Zuiderdam 2/12-19 Just Back

[mjmagee]

Just back from our first HAL cruise. Had a great cruise. Will post a review tomorrow. Marilyn and Larry

[dakrewser]

Thanks for dropping in here even before you started the laundry!:rolleyes:

[g041t]

Sailing the Zuiderdam 3/5/05 and hoping to hear a positive spin!

[watchdiva]

We're sailing on the Zui 4/16/05 and looking forward to your review..........

Lin

[Tarkus]

ditto... my time is 5/28/05... so i'm obviously interested as well.

<edit> rather than post again, i note ladyarmor's post below me... i too am traveling as a single, but i guess it's a bit different when you're a guy (vs a girl)... at least that's the perception.

oh, and ladyarmor - small world. next saturday the movers arrive at my townhouse in suburban atlanta for my permanent move to... cape coral. really looking forward to driving over to fort lauderdale vs flying.

hope you enjoy your cruise.

[LadyArmor]

Just back from our first HAL cruise. Had a great cruise. Will post a review tomorrow. Marilyn and Larry
I leave this coming Saturday for the Eastern Carib. Cruise on the Zuiderdam. It will be my first crusie and I literally just booked it yesterday. As you can imagine, I will take any advice that you might offer. I will be going as a single female and hoping that I will not feel like a third wheel at dinners and activities.

Lady Armor
Cape Coral, FL

[mjmagee]

I will try and do this in stages because it is long. Here goes.
A little background. I am in my 50’s and DH in his 60’s. This is our 7th cruise. Sailed twice on the SS Norway, twice on Princess and twice on Celebrity. Always wanted to sail HAL as had heard such good things about the line. Chose this Zuiderdam cruise as it was the right time of year (10th wedding anniversary) and would go to a private island and Tortola which we had never seen before. Also got a great rate on Expedia. Had always booked online but found a rate a few bucks cheaper with them and received free soda cards, two bottles of wine and dinner in the Pinnacle Grill as well.
We live on the West coast of Florida so we take the Cruise-Connection bus to Ft. Lauderdale. Good service. No worries about the car. Costs only $45 round trip for each of us. We were dropped of at the door of the cruise terminal at about 10:40AM. Bags taken by porters and we stood in line with a small group of early arrivers. The doors opened at 11AM. We marched in and were directed to a section for those who had completed immigration papers online. We walked right up to the counter, had our pictures taken, registered our credit card, received a folder with our room key/id cards and our dining room assignment. We went off to pass painlessly through security and were sent to a waiting room upstairs. We sat there for maybe 15 minutes and then were called to board. Had our first photo taken and walked onboard.

[mjmagee]

We were greeted by staff who walked us to the forward elevators and told us to take them up to the Lido deck to enjoy lunch as cabins would not be available till 1PM. When we got off the elevator we were at the Greenhouse Spa and Salon. Walking past the desk I enquired about the cost of a manicure and pedicure. After receiving the info and moving on I was called back to the desk by the spa manager. He said if I really wanted the services I should not walk away now as there is only one nail tech on the ship. I made my appt. for 5PM that evening. We walked through the Lido pool area, grabbed a table and picked up lunch from the Lido buffet. Some savvy travelers must carry there swimsuits in their carry-ons because they were already sunbathing!
After lunch we decided to do a little exploring. DH was so anxious to see the cabin he just pushed open the hallway doors and walked down the hall and opened the door. I was feeling embarrassed as it was not yet 1PM but our cabin was already clean and set up. We had booked a verandah guarantee and received a BA cabin 5075. It was really all the room we needed. The bathroom seemed small but I think that is because of the bathtub which DH really appreciated as he likes to soak. Between the shelves behind the little glass door next to the mirror and the shelf beneath the sink we really had plenty of room for out things. HAL provides the usual toiletries; bath and facial soap, a shampoo-conditioner combination, shower cap and lotion.

