Wonderful Cruise On The Zuiderdam

[bigjohn42]

This is the review of our Panama Cruise on Holland America's Zuiderdam on 3-9-2009. This cruise consists of myself, my partner (we are celebrating our 20th anniversary), and our best friends, Samantha & Bob. The four of us are in our mid forties. We live about a mile apart from each other in Seattle. My folks and In-laws who love getting together, live close by to each other in San Francisco. Sunday, March 8th as we headed to the airport in Seattle, our folks made their way to the San Francisco airport, our flight left at 9:05 am and the folks left at 9:30 am and we landed about 5 minutes of each other in Dallas and all eight of us proceeded to get on the same flight to Ft. Lauderdale an hour later. After we landed we had reservations to stay at the Comfort Inn on Stirling Ave. We called for the free shuttle and they came to pick us up. The hotel was OK, nothing special, you do get a free breakfast which consisted of coffee, juice, muffins, cereal, fruit and waffles. The shuttle the next day was so over booked we could not even get on a shuttle until close to 1:30p.m. Checkout was 11:00 and was told we could wait in the lobby until then, we all decided to make other arrangements and called EZ Limo. They were more than happy to pick us up and take us to the cruise port, service was great and was worth every penny. They charged 10.00 a couple and handled all the bags and the gentlemen was very nice and personable, we were picked up at 10:45 and were at the cruise port by 11:00.

 

Embarkation: About as smooth as can be, Hal has this down to a science. We arrived at the port to awaiting porters who took all our bags and pointed us in the right direction. We all checked in and headed for the room upstairs to wait until 11:30 to board, we went thru security and had our pictures taken and were up the gangway in no time. What a great feeling it is crossing over and stepping foot on the Zuiderdam, it felt so good. This was our first time on the Zuiderdam and what a beauty she is, having been on the Oosterdam i knew where everything was but the decor was different. I really liked it, was very subdued, nothing to much over the top, except for those hideous benches next to the elevator's, other than that, I love this ship.

 

 

 

We were directed up to the Lido for lunch but we knew better and headed to the dining room instead. Lunch was very good, we were all sitting there with big smiles on our faces and I was thinking, wow, had we taken the 1:30 shuttle we would still be sitting in the hotel lobby. It was only 12:00 now and we were already on board and having lunch. Thank you again EZ Limo. Public Rooms: All the Public areas are very nice and clean, i did not notice much wear and tear as others have posted. After all this is a floating hotel that is being used 24-7-365 days, there is bound to be some wear and tear but I did not notice anything that stood out. We were given the green light for our rooms around 1:15 and proceeded to make our way to 6099 which is an SY suite, WOW, what a great space, we usually get a Veranda but we were all able to upgrade to the SY prior to the final payment for cheaper than what we paid for the Veranda, too good to pass up. All our rooms were were together. There was more than enough space for everything, we got our luggage about 2:00 and was totally unpacked by 3:00. We never even used most of the drawers as their was plenty of space in the closets and shelves. We met both of our room stewards, Lou & Augusto, these guys were top notch, the best we have ever had. Whatever we needed they took care of with smiles on. They learned our names by that first day, HAL should be very proud of these two. The rooms were all spotless, thankfully Lou & Augusto were responsible for all four cabins, everyone agreed they were the best.

 

 

 

After we did the Muster Drill (Boring but important) we headed up to the seaview pool for a sail away drink and enjoyed the music, then we all headed back up to the rooms to dress for early traditional seating at 5:45. A little early for us but with the four folks from 66-76, you get the picture. We met our dining stewards Gede and his partner in crime Punia, both were fantastic, we got great stories and great service from both. We had brought on board a case of wine and our wine steward was Lyn, she was wonderful and very funny. We lucked out this cruise with great cabin and dining stewards. We normally ate most meals of breakfast and dinner in the main dining room as its less crowded and the food is very good. We did eat most lunches in the lido and was never disappointed, saw and spoke to Hunky Dory, great guy. The Pasta Bar was my favorite, really good pasta and sauces. Terrace grill is also very good as well, had a good bratwurst one day and a good cheeseburger the next. Made reservations in the Spa for a mani and pedi compliments of our friends Samantha & Bob. Kris & I both really enjoyed them, having only done this once before, we also made reservations for massages later in the cruise, they turned out to be wonderful.

