Just Home from Zuiderdam Dec. 27-Jan 7

[ellieanne]

Full review coming, but overall it was a good cruise.

 

It was a FULL ship with (in my opinion) too many children running around unsupervised and too many rude people. Truly, I witnessed at least 10 passengers yelling at the bar staff, the room stewards, or the Front Desk Staff.

 

I had a great time despite the other passengers. The Dining Room -- I really did not notice a decline in quality there, though a couple of nights the menu was just "Meh" to me. The Lido was great as always, but it was crowded! We had to stake out a table very early in order to get a table for all 6 of us to eat together. DH noticed a lack of sun loungers -- and that people "reserved" them all day without actually ever using them so he was disappointed by not being able to find a lounger anywhere.

 

Overall some minor disappointments, most of which were caused by other passengers, but it was a great cruise, and I loved going through the Canal, even just in & out.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions and will post more later about specifics, including the JazzDagen Group that was on board.

[easyboy]

Glad you had a great time. Thanks for the feedback.

 

 

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[OlsSalt]

I have always found winter "holiday" cruises to be very impacted and more unpleasant than regular HAL cruises - larger groups traveling together impacting lines, tables and elevators, higher level of noise in public places and an over-burdened staff that seems to be wilting under the pressures.

 

Just back from one on the Veendam over Christmas and New Years, and with almost 500 days on HAL ships I can confirm there is a very different level of energy on the several holiday cruise we have taken. Had not this cruise included Cuba, I would not have taken another winter holiday cruise. Good to know up front before one signs up. But for the families on board, the kids were certainly having a good time.

[Keith1010]

Looking forward to your full review.

 

Welcome home.

 

Keith

[Rmt1948]

Also looking forward to seeing your full review. We are on the Zuiderdam starting February 7th and are anxious to know the ins and outs of the ship. Glad you enjoyed your trip despite some minor disappointments.

 

Maury

[Krazy Kruizers]

Looking forward to your full review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise in spite of a few disappointments.

[kftw]

Looking forward to your full review too.

[erewhon]

Thanks for your comments.

Will you post your full review on this thread?

[ellieanne]

Embarkation: We stayed at the Hampton Inn Airport North/Cruise Port and used their shuttle to the port. It was easy and smooth. I booked the shuttle when I arrived on Christmas Evening and opted for the latest shuttle available, 12:30. Most other passengers at the same hotel chose an earlier shuttle as I thought they would so by the time we were ready to leave the hotel had pretty much cleared out.

 

 

It took about 15 minutes to get to the port and all unloaded. It was raining slightly so we had to dodge raindrops and puddles to get our luggage to the stevedores, but it was easy and they were efficient. Then we headed inside and got in line for security and to check in. Security was as smooth as possible, given the people who feel they must get their belongings and put everything back together right at the end of the X-Ray machine rather than moving down for the people behind them to collect their belongings. We filled in the Health questionnaire and were cleared to head upstairs to the check-in lines. That took a while, because even at nearly 1:00 pm, the line was still quite long and slow moving. But the man directing traffic was fun and we had a lovely conversation with him as long as we could.

 

 

The line moved sort of quickly. We got on-board and dropped our carry-ons in our cabins just in time to get lunch in the Lido which was a madhouse. After that we had to check in with the front desk to get a member of our party assistance with the Life-Boat Drill and I had to enquire about the two bottles of champagne that were on the desk in my cabin with no explanation or note (the Front Desk could find no record of them and said they were mine to keep…Bonus!!)

 

 

Life-Boat Drill was as usual, but it was my first interaction with members of the JazzDagen Group on board. Many members of the group assumed everyone on board was part of the group (not true) and many members knew each other from previous cruises. The couple of old friends in my Life-Boat were using the Drill as their own personal LOUD catch-up session. I tried just giving them a HARD STARE while the Captain was talking to explain the emergency procedure, but when that failed I had to get rude and just turned around and said quite tersely, “PLEASE BE QUIET!” I don’t think they were happy about me, but it was Emergency Drill and I needed to be able to hear what was being said. Those are truly lifesaving instructions; Old Friends Week can wait until afterward.

 

 

After Life-Boat Drill we went up to the Crow’s Nest — ohh sorry it’s now EXC Central/Explorations Cafe at the Crow’s Nest — for Sail-Away. It was a bit rainy and overcast and we wanted somewhere to sit and enjoy a drink. We sat at the bar and decided what would be the first drink we purchased with our Signature Beverage Package (or as we call it, the Magic Drink Card). While we were deciding another passenger came up to order an Old Fashioned, with very specific instructions as how to prepare it and when the barista cum bartender could not prepare it to her exacting (and quite frankly shrill) instructions, the customer gave up in a huff and got much ruder to the bartender. This interaction still rankled me eleven days later when we were getting off the ship. In truth it still bothers me a great deal. We ordered our drinks and enjoy them, listening to conversations around us, including one gentleman who had run through his 15-drink limit before sail-away!

 

 

 

We don’t particularly like the alternative dining venues on board, preferring the main dining room for our evening meals, and we were happy to find we had been assigned a lovely table for 6 tucked in a corner by a window, with plenty of room and not too many neighbors. We had an enjoyable dinner and headed back to our rooms for unpacking and sleeping before Half Moon Cay the next day.

[geoherb]

Great start for our review. I'm glad we can avoid holiday sailings now that DH has retired from teaching. We used to prefer HAL for them due to the fact there are fewer children on HAL ships than Princess. We sailed Dec. 10-20 last month on a Princess ship. According to the Captains Club rep, there were more than 500 children scheduled for the next cruise. We had a couple of dozen on ours.

