Zuiderdam Eastern Carib Review 11/4 sailing

[Traveling Gurl]

Well, I have gleaned so much info from this board, it is only fair to give some back...

Here is my humble opinion of the line (first HAL cruise), the ship and the itinerary.

Booked VE GUAR and was offered $99/pp upgrade to SS-SZ. Secured SZ6052 which was a truly spectacular cabin. Loads of space. Best cabin either of us have ever had. Linens, bed, closets, bathroom, balcony, space, all superior to comparable cabins on comparable cruise lines (Celebrity/Princess). Grab it if you have the chance.

Food was outstanding. So much better than Princess. My cabin mate confirmed what we already thought, Celebrity's food is better. I cannot imagine wanting/needing more or better food that we had on this cruise! I was more than happy with quality, VOLUME and variety. Excellent.

Service was incredible. The most smiling faces, good mornings and name remembering I have ever seen. Special service from Markus (Lido) and Richie (female-Lido aft pool service).

Ship is laid out well. I felt much less confused on this ship than others. Lots of public space. CLEAN and not "worn down" as I have read others comments. I would definitely book her again.

Itinerary: Tortola: take the tour to Virgin Gorda Baths. Won't regret it. Crawl through the boulders. Just do it-fun and great pics in those boulders. Grand Turk: the cruise ship complex/beach was pretty crowded. $3 taxi to Governor's Beach (you could walk down the beach but it was SO humid) was less crowded but snorkeling was disappointing. St. Thomas is St. Thomas. WE DID NOT STOP AT HALF MOON CAY DUE TO ROUGH SEAS. I NEARLY BROKE DOWN IN TEARS AS WE PASSED RIGHT BY IT!

Entertainment: The commediane was funny, the magician creepy and the "Las Vegas Style Shows" were the normal cruise ship crap. There wasn't a lot to do on the ship especially since we had one extra day at sea :(

Crowd: here is the stinger. My friend and I are 40, single and while we were NOT looking for a singles cruise, we were looking for after hours fun. It was really hard to find. Older crowd (more oxygen tanks and scooters than in some nursing homes), mostly married people and not much to do after midnight. I know, I walked the decks trying to scare up a party. Nothing doing. The Crow's Nest had a band and dancing but it was 50's & 60's music, all couples pretty much like at a wedding. Hated it.

I would go HAL again if I went with a big group of friends to hang with.

If you have any questions, ask away and I will try to help.

[cruisecop2006]

Hi Shannon, Great short and to the point review.I was also on the ship in my 40s and felt also that there was not much going on other than losing money in the casino.One thing i totally disagree on is the food. i think it was by far the worst i have ever had on a cruise.So take my friendly advice if you like HAL food book Carnival and RCI and it will be a perfect match for you as it is for me.Great Food< LOts more going on...Jim

[vpoopsy]

thanks Shannon. We'll be sailing on the 12/2 and excited about it. Can't wait to do the Baths at Tortola. Did you take the ships excursion that left at 2:15? I assume you had plenty of time do what you wanted.

I'm sure you were disapointed in not going to HMC. They will upset me if we miss that one. I've got my background on my computer set to that and have my spot all picked out. But what can you do if mother nature does her thang.

[middle-aged mom]

Well, I have gleaned so much info from this board, it is only fair to give some back.....

Here is my humble opinion of the line (first HAL cruise), the ship and the itinerary........[snip]
.....There wasn't a lot to do on the ship especially since we had one extra day at sea :(

Crowd: here is the stinger. My friend and I are 40, single and while we were NOT looking for a singles cruise, we were looking for after hours fun. It was really hard to find. Older crowd (more oxygen tanks and scooters than in some nursing homes), mostly married people and not much to do after midnight. I know, I walked the decks trying to scare up a party. Nothing doing. The Crow's Nest had a band and dancing but it was 50's & 60's music, all couples pretty much like at a wedding. Hated it.

I would go HAL again if I went with a big group of friends to hang with.....



Traveling Gurl:

Thanks much for your review. My husband and I, both 47, like the laid-back atmosphere on HAL. That's just us; we're not night owls. Our oldest daughter, currently in college, would agree with you regarding the other passengers and activity level on HAL. She would have liked to see more people her own age. But everyone's different! I think your idea to cruise with a group of friends is a good one. It's like coming on the ship with your own built-in entertainment. And perhaps I'm too easy to please in the food department, but I also thought the cuisine on HAL was pretty good.

