Just off the Zuiderdam 3/31 Panama Canal Cruise

[Dolby1000]

Well, actually we were off last Wednesday but we continued our vacation through Sunday.

 

I'll be posting a review later, but willing to answer any questions.

 

We were in Neptune Suite 7069, upgraded from a Signature Suite

 

Quick Thoughts:

Food was just okay

Suite was wonderful

No $10 charge for a 2nd entree (not that any entree was worth having twice)

Music was outstanding!!!!  Special Mentions go to Billboard Onboard, Island Magic and Hyperion Knight

Half Moon Cay is a great stop

New Canal was very interesting

Dome car train ride was a moment of a lifetime

Host of the Canal excursion was both really wonderful and completely annoying at the same time

Colon itself was a very disturbing eye opener 

5 or 6 elevators (out of 12) were out of service the entire length of the cruise

HAL needs to work on the My Time Dining concept

Renting a cabana in The Retreat is ridiculously unorganized

 

Overall, a 7 out of 10 experience

 

Dolby1000

 

 

 

 

 

[joekerstef]

1 hour ago, Dolby1000 said:

Well, actually we were off last Wednesday but we continued our vacation through Sunday.

 

I'll be posting a review later, but willing to answer any questions.

 

We were in Neptune Suite 7069, upgraded from a Signature Suite

 

Quick Thoughts:

Food was just okay

Suite was wonderful

No $10 charge for a 2nd entree (not that any entree was worth having twice)

Music was outstanding!!!!  Special Mentions go to Billboard Onboard, Island Magic and Hyperion Knight

Half Moon Cay is a great stop

New Canal was very interesting

Dome car train ride was a moment of a lifetime

Host of the Canal excursion was both really wonderful and completely annoying at the same time

Colon itself was a very disturbing eye opener 

5 or 6 elevators (out of 12) were out of service the entire length of the cruise

HAL needs to work on the My Time Dining concept

Renting a cabana in The Retreat is ridiculously unorganized

 

Overall, a 7 out of 10 experience

 

Dolby1000

 

 

Took the 11 day in December. Zuiderdam is in excellent shape. We did not have the same elevator issues you experienced. The food IMO was very hit or miss, generally not bad but nothing to write home about either. Agree about HMC, the new canal (take an excursion that goes to the visitor center; there are several) and Colon. I would take this cruise again just to see Island Magic perform again. They are amazing performers and very friendly when out and about on the ship. One thing you didn't mention, and I imagine this isn't going to be as much of an issue in the suites (we were in OV), is that our cabin stewards were way overworked. They had 30 cabins to deal with and they seemed to be going non-stop from very early in the morning until late at night. I felt really bad for them. 

Overall great cruise though, highlights definitely HMC, the canal experience, and the stop at Costa Rica (sloths!). We also went to Ostrich farms on both Aruba and Curacao, very interesting.

[*Miss G*]

Looking forward to your review!  When you say you were upgraded to a NS from a Signature Suite... was that a purchased upgrade or a surprise upgrade?

[Dolby1000]

36 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Looking forward to your review!  When you say you were upgraded to a NS from a Signature Suite... was that a purchased upgrade or a surprise upgrade?

On our Roll Call, several people reported calling HAL and getting upgrades due to price drops, so I called them and got an upgrade to the Neptune Suite and $100 beverage cards, but I was the one who initiated the conversation, although the person on the phone was very polite and I was, of course, very happy with the upgrade!

[Dolby1000]

58 minutes ago, joekerstef said:

Took the 11 day in December. Zuiderdam is in excellent shape. We did not have the same elevator issues you experienced. The food IMO was very hit or miss, generally not bad but nothing to write home about either. Agree about HMC, the new canal (take an excursion that goes to the visitor center; there are several) and Colon. I would take this cruise again just to see Island Magic perform again. They are amazing performers and very friendly when out and about on the ship. One thing you didn't mention, and I imagine this isn't going to be as much of an issue in the suites (we were in OV), is that our cabin stewards were way overworked. They had 30 cabins to deal with and they seemed to be going non-stop from very early in the morning until late at night. I felt really bad for them. 

Overall great cruise though, highlights definitely HMC, the canal experience, and the stop at Costa Rica (sloths!). We also went to Ostrich farms on both Aruba and Curacao, very interesting.

I agree about the cabin attendants, they are so overworked.  And yet Arsana and Tri always had a smile for us and called us by name by the 2nd day.  I rated them a 10 on the HAL survey and tipped them well.

[Himself]

Is the Magician James Celen still performing on the Zuiderdam?