 

I had made arrangements with Becky from the HAL Seattle office to set up a Cruise Critic Meet & Greet the third day out, a sea day. Hal did a great job setting up the refreshments of coffee/tea & water as well as cookies and brownies, was a small crowd but met some really really nice folks, Sheila & Chris from Toronto, Linda & Santi from Yalaha, Florida and Brad & Debbie. Folks went to a few shows, however us youngsters would either go to the spa hydro pool/thermal chairs or to the casino, I did well enough to cover the on board account at the end of the cruise. We had rented the Private Oasis on Half Moon Cay and had a total blast, service and food and drink were plentiful, weather was perfect, a good time was had by all. The sea's were calm for the most part through out the cruise, Aruba was Wonderful as was Curacao. Panama was incredible, a fascinating experience. Loved Costa Rica, was very warm that day about 94 and very humid, enjoyed the next two sea days just relaxing, hitting the spa and then the inevitable packing. Disembarkation was also a breeze, we all headed for the airport as we all had the same flight back to Dallas and we then separated to our respective cites, with some tears from the moms. This was a Fantastic cruise, we all had a great time, yes there were small things that happened but you know you cant sweat the small stuff and there was no way i was going to let the small stuff hamper my vacation in any way. I will continue to sail with HAL. They have never let us down. looking forward to sailing on her other ships as well, sorry this is so long but you get alot done in 10 days of cruising if anyone has any questions, please, just ask.......until next time, Bigjohn42

[49holding]

I was on the Zuiderdam 2 months ago, also in a SY suite 6089??.and had Lou and "Gus " as well as room stewards. They were the best!! My usually frugal husband gave them each an extra $30 the last nite...I hope we run into Lou and Gus on a future cruise

[jmps]

Thanks so much for your review. It is very timely for us. We will be on the Zuiderdam in June in a deck 6 SY. I hope the crew will be as good as your experience. We really have debated on getting the SY and I am so glad to hear the good things about the cabin.

[smtcan]

Hi John

 

We enjoyed meeting you and your family and friends. It certainly was a good cruise, especially the experience of the Canal and the eco tour in Costa Rica. It is several years since we last cruised on HAL and it lived up to our expectations. We have even become converts to AYW dining!

 

Sheila

[Sanlin]

Hi John - Ditto for us on the cruise. We had an outstanding time and Santi is still talking about the fish (plural) he caught on the HMC fishing trip. We, too, liked the AYW dining. Our cabin stewards were great, they took charged and returned Santi's scooter daily. We enjoyed meeting you and your friends. Thanks for the Meet & Greet. Hope to run into you again on some dam ship. Linda

[our turn]

Thanks for posting your review. Glad to hear you had such a great time!

[louben]

Hi, glad you had such a fantastic cruise - it was so great to read about your experience. We are sailing on the Zuiderdam on Sunday with our two young kids (11 & 9) and just a little worried about activities for families - what did you think about the entertainment and how would you rate the shows?

[Happy Cruiser]

We are heading out on the Zuiderdam on April 18. We are also staying at the Comfort Inn before the cruise. Thanks for the positive review. I have two questions for you.

1) Can you make reservations for the shuttle from the hotel to the ship or is it first in line first on the shuttle?

2) Is there a store nearby the hotel where we could buy some wine or soda before we get on the ship?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[Grego]

Glad you had fun. Our friends are currently on this ship with the same itinerary and we are eager to see them when they get back to compare our recent Panama Canal on the Island Princess. Virtually the same ports with the exception of Cartagena instead of your private island and we also did Jamaica. The rest was the same.

