Zuiderdam cruise review-11/27

[spiritdfilly]

Our first Holland America cruise gets mixed reviews...
For the record- we are seasoned travelers and love cruising. We have been on Celebrity, RCCL and Princess ships and can now safely say we enjoyed each of those lines more than Holland America. That said, we made our own good time aboard ship and for the right price, itinerary and accomodation, might book Holland America again.
Embarkation and disembarkation were both accomplished smoothly and efficiently.
We found the Lido's food to be ok- particularly the pasta and salad stations for lunch and the omelet station at breakfast. The coffee was god awful and even con leche- too strong for our taste. The service there was adequate and Hunky Dory managed to amuse and impress everyone, with his amazing recall of passenger's names.
The cabin-an outside verandah, was clean, larger than average, with enough storage room to suit us. We were on deck 5 and noticed none of the sewage smells others have complained about. We did notice the distinct smell of garlic wafting up from the dining room while waiting for the elevators. If only the dining room food tasted as good as that garlic smelled all the time, we might have been more impressed with our dinner meals.> The service was ok- not great and the menu choices limited, uninspired and bland. Anything we ordered cooked 'medium', came out rare to the point of 'mooing'. I had little problem sending it back and our servers were pleasant and accomodating- if very slow... The chocolate desserts were terrific- At least the pastry chef is competent... We also thought the alternative barbecue on the pool deck one night, was well done and- accompanied by the all-you-could-drink pina colada's, served in hollowed out pineapples (for $12),--let's just say they lost money on me that night ;)
Pool lounge hogs are an ever-present problem on cruise ships, so I wasn't surprised to see this repeated on the Z. Dirty towels were seldom- if ever picked up and it was obvious that Holland America has a real problem with short-staffing everywhere, but with regard to cabin attendants. Our cabin steward was terrific-we always had fresh towels and a clean cabin and he was very unobtrusive. We appreciated that.
As for the ports of call- after cruising the Carribean a few times, all the islands look the same to us and fabled shopper's bargains are just that...
We were impressed with Half Moon Cay and did take Speedy's boat over to Virgin Gorda/the Bath's--definitely a worthwhile escape from the usual humdrum island tours. We recommend using Speedy's--a few blocks' walk from where the ship docks and leaving on the hr., is about half the cost of the ship's arranged tour. We're not big on ship tours anyway and this doesn't take a rocket scientist to arrange on one's own...
Back to Half Moon Cay---Our day there was made all the more pleasant by a prearranged mtg of fellow cruise critic travelers, who met up at the turquoise cabana- courtesy of Stevie and Jay. It was great to put faces to the names of people we'd been corresponding with on these boards and, to make new friends!
The entertainment onboard was mediocre. The shows were cheesy. The talent uneven. The music at the pool left something to be desired and that in the lounges- appealed to a distinctly older crowd. There just wasn't enough going on to give you a festive Carribean party feel. Not that we were looking for a Carnival experience, but Holland America could definitely do with more music poolside and for longer duration.
If we had to choose our favorite line, it would be Celebrity, for overall value, food and ship accomodations, but it bears repeating- you really make your own good times and maybe the quality of our dining experience helped to keep our weight down. We certainly didn't feel like we needed to be rolled off the ship- as we usually do. Lol!!!
One negative incident is worth mentioning--We tried to have our dinner seating changed from early to late on the first day. The person in charge of handling the large number of people requesting changes, was THE rudest man we'd ever encountered on any cruise ship. He repeatedly told people they were wasting their time and his, by trying to change. At one point he shrugged and turned his back on an elderly gentleman who politely told him that he was diabetic and couldn't wait to eat till 8:30. The gentleman was told, "that was just too bad wasn't it- but he could take a number (88 by that point) and sit all day, but it would not help". The word that leaps to mind, is 'chutzpah' and I was ready to deck this arrogant boor myself!
I believe he is the same guy who rudely handles reservations in the Pinnacle.
What-evahhh--I had my say when it came to filling out the cruise review form, for all the good that seems to do :(

[Giorgi-one]

Basically same experience we had in August. One thing I cannot agree with is your statement that the poor food quality helped to keep your weight down. If I want to diet, I will do it on my terms. There is NO EXCUSE for bad food and poor service in the dining room. I am not saying it has to be gourmet, but if the food is not a little special, the cruise is a dud. We are back on Celebrity in January!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time and posting your review of your cruise on the Zuiderdam.

[Tak8]

Thanks for the review. Was your itinerary St. Thomas on Tuesday and Tortola on Wednesday?

[dakrewser]

As has been said, over and over by those with more than one HAL sailing under their belt, the Zuiderdam is the least "HAL-like" of the ships cruising under that flag. It was intended to be the first real "CarniHal" ship and (in many opinions) failed miserably.

THe subsequent Vista class ships (Westerdam & Oosterdam) have been much better received. So please, don't judge the cruise line based on one cruise on a less-than-typical ship.

It's unfortunate that you weren't made aware of this before booking.