[mjmagee]

On first inspection I thought there would never be enough storage space. The closets consisted of one with shelves and the kind of safe you put your own code into. The other three had fold up shelves so they could be hanging closets or shelf space. There were two little shelves behind a door on the end of the desk. One of the shelves taken up by the hair dryer. There were two cabinets with shelves above the sofa but they were high and awkward to reach. I mostly threw our dirty laundry up there. There was a nightstand with two drawers on each side of the bed. Those drawers close with some kind of invisible magnet and at first you think they are locked but you just have to really pull to open them. There is a mini-bar under the desk. We asked the room steward to empty it and we put our wine in there.
Our room steward’s name was Suritanto. “Tanto” for short. He was quiet and shy but friendly. He kept our room immaculate. Whenever we stepped out and returned he had completed the scheduled cleaning. We never caught him at it. It was always just done when we got back.
The ship was very clean though worn in spots. Staff were always polishing, vacuuming, dusting. Public rest rooms were also very clean. If you look you will see some worn spots on the carpet. Worn leather on some of the rails in the glass elevators. Some cracked glass in display cases. I do not know why a ship that is only a little over two years old should show such signs of wear and tear. Overall, however, it is not that noticeable and does in no way take away from the enjoyment of the cruise.

[mjmagee]

Much has been written about the color scheme of the Zuiderdam. I did not find it offensive. It was striking at times and OK at times but never disturbing. It was certainly colorful but that is what I expect for a Caribbean cruise. Some decorative touches were very beautiful. The Explorer’s Lounge is subdued and has a beautiful painting on the wall of an Italian port. The Pinnacle Grill is pretty and the décor is distinctive. Most of the artwork was very nice. There are a lot of surfaces on the ship that beg to be touched. I had given DH a lecture about touching public surfaces as little as possible and hand washing and and the minute we got on the glass elevators I had to touch the leather rails and the suede “pillows” on the walls. Maybe that is why some of the ship seems worn. If everyone was tempted to touch surfaces as much as I was! Oh and the flowers! Fresh flower arrangements on most counters. Live orchid plants on nearly every table in the Lido buffet. Cut orchids in bud vases almost everywhere else. Beautiful.
We left our carry-ons in the room and took off to do a little exploring. We stopped in the Windstar Café and had a caramel latte something or other and a couple of very rich pieces of pastry. Coffee was good but not hot. Pastries were tooooo sweet. Met some other Cruise Critics in the Crow’s Nest as planned. Went our on deck to try and get some pix of the Queen Mary 2 which was docked across from us. RC Jewel of the Seas was docked in front of us. Caribbean Princess and a Celebrity ship were also docked nearby. Went back to the cabin to prepare for the lifeboat drill (4:15) and our luggage had arrived. Did a little unpacking and found the closet to be big enough after all. Must cook dinner for DH. More later. Marilyn

[mjmagee]

After lifeboat drill I was off to my 5PM manicure/pedicure appt. As I left I told DH I was sorry I would miss the sailaway. The salon is forward on the Lido deck and I was sitting in a chair facing a wall of windows. It was a great manicure/pedicure and during the whole time I had a great view of all the other cruise ships passing out the channel before us. We did not sail till 5:30. We were berthed with our aft facing the channel so we backed out, did a 3 point turn and took off. I am always amazed at the enjoyment the residents along that channel in Ft. Lauderdale get out of the passing of the cruise ships. This day was no different. Their were people on their lawns waving towels and several HAL flags hanging from balconies and a crowd waving on that last beach before we sail out to sea. So I didn’t miss the sailaway after all!
We had requested late seating and a table for 8. We received 8PM upper dining room at a table for 6 along the windows at the rear of the dining room. It turned out to be great. Although it was the first time we had ever had a table on the windows and as it was late seating we never really saw anything except the wake in the dark. Annette and Tanya, an aunt and neice were seated with us. Mike and Bethany showed up later but we never saw them after the first night. Two days later Brian and Karen were seated with us, a young couple who had early seating but said they “never made it” so they asked to be moved.
We had GREAT service in the dining room. Our waiter Budi and assistant Reynold were attentive, friendly and timely. Reynold always greated us by name when he saw us in the Lido during the day. Budi was professional and would make suggestions when asked. Our assistant dining room steward was Pipit and he was not only friendly but chipped in and helped his staff out on a regular basis. Our wine stewards were Jerry and Hilario. They were possibly the most stretched people in the dining room but I never waited more than a few minutes for anything I wanted from them. Hilario always made sure DH had his cokes and kept them coming as needed.