Thanks again for taking the time to post your review:)

Karin

[bweppner]

Thanks Traveling Gurl,

Love to hear more about your cabin. My wife and I have it booked for the 11/25 cruise.

Must say, I'd be bummed if we miss HMC. Don't mind a laid back cruise, but I'd like to avoid the extra sea day if at all possible. Also hearing many mixed reviews on the food. We prefer to cruise X and RCL, but we were truly impressed by the food on our one, only, and last Carnival Cruise on the Liberty. Celebrity food is our fav., but again, the main dining room on the Liberty was quite good.

What were your port times for Tortola? I'm not liking our 2:00 arrival, not too much beach time to be had there. I'd enjoy hearing more about your cruise if you'd be so kind - thank you!

[twinkletoes4445]

Thanks for the review! We're really looking forward to our cruise on the Zuiderdam (next year). :)

[jagmanss1]

Thanks Traveling Gurl,

Love to hear more about your cabin. My wife and I have it booked for the 11/25 cruise.

Must say, I'd be bummed if we miss HMC. Don't mind a laid back cruise, but I'd like to avoid the extra sea day if at all possible. Also hearing many mixed reviews on the food. We prefer to cruise X and RCL, but we were truly impressed by the food on our one, only, and last Carnival Cruise on the Liberty. Celebrity food is our fav., but again, the main dining room on the Liberty was quite good.

What were your port times for Tortola? I'm not liking our 2:00 arrival, not too much beach time to be had there. I'd enjoy hearing more about your cruise if you'd be so kind - thank you!

bweppner, I posted this on another thread, But we are also on the 11/25 sailing with you, we have A Roll Call going if you would like to join on in... Here it is.... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=223953

[marraclc]

Traveling Girl,
When were you offered an upgrade? We are booked for the 2/17 Zuiderdam cruise and have already made our final payment. Just wondering if we still have a chance for an upgrade.

Thanks for your review.

Can't wait to cruise.

Donna

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Enjoyed it.

[clueless2]

Thanks Traveling Gurl,
Also hearing many mixed reviews on the food. We prefer to cruise X and RCL, but we were truly impressed by the food on our one, only, and last Carnival Cruise on the Liberty. Celebrity food is our fav., but again, the main dining room on the Liberty was quite good.

My DW and I were also on the 11/4 Zuiderdam cruise. We thought the food was good but not spectacular. (This was our first cruise so this is in comparison to "home cookin" and restaurants - not other ships) It was cooked well and presented well. However my wife and I both thought most dishes were somewhat bland and needed to be "kicked up a notch". Obviously that observation would vary from person to person.

We did not care for most of the desserts that were baked. All the cakes and cheesecakes seemed to be dry and have a weird texture. I think I read somewhere that the desserts were cooked off ship and frozen. I would tend to believe that.

One note on the Pinnacle grill. My wife had a filet and I had the bone-in ribeye. My ribeye was was very good, but my wife's filet (while cooked medium rare) was dry. It was cooked to the correct doneness but it had no "juiciness" at all.. We talked to three other couples that also had dry filets. My DW thought the "surf and turf" filet in the dining room was better than the filet in the Pinnacle.

[Traveling Gurl]

Ok, I think I got it all so here goes:

BWEPPNER: The cabin is fantastic. I have a few pics of the cabin. Email me at travelinggirl34@yahoo.com. I will respond with pics! You will love it. Trust me. We peeked into every open cabin door and never saw one like ours. WAY better than the others.

BWEPPNER/VPOOPSY: Tortola: Our ship did the reverse of normal itinerary (first scheduled stop HMCay). My shore excursion on Tortola was at 8AM. Walked right off our ship onto pier and then ferry. Baths are so worth it but try to be first or in first group to go down the path to the beach and then through the boulders. We were first and did not get hung up by slow movers or people heading back in opposite direction. TAke photos in boulders as there is a path back to the busses that is shorter and will allow you more time on the beach but you will not go through the boulders again. You can certainly go back the way you came but it will cut 15-30 mins out of your beach time. We were back at the pier by about 1PM and we went right back to the ship's pool. We never actually stepped foot on Tortola. I believe we sailed away around 2PM.

