Zuiderdam Help

[Bigbudman]

I'm looking into a 7 day from Ft lauderdale. I have a few questions if some would be so kind to respond.

 

My wife and I will be traveling w/o kids. Is this ship/line a good fit for people that enjoy a realaxing trip? We dont like the pushy poolside antics found on Carnival.

 

What service do you find the best prices when booking? BJ's vacation has some good rates it seems. Your choice?

 

Should we arrive the day of the cruise, or arrive a day early and stay in a hotel?

 

We are looking at the deluxe veranda gauranteed, anyone enjoy the free upgrade that is offered with this type of booking? We just know we want the balcony, any other suggestions?

 

Thank You in advance!

Bud

[Krazy Kruizers]

We always fly in at least 2 days early. We don't have lot of options on flights anymore due to cutbacks, so if there would be a problem - snow, delays, etc., we won't miss the ship.

 

We always book through a TA.

 

We always book the full suites.

[doone]

I sailed the Zuiderdam last March with friends, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and ship. HAL is totally different than Carnival and I think you will be pleasant surprised with HAL.

 

We booked suite 5187, which is an aft suite, the balcony is huge, but if privacy is an issue for you, be aware, people can look onto your balcony from above as these cabins are tiered. It didn't bother us, we wanted that huge balcony.

 

Coming from Boston, we always fly a day ahead and get a hotel, less stress and its always nice to start your vacation a day early.

[krewzin]

Is this ship/line a good fit for people that enjoy a realaxing trip?

 

HAL is definitely geared more towards relaxation than partying. Less children and a bit more formal than Princess or RCI IMO.

 

What service do you find the best prices when booking? BJ's vacation has some good rates it seems. Your choice?

 

I started with *****.com, and also got a quote from ***********.com before ending up with *****.com. For the first 2, you need to know exactly what you want...for the latter you can talk with a TA and get a little help. It was strictly a matter of convenience and YMMV, just shop around and ask a lot of questions.

 

Should we arrive the day of the cruise, or arrive a day early and stay in a hotel?

 

A lot is contingent upon where you're coming from, and how long a flight you'll have to get to Lauderdale. Many people who have a couple hours flying plan to get there a day in advance in case of any delays or cancellations.

 

*It appears that cquick is banned at this site, thus the *********. I don't know why?

[csg99]

I'm looking into a 7 day from Ft lauderdale. I have a few questions if some would be so kind to respond.

 

My wife and I will be traveling w/o kids. Is this ship/line a good fit for people that enjoy a realaxing trip? We dont like the pushy poolside antics found on Carnival.

 

What service do you find the best prices when booking? BJ's vacation has some good rates it seems. Your choice?

 

Should we arrive the day of the cruise, or arrive a day early and stay in a hotel?

 

We are looking at the deluxe veranda gauranteed, anyone enjoy the free upgrade that is offered with this type of booking? We just know we want the balcony, any other suggestions?

 

Thank You in advance!

Bud

 

Welcome to HAL, Bud!:D You have definitely come to the right place if you're looking for relaxing, pampered cruising. You can be as active or sedentary as you choose! We have our 6th HAL cruise booked, and are already looking for one for 2007.

 

We used to book guarantee, but for our last 3 cruises we decided that we wanted to pick our stateroom. It all depends on what you prefer. We've gotten to know the ships and know the locations that we prefer, so that's why we've gotten away from the guarantees. You'll love having a balcony, whatever you decide!

 

As far as pre-cruise, we used to fly down the day of the cruise, but I just don't want that much stress again, especially when you're getting ready for such a wonderful, relaxing vacation. We saw a family with 3 teenage daughters in tears at FLL because their luggage didn't arrive with them and it would not be there before their ship sailed. We now fly down the day before, check into the Embassy Suites on 17th street, have a wonderful, relaxing dinner, great night's sleep, take our time over breakfast and still get to the pier before boarding begins. The Embassy has a shuttle both from the airport and to the pier, and it's only about 1/2 mile from the port. This way, even if your luggage goes astray, you still have at least 24 hours for the airline to find it, which is usually enough. There's also a Publix right next to the hotel, so we don't have to worry about packing our wine in our luggage--we just go there and purchase what we want to take aboard ship (plus any last minute things we've forgotten).

 

As far as booking, Cruise Critic doesn't like us to recommend agencies, but we've always booked through an online agency and haven't had any problems.

 

Once again, welcome!:)

[HERKIMER417]

Bud

 

In my limited experience I found the people on the Zuiderdam - ( in my eyes ) seemed to have my cruising experience. They were not as prone to react to a moan from the engine or a pitch in the ship angle.

 

The pool side was more quiet than RCI, and having sailed both in the off seasons - I noticed that HAL had less kids.

 

The rooms are much larger in HAL. As my tastes are simple, I enjoyed the food on both equally.

 

I have booked directly, thru a TA and a discount house. Each has their advantages for specific reasons. In comparision, the least expensive - hands down - was when I booked thru Expedia.

 

I agree with the others go a day early. Weather and time zones can do havoc with the best of plans. Of course I have only done that once myself, I never seem to be able to get the ducks in a row. But when I did the first day on board was much more relaxed, no hang-off of travel tension.

 

I had a balcony on Zuiderdam - 6020. The only person who could see me from there was a crew member on the wing bridge ( if they looked behind them ) - good privacy in my judgement. ;)

 

Jack

[jhannah]

We are looking at the deluxe veranda gauranteed, anyone enjoy the free upgrade that is offered with this type of booking?

