Roll Call HAL Zuiderdam 08/20/05

[djvand]

Just checking to see if there will be anyone joinging my partner and I on this cruise?

[FL24K]

I use to have high regard for HAL. Not anymore. We were on the Zuiderdam last December. YUCK! Never again!!! The ship was not well-maintained. The cabin was not properly cleaned. The food was so-so. The service was mediocre at best. The spa staff was shamelessly relentless in pushing their for-pay services. I contacted the cruiseline office and received a "form letter", which did not address my concerns and took a rather apathetic stand. I'll spend my money with cruiselines that are more customer service-driven and sensitive to my needs. :mad:

[ORDPLATAA]

djvand-

We were on the Z'dam in June and had a great time! I guess some like the ship, some don't. We liked the fact that there were lots "small" spaces so you didn't feel overwhelmed by the ship. Dinner in the Odessey is not to be missed - well worth the $20. I did have a massage in the spa and thought they did try to push product sales (but what spa doesn't?). Favorite spot was the Crow's Nest as the ship sailed away - absolutely beautiful.

Enjoy!

[djvand]

I will post a review and let you know what me and my partner thought. I just hope it is a family friendly cruise. We are planning on meeting up with 4 other couples whom we met in the "straight" roll call room, so we should have fun!

[ORDPLATAA]

On our sailing, there was a Friends of Dorothy meeting posted everyday in the Oak room (adjacent to the Crow's Nest) at 4:30pm - but no one else showed but my partner and I. We found that the staff was certainly "family" friendly - but it was not outgoing. Not that we had any issues, but it was like being at a nice Westin resort - we did not feel comfortable holding hands or any PDA's.

[djvand]

Well we are the type to hold hands anyway, I should hope we would not run into any trouble.

I will let you know how things turn out for us. We are pretty young, so I hope that will not be a problem

[bereilly]

My partner, Jim and I are going on the Zuiderdam 8/20 cruise. We recently read reviews by other cruisers that rated the Zuiderdam 5 snails and said the food was even better than Celebrity! My co-worker also liked it better than his cruise on the Mariner. So, we thought we would give it a try and see for ourselves.

We usually cruise on RCL and are booked on the Navigator on October 8, 2005, to the E. Caribbean.

We hope to meet you and other gays on the cruise...see you there!

[djvand]

Luke and I (Derek) look forward to meeting you as well. I see you are on the other roll call posting as well. Hope you can attend the gathering on the first night of the cruise.

[bereilly]

Thanks Luke & Derek...look forward to meeting you guys as well.

Jim & Byron

[djvand]

Luke and I have never cruised together, picked HAL because it is supposed to be a classy line, and hopefully family friendly. Are you arriving the day of the cruise?

[bereilly]

Hey guys,

We're flying in Aug 19th at 10:30am and staying at the 'Bamboo Resort'. Looking to do some 'FOD' things on Friday night before our cruise departure...you guys have plans? I know you're said you were staying at the Embassy Suites somewhere on line....Oh, by the way, we ended up with cabin 4166 which is one floor below you...never stayed 'back of the boat before' and have read threads about 'vibration' in the back of Zuiderdam...Guess we'll find out soon enough! Getting excited, trip to Allentown this weekend and off to the Z next week!!!!!

Jim & Byron

[djvand]

Correct we are at the suites, get there on the 18th in the early afternoon. No plans as of yet, just going to take the water taxi around town, get some sun during the day. Not sure what the scene is like in FLL, so if you know of a good spot to hang at night, please make sure and let us know. Thanks!

[djvand]

Forgot to say, aft rooms are the best, you willl still have a side view, but I like the aft the most (ok, that may sound bad, but it was not on purpose!) Hopefully we can have some appetizers in our room before dinner one night, or two!

[bereilly]

AFT IT IS! :) I'm not that picky.. really. Glad there have been some positive comments about the ship in recent posts. We were gonna book the Zuiderdam last year and backed out because of all the negative remarks....I love cruising tho, anytime, anyplace, I'm ready to go!

As for Ft Lauderdale, never done the water taxi...We spent a week there several years ago. It's become much 'gayer' since then. We'll probably rely on a recommendation from our hosts at the B&B as far as where to go :) We'll have a laptop so we can drop you a note on Friday once we figure out where the hot spots are, if you like. Bamboo Resort is in Wilton Manor which is supposed to be home to many clubs/rest, so hoping to be able to walk somewhere and crawl home if need be:) Can't wait. One more week!

Hubby stayed home sick today, montezuma's revenge...and he hasn't been eating anything except my cooking...IMAGINE! Hope he's all better by next week. Don't need to go on travel with THAT! SHEESH.

Chat soon. J & B

[djvand]

I hope your hubby gets better soon! I will check the site on Friday to see what you found out. Look forward to meeting with you. If you find someplace fun maybe we will see you there!

[bereilly]

Will Do!

[bereilly]

Hi Luke & Dereck!

We are staying in room 7 at the Bamboo Resort. The phone number here is
954-565-7775. My Cell No. is 540-273-1743.

What do you feel like doing tonight? Go to the local gay club, Georgie's Alibi for happy hour starting at 6:30 then go to dinner; Or, what ever, let us know. The Club is at 2266 Wilton Dr. (NE 4th Ave.)

We rented a car if you want us to pick you up or meet you some place.

Byron & Jim

[NashDB]

Hi all,

Friend and I are on Zuiderdam 9/3-10. Would love to hear some about your cruise in the week between your cruise and ours. No one has said hello in my "Roll Call" thread for that week, but hopefully some other FOD's on board.

If you want you can email me a DavidLBone "at" AOL

Hope you're having and had a great cruise!

[lois from fl]

sorry we missed catching up with cc members to say good-bye. family and i loved the cruise. when leaving my granddaughter announced she wants to stay on the zuiderdam forever. derek and luke thanks again for sharing the beautiful suite with us. we will be sailing on the veendam on 11/12 and hope to meet up with another group of delightful folks. hope you all have a pleasant journey home. lois:) ;) :)