Mechanical Problems - Zuiderdam

[bepsf]

My understanding is that the lines try as much as possible to do running maintenance/repairs - ie: they have a staff of people on board to do their work while the ship is cruising. For example, they will often run on 2 out of 3 engines to do maintenance on the 3rd. (they gotta change the oil on those diesels sometime...)

 

I'd bet that there was more to the AC problem than just a faulty unit - I can't imagine that a ship of that size would have only 1 AC compressor to cool an entire ship. (or that there is even a single compressor BIG enough to do so) There's gotta be more to this story...

[Jacqueline]

I think a substantive problem being mixed in with two minor ones- internet problems (which are pretty common on ships) and bathrooms being out- which also can happen-anywhere.

[cruzlover56]

When I was on the Z in July the A/C was running water into the Internet Cafe the first week and shut off while they worked on it the second. There were also spots throughout the ship the second week that were definately A/C challenged.

 

The two day Internet Cafe shut down was probably the software upgrades on all the PC's that Terry the Internet Cafe supervisor was discussing with me. Not all upgrades are simple and there was concern that they would cause some problems with the existing programs.

[hpatten]

I was also on the aug 7-14 cruise. I had no problems with AC. Our stated room was on deck 4 and the AC worked well. The only stuffy place we experineced was the mid ship pool area when they keep the roof close. It gets very humid in that area, otherwise I found all other areas of the ship just fine.

[taszmom]

Just kidding...but I noticed that a lot of people who had issue with A/C were northerners...Personally, I think the ship's A/C is too cold anyway! I'm always wearing a sweater! I was a northerner myself, now acclamated to the heat & humidty here in Florida after 20 years. Guess I'll be opening that balcony door for some some ocean breezes and I won't have to pack that sweater after all!

[Florida Lady]

The AC is still not working properly on the Zuiderdam. We have cruised many times in June, July and August so don't tell me that thats the reason it was hot on the Zuiderdam. I Europe last year the temp was OVER 100 and Celebrity's Millie was never hot. I believe that there are several reasons for the A/C problems:

1. There is no preventive maintenence being done to fix several of the broken doors on the ship. I found no less than 6 doors leading outside that did not line up when closed. Actually at one location, there was one Missing glass door leading out to the deck.

2. Hal was not running the A/C at all times. HIGH FUEL COSTS TRANSLATE into LESS AC. We found that the Lido was hot and stuffy. The only semi confortable spot was near the "WOK". The central atrium part of the ship appeared to be the most uncomfortable. We always keep the curtains closed during the day but we found we had to keep th A/C dial all the way up to try to keep the cabin cool. Many people conplained that their cabins were hot and stuufy ALL week. It depended on your cabin location.

3. I believe it may be a design problem. At Xmas we traveled on the OOSTERDAM, we froze in the Dinning Room, Other parts of the same room were hot and stuffy. I went to dinner with TWO shawls, my husband and son were cold in their tuxedos. All the people in our section complained about the cold but I still prefered being there than in the other section that was hot.

 

4.I am not sure HAL want to spend the Money to fix the A/C problem.

 

The a/c was the one of the many problems on the Zuiderdam.

 

Still a MAASDAM fan but NEVER AGAIN on the ZUIDERDAM.

[taszmom]

a/c still not working right? that's strange.... spcl4cs_gal who is Z right now just posted on a another thread that a/c is working just fine.

[Jacqueline]

I dont believe it is a design problem as there are no consistant complaints. The Westerdam was very comfortable on our Med cruise where the temps were sky high.

[Florida Lady]

spcl4cs_gal just arrived on the Zuiderdam. It is now 11:00PM on Saturday. Her post was too early to really tell!! It was made shortly after her arrival. Lets give her a few more hours on the ship.

[ekerr19]

maybe it is just individual preference, we really did not notice it being ectremely hot. It was warm but that was to be expected. Our cabin cooled off nicely. One thing they did tell everyone was not to leave the balcony doors open and the a/c on becasue it causes problems and I know that a lot of people did that. Maybe thats why it wasn't working correctly

dst-

 

I think you hit the nail on the head --- people leaving, propping, bungee-cording the balcony doors open...

 

It does affect the A/C ship-wide. Those that feel they "must" sleep with the balcony door open, should take heed for their fellow pax.

[seaventurer]

Just returning from the 8/14 ZUI cruise, there are problems consistent with this ship and they are not subjective. This was my second cruise on the ZUI and while I believe she is a fine ship, it has some serious flaws as confirmed by even the staff and crew.

