Back from Zuiderdam 12/18 Compared to Celebrity

[CoasterBill]

We enjoyed our trip on Zuiderdam and to put a different twist on this I am sharing how I feel about this ship compared to the Celebrity trips I have been on.

First off this is our first Holland America trip and I have never been on a cruise that I did not enjoy but I would have to say that this was not one of our preferred trips. Over all we did not feel the service was up to what other lines provide and the shows in the Vista Lounge were not as good as other ships we have been on. Food on the other hand was very good. My wife and I both liked every meal we had.

Embarkation went very smooth. From the time we got to the terminal till the time we step on the ship was about 30 minutes. We were on the ship at about 1:00 pm and they checked our carryon luggage since the rooms were not yet ready. We went up and had lunch at the Lido buffet style resturant and then found our room which then had the carryon in the room. Our other luggage showed up before 5. I would give this as good of a grade to start as on any ship we have been on. Celebrity does do a little extra once on the ship with the drink waiting for you and being taken to the room but these two things do not matter much to us.

The ships public areas did not impress us as much as I would have expected. The First thing we noted was that the atrium was very small and did not have that grand feeling I would have expected, with a new large ship such as the Zuiderdam. Pictures I saw made it seem larger then it was. The ship had lots of areas to just sit and had several places to hear live music around which was very nice. The main lounges were very small for the ships size. The theater each evening seemed to be smaller then it needed to be for the number of guests on board and also it had many poles that blocked your view of the stage. Most ships built today seem to have worked out building these areas without so many poles. The second largest lounge (Queen's Lounge) Was very small in my view and had a very low ceiling. It was not a great space for showing Movies as well and I would have liked to have seen them include a theater for this alone. The Crows Nest was also a small area with low ceilings. I felt the same way about the main dinning room on the ship. Low ceilings and tables very close together. In most all cases I felt I much preferred Celebity's ships that I have been on with larger theaters and a much grander dinning room. The live flowers on Zuiderdam were very nice. I can never understand why Celebrity does not do this but instead has fake flowers in most areas of the ship. I would also give the edge to Zuiderdam for its art. I do not get into some of the way out art that Celebrity uses. Some of it is nice but some very odd. One other plus for Zuiderdam is the walk around deck on Promenade Deck with teak wood flooring. I really like a walk around deck and for some reason Celebrity does not put these on there ships.

Guest Rooms, We had a veranda room and it was very nice. It had plenty of storage and even had drawers under the beds which I would guess many guest never find. More space then in Cebebritys rooms but much of the space we did not use since there was so much. Both lines include a safe. The tv has been larger on Celebrity but not that much of a diffrence to us. The bed and sofa were both hard on zuiderdam and we prefer the ones on Celebrity but that is something that is a personal preference. The Bath was a little better on Zuiderdam it included a Bath tub as well as shower. Zuiderdam provided fruit in the room each day which was a nice touch and in room movies were much better then Celebrity. Each day you had 4 films per day that did not repeat over the week. Most other lines seem to have 4 or 5 films that just get ran over and over all week. Two stations each ran 2 of the films each day and times were provided to you so you could plan out when you want to see them. The films were at no charge which was also nice. One note is that in past cruises we never looked at these films in the room as the ship had so much to do. On Zuiderdam we found our selves looking at them more as the ship programs did not intrest us as much.

I will continue this later with more of our views.

[CoasterBill]

Service, We did not feel the service was up to Celebrity or for that case any of the ships we have been on to date. I do not feel it is that the staff is poor but I feel that the ship is asking to much of them. First off our room was never serviced till later afternoon each day. This happened after 1:30 each day and some times after 3. The reason for this was not that he did a poor job but that he had so many rooms to take care of that it took this long. He also had to do all the work himself and on other lines this room stuart had a helper. We asked for one extra towel each day and many days we did not get it. Not a big deal. Once he finished rooms for the first service he would have to almost start right back doing the turn down service. In my view they were asking to much of them. The dinning room service was also not up to the standard of Celebity by far. The order was taken and food provided, as is their job but that was it. Our waiter asked to take the order and never once made a suggestion or spoke to us other then to introduce himself the first night. From what we could see it was not that he was not working hard but that he was over worked and had to many tables to be able to take those extra moments to be more personal. A simple thing but our table was never decrumed. I just saw that the small extras were not provided. When you return to the ship on Celebrity they are there with cool towels to refresh you. Lots of little extras just not provied on Zuiderdam.