I'm not sure exactly what you refer to, but HAL sometimes offers what's called a free upgrade. It's for a better location in the same overall class of cabin. You end up most times paying the cost of a few categories lower. It's not like you pay for a D cabin and get an SS. A guarantee simply means you will get at least the class of cabin you booked.

 

We enjoyed the Zuiderdam very much. HAL is a class act, and I'm sure you will enjoy this ship and her crew.

[FlorenceItaly]

make sure you do NOT miss the Joel Mason show. He is fabulous. It was one of the highlights of our cruise in December. He was so good I would book another cruise solely based on the ship he was on :). Btw, we loved the Zuiderdam, and her crew is TOP NOTCH.

 

Marie

[jlof]

Is Joel Mason still on the Zuiderdam? I wonder who is on the Westerdam--any way to find out?

[FlorenceItaly]

Is Joel Mason still on the Zuiderdam? I wonder who is on the Westerdam--any way to find out?

 

I do not know. I think he is as he stays exclusively on the Zuiderdam, I believe. I have emailed his site to ask of his schedule. Perhaps someone from a recent Zuiderdam cruise will post.

 

Marie

[RuthC]

East Greenwich? :D THE East Greenwich just down the road?

I agree that this is a very good line for anyone who wants to relax, but I would also suggest you look into some of HAL's other ships.

The Vista-class in general, and the Zuiderdam in particular, are more geared to families than the S- and R-class ships. Since you said you are traveling sans children you might want to take this into consideration.

HAL tends to have fewer children than other lines, whichever class, though.

[Djptcp]

DH and I took our first six cruises while living in Minnesota and we always flew down the day of the cruise and never had a problem. However, it was stressful since we usually had to change planes somewhere. I would recommend flying down the day before, especially if you are cruising in the winter and live in a northern city. My friend and her small group missed their cruise out of Miami two years ago because of snow in Philadelphia -- cruiseline paid their air to Cozumel, 3 nights at a hotel there, food, etc., but that was their first cruise and they missed most of it until the ship arrived in Coz. They had booked their air through the cruiseline -- good thing!

We now live in Florida and are able to easily drive to our cruises (numbers 9 and 10 coming up in March and December). We are booked on the Zuiderdam for December and have a Deluxe Verandah Balcony cabin and decided to select a specfic cabin instead of a guarantee because there are some locations I prefer and others not. Have a great cruise on the Zui!

NCL - 4 cruises

Holland America - 1 with #2 coming up in Dec. '06

Royal Caribbean - 1

Carnival - 2 with #3 coming up in March '06

[KalenaD]

Bigbudman, we will be traveling on the Zuiderdam in Dec, it will be our 3rd HAL cruise. I am 44 and we really like the laid back style of HAL, VERY relaxing, with plenty to do if you don't want to just sit back. Our last cruise was on the Westerdam, a vista ship, like the Zuiderdam, we met a great group of people through our roll call and had a wonderful time. We booked with the upgrade sale, we booked a balcony and got it for the oceanview price, from what I could see that is how most of the travel sites that I looked at were pricing the upgrade. Good Luck

 

djptcp, When are you booked in Dec? we are going on the 2nd.

[COLandlocked]

We are new to cruising and to HAL. Just booked the Z (will not attempt to spell it). Have read so many mixed reviews that I am a little nervious. We are just looking for a relaxing time without spring breakers (traveling on 3/25 out of Ft. Lauderale). Tell me the good points so I forget about the bad posts I have read.

 

Thanks!

[Walterswife]

We were on the Zuiderdam in November and had a fantastic time. The service on HA is always our favorite. The food was excellent (although there is a great selection in the buffet restaurant), we prefer to be waited on. The staff was very friendly and anxious to please. Room service variety was great.

 

The ship was going to dry dock shortly after we got off. Several of the problems have been taken care of by now, along with ssome serious upgrades in the cabins.

 

We usually like to travel a day early and have relied on a variety or hotels. However, on our next stay overnight in FLL, we will try Embassy Suites, since they have been recommended by several persons.

 

Have a ball!

[Bigbudman]

East Greenwich? :D THE East Greenwich just down the road?

I agree that this is a very good line for anyone who wants to relax, but I would also suggest you look into some of HAL's other ships.

The Vista-class in general, and the Zuiderdam in particular, are more geared to families than the S- and R-class ships. Since you said you are traveling sans children you might want to take this into consideration.

HAL tends to have fewer children than other lines, whichever class, though.

 

Just down the street is right. My mom still lives in Warwick.

I was wondering about what you said about ship classes. What is the size difference? Thanks for responding

[Bigbudman]

We chose our first cruise on the Seranade of the Seas after reading great member reviews. I'm sure we will have another great trip based on what I read here. This board and all of you that take the time to respond are very valuable to new cruisers. I take the opportunity to say Thank You!

[RuthC]

I was wondering about what you said about ship classes. What is the size difference?

Well, neighbor, there are three different classes of ships on HAL---plus the one-of-a-kind Prinsendam.

The S-class ships are in the 50-55,000 ton range, and carry about 1260 people. Other than the Prinsendam they are the smallest of HAL's ships. They are easy to get around, intimate. You meet the same people over and over again.

The R-class are in the 60-65,000 ton range, carry around 1400 people +/-, and generally follow the same deck-plan as the S-class. They have the addition of a mid-ship elevator/staircase.

The Vista-class (the Zuiderdam is one) are the largest of the ships at about 82,000 tons and 1850 passengers. These ships have a different deck plan than the other classes. I've never been aboard, but have read about them on this board.

Does that help?