 

I did not experience the A/C problems - my cabin in fact was freezing and I live in Miami and know what hot and humid is. However, many areas on the ship were very warm.

 

The ship is flawed in several areas although it excels in others. As you all may know, several of the rest rooms were added as an afterthought since the original ones were too few and far apart. If you have sailed on her, the added restrooms do not feature the normal signage and indicias designating them as rest rooms. For hand washing and sanitation, I always use the sterile dispensers accessible throughout the LIDO - tell your kids to do the same.

 

This ship was designed for Caribbean cruising - a region where summer temperatures and conditions can test any cooling system. The ZUI has problems in this area as indicated by the repeated conplaints and posts by our fellow passengers. There are too many open entries from the outside to the interior areas. The doors from the spa, lido (all of them) and the oak Room for example are always open allowing huge volumes of hot and humid air into the ships interior. Also, many of the newer ships including semi-sisters such as Costa's MED and ATL as well as Carnivals Spirit class ships have AC systems in the cabins which turn off if the balcony door is left open for more then 5 minutes. Where is this system on the Vista class ships? I left my balcony door cracked open with a towel in the jam every night and the AC kept working.

 

And why does the dome over the main pool stay mainly closed even when the weather is nice? It creates a huge mass of hot air which promotes even further problems...

 

Subjective issues: Cutting costs, I believe so. The bar staff outdoors consists of mainly one bartender at each of the two pool bars. The entertainment is really poor compared to other cruises. The water in the pools were never changed (filthy), no white chair covers on formal night, no signature stuff in the cabin except for the make-up mirror (where are the new linens and stuff?)...

 

My ZUI review will be posted soon...I had a really great cruise - met some super people, but beginning to wonder what drives HAL to sell their product as premium...?

[shipcafe]

If the interior and/or stateroom felt warm, why prop the door open all evening? Isn't that letting warm air in and creating inefficiencies for the a/c system?

 

Just Curious ..

[dst]

People don't think about the a/c being over worked they just want to hear the waves and ocean and lul them to sleep. If thats the case they could turn off the a/c

 

Sea: I look forward to your reveiw as I had the same concerns with the pool and the water, it was absolutely gross. I did not go into the pool and cooled off by showers around the pool. Looking forward to your review

[Ziggy7]

The AC issue I've seen mentioned a lot lately has me a little concerned. I previously disn't read that complaint. Is this a new issue? Has anyone recently NOT noticed the problem and felt the ship was nice and cool?

stillfrantic,

I was on the same ship at the same time and was shocked to read about the a/c problem. Our cabin had no problems with a/c and yes alot of places on the Lido deck were warm but it was very hot & humid outside so we just thought it was due to the openess to the outside on the lido deck.

Sorry to hear Wally's a/c was out that week :(

[HeatherInFlorida]

I think everyone who's concerned about their Zuiderdam cruise should also take a peek at Ziggy's review which appears on these boards. She was onboard for both the 8/7 and 8/14 weeks and her experience is entirely different. It's always good to read more than one view.

 

I'm wondering if possibly WallyB wasn't already coming down with something and had a bit of a fever during the week making him even more uncomfortable than he might have been. It often can take a week for a really bad cold to set in and he certainly would have felt really lousy if it was on its way. I sleep under a fan every night of my life and it has never given me a head cold.

 

We'll be on the Oosterdam and I'm actually hoping it has a little of the A/C problem because usually I absolutely freeze on cruiseships, particularly in the dining rooms. I generally feel hot so I know for a fact they overcool some of the public areas. The cabins, however, should be able to be adjusted by the passenger.

 

I think it's such a shame that this cruise was obviously totally and completely ruined for WallyB by a restroom and A/C problem. It seems a shame that there was nothing else good that tended to balance out these problems.

 

Happily we can read varying opinions on all these cruises and take a little bit from each as we go forth on our own cruises. Personally I like to read both the good and the bad and feel that no cruise, as with everything else in life, can be either all good or all bad.

[ekerr19]

I think that everyone reacts differently to A/C, heat and humidity. What is extremely humid for me, may be nothing to those of you in Florida. :)

The fact seems to be that many people have complained about the temperature on the Zui. Either it is too hot, too cool, just about right - well it's all subjective. I found it warm, especially late seating in the dining room. But then, we cruised the Caribbean in August - so go figure.

Heather-

I mean no disrepect, but one person having an awesome b-t-b may not mean that someone else might not experience problematic A/C issues. I don't think anyone should ever cancel his/her cruise based on someone else's experience, but the fact seems to be that the Zui is still having problems that some cruisers are experiencing.