[mjmagee]

The food was consistently good. There was always something on the dining room menu that appealed. I had one or two things that were “alright” and everything else was good to excellent. The Caribbean paella was a standout. Also the cheesecake sampler. Crab legs were good but DH ordered two orders and that was smart. The order is not that big. Last formal night was lobster tails. Two small cold water tails. Very tasty. Soups and salads were all good.
Food in the Lido was also good. Especially liked the broad selection at lunch. DH was fond of the pizza but had a hard time finding pepperoni, though it was listed everyday. Salad bar was fresh and the deli makes great to order sandwiches. The Lido was good for breakfast too. Also ate two mornings in the dining room (eggs Benedict, yum!) and had room service breakfast a couple of times. That food was hot and fresh too. There was a taco bar on the Lido deck, along with the usual grill food. DH couldn’t resist tasting the barbeque food on the Lido deck that night, even though we ate in the dining room. He pronounced it good, especially the sausages.
We made reservations in the Pinnacle Grill for Wednesday night as we did not want to miss either of the formal nights in the dining room. The Pinnacle was often mostly empty but this night it was popular and mostly full. DH had the rib eye steak and I had the filet. They were very good. Service was a bit lacking, maybe because they were so full. We had to ask to have water glasses refilled. We had to pour our own wine after the initial pour. We ordered our dessert and sat there for better than fifteen minutes. We very nearly left when it arrived. I wasn’t crazy about the volcano cake and wished I had ordered the crème brulee. DH wanted ice cream and was told vanilla and strawberry were the only suggestions. He ordered vanilla but we soon heard a waiter tell another table that they had Swiss Almond (DH’s favorite). Overall food was good, service a little disappointing. Good night. More tomorrow. Marilyn

[Bridges300]

Thanks for the review. We are off on 4/2 and enjoy reading your thoughts

[Iggipolka]

Thank you so much for your review! I really appreciate how much detail you are giving. :)

[snowcat]

I am enjoying your review. We are thinking of booking on the Zuiderdam for next January and the info is useful!

[Ziggy7]

Nice review, thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us! :)

[Cathy p]

Please continue. I am ready. We leave on 3/5:)

[mjmagee]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. I have finally come down with the cold DH has been incubating for three weeks. So here it goes.

Half Moon Cay was beautiful. We rented a clam shell. That is a great idea. If you are a late sleeper you must get to the island by 11AM to claim it. There was plenty of chairs around so we laid out in the lounges in front of our clamshell till we felt we had enough sun, then we moved into the clamshell for shade. Barbeque lunch was good. Water was cold. Pretty much 75 degrees the whole trip. Folks from up north thought that was not bad but coming from Florida it took some getting used too and we could only stay in about 45 minutes before we got the shivers. There were not a lot of people in the water.
Excursions: We did the Trunk Bay Beach tour to St. John on the St. Thomas day. I knew from Cruise Ship Calendar that there were going to be 5 large cruise ships in St. Thomas that day so we wanted to get off the island. Had shopping time in the morning and trip to St. John started around 1:15. Beautiful beach but surf was high and the water was a bit murky for good snorkeling. That day in St. Thomas the Caribbean Princess, Navigator of the Seas, Carnival Triumph were all docked at Havensight. Dawn Princess and we were at Crown Bay. I love to see all these great ships! The last day was in Nassau. We had never been there before. We sat out on the promenade deck and watched as Atlantis drew nearer and nearer. Then the ship sails right into the harbor and does a spin on a dime to back into the berth. Amazing. A Carnival ship, Disney Wonder, MSC Opera and a Royal Caribbean ship were all in port with us.
We had never been to Tortola and from what we could see from the harbor it was a very beautiful island. Much less developed than St. Thomas. We did the Virgin Island Sailaway and I highly recommend it. We were to snorkel at the caves of Norman Island but they said it was rough there so they took us to the rocks just outside “the bight”. Beautiful, beautiful fish! Like swimming in an aquarium. Some coral but not a lot but fish of all colors. One fellow said he saw a sea turtle. Snorkeled for about 45 minutes then sailed around the bend to the beach at the bight and had an hour of beach time. Lots of day sailors and week charters anchored there. We were in port with the Zaandam, what a pretty sight the two made as you walked ashore! In the harbor was Radisson Seven Seas Navigator. Sailing up the channel and later anchored off the bight was the Windjammer Legacy. Very impressive sight! Also saw a Windstar ship pseudosail by. Crew on the cat PPalau were great. Gave us running commentaries on all the islands we could see. Offered juice and water on the way out and rum punch on the way back. Maybe the best excursion, for the money, I have ever done.