[Jgail]

41 minutes ago, Himself said:

Is the Magician James Celen still performing on the Zuiderdam?

Yes, he was on our trip 3/31 Panama Canal Zuiderdam.  Had his two Pomeranian dogs with him.

[Himself]

9 hours ago, Jgail said:

Yes, he was on our trip 3/31 Panama Canal Zuiderdam.  Had his two Pomeranian dogs with him.

 

The dogs are apart of the act and are always with him.  Years ago he worked with birds.

[retdon]

We were also on this cruise, third time we have done it. We did not eat in the MDR. We wanted too on last Gala Night but no reservations were available (had My Time Dinning) and we did not want to wait up to an hour for a table. We did eat in the Canaletto and were disappointed in everything but the Lasagna. The service was very slow and we were told the kitchen was short a chef, then why did you take all these reservations???? We had reservations at the PG but had to cancel and never could get another evening reservation. 

 

Our SS suite was great as were our cabin stewards, Frederick and Fan. They had 28 cabins and were very friendly and eager to serve. Our request for ice in the later afternoon was always kept. 

 

Lido at lunch was overcrowded as was several dinners, difficult to find a table for 4. Food was just OK, nothing to brag about. I enjoyed the pasta station several times and it was good. Had sweet and sour pork with noodles at the Asian station that was excellent. Dive In is always good. We did not like the breakfast room service menu. HAL has grouped items together where you either take it all or nothing. We like the muscli and croissants with the delicious coffee. We had to select the "continental" to get the muscli and then were sent dry toast, one pastry and one croissant and fruit. A lot of food is being waisted by doing this and I did comment about it on my survey. 

 

The ship is in excellent condition and we did not experience the elevator problem as we were close to the mid-ship elevators which worked every day. We only got off the ship twice to do some shopping at the port.  I enjoy the casino and blackjack. Someone hit a slot for $10,000 on this cruise, that is a real win. 

 

Any questions, will be happy to answer, I have all the Daily Activity programs. 

 

 

[Sir PMP]

The Island Magic steel band is indeed great..

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoyed reading all the reviews.

 

The last few times we were on the Zuiderdam we stayed in the PS -- our cabin stewards had 34 cabins to take care of including several officers cabins at the bow of the ship.

 

For the last several years we have eaten all dinners in the Pinnacle Grill (or in the Tamarind on the ships that have this specialty restaurant.  We do not like the Canaletto -- ate there twice and meals were terrible and service the last time we were there was poor.

[Krazy Kruizers]

12 hours ago, Jgail said:

Yes, he was on our trip 3/31 Panama Canal Zuiderdam.  Had his two Pomeranian dogs with him.

 

 

The last time we were on the Zuiderdam, James Celen had a small white dog with him.  Guess that dog died.  Love Pomeranians.

[joekerstef]

9 hours ago, retdon said:

We did not like the breakfast room service menu. HAL has grouped items together where you either take it all or nothing. We like the muscli and croissants with the delicious coffee. We had to select the "continental" to get the muscli and then were sent dry toast, one pastry and one croissant and fruit. A lot of food is being waisted by doing this and I did comment about it on my survey. 

 

I agree that the breakfast room service menu as currently printed has gone downhill. Next time try writing your modifications and/or "special requests" on the menu. We have never had a problem getting what we want even if it's not on the menu. 

[kamac56]

We too did this cruise, we had dinner in PG once and breakfast a few times.  It appeared to me they were short staffed everywhere. The breakfast in the PG seemed to take forever so we did it twice than headed to the lido which seemed chaotic at best. Lines of people waiting for an omelette while ONE cook tried their best. Our room steward was the best.  Always asking if we needed anything etc.  the elevators are being redecorates with glass planels on the walls so there was always one out but most times two.  Talked to a few of the elevator crew they stated work would be done in time for the ship sail to the Baltic. There is only one smoking area on the ship and that’s on 9 always crowded. I think the thing I found annoying was when the shops had sales etc it was never listed in the daily what and where. We took advantage of price drops prior to sail and ended up with a large amount of OBC than CANNOT be used in the casino. It will show up as being removed from your OBC but you will get a bill at the end when they adjust. 

[retdon]

14 hours ago, joekerstef said:

 

I agree that the breakfast room service menu as currently printed has gone downhill. Next time try writing your modifications and/or "special requests" on the menu. We have never had a problem getting what we want even if it's not on the menu. 

I did write down what we wanted and it was never done. I crossed out what I did not want so that they could see what we really wanted. They never complied with our request. So sorry this has changed.