[bigjohn42]

Hi, glad you had such a fantastic cruise - it was so great to read about your experience. We are sailing on the Zuiderdam on Sunday with our two young kids (11 & 9) and just a little worried about activities for families - what did you think about the entertainment and how would you rate the shows?

Hey folks I kept my daily "Today at a Glance", Please bare in mind that these types of show's are not really my style but my folks went to them all and where I made a comment are the ones that stood out either yeah or nea. Here are the daily show's/entrainment, first night out to sea there was no show in the Vista lounge, Day 2 Showtime starring David Levesque, he plays the violin and tells jokes, folks said played very well but not funny. Day 3 Stage & Screen, "A musical journey through the biggest movie and musical theater hits over the past 40 years featuring the incomparable costumes of Bob Mackie" did not see this one. Day 4 they showed a movie Slumdog Millionaire. Folks said good movie when got to english, not subtitles, may need to sit closer to screen to see subtitles. Day 5, " Island Magic, Enjoy steel drum band music like you've never heard before, with elegant tropical renditions of your favorite Broadway and classical melodies", the folks went to this and liked it, but would have preferred they did more Caribbean music. Day 6 " Singers & Dancers In Concert, The Rolling Stones, Bette Midler, Diana Ross & Elton John are just a few we pay tribute to in this high energy and unique concert spectacular". folks saw this as well and really enjoyed it. Day 7 Mike Robinson, A comedian. I heard he was very good, Day 8 Paul Tanner, He is a musical impressionist and I heard he was very very good as well. Day 9 "The Zuiderdam Singers & Dancers In Dreampark, join us for a whimsical ride through our very own amusement park. I did not see or hear anything in regards to this production. Tonights show is our cast's grand finale production. Day 10 "Farewell Variety Show, This evening we are excited to welcome back to the stage two of your favorite acts from this cruise. By popular demand, the art and illusion of Mystreriaque and singing senstation Paul Tanner return with all new material in the encore show youve been wating for". Folks loved this one. I Noticed that there were about 24 kids on board, (Perfect Behavior) there were many things for them to do, they do a scavenger hunt, which they really seemed to enjoy. Your best bet is to check-in with Club Hal as soon as you get on board. I hope this helps, if anything else just ask, thanks, John

[bigjohn42]

We are heading out on the Zuiderdam on April 18. We are also staying at the Comfort Inn before the cruise. Thanks for the positive review. I have two questions for you.

1) Can you make reservations for the shuttle from the hotel to the ship or is it first in line first on the shuttle?

2) Is there a store nearby the hotel where we could buy some wine or soda before we get on the ship?

1) Yes you can make reservations for the shuttle from the hotel, as soon as you arrive have them put your name in the book, will be a black binder, tell them the sooner the better.

2) The only store we were able to locate was a Kmart, that is were we bought our pop to take aboard, it is located in back of the Taca Bell that is next door to the hotel

[dobie]

Thank you for your review, I enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time. Our first HAL cruise is on the Zuiderdam in Oct. You mentioned that you rented a private oasis on Half Moon Cay. Can you tell me more about what that is and how much it cost? Thanking you in advance...

[bigjohn42]

Thank you for your review, I enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time. Our first HAL cruise is on the Zuiderdam in Oct. You mentioned that you rented a private oasis on Half Moon Cay. Can you tell me more about what that is and how much it cost? Thanking you in advance...

Welcome to HAL, your going to Love the Zuiderdam. There were a total of 10 of us traveling (turned into just 8) and we were going to rent two regular cabanas for a cost of around 600.00, (500.00 for two cabanas and then 100.00 for extra 2 people) we then figured what the heck, lets just get the private oasis and have a great time. This was my in-laws last cruise as they are not as healthy as they used to be and its getting harder and harder for them to get around. So for 1200.00 we got the Grand Cabana which is around 1600 square feet, has a 8 person hot tub, your own bathrooms/showers, all snorkel equipment, float mats, a slide into the water and a huge hammock and to top it all off, a private butler, bartender and chef. Yes this was very expensive and not something we would normally do, but very glad we did. The food was perfect, steaks and mahi mahi were cooked to order, the drinks were very caribbean and great (all you can drink) and the service was unbelievable, was well worth the cost for great lasting memories. Hope this helps. Thanks Again, John

[hammybee]

 

Day 4 they showed a movie Slumdog Millionaire. Folks said good movie when got to english, not subtitles, may need to sit closer to screen to see subtitles.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share you cruise. There is another quip about this cruise buried in one of the threads and it's not so good. Just goes to show you, no two people experience the same cruise, the same way.