[mjmagee]

The Daily Program delivered to the room had a list of activities as usual and an insert with Daily Happenings which were specials, such as golf and casino. Oddly enough the Spa specials were only listed once. You had to call or walk through the salon to see a posting of the specials. We did enjoy the hydrotherapy pool on the first sea day for $15/person. It felt great. We never did see the special for combination of hydrotherapy and thermal suite or we would have tried that. The gym had the usual treadmills, steppers, elliptical trainers, bikes, circuit machines, free weights. All at the front of the ship so you can look out or watch television. They offered only a few free classes and those at 7:30 or 8AM or 5PM. All the rest were yoga or pilates and there was a charge of $11/person. I spoke with someone who did the yoga class and she said she felt like the guy was just going through the paces. And there were only two people in the class.
Entertainment: We attended the juggler’s show (Jeff Harris). He was pretty funny but nothing spectacular. We attended the last musical production, Stage and Screen. The singing was good and the dancing was ok. Costumes were good. Your typical cruise line entertainers. Young, good looking people knocking themselves out. I always enjoy these shows even though I know they are not great artists. We did see the magician do an up-close magic show in the Queens Lounge. Again, nothing spectacular. Mostly he seemed to be trying to sell a magic kit he was hawking. We really enjoyed the Indonesian crew show. Very entertaining and several of our servers were participating.
The bands were pretty good to listen too but did not play very much dance music. If you go to the bars before dinner the servers come around with hors d’ouevres. Very tasty! We even liked those strange meat balls with the crust. Same hors d’ouevres were served at the Captain’s Champagne Reception on the first formal night. Must have had our picture taken 3 times that night while in line to get into the Vista Lounge.
Activities: The usual art auctions, bingo, casino tournaments, wine tasting, kitchen tour, spa seminars. Didn’t see any horse races or talent shows but they did have a Zuiderdam Superstar which I understand was a karaoke competition. They did have crew vs. guest water volleyball and you will not believe this but, “Wet and Wacky Pool Games” at the Lido Pool Aft. I did not attend so I cannot comment. They had crafts one day and gave us a nifty little plastic canvas and yarn kit to make a HAL souvenir box.

[mjmagee]

Movies: Big Screen; Ray, Shall We Dance, After the Sunset, Friday Night Lights, Ladder 49, The Last Shot, Wimbledon. On TV in the cabin; Bourne Supremacy, Raising Helen, MR. 3000, Sharktale, I am David, The Stepford Wives, Vanity Fair, Spy Kids 3, Undertow, Alfie, Collateral, Around the World in 80 Days, The Forgotten, Little Black Book, Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow, Princess Diaries 2, The Village, The Terminal, De-Lovely, ********* 2, Troy, Sideways, Wimbledon, The Manchurian Candidate, King Arthur, Cinderella Story. Several of these were repeated. Other television channels included CNN, TNT, Boomerang cartoons, Port Channel, Shore Excursion Channel, On Board Channel, ESPN International, Discovery Channel, CNN Financial.
Afterthoughts: Seated in the back of the Dining Room we definitely felt the vibration but it was something you noticed then forgot about. It was never annoying. We took two bottles of wine to the dining room and one to the Pinnacle and we were never charged a corkage fee. Library was a beautiful room but not very well stocked. Internet cafe had lots of computers but at 75 cents a minute you really got hurt by the slow dial up service they use. Room service for breakfast was great but I wish they would call first to alert you they are coming. Overall a very, very good cruise. I would definitely cruise HAL again.
Well I think that is it. I would be glad to answer any questions. Marilyn

[okat817]

Thank you so much for the review.:D We are sailing this ship on the 12th of March.