Tipping, This was a spot I had problems with on this ship. HAL's policy of tipping if feel is wrong. They take 10 dollars a day out per person and bill on your ship account. You have the option to remove this charge but if you do all tips you give staff must be then turned over by the person you give it to which then goes to the ships tip pool. I feel very much that I should be able to provide the tip I want to to each staff member as I see fit. Part of the tip goes to staff members behind the the guest view and I feel these staff members should be compensated by the cruise line and not by my tip. I gave over the 10 dollar auto tip but had I gotten poor service from someone I should have been able to give less. I did not feel I needed to do this but its just that if I had I would have not had the option. I hope they will change the program. I much prefer how Celebrity deals with this subject.

Food, Over all the food on this trip was very good and we enjoyed every meal provided. The Lido Buffet was great. The best I have ever seen on a ship. They had stations all over the area that provided many options. One station had the more normal things you find in these buffets. One made very good deli products per your order, another had salads, another had Italian options and the best pizza I have ever had on a ship by far, another had a wok and sushi items made fresh and then drink and sweets areas. Ice cream was provided but was not made on the ship like Celebrity has. Outside of this area on the pool deck they had a grill to make hamburgers as well as a taco bar. We did go to the Pinnacle grill and it was very nice but not quite up to what I would have thought it would be. By the way we went the first night which is only 10 dollars and very much worth it. The main dinning room food was very good. I would give the edge to Celebrity as it is a step above but none the less it was good. Each menu had a nice selection and most of the time had a more spicy dish as well. That is something I often times like. The food was almost always served hot as well. Each night at 11:30 they had a snack buffet open till I think 12:30. Many selections were provided and also all evening up till 1 AM they had the Italian area of the Lido Buffet open serving pasta as well as fresh pizza. Also a Drink station was always open with Juice, Tea and hot drinks as well. Over all Food I would give a small edge to Celebity but not quite as much as I would have thought.

I will continue again later.

[CoasterBill]

Entertainment, This is a big area that matters to me. I really enjoy production shows and I felt that Zuiderdam did not do a great job in this area. First off the stage was smaller then on Celebrity ships I have been on. Second the singers did not do a very good job in my view, Sets did not change much durring the shows. Dancing was fine. Shows did not hold my interest as much eather as we work looking at the clock alot. The first night of the trip the dancers did a small show to start the event and then the rest of the time was a comedian. She was ok but not that great in our view. The second night was a juggler. He did a rather good job. The 3rd night was a production show "Under the Board Walk". The 4th I was a movie and the 5th was a magic show which was very good. In our view the best show of the week. The 6th night was a Production show about movie Music and it was ok. The last night was an impressionist. We both felt he was poor. Celebrity has normally done more then 2 production shows each time and they are of much better quality. They also normally have a feature act in them of some type that is quite outstanding. Evening show times I would give a large edge to Celebrity. Later evening events I enjoyed more on Cebebrity as well. Day time events once again to Celebrity. Some good points on Zuiderdam was they had a kitchen tour as well as a back stage tour that all guests could attend. This is only an option for upper Captain's Club Members on Celebrity. Also each day on Zuiderdam two movies were shown in there theater and I think that Celebrity only runs one per day.

The last day, Getting off the ship was a little nicer on Zuiderdam. They let you stay in your room till your number is called so you do not have to sit in a public area. I hope Celebrity will change this if they have not already done so.

In closing, We enjoyed the trip but I do not know if we would return to HAL in the future. If we get a great deal we may but I do not expect to do so. Over all we much prefer Celebrity or even NCL over HAL.

