Where are the Zuiderdam reviews post drydock

[bennybear]

There is still a dance floor in the ocean bar area but no live music and hardly anyone in that area.

 

Our experience of crows nest EXC. is busy during the day, but late afternoon hardly anyone. So perhaps it is a case of timing. We just couldn’t understand why they had their trivia and happy hours in the overcrowded gallery bar when the Crowsnest late afternoon was virtually deserted and was a lovely space. The ship was very quiet with less than 1600 passengers aboard.

[JimnKaren]

In the Ocean Bar, there was a person playing the piano from 5:00 - 5:45 and 7:00 - 7:45 only. Neither The Band nor The Ocean Trio were not in evidence. The thing with the Ocean Bar on this class of ship is that it is split, part of it is above Pinnacle Grill and part of it is above Pinnacle Bar/Art Gallery. Thus, there is the primary walk-through from the front to back of the ship. Unlike Maasdam, Amsterdam and Veendam where the walk-through does not go through the bar area.

 

Jim

[JimnKaren]

Maybe our cabin steward missed it, but we did not have a "port guide" in our cabin. Likewise, there were no maps of the town when I got off in Colon and Limon.

Is that another revenue saving device?

 

Jim

[tractortom]

There IS a dance floor in the BB King Blues bar, and it was WELL used while we were there a few times last week, on the same cruise as Helen and JimandKaren. That Zuiderdam cruise was the first time in 17 years that we have been on Holland America and there was good and bad to be found. We ate quite a bit in the main dining room, and on nights when it was full, food service was quite slow, and beverage service as just NOT there at all (no one would refill a water glass). I was a little disappointed in the "Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner" as it had all the correct parts (real turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, etc) but the portion was so small that you could cover it all with an open hand. That is not how a Thanksgiving dinner is done at our house. The ship overall was spotlessly clean, the staff and crew were friendly and quick to learn your name, and acknowledge you with it. Everyone on board works very hard, but it seems to me that they are just plain understaffed in the main dining room, and some other places. The cabin we had (8140 Aft Wrap) was great, and the bedding, couch and carpets were all new. We really loved the coffee bar at Explorations (Crows Nest) and the Barista there, Jennifer, who kept us in high quality caffeine. As noted earlier, there were some parts of the ship that were always freezing cold, and others that were always hot and humid. The forward elevator lobby and stairwell were always steamy hot, and I went through there frequently on the way to the Crows Nest, the area around the Casino was freezing cold. You could NOT stay in the Gallery bar without a jacket, and the place was normally empty, except for trivia time. I did enjoy Billboard Onboard several nights, and the gal piano player/ singer was very good. Her partner (Andy) on the other piano made a good effort, but did not yet have the polish of a real entertainer, and when he sang, it all came out sounding like Neal Sedaka. The Ocean Bar was popular before dinner and did a happy hour from 4:00 to 5:00 with the second drink costing $2. I was there, for that deal several days. We didn't spend much time in the Lido, dropped in for a snack or some ice cream a few times. The burgers and hot dogs at Dive Inn are very good, but I didn't care for their fries too much.

 

All in all, we had a wonderful time. Met some nice people,. and got to see a part of the world that we have never been to. I'm thinking we'll go back to Costa Rica sometime in the future when we can stay for 30 days or so, and really get a good look at it.

 

Tom in Okeechobee, FL

[rotjeknor]

At his cruise end presentation on 11/25 Capt Wouter suggested the cracks in the Crows Nest were post-drydock. The change from dry to wet causing materials to shrink/expand. One lady on the cruise expressed that she saw it happen right in front of her. Capt Wouter (cannot spell his last name) expressed dismay and said a glass vendor was available in FLL port to fix it eventually....

?

 

The full name of the captain is Wouter van Hoogdalem. We were on the Z april 16 , he was our captain then. Very friendly and approachable !