The list of movies was very helpfull, I was just about to rent some of those, now I'll wait.

I'm glad you had a good time and thanks again.:)

[drk]

We sailed the same itinerary in December. Thanks for bringing back many fond memories.

To the previous poster...by March the movies will likely be different.

[doone]

Loved your review of the Zuiderdam, I read it with great interest as I sail on her March 12th. One question, you mentioned when you checked in, they took your picture. Last March when I sailed on the Rotterdam, we did not get our pictures taken when checking in. I am thinking that this is for your shipboard card?????? I am just curious as I haven't heard it mentioned that your pictures are taken during check in and wanted to be sure I am not confused.

[dakrewser]

One question, you mentioned when you checked in, they took your picture. Last March when I sailed on the Rotterdam, we did not get our pictures taken when checking in. I am thinking that this is for your shipboard card?????? I am just curious as I haven't heard it mentioned that your pictures are taken during check in and wanted to be sure I am not confused.

Yep, they now take your picture (with a computer attached camera) at checkin. It doesn't go on your shipboard card, but when security swipes your card (as you board or debark), your picture pops up on their screen for a visual ID check.

[mjmagee]

Yes they have one of these cool little ball shaped cameras that looks like one of those remote things you use on your desk for video surveillance through the computer. She just holds it up, you smile and it is done. Of course I looked like a wreck and my carryon was pulling my shirt to the side and DH had to be shoved out of the picture and I had to look at that same terrible pix everytime we logged in and out of the ship! But other than that it was simple and painless. Marilyn

[mjmagee]

Do not be wary of being a single cruiser on this ship. Everyone is friendly as can be. Nearly everyday there were gatherings for single cruisers. We spoke with many people, men and women, who were traveling alone. You will have a great time. Don't be shy. Marilyn

[meff]

Thanks for a great review!! I, like so many others, am greedy for as many details as I can get about this ship. I've never sailed on Holland America before and I absolutely cannot wait until March 26! I'll probably read your review three or four more times before we leave. Thanks for making my wait a little more tolerable.

[doone]

Great, thanks, guys. Now I don't have to bring my license to get back on the ship each time. That has changed since last March, funny, that's the first I have read that HAL is now taking pictures of you for i.d. Thanks again.

[heyabbott]

Great, thanks, guys. Now I don't have to bring my license to get back on the ship each time. That has changed since last March, funny, that's the first I have read that HAL is now taking pictures of you for i.d. Thanks again.

How much to they charge for the ID picture? Is it framed?

[mjmagee]

Well Doone the strange thing is that they still ask you to take a government issued photo id with you each time you disembark. But we were never asked to show it. Heyabbott, the only time you get to see this picture is when you catch a peek on the security officers screen as he scans your card coming and going. But you will have PLENTY of other opportunities to spend big bucks on your photo, framed or otherwise! Marilyn

[doone]

Thanks for the information, I'll just have to bring my license as well as my passport.

[g041t]

We're off on the Zui 3/5 and your review hightens our anticipation!

[Cathy p]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this review. I too will be on the Zui on 3/5....a week from today we fly out of cold Va. Beach for hopefully warm sunny Florida. Thanks again.:)

[cathryn58]

Marilyn,
You made my day today! We are on the Zuiderdam 4/16 and are taking the same Tortolla excursion. I am so excited to hear that you enjoyed it as I had to "argue my case" for it with the rest of the family as they thought they would like to go to Virgin Gorda (which I hear is also nice).

I figured (the same as you) after finding that there might be 6 ships in St Thomas the day we are there and have also booked the Trunk Bay tour. To top it off, I have already reserved my clamshell for HMC. Your description of your trip was great. Thanks so much for sharing! I feel we must be kindred spirits...