Something nice to say about the Zuiderdam

[Orcrone]

My brother just got back from a cruise on the Diamond Princess. He had an excellent time, but was disappointed with some of the ways that they were nickeled and dimed. They charged for ice cream sundaes, capucino in the dining room and all classes in the gym. On HAL the ice cream station is still free, I don't believe they charge for capucino and although they charge for some gym classes (e.g. pilates) they don't charge a fee for regular aerobics classes.

Additionally, he met someone who had just sailed the Zuiderdam, and they much preferred the Zuiderdam over the Diamond Princess. With a cruise on the Zuiderdam coming up in 3 months it was nice to hear something positive.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We haven't been on Princess in years. The only time you got free ice cream was at lunch or dinner time in the main dining rooms.

There was a time when the capucino was free at dinner time on Princess.

[sail7seas]

Surely you have read many positive comments HERE about Zuiderdam. I KNOW I am not the only poster who has written they enjoyed their cruise, thought Zuiderdam a great ship, had good service etc etc

It's easy to remember the blasts (some of which come from people who haven't even sailed on Zuiderdam). Sure there are posters who did not like the ship or did not like facets of their cruise aboard Zuiderdam. But, there also are posters who had a great time.

[doone]

That's good to hear as I sail on the Zuiderdam in March with some first time cruisers. Thanks for the information.

[RuthC]

Marc, I hope you found his comments reassuring; I know you had become more than a bit apprehensive about your next HAL cruise.

From everything I've read on this board I think you'll find the Zuiderdam experience quite different from your Maasdam cruise. I hope you think it is even better!

[Orcrone]

Marc, I hope you found his comments reassuring; I know you had become more than a bit apprehensive about your next HAL cruise.

From everything I've read on this board I think you'll find the Zuiderdam experience quite different from your Maasdam cruise. I hope you think it is even better! Thank you Ruth. When I returned from the Maasdam I was a bit apprehensive. Partly because when booking this cruise I was the one who pushed for the Zuiderdam. My mom was actually leaning towards RCI (maybe she wants to climb a rock wall)?

Lately my apprehension has diminished. Some people love it, some people hate it and most fall somewhere in the middle. I'm guessing that I'll find both positives and negatives, but we'll all have a great time.