CRUISECOP: Food: Too bad you had such a bad food experience! In Chicago we are surrounded by excellent food so I am usually hard to impress but HAL did it for me. I ate every bit of seafood I could. My roomie can't (allergic) and she was less impressed. Really just compared it to X and said X is so much better. As far as nightlife, I don't think I would go RCI or Carnival because there are too many kids and teen/20's on those ships. I just wish there was nightlife for us big kids on the cruises that cater to us big kids!

MARRACLC: We booked thru a travel agent and she phoned about 2-3 weeks before sailing. We hadn't been assigned a cabin yet and we immediately said yes to the offer. She phoned HAL and put me on hold. Came back on the line with the actual cabin number and we said HELL yes once we saw it. I was nervous and thought there might be some drawbacks but the lovely CCmembers assured me it was the right cabin and they did not lie!

Ok, I think I covered everyone. Anything else, let me know. Writing about it helps me go back there in my mind, which after this week at work, I desperately need to "sail away" even if only in my dreams....

Shannon

[bweppner]

My wife and I are from the 'Burbs too! (Aurora/Naperville)

I have to agree, with all the wonderful dining choices in Chicago, I'm a bit picky/pretentious (my wife calls me a food snob...). Great to hear about your food experience. Not THE most important part of my cruise, but the dining room is a key factor in our cruise enjoyment.

Thanks for your comments on the cabin and your offer. I'll shoot you an email.

How did you like Grand Turk?

[Traveling Gurl]

I work in Naperville and live in Aurora just west of White Eagle! How's that for small world? Currently typing from my desk in Naperville off of Diehl & Naperville Roads!

Grand Turk was interesting. Very small, very flat island. When you get off the ship, you walk directly onto the cruise terminal of shops and a couple of bar/restaurants (Margaritaville) and the big free form pool. The beach is right there with clamshells and chairs etc. We shopped and then caught a taxi (stand is right there with attendant, prices listed and areas for prices) to Governor's Beach in hopes of less crowd on beach and better snorkeling. Not much to see snorkeling there (I came home with 5 sand dollars in tact tho). But GT is known for it's dives/reefs so I think if we had just done the $5 cab to "town", the reef is extensive there. We were just so hot and wanted in the water asap so our own fault for being lazy, I guess.

I'll look for your email and send pics! Talk to you soon, neighbor!

[motogirl]

Thanks for post Traveling Gurl! Curious about the entertainment. We always look forward to it every evening along with the formal dinners.
When we cruised with Holland last year on Spring Break the magician & comedian were both great, but I know they have limited engagements. Do you know who the magician was? What made him creepy? Looking forward to our Dec 9th Eastern Carib Holland cruise aboard the Zuiderdam.
We enjoyed the food and service on Holland, quality/varity/ formal dinning service much better than NCL. Celebrity's quality seemed better, but service for sping break cruise was strained. Ran out of glasses on pool deck dinning several times.
Agree CC message boards are so helpful. Thanks to all posters, you make it what it is. Helpful, interesing and entertaining!

Motogirl
HCL Maasdam
HCL Westerdam
Celebrity Constellation
Norweigan

[jagmanss1]

One note on the Pinnacle grill. My wife had a filet and I had the bone-in ribeye. My ribeye was was very good, but my wife's filet (while cooked medium rare) was dry. It was cooked to the correct doneness but it had no "juiciness" at all.. We talked to three other couples that also had dry filets. My DW thought the "surf and turf" filet in the dining room was better than the filet in the Pinnacle.

clueless2 - Do you know why your bone-in ribeye was better? Well!!!! I'll tell ya.... You see ribeye is another cut of the Prime rib and the bone is better because it holds in the juices and is just, Well!!! better.... Baisically the same meat, but what stumps me is why the filet was dry.... Unless it is the same they call it her in FLA. and it is not Filet mingion(sp) , But A cheap cut of filet of beef, It has to say on the menu that it is A filet mingion, If it just says filet.... It is not what you would expect...

I know something about these cuts as I am the BBQ King and know what they are called:D Ya gotta watch out for those names on A ship and compare as to what they call it at your local grocery store and what they call it on A ship may differ as you found out.... Just A word of Warning..........

[seaisme]

I took my best friend and her 30-year old daughter on the Oosterdam for a cruise...and the 30-year-old didn't have any trouble meeting up with people her age. In fact, my friend and I would be in bed by midnight...and sometime MUCH later...her daughter would creep into the cabin!!! She had a wonderful time every evening with people her own age. it was a great 'girls" cruise...we all enjoyed HAL's service and especially the spa!