Need Some Honest Answers about Zuiderdam/Alaska in July

[sajeffc]

I booked on Zuiderdam for a July 2011 Alaska cruise. I am 57, my wife is 52 and we will be taking two almost 17YO sons. We are all pretty active. I have been in the upscale hospitality business for 30 years and I don't want or expect snooty service and needless haute couture, but service should be attentive, polite and appreciative of your patronage. Food doesn't need to be five-star, but should be prepared well, presented well and served at the right temperature. No tourist fare meals, please. I am a little concerned about the number of postings I am seeing about service and meals.

I am looking for some reassurance that on an Alaska sailing in July, there will be people our age and our sons age and families like ours will be taking vacation time on that sailing. I don't want my sons to be bored to tears and I am hoping that the summmer sailings will have a somewhat younger demographic than the winter sailings appear to have.

I would appreciate your comments, but please no flames as we both enjoy people of all ages and we fit in wherever we are. We have both just spent a difficult couple of years getting our parents settled and are both looking for some decompression time and I want my sons to have a great time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Alaskan cruises tend to attrack a lot of families. Going in July -- great time as the children are not in school.

Have you checked your Roll Call to see how many families from there will be on your cruise?

[Silverwing]

Our very first cruise was on the Ryndam in Alaska in 2007 with our 21 yr old daughter and 16 yr old son. Although there weren't many youngsters on board they both had a wonderful time and have cruised again with us on HAL since then. In June we are all going on a Baltic cruise on the Eurodam.

Having recently cruised on the new Cunard ship Queen Elizabeth, where we expected excellent service and food and were very disappointed, we are really looking forward to returning to HAL twice this year. We thought HAL to be far superior in every respect. We have always received outstanding service on HAL and have been made to feel welcome by the polite, gracious and friendly crew. In our opinion the preparation, presentation and selection of food offered on HAL is first class - something to suit everyone.

I hope your Alaska cruise will be a real success and you all have a great vacation together.

[NoWhiners]

I booked on Zuiderdam for a July 2011 Alaska cruise. I am 57, my wife is 52 and we will be taking two almost 17YO sons. We are all pretty active. I have been in the upscale hospitality business for 30 years and I don't want or expect snooty service and needless haute couture, but service should be attentive, polite and appreciative of your patronage. Food doesn't need to be five-star, but should be prepared well, presented well and served at the right temperature. No tourist fare meals, please. I am a little concerned about the number of postings I am seeing about service and meals.

I am looking for some reassurance that on an Alaska sailing in July, there will be people our age and our sons age and families like ours will be taking vacation time on that sailing. I don't want my sons to be bored to tears and I am hoping that the summmer sailings will have a somewhat younger demographic than the winter sailings appear to have.

I would appreciate your comments, but please no flames as we both enjoy people of all ages and we fit in wherever we are. We have both just spent a difficult couple of years getting our parents settled and are both looking for some decompression time and I want my sons to have a great time.

We cruised twice to Alaska on HAL, both times in late June, once in 2007 (Zuiderdam) and once in 2009 (Zaandam). Both times we saw mostly people our age (55 and 56), not tons of teenagers but still quite a few. They hung out by the pool or hot tubs on sea days. We saw groups of them in the front of the ship at Glacier Bay. We don't have kids, so I can't tell you if the ones we saw were all travelling together or what, but at least there will be others your sons' age onboard. i don't think you or they will be disappointed. I think the food is terrific--good choices every night, I thought acceptable, sometimes even 5 star. There are many excellent excursions both you and your sons will enjoy--whale watching, visit sled dog training spots, ziplines, etc. if you go to Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm, you will be amazed at how beautiful and BIG it is!! has to be a good experience for your sons. When we saw Glacier Bay, it gave us a much better appreciation of what we are losing as the glaciers all melt. Sort of sad, but does make you think.

Relax and enjoy the cruise--it sounds like you can all use a fun vacation!.
ML

[sajeffc]

Thank you both. I'm feeling better already....

[musicismylife]

When we sailed to Alaska in 2007 our DS was in Club HAL. Because he was younger we felt the need to check out all of the facilities before we left him. Well, DH was very jealous of the teen facility: it had lots of video games, both console systems and arcade type games. He begged and pleaded to be allowed to hang out there (DH that is!) but wasn't allowed.:p

During our last cruise we saw several teens playing the giant chess/checkers game and ping-pong on the Lido deck.

I would think that there will be other teens to hang out with and there is a lot of ports to do during an Alaska cruise. Hopefully they'll have fun. Oh, and there is a movie theatre too with fresh popcorn or they can rent/borrow DVDs from the library too.

[intandemNV]

We will be cruising in July to Alaska with our 16 year old daughter. She always makes friends on cruises and Holland America is a favorite of ours. I am sure all of you will enjoy the meals and make some friends!;)

[SwissMyst]

We were on the June 2010 trip and the MDR food was the best so far for all courses and all nights. We loved our dining crew who were very special. And we were very sorry we opted out of the last evening Master Chef Dinner, which we dont like, because we did not get to enjoy their service and the MDR food for one more night. Our choice of the Pinnacle for that last evening instead was the one down note. So if things have not changed in a year, the Zuiderdam is a very good choice. And if you want some wonderful food in Vancouver the night before you leave, try Boneta in Gas Town near the cruise terminal.

[ksc1984]

I've been to Alaska on Zuiderdam(2009) and Amsterdam(2010), both times in late spring. There weren't a lot of teens at those times but they were having a good time. Some were hanging out with their parents, others with other teens. There are lots of great excursions. I don't think the Zuiderdam will disappoint you. The crew was fantastic. We enjoyed the food as well, eating in the Lido most of the time. And Alaska is wonderful. You will be going at a great time to see whales! I think your kids are great age to see Alaska. They're old enough to appreciate this great state and remember it as well! And best of all, sea days are great for relaxing. My husband and I enjoyed getting away from real life for a bit.

[CruiseRev]

My observation on our July 2009 Alaska cruise was that there were a number of teens aboard and they seemed to discover each other. Overheard some talking and it was obvious they had met on board. I don't imagine your boys will be bored at all. Half of Alaska cruising are the shore excursions and there will be plenty to keep your boys interested. go for it.