[spiritdfilly]

giorgi-one- I was being facetious, when I said that the poor food quality helped keep my weight down... of course we prefer to monitor our own dieting practices and choose to have better food on our cruises. sometimes though--'less is more'. lol.
as for our precise itinerary, I believe we went to HMC first, then on to Tortola, followed by St Thomas, etc...
I had read all the negative reviews re: the Zuiderdam, just after we'd booked. The cost factor was just too good to pass up and we'd wanted to see Tortola/Virgin Gorda/St John, so it worked for us. as I mentioned, we would choose another Holland America cruise again, IF the price were right and we could try a different ship. Our preference remains Celebrity for it's more consistent quality overall.

[crimmft]

[QUOTE=spiritdfilly]Our first Holland America cruise gets mixed reviews...
For the record- we are seasoned travelers and love cruising. We have been on Celebrity, RCCL and Princess ships and can now safely say we enjoyed each of those lines more than Holland America. That said, we made our own good time aboard ship and for the right price, itinerary and accomodation, might book Holland America again. ETC.


I don't want to sound to sarcastic, but what were you expecting???? for what you paid. We had great food and service in the dining room. The breakfast and lunch buffets were buffets. Good food, fast and readily available. Just as good as what we have had on Celebrity and others. Room steward was great. Did you like the all day availability of ice cream??? What about the appetizers before dinner at the bars? You said Half Moon Bay was great. And it is. No other Cruise Line goes there. I caution you not to generalize about the process for changing tables. We did and had no problem. You don't know all the circumstances. We have been on the Zuiderdam four times and always have had great service. We also have been on the Osterdam and noticed no real difference (just as good). In conclusion sounds like you are basing your dislikes on very minor items. Hope these negative treads continue so we can get good prices on the Z.

[spiritdfilly]

It was not my intention to give a negative or positive review, but rather an unbiased one-based on MY observations. I certainly can't be expected to review a ship based on anyone else's likes and dislikes (bar hor doerves and endless supply of ice cream not withstanding)... I wasn't nitpicking. I offered MY overview and any concerns I addressed did not seem minor to me. They could have been handled better with a less shorthanded and harried crew staff, a more polite diningrm captain, a more inspired diningrm menu and more experienced entertainment staff.
That was MY take; it needn't be anyone else's-That's what makes ballgames> different strokes for different folks....
Returning cruisers who bother to review their experience at all, do so as a courtesy. It is understood by most civil and intelligent readers, that one takes what they read with a grain of salt and extrapolates from it, things important to them when making their own decisions.

[Fit Heart]

Hi Spirit,

Very well said in your last comment. I had a different experience from yours, but I commented in my review that the importance of honest comments from those graciously taking time to post their reviews is important. It is the privilege of those reading our comments, good or bad, to take away information that may help enhance their cruise experience. I learned just as much from those who are honest about their negative experiences. Of course I realize that a cruise experience depends on so many things. Sometimes things are in the best of sync, while other times they are not. I think those of us who take time to post do so, because we learned from others on here. If I can help make someone else's experience on their vacation better by sharing my thoughts, then that is a good thing. Thanks for your honest comments.

[Cruising Jake]

Spiritdfilly, thanks for you thoughts. We were happy to meet you on HMC.

[spiritdfilly]

nice mtg you too on hmc. that very pleasant day provided one of the highlights of our cruise :)
I appreciate too, the support of others and the honest observations i've learned from on these boards.

[voyeurism26]

I totally understand and respect the review! As I said in the past, we have been on many HAL cruises and many other lines such as NCL & Celebrity and I do have to admit for the price Celebrity is much better when it comes to service and food these days. HAL use to be just as good as Celebrity but in recent years, HAL is going from excellant to good.

We have tried better cruises but for some crazy reason, I end up going on HAL ships more then I do on the other lines. I have been on over 10 HAL cruises since 1995 and no matter how the service and the food is we keep on going back.

I think we keep coming back because we know what to expect, the ship for the most part is clean. We like the cabins compared to other lines. Price is an issue since we go on two cruises per year. Celebrity is a great cruise but the price is great for a large outside cabin but if you want to have a cabin with balcony the cost is very expensive and HAL still gives a better price. Of course you get what you pay for and you can see the difference between the two lines.

HAL also does a much better job with advertising its cruises and they do a great mail-out program. Out of all the cruise lines...we get more mail advertisment from HAL then any other cruise line, so its kind of in your face and when we book a cruise our first choice becomes HAL.

I think that is some of the reason why we keep going back on HAL...does anyone have any thoughts to this theory???

[DFD1]

I completely agree that with HAL you know what to expect. We have cruised HAL 5 times in the last couple of years and have never sensed any great deviation of the HAL standard.

The staterooms are a bit larger than we have had on other cruise lines. They are well furnished and well maintained. The beds and linens are lovely. The bathrooms are just fine for us.

The general atmosphere around the ship is pleasant and not intrusive as it can be on other cruise lines, No loud announcements or on-going contests on deck all day.

There's just something of a general nature about the HAL ships and cruises that keeps us coming back.

The pricing on has is also a factor. We feel that we get good value for the cost of our cruises with HAL. Better than with some of the others and, for us, that is important because we travel a lot and try and make our travel dollars go as far as possible whether it is a cruise or an air/land trip.

I also agree that their marketing is some of the best in the industry and we get material sent to us from almost all the major cruise lines.