My own Zuiderdam 7-31 review

[teencruiser18]

I wasn't planning on doing a review, but s7s asked for one, so here we go...
EMBARKATION
We got to the port at about 11, and they started processing people around 11:25. We were in the Lido by 12:30.
SERVICE
I cannot say how happy I was with the service. Our dining room waiters Agus and Handry always brought our food out promptly and coordinated my brothers' kids meals with ours. Our room steward Johan always had their stuffed animals arranged on the beds.
FOOD
Great, great, great! I ate in the Oddysey one night, and had filet mignon and volcano cake. Heavenly! The food in the dining room was excellent too. I did not notice any vibration in the dining room.
CLUB HAL
I was able to meet a lot of other teens on board, and had fun in the disco at night. My younger brothers participated in the childrens groups and had a lot of fun too.
HMC
We all loved Half Moon Cay. I went parasailing, and everyone else just relaxed. My older brother didn't like it though, saying that there was too many people.
TORTOLA
We took a tour around the island and went shopping. Nothing fabulous, though very pretty.
ST. THOMAS
We took Godfrey's tour, and went shopping. St. Thomas was also very picturesque.
NASSAU
It was dirty and crowded and we should have listened to my aunt who told us not to bother getting off. I did go to the straw market to look at some Louis Vatonne purses, but they were a lot more expensive than those in Chinatown so I didn't buy any.
SHOWS
The shows were one of my favorite parts of the cruise. The juggler was very funny. The magician and Joel Mason, the Elton John impersonator, were also excellent. We bought both of their DVDs. My grandma bought my younger brother a magic set on board, and he was having trouble doing one of the tricks. He saw the magician in the Lido, and he was happy to help.
NOTES
I did notice that several teenagers showed up with alcohol the last night, and I don't know where they got it from. My 18 year old brother also drank a lot, and was sold the drinks on the ship. I didn't notice any vibration except the last night, up in the Crow's Nest. My 11 and 8 year old brothers wore suits on the formal nights, and my 5 year old brother wore a button down shirt and a tie. It was a wonderful experience, and my dad's already looking at another cruise for next year. If you have any questions, let me know!
Kerry

[clopaw]

Cruises are such a wonderful family vacation. You kids can have fun with people your own age and your parents can relax. Thanks for writing your review!

[CruisinNana]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to write in such detail.

I was concerned that many teens had alcohol and glad to see that was a concern of yours as well. This seems to be a big problem these days throughout the country! You seem quite mature and able to stay away from the alcohol drug. Good for you!!!!

Dee

[tammar]

thank you for writing your review. i am going on the z this sat and any info i get is greatly appreciated. i'm glad you had a great time. everyone mentions that cake, it must be something very special.

[kelmac]

Thanks Kerry for the wonderful review! Since HAL is kind of known as the "old folks" cruise line, how did you feel you were treated on the ship? I know the larger HAL ships, like the Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and the Westerdam, are trying to change that "old people" image. What was the crowd like and would you like to cruise again?

Thanks!
Kel

[Roz]

Great review, Kerry! Glad you had such a good time. Hope you and your family get to cruise again soon.

Question for others on the board...when I was on a cruise with friends, we had 3 children in our party. One night in the Crow's Nest, the father of one of the children mistakenly tried to use his son's card to purchase a drink. The card was programmed with the child's age, and the waitress promptly brought it back to him and said she couldn't serve him until he produced a card that was programmed appropriately.

How was an 18 yr. old served alcohol? Did an adult buy it for him and then give it to him out of the sight of the bartender or waitress?

Roz

[sail7seas]

Thanks, Kerry.


I really enjoyed reading your review and very much appreciate your posting it for us.

Very happy to hear your family had such a good time and that your Dad might be booking another cruise for all of you.

Good for you.....what a responsible young lady you are to make the comments you did about alcohol and teens. It can only lead to trouble and nothing good. I'm no teatotler....but everything in good time.

Welcome back.....Thanks again for your great review.
(We booked another cruise on Zuiderdam while you were gone. We've been aboard before and love the ship so are eager to return. We also had a dining steward named Agus.....he was phenomenal!! We adored him and I wonder if it is the same fellow.)

[ekerr19]

Kerry-

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us! Glad to hear you had a good time - hope you get another chance to cruise again soon :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

Thank you for posting your review from a teenagers point of view.

So glad that your brothers and you had a good time.

Father must have been proud of you all to be talking about going on another cruise.

:)

[Roboat]

You gave us excellent, useful information. I think you are an terrific writer. Gonna do it for a living someday? Reporter?

[jhannah]

Yes, thanks for posting. I can just see your brothers in their tuxes. Kids look really special when dressed to the nines. I'm sure they got lots of attention for it, too. Sorry your older brother thought HMC was too crowded. Was there another ship there at the same time? We were there with the Zaandam, and I still didn't notice it beeing overcrowded at all. It's truly a beautiful place. Tell your dad that Canada/New England would be a great destination for your next cruise. Lots of history and a beautiful area.

[taszmom]

Some cruise lines permit persons 18+ to drink with parental permission while at sea (not at port). I didn't see anything specific in the HAL's brochure related to this, but perhaps this could explain how they got the alcohol.

[GrammyPL]

Kerry - That was a wonderful review. I'm so glad to hear that the children are begining to like to cruise with HAL. I think they are trying now to make it nicer cruising with kids. Penny

[Lois R]

Hi Kerry, I agree with the other cruisers...that was an excellent review!:)

May I ask, How old are you?....I see your screen name is Teencruiser...would that be closer to 18 or 13? I am guessing the older....very very informative..and I agree, you could put your thoughts on paper and become a writer:)

[gizmo]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review. Glad you had a good cruise. your service sounded excellent which I am glad to hear. I enjoyed reading it.

[Vicar]

Kerry,

Very nice review, :)

Glad that you all had such a good time and are even planning a future cruise.

[JimVrhovac]

Thanks for the uplifting review..

We are looking forward to the October cruise on the Zuiderdam.

Jim & Ruth

[teencruiser18]

I'm 15, and no, I haven't really looked at being a writer. I'm thinking more engineer. HAL's policy about alcohol says 21+. I know that the 18 year old just had it charged to his room card, but I don't know about the younger teenagers. Thanks for the compliments everyone,
Kerry