If anyone has any questions I will be more than glad to try to help. Realize that what I feel is my opinion and I am sure some would prefer the other way around. This is why we have so many lines open to us. Thanks for reading and I hope this may help someone out there. Bill

[localady]

Thanks for your extensive review. You are definately not the first person to suggest that the staff appears to be overworked with the new system in the Diningroom. It is unfortunate that you didn't have better wait staff and room stewards, as they are the ones, for me, that make the experience special!:cool:

[dakrewser]

A very well balanced review, thanks. It validates many of the things others have stated with regard to this ship, it's design and the recent changes in staffing levels.

[DoctorFeelgood]

As a frequent Celebrity Cruiser, Celebrity is pretty much the standard by which I will judge other lines.

It sounds from your review that I will have to be prepared for some give and take.

[intandemNV]

Thank you for the review!

[DFD1]

Thank you for your report. Celeberity must be doing things very well these days.

[lissa6626]

Thanks for the review. I just recently returned from my 1st HAL cruise and had a very similar experience on the Veendam. I recently posted a review of my cruise. I, too, usually cruise Celebrity and in the end I do give Celebrity an edge. I did find the food to be about 2 notches better in all on Celebrity. I hope Celebrity does not start slipping.

[Cruising Jake]

It was interesting to hear your comparison. I have sailed on Celebrity once about 4 years ago and thought their food was not all that great. Sounds like they have improved. Isn't it great that we all have different opinions and can share them?

[CoasterBill]

I thank each of you for your comments.

Two things I did not address which I will add now, are that overall I did feel the ship was well kept up. Most things looked very good. A few technical features I did notice were no longer working in lounges as well as other areas of the ship. This seems to be on every cruise line. They install special things to enhance shows and the look of the ship and when they stop working they are not repaired. I did notice one small thing that did bother me (I always look at detail). In the Queens Lounge under the dance floor area, if you look up you will see lights that had special small bulbs to enhance the fixture. As these bulbs have gone bad they have replaced them with standard light bulbs. It really looked poor and lowered the quality of the overall look. It seems strange to me to let such a low cost item lower the look of the room. I wonder if I am the only one that would ever notice this. If so I guess that is the reason it happens.

The second thing I noticed was the smell of sewage that could be noticed on the ship near the front area. We often smelled it as we were on the stairs in that area and the smell seems to start between the 4rd and 5th level working your way down. Since the smell is not very strong most of the time, I did not find it to hard to deal with, but I also know some people notice things much quicker then I do and to them it may be more of an issue. I do hope this is something they will be able to fix in the near future.

[CarolynK]

My family and I are leaving Thursday for a Christmas cruise on the Zuiderdam. I enjoyed reading your review, and I have two questions for you.

You said: "Celebrity does do a little extra once on the ship with the drink waiting for you and being taken to the room but these two things do not matter much to us." Are you saying that HAL staff did not escort you to your cabin??

My other question relates to your comments on tipping when you said, "I hope they will change the program. I much prefer how Celebrity deals with this subject." HOW does Celebrity deal with it, just curious?

Thanks.

[CoasterBill]

We did not get taken to our room but they did take us to a public room to check our carry on. From that point we went up to have lunch. Maybe if the guest rooms are ready when you enter they do take you to the room. I do not Know but I am sure many can let us know on that topic.

Second, Tips on Celebity work that they give you guidelines what to tip each person and then it is up to you what you would like to do. We always have given over the amount as we have always been given great service but if you were given poor service by someone you would be able to do what ever you like. I do not care much for the ship making me follow their program or having those that I tip give up the moneys I give them. I feel the ship does not have a right to do this. Just my view and I hope this will help.

I really hope you have a great time on board and feel free to ask anything else.

Bill

[Giorgi-one]

Neither HAL nor Celebrity do a great job with Production Shows. Certainly nothing to compare with NCL, which unfortunately has been going downhill over the last few years.

People have been complaining about the sewage odor for about a year now. It would appear that HAL has no intention of fixing this or everyone on the Zuiderdam has lost their sense of smell and can't find the problem.

