had our bags searched leaving the ship, only when returning. We did try to be a bit responsible by not bringing any fruit off the ship.

[kftw]

Really enjoyed your review.

 

One question: do you know what the internet prices were?

 

Thanks again for your review.

[vicd1969]

Really enjoyed your review.

 

One question: do you know what the internet prices were?

 

Thanks again for your review.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review. The internet pricing was multi-tiered. The cheapest was $55 for 100 minutes. My BIL bought the $100 for 250 minutes package. The rest I am not sure since I didn't pay for shipboard internet. They had 2 or 3 higher priced packages at a lower per minute rate but I am not sure on the exact pricing, I think the lowest cost per minute was like 33 cent/min.

[cruisetraveler44]

Thank you for the great review, we are sailing the end of January and it was so nice to read your review.

[madera1]

Enjoyed reading your review. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[81Zoomie]

Great review. Thanks!

- Could you tell me if the Zdam has the new 55 in interactive TVs in the cabin?

- is there a pizza restaurant in addition to the Dive In?