 

As it relates to Slumdog....it walked away with Best Picture, at the Oscars.

[dobie]

Wow, sounds incredible. Since the cost of the oasis is more than the cost for our cruise, we will not be able to do that, but it sure sounds like fun! Thanks for all of your info...

[louben]

thanks for info BigJohn42 - We are really looking forward to cruise!

[scottjeanne]

To the poster who asked about a liquor store. From my understanding, there is a Total Wine store across the street from the pier in FLL. We will be using it in may before our Panama cruise. Any taxi driver will know it and they will helpyou schlepp the wine to the dock.

[maxsmamma]

Thanks for taking the time to share you cruise. There is another quip about this cruise buried in one of the threads and it's not so good. Just goes to show you, no two people experience the same cruise, the same way.

 

As you can see I'll be "taking your place" soon. I was getting sad by all the negative posts. Although, before I even went on my first HAL cruise I knew that perception and expectations can be different. One guy went on and on on CC about the fact that his All American Burger from room service did not have American cheese but instead---get ready--- the choice of Cheddar or Swiss. Since I prefer real cheese anyway, I took his with a grain of salt. But when you keep reading all the negativity, you start to think "oh no, is my dream cruise going to not be able to live up to my past experiences??" So thanks for some positivity, but you seem to be a positive person, and the joy of your anniversary must make it easy to find the joy in all situations!

[Rebecca33]

Happy Anniversary! What a Great Review. It sounds like you had a really good time.

 

We are doing the same cruise for Christmas on Zuiderdam. I am glad to hear all of your positives.

 

We were on the Eurodam and at Half Moon Cay the same day as you. Could it have been a more picture perfect day?

 

Wendy:)

[Happy Cruiser]

Thanks for the information about the wine and the shuttle, BigJohn42 and ScottJeanne. I appreciate the help.

[smtcan]

Thanks for the information about the wine and the shuttle, BigJohn42 and ScottJeanne. I appreciate the help.

 

We went to Total Wine, their prices are good but their store is hard to navigate. You can however order on line and they will have it ready for you to pick up - probably a better idea if you are going in a taxi. We would do that another time, although we were in our own car and not buying a vast amount of wine.

Sheila

[knitlady037]

To the poster who asked about a liquor store. From my understanding, there is a Total Wine store across the street from the pier in FLL. We will be using it in may before our Panama cruise. Any taxi driver will know it and they will helpyou schlepp the wine to the dock.

There is really nothing right across the street. You have to go through a security checkpoint before entering the dock area. Must show picture ID. But there are many stores in the area. You can buy wine at most stores, not only in liquor stores. We went to total wine the day before we left and carried all bottles onboard ourselves.

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Greetings Bigjohn42,

 

Thanks for your great post about the Zuiderdam. We are sailing on her on May 16 Alaska for our first HAL cruise. I hope you won't mind a couple of questions. We have sailed Princess and NCL before - how formal are formal nights on HAL? Are they similar to Princess or "more" formal. Would a dark suit for my DH and a cocktail type pants suit for me be acceptable? Also, is there a covered pool. Given that it's Alaska in May I think it's safe to assume we won't be swimming in an open pool but wondered if there is a warm, covered area for swimming.

 

Thanks again for your post - it sounds like we'll have a wonderful time!

 

Regards,

YaYa

[RuthC]

Would a dark suit for my DH and a cocktail type pants suit for me be acceptable?

Both of those meet the code.

Also, is there a covered pool.

With the exception of the Prinsendam, all HAL ships have a covered pool.