[~Nereus~]

Just got back from the Infinity 15 day Hawaii and have no complaints.. shows were great. We were on the Summit back to back last year and went to the same shows twice. We are very happy with Celebrity entertainment, food and above all service. We will be going on HAL for the first time in three years in Jan... We have enjoyed Celebrity too much to switch back. Now have 135 days HAL, 153 Celebrity...

My previous experience indicated that there was more difference between ships than companies at this level but I'll know better next month...

PS NCL one trip on the Dream in the Medit... we love the Medit but no desire to try NCL again..

[DoctorFeelgood]

Most ships seem to show things like you describe. In our PS on Infinity last year it clearly showed signs of use and abuse from former passengers. There were gouges in several of the wood accents on floors, tables, and the baby grand piano. There were stains on some of the wallpaper. Some of the china decorations were missing or chipped.

We had invited the hotel manager for tea one day, which turned out to be the short way to get most things fixed. For the entire morning our PS was basically off-limits to us as it was filled with busy repairmen and cleaners.

[CoasterBill]

I really do not agree that NCL has better shows then Celebrity. This may have been the case years back but I think that today
Celebrity does a very good job with them. There was a clear diffrence between Celebrity and HAL on the last trips I took on Celebrity and the one trip I took on HAL. At the same time I realize that I have only been on one HAL ship so it may be unfair to judge this one time event but in talking with the stage manager on the Zuiderdam, he talked like that ship got better shows then most of the ships as its stage was able to do so much more then the older ships.

[shipcafe]

We did not get taken to our room but they did take us to a public room to check our carry on. From that point we went up to have lunch. Maybe if the guest rooms are ready when you enter they do take you to the room. I do not Know but I am sure many can let us know on that topic.

Second, Tips on Celebity work that they give you guidelines what to tip each person and then it is up to you what you would like to do. We always have given over the amount as we have always been given great service but if you were given poor service by someone you would be able to do what ever you like. I do not care much for the ship making me follow their program or having those that I tip give up the moneys I give them. I feel the ship does not have a right to do this. Just my view and I hope this will help.

I really hope you have a great time on board and feel free to ask anything else.

Bill

Royal Caribbean now automatically bills gratuities to one's stateroom .. did you experience that on your Voyager of the Seas cruise? I wonder if that will trickle down to Celebrity eventually ...

[ekerr19]

CoasterBill-

Thank you for your review. I enjoyed reading it - found it insightful and helpful. We are thinking of trying Celebrity, but I'm not sure they will meet the expectations we've always had with HAL. We are still thinking.

I guess it will all depend on our March '05 Volendam cruise ... :)

Does anyone know if Celebrity offers 10-day Alaska cruises?

[CoasterBill]

As of July when we were on Voyager it was given as an option to have tips put on the account rather then having to give them out on your own. This was only done if you went to the desk and asked them to charge your account. Also the tips were only divided to the normal people you tip if you decided to tip in this manner. We did use the progam and then gave extra on our own. This was nice so we did not have to have as much cash to hand out at the end. I am fine with Celebrity doing this if they would like to as it is an option only.
I would be very pleased if HAL had a program like this rather then the one they have. I know that people are still not understanding the program that HAL is using, even when they are on the ship and it is explaned. An example is that on the ship I did go to talk nicely with the front desk to let them know that I did not care for the progam and why but that at the same time I would use it and keep the charges on the bill so that what I gave extra to people would be able to be kept by them. After this a guest that was in line told me that I should go and remove the charges as he had and the friends he was with and tip on my own. When I explained about how the people he gave the tips to would have to turn that money over to the ship tip pool, he did not understand that and insisted that that was not so. I know people are not understanding this program. It seems anything HAL puts into place regarding tips just keeps people not quite understanding. They need to go to a normal program like other ships without freestyle meals uses.

[CoasterBill]

CoasterBill-


Does anyone know if Celebrity offers 10-day Alaska cruises?

We went on a Celebrity Alaska Cruise in 03 and it was a 12 day trip. Seven days at sea and 5 days on a land tour. The trip could have not been much better in our view. Almost as good as it can get. I do not know if this is what you mean or if you are looking for 10 days all on the ship. I think that they only have 7 day at sea trips and then land tours to add to this and the number of days I think start at about 2 to 7 land days on top of the 7 at sea on the ship. I hope that will help. I do know that the cruise with land tour options do fill up with Celebrity much quicker then just the cruise trips, so if you are intrested in this you may want to look into it before to long.

