New to HAL - Rotterdam, Zuiderdam, or Eurodam?

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

Since you are doing thorough research on this choice, one other consideration is to track "who is in port" with each ship on your itinerary.  Various online websites track this port calendar information.

 

If you like crowds or if you hope to have a more quiet port experience, this can differ greatly, if you are sharing Caribbean ports with some of the other behemoth ships from other cruise lines.

 

Thank you for posting this. whatsinport and cruisetimetables are great resources. I tend to chose "one-off" itineraries, so this information doesn't affect which cruise I book. But I do use it for planning purposes. If a port is going to be inundated with passengers from megaships, I do a tour that gets me out of the port or enjoy having the ship to myself.

[robotpony]

9 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

The Rotterdam is the newest ship in the fleet with all of latest bells and whistles, you may not enjoy the older ships after you have been on the Rotterdam.

This can go both ways too; sailing the smaller ships can make it difficult to go back to the larger ships, depending on what you're looking for and the itinerary. We like each class of ship for different reasons and in different regions (cozier Vista or R-class on speciality itineraries, for example).

[Cruiser_M]

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

We love the idea of daily Mass as well.  On most ships it is at 8 am on Sea days and 5 PM on Port days.  Very convenient.

That's so great! It's most important to me for Sunday Mass, of course, but daily Mass is such a lovely bonus!

[Cruiser_M]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

 

The music walk is a big deal on the Pinnacle ships. Because I dislike noisy, crowded places, I did not like it. But again, I'm in the minority. Sadly, there was little else by way of entertainment. HAL is making changes to their entertainment program, so it's hard to say what will be available late 24/early 25. 

 

I love the Vistas, and Zuiderdam is my favorite. I like the layout and the size. The thermal suite, my one big indulgence, is great. I recently sailed on Eurodam, and while it was a bit larger than I like (aft cabin made it a hike to the spa!), the ship was attractive, rode well, room was comfortable. One thing that Eurodam has that Zuiderdam (and all the Vistas) lack is Tamarind. If you like Asian cuisine, that's a big plus. 

Good point about not knowing what it'll be like in 24-25, so I'll try to keep an open mind as things inevitably change between now and then. 

 

We do love Asian cuisine. My husband is ethnically Chinese (but from Canada), and he's a foodie. So he guides me (white girl American non-foodie) through it all. 🙂 

[Cruiser_M]

2 hours ago, Susanmaz said:

Eurodam. Rotterdam is too big with way too many people. We’ve sailed Zuiderdam twice and encountered bilge orders on deck 2 both times. DH won’t go on her again. Eurodamis one of my favorite ships. Right size, right number of pax.

This is really good to hear. I sounds like it may suit us well. Thank you!

[Cruiser_M]

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Unfortunately you will have very different HAL experiences on all three ships, so doing a trial run before committing to a later 50 day HAL cruise will not be instructional.

 

I assume the 50 day cruise will be on one of the smaller HAL ships, so I would pick the smaller  Zuiderdam to get the best feel of what to expect for a much longer HAL cruise commitment. 

 

We personally will always chose the smaller (older) HAL ships and the longer cruises over the newer ones which often do the shorter runs. We now have over 600 days under HAL's  care, so that is my own bias.

 

But you do give up a lot of more glitzy onboard amenities on the smaller, older ships.  While other quieter charms of the older ships have been taken away on the newer larger ones - missing on the newer ones are the full 360 wide promenade decks, ofter with loungers, the onboard libraries, smaller easier to navigate deck plans, more sense of intimacy and interaction with staff and crew, ability to access more remote ports, more quiet nooks and crannies onboard to explore.

 

Good question, and one that would have been easier to answer in the past, but the range of onboard experiences now on HAL ships is too varied today - from newer and larger ships, to the older more traditional ships - one size no longer fits all within the family of HAL ships. 

Thanks. It does sound that way. Seems like if we like the 10-night ABC cruise, we'll need to find another cruise to test out a smaller ship before committing to a 50+ night. Sounds like a great problem to have. "Oh, no, we have to book another cruise! Darn!" 🙂

[Cruiser_M]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

Which 50 day cruise are you looking at?

 

Any Trans-Pacific cruise will have very long at-sea stretches. Though heading north across Alaska to Russia Far East and Japan has fewer vast ocean passages. Trans-Atlantic ones, not as much as Tales of the South Pacific routes where they cannot be avoided.

 

The 53-ish day Majestic Japan, out of Seattle, to upper Alaska, a lot of Japan, Hawaii, and back to Seattle. This assumes, of course, that it stays as a choice after what I believe will be its first run in fall 2024. We're looking at an Asia trip some time in 2026, and a cruise like that would be an excellent way to fulfill that dream. 

[YourWorldWithBill]

Well, after reading a lot of the useful information here, I'll add one point to consider as you make your decision. We were on the Noordam in September and are sailing on the Rotterdam in May. We weren't impressed with most of the food on the Noordam, but have heard great feedback on the food on the Rotterdam. So, although we don't have the personal experience to compare, we're looking forward to the Rotterdam.

Timing is everything to avoid the biggest crowds! Our Alaska cruise on Noordam was end of the season, after school had started,. Our Rotterdam is before summer vacation. I realize you might not have that option, just saying.....

[OlsSalt]

4 hours ago, Cruiser_M said:

Thanks. It does sound that way. Seems like if we like the 10-night ABC cruise, we'll need to find another cruise to test out a smaller ship before committing to a 50+ night. Sounds like a great problem to have. "Oh, no, we have to book another cruise! Darn!" 🙂

 

You are on to something. I see few more Goldilocks cruises are in your future, just to make sure you get it just right. 😁

[OlsSalt]

4 hours ago, Cruiser_M said:

The 53-ish day Majestic Japan, out of Seattle, to upper Alaska, a lot of Japan, Hawaii, and back to Seattle. This assumes, of course, that it stays as a choice after what I believe will be its first run in fall 2024. We're looking at an Asia trip some time in 2026, and a cruise like that would be an excellent way to fulfill that dream. 

 

Have you been following the thread that is going on right now,  from a Vista-class ship passenger who is doing a similar long Japan cruise from the West Coast? He is a very critical observer, so you will get all the high points and low points. 

 

(Zuiderdam is a similar Vista class ship.) 

[Cruiser_M]

12 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Have you been following the thread that is going on right now,  from a Vista-class ship passenger who is doing a similar long Japan cruise from the West Coast? He is a very critical observer, so you will get all the high points and low points. 

 

(Zuiderdam is a similar Vista class ship.) 

Not yet, but that sounds like the right thing to do. Thank you.

[razz101]

Rotterdam