It has been a "hot" topic in the past and I'm sure it will remain so.

I'm glad that most of the recent reports of the Zui have been so positive. :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

[font=Comic Sans MS]Ekerr, the only reason I mentioned Ziggy's review was not to suggest her experience was more credible. I was simply pointing out that there was another opinion given on these boards and someone seeing this one might have missed it. Personally, I like a balance.[/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS]And that's all I said.[/font]

[ekerr19]

[quote name='HeatherInFlorida'][font=Comic Sans MS]Ekerr, the only reason I mentioned Ziggy's review was not to suggest her experience was more credible. I was simply pointing out that there was another opinion given on these boards and someone seeing this one might have missed it. Personally, I like a balance.[/font]

[font=Comic Sans MS]And that's all I said.[/font][/QUOTE]

I understand. To me, your post read a bit differently, that's why I said I mean no dispect... and I hope you don't take it as such. :)

I like balance too. :) I enjoy reading the good with the bad - IMO, nothing is perfect. Will the little idiosyncrasies ruin my cruise? Probably not. :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

[quote name='ekerr19']I understand. To me, your post read a bit differently, that's why I said I mean no dispect... and I hope you don't take it as such. :)

I like balance too. :) I enjoy reading the good with the bad - IMO, nothing is perfect. Will the little idiosyncrasies ruin my cruise? Probably not. :)[/QUOTE]
[font=Comic Sans MS]Because it read differently for you, it might for others. So luckily there was still time for me to edit and hopefully clear up any misunderstanding. Thanks for pointing it out!:) [/font]

[ekerr19]

[quote name='HeatherInFlorida'][font=Comic Sans MS]Because it read differently for you, it might for others. So luckily there was still time for me to edit and hopefully clear up any misunderstanding. Thanks for pointing it out!:) [/font][/QUOTE]
No problem. :)

I really didn't think you meant any disrespect to WallyB...

Edit: I really like that feature, sometimes, I'd be lost without it!

[Jacqueline]

The point is that the way this thread was titles lead one to believe that this is a ship wide problem as opposed to a more isolated one. This is where the fact that other posters had OK air conditioning is reassuring that there isnt a big mechanical problem on the Z as intimated in the OP.
On any one sailing there are unfortunately cabins that will have a problem of one sort or another. In fact same happens at hotels. My dad and son were on London for a week in a hotel (Churchill intercontinental( that had an ac problem because of reported LEGIONNAIRES disease ! Would not have been an issue but there was a heat wave that week !

[Ziggy7]

I agree Jacqueline,

Just to give a good example of difference of opinions, my hubby was having a hard time with the hunidity as it was mostly 76% - 97% 24 hours around the clock. I was too but at night he had the a/c and fan on, and I had 2 blankets on :)
We also had alot of problems with our camera lenses fogging up when we went from inside to out side of the ship. Not just from our cabin to verandah either, so that must say something to the a/c working. Yes up on the Lido deck it is warmer, on one end you have the aft pool with the doors always opening and closing to the Lido resturant, then on the other side of the Lido resturant you have the midship pool with the ceiling wide open and the doors always opening and closing to the Lido resturant.
All in all I dont think most of the ships a/c was having problems, I think it was differences of opinions as to what everyones body tempature could handle.
I mean no offense to anyone, I'm sure some of the cabins had a/c problems, that happens everywhere, all I'm saying is I dont think it was shipwide.

[dexter]

I have read all the reviews concerning the AC trouble and it does trouble me. I am from Georgia where it is almost always hot and humid and I was hoping to escape the heat for a week. I have been on 8 cruises in the past 3 years and they've all been to the Caribbean. I have never been hot on any of those cruises, so I don't understand how an almost new ship could be experiencing such problems. I hope cabin 7058 is cool and the dining rooms are comfortable...that's really all I care about.

[Nasmas]

[quote name='dexter']I have read all the reviews concerning the AC trouble and it does trouble me. I am from Georgia where it is almost always hot and humid and I was hoping to escape the heat for a week. I have been on 8 cruises in the past 3 years and they've all been to the Caribbean. I have never been hot on any of those cruises, so I don't understand how an almost new ship could be experiencing such problems. I hope cabin 7058 is cool and the dining rooms are comfortable...that's really all I care about.[/QUOTE]
I've never been hot either. I am usually freezing. I hope for my DH's sake it is working. He really gets hot. We're in 7069 on 09/04. When are you going? We'll be almost neighbors if you're on the same cruise.

[dexter]

We're going this weekend 8/28. Can't wait. Hot or cold...it's a week away from work.