Another 11/11 Zuiderdam review....

[Cybercsp]

In gratitude for all the information I have received on these boards, let me share a few impressions of our 11/11 Zuiderdam cruise. This was our first HAL cruise, with previous cruises on Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean (10 in all).

 

This was the quickest embarkation ever. We arrived at 12:30 PM and were on the ship 20 minutes later. The friendly welcomes that we received were a preview to the warmth of the staff that we would experience throughout the week.

 

I will summarize by topic - so skip what is of no interest….

 

CABIN: We stayed in aft cabin 4179 (a VA upgrade from a VD guarantee). The cabin had plenty of storage and was quite comfortable. The SOE beds are the best we have ever experienced on a ship! We enjoyed our deeper balcony very much. Due to our location, we did experience noise when docking, which served as an alarm clock to get us moving on early port days! Our cabin steward, Agung, was personable and competent.

 

FOOD: We ate in the Lido most mornings and were pleased with the selections. The omelettes were very good and we found the layout of the Lido to be more efficient than on the other ships we have sailed. I missed having a table conducive to dining on the balcony…although I am sure we could have managed, we did not order room service on this cruise. Service was quite slow on the morning we ate breakfast in the dining room, with particular difficulty in getting tea…but we had pleasant tablemates and were in no rush. The lunch selections were also enjoyable, especially the deli sandwiches.

We had 8 PM seating in the upper dining room at a table for two and had prompt, efficient service. As a first time HAL cruiser, I enjoyed experiencing unfamiliar menus and we always managed to find something we liked. Although, on the whole, I prefer Celebrity’s food and more polished dining room service (I like their descriptions of the food and willingness to make recommendations), we were pleased with the meals we had. I especially enjoyed trying the occasional Indonesian dishes, such as Nasi Goreng. (We would ask our waiter to bring us each an entree as well as one order of the unfamiliar dish to taste…and sometimes finish!) We were able to bring the wine sent by our TA to the dining room and exchange it for a $10. credit toward a wine of our choice.

One unexpected experience was that the dining room often opened after the scheduled time. This created a mass of people, congregating in the hallways and spilling into the photo display area, which became unpleasant on the last formal night where we stood among the throngs of last-minute picture shoppers until 8:25 PM (in heels).

Our TA sent us vouchers for the Pinnacle Grill. When we went to make our reservations on the first afternoon, we found that the PG staff did not have the weekly menus for the dining room; thus, we just made our “best guess” about which night to miss in the dining room. We went on Monday evening (which was Caribbean night if I am not mistaken). We had good service at the Pinnacle and I had FABULOUS rack of lamb. My husband’s beef was good, but not extraordinary.

 

To be continued....

[Cybercsp]

Continued....

 

THE SHIP: I initially was unimpressed by the ship décor and layout, but grew to appreciate some of the “nooks and crannies.” Visually, I found it the least appealing of the ships we have sailed. The ship is well maintained…it became a standing joke that we could never walk the ship without finding someone vacuuming!

 

CC MEET & GREET: A highlight of this trip…thanks to Rhonda for arranging our get together. Although we expected about 35 people, we had a small group of seven. The hotel manager, Mark Pells, spent a great deal of time with us, chatting and answering questions. His time and attention really enhanced our experience. We were invited to a VIP party later that week which was just lovely. The head chef, Christian, also joined us at both events. This was so much more than I had expected!

 

ENTERTAINMENT: In my opinion, this was the weak link of the cruise. We very much enjoyed the musical show of Mark O’Malley. The other shows were average. My greatest disappointment was the lack of live music for dancing. We enjoy a drink and music before dinner and on many nights, there was no live music to be found when we were looking. The Crow’s Nest was closed each night at 9:30 for a private dance group. Slot machines were not generous, in my experience.

 

COCKTAILS: I found the cocktails to be of good quality (especially the martinis). The bar staff frequently offered hot snacks, in addition to nuts. The prices seemed comparable to Princess, and lower than Celebrity. The drink of the day was often something I enjoyed (unusual for me!)

 

PORTS: We chose this cruise for the itinerary, to experience new islands. We thought that the Grand Turk facility made our day amazingly easy. We had planned to take a cab to Governor’s beach, but decided to stay at the beach to the left of the dock. Lounge chairs were free and staff would set up a clamshell for a tip (there was no real shade). We went back to the ship for lunch, changed, and returned to take photos, shop a bit, and have a margarita at Margaritaville. I would have preferred to have had more daylight in Tortola, but such is life. We took a cab with driver, Kitty, to Cane Garden Bay. The beach was lovely and we were able to rent two loungers with umbrella for $10. We enjoyed a cocktail or two at Myett’s restaurant. We had arranged for Kitty to pick us up at 6 PM, so that we could enjoy the gorgeous sunset. Early rain at St. Thomas tabled our plans to ferry to St. John, so we went into Charlotte Amalie to shop later in the morning. Half Moon Cay was great! We rented a clamshell online as a shore excursion for $9, which was fortunate as they were sold out that day. It was confusing to find someone to set it up for us when we arrived.

 

I am sure I have forgotten some things, so ask away if you wish.

 

BOTTOM LINE: I would definitely sail with HAL again. We met some great people. The friendliness of the staff and their eagerness to please was very impressive. We enjoyed the food and bars. I would wish for a better selection of entertainment options, but it would not stop me from cruising HAL. I believe that any cruise is what YOU make it.

[vpoopsy]

Excellent review. I'm also disappointed in the hours at Tortola. I wrote on another post that we cancelled our excursion to the baths last night because we wouldn't have enough time to enjoy ourselves. Did you happen to snorkel and Cane Garden Bay? I'm now trying to figure out what to do there if we only have a few hours of sunlight.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for your review.

 

Sailed with Mark Pells a couple of times -- great CD.

 

Hot appetizers?? They were gone on our recent Volendam cruises.

[Cybercsp]

vpoopsy: There was no snorkeling at Cane Garden. I have heard that Brewer's is recommended for snorkeling. Out taxi driver recommended that we avoid Brewer's if there have been storms as it can get rough.

 

Krazy Kruisers: I had not expected any hot appetizers based on reading the boards, but we receved them without asking in the Crow's Nest and martini bar.

[vpoopsy]

yeah, i've been reading about the beaches in tortola and they recommend brewer's as the best for snorkeling. i also read the road is a little scary going there. wonder how long it takes? i get car sick, but i'll be drugged anyway.

[Cybercsp]

Cane Garden was about 15 - 20 minutes. The roads we traveled are like in St. Thomas...very hilly, with curves. I was very grateful that I was not driving, especially as we returned in the dark. By 6 PM, it was dusk and it got dark very quickly after that. We saw Brewer's at a distance and I would imagine it is a similar trip in the opposite direction .

[Katbird93]

Thanks so much for the information and review. You mention that you wish there were more daylight hours in Tortola. Exactly what time do you get to Tortola (I keep seeing conflicting times) and how much daylight do you have? We are sailing in February and we really were wanting to take the ferry over to Yost VanDyke. Again, Thanks, Kathie

[Cybercsp]

Kathie,

I believe that we docked at 2, but were not cleared to leave the ship until 2:30.