If you have any other questions about the trip I will be glad to try to help.

On your other note about trying Celebrity, If you do I know you will find some perks that you get on HAL that you will miss on Celebrity such as popcorn at the movie. Little things like that but you will also find many new little things that they will add. I feel Celebrity wins out on these but you will notice things. I noticed things missing on HAL that you get on Celebrity. Each line does have its good points. I do feel that most (not all) that like HAL alot will love Celebrity as much if not more. Just my view.

Bill
Bill

[dakrewser]

Does anyone know if Celebrity offers 10-day Alaska cruises?
Join us for 12 days R/T San Francisco to Alaska on Celebrity's Infinity, sailing on 9/3/05!

[ekerr19]

Join us for 12 days R/T San Francisco to Alaska on Celebrity's Infinity, sailing on 9/3/05!

Oh, I wish!!! That'd be awesome, but the kids would miss the start up of school - they go back the day after Labor Day.... :(

In fact, I forgot about their school completely when thinking of booking the new Noordam - we may have to for go the maiden voyage and do a Spring Break trip...

[dakrewser]

Oh, I wish!!! That'd be awesome, but the kids would miss the start up of school - they go back the day after Labor Day.... :(

In fact, I forgot about their school completely when thinking of booking the new Noordam - we may have to for go the maiden voyage and do a Spring Break trip...
One of the many benefits of grandparenthood (as opposed to parenthood). Ah well, they'll grow up and move out one of these days. Maybe. If you're lucky! :rolleyes:

-dave

[ekerr19]

One of the many benefits of grandparenthood (as opposed to parenthood). Ah well, they'll grow up and move out one of these days. Maybe. If you're lucky! :rolleyes:

-dave

Oh, there is no "maybe" about it! ;)

[DNCButler]

I don't know when your kids get out but the Infinity does a 10 nt from San Francisco on Jun 9 returning to Vancouver June 19th.

I love both Celebrity and HAL. You have to be careful when comparing the two lines. Both offer wonderful yet different amenities Celebrity with the Concierge Class cabins and HAL with the SS and S cabins. Personally, I love the new beds on HAL! I can't remember ever sleeping so sound! And the pillows are wonderful too. Celebrities disabled cabins (DH is disabled thus our view point is different) win hands down over any other cruise line that I've been on. Not to say HAL's are bad just not as good.

As for the sewage smell, I've had that on every ship I've sailed on in the last two years. The worst was on Summit in Alaska (2003) and it was always as we left our room to go anywhere! We were in the aft balcony cabins (what is now the CC cabins). Guess it's just something that we have to get used to.

I love both lines but give the nod to Celebrity for dining room service and pace. Never rushed but never left waiting too long either! On a price point though, HAL is much lower per diem and as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Great review though!

[ekerr19]

I don't know when your kids get out but the Infinity does a 10 nt from San Francisco on Jun 9 returning to Vancouver June 19th.

I love both Celebrity and HAL. You have to be careful when comparing the two lines. Both offer wonderful yet different amenities Celebrity with the Concierge Class cabins and HAL with the SS and S cabins. Personally, I love the new beds on HAL! I can't remember ever sleeping so sound! And the pillows are wonderful too. Celebrities disabled cabins (DH is disabled thus our view point is different) win hands down over any other cruise line that I've been on. Not to say HAL's are bad just not as good.

As for the sewage smell, I've had that on every ship I've sailed on in the last two years. The worst was on Summit in Alaska (2003) and it was always as we left our room to go anywhere! We were in the aft balcony cabins (what is now the CC cabins). Guess it's just something that we have to get used to.

I love both lines but give the nod to Celebrity for dining room service and pace. Never rushed but never left waiting too long either! On a price point though, HAL is much lower per diem and as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Great review though!

Wow - thanks! This would work for us... I will check it our further. :)