[JimnKaren]

If that was Jennifer in the Crow's Nest/Explorations Cafe, she can hold her own doing mixed drinks even though she is really a Barista.

 

Jim

[arbee5]

Full review coming, but overall it was a good cruise.

I'm happy to answer any questions and will post more later about specifics, including the JazzDagen Group that was on board.

 

Following since we're sailing Feb 7th. Our first HA cruise. Thank you for reviewing.

[globetrotter212]

I was on the Zuiderdam from Dec 6 to Dec 17. I only saw one kid on the entire ship and he was well-behaved. That's why I prefer sailing when school is in session, as tons of kids running around like they are at Chuck E. Cheese's can get really annoying, especially when you are on vacation. I am assuming your itinerary was HMC, Aruba, Curacao, Cartagena, Colon (w/ partial transit) and Puerto Limon. We got diverted from Puerto Limon due to high swells so we were taken to Grand Cayman instead. I was in the MDR when the captain made that announcement and I will never forget the huge collective gasp everyone made when he said he decided to cancel the call at Puerto Limon.

 

I liked the ship. I thought it was beautiful. Much classier than anything I've been on before. The food was great and better than any other food I've had on any other cruise. It wasn't a full ship, so the Lido Buffet didn't get super crowded super fast. However, the Lido Deck would get dead right after dinner. I was on the deck at 7 PM a couple times and I was the only one there.

Edited January 10, 2018 by globetrotter212

[Rmt1948]

Following since we're sailing Feb 7th. Our first HA cruise. Thank you for reviewing.

 

Which ship are you sailing on for your cruise? If you are on the Zuiderdam, come join our roll call.

 

Maury

[puppycanducruise]

Welcome back.

Looking forward to reading more of your comments.

Glad you (mostly) had a good cruise.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Full review coming, but overall it was a good cruise.

 

It was a FULL ship with (in my opinion) too many children running around unsupervised and too many rude people. Truly, I witnessed at least 10 passengers yelling at the bar staff, the room stewards, or the Front Desk Staff.

 

I had a great time despite the other passengers. The Dining Room -- I really did not notice a decline in quality there, though a couple of nights the menu was just "Meh" to me. The Lido was great as always, but it was crowded! We had to stake out a table very early in order to get a table for all 6 of us to eat together. DH noticed a lack of sun loungers -- and that people "reserved" them all day without actually ever using them so he was disappointed by not being able to find a lounger anywhere.

 

Overall some minor disappointments, most of which were caused by other passengers, but it was a great cruise, and I loved going through the Canal, even just in & out.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions and will post more later about specifics, including the JazzDagen Group that was on board.

 

Our experience with loungers on Zuiderdam last winter was similar to yours. Generally about 1/3 of the loungers were occupied by hats, books, towels. The one day I was able to snag one, I paid attention to the hogging, and it wasn't just a run to the bathroom or the bar or the buffet. It was hours. There was chair "reserving" on promenade deck, too.

 

Sorry to hear about the loud people at boat drill. The first few cruises we were on after Concordia, people were very attentive. But over time, there have been more passengers not paying attention. We're on K'dam this winter. It will be interesting to see how people behave at the indoor muster.

 

Love calling the beverage package the "magic drink card!" :cocktail:

[jenndery]

Will be cruising on Zuiderdam April 2018. First cruise in over 20 years. I am solo (hubby has to work) but traveling with my 75 year old parents. WELCOME any tips or advice. Especially about drink packages, spa and ports. Thanks in advance.

[ellieanne]

Will be cruising on Zuiderdam April 2018. First cruise in over 20 years. I am solo (hubby has to work) but traveling with my 75 year old parents. WELCOME any tips or advice. Especially about drink packages, spa and ports. Thanks in advance.

 

I got the Signature Beverage Package as part of the Explore 4 promotion when I booked the cruise. I don't drink so the cost of the SBP isn't worth it to me, but that did not mean I did not take advantage of it when I got it free. I will say the way drinks are prepared is not consistent across the ship. I ordered a Campari & Soda in the Pinnacle Grill Bar, the Lido Bar, the Ocean Bar, and the BB King's Blues Club, and none of them were exactly the same! One had a lemon wedge, one a lime wedge, one a slice of orange, one nothing -- and some were store, some were not, some had the Campari added to the soda, others had the soda poured on top of the Campari. I suggest if you find a bartender that makes drinks the way you like them, stick with that bar for the cruise.

 

I loved the BB King's All Stars, but this group's contract is up at the end of March, so you may experience a different group. But I would definitely plan to attend at least one night for all 3 sets! It is so worth it.

 

My cruise was quite crowded and there were many children, many of whom were unsupervised for much of the day. There was also a very heated cruise long ping-pong tournament on my cruise from before 8 am until after 10 pm each day. The ping pong table is in a bad position if you take the Forward elevators and want to head to the Lido. I suggest avoiding the area by taking the midship elevators whenever possible.

 

My only experience with the spa was a mani-pedi and I was quite pleased with my attendant. I did have an issue about canceling a haircut my husband had booked -- he developed a fever while on the cruise and was quarantined/confined to quarters by the medical staff and the spa was going to charge me a 50% cancellation penalty until I argued that point -- he would have been at the haircut, but he was quarantined/confined to his cabin!

 

My other suggestion is find a place you like on the cruise, or you parents like on the cruise, and just plan to meet there for catching up/hanging out. We found a table in the Lido my Dad liked and that was the place to look when you were looking for anyone or the place we arranged to meet during the day. It made it easy for all 6 of us to be together more often than just dinner.

 

As far as ports, I am not sure where your cruise is going.