TylerRose
August 16th, 2004, 05:06 PM
We've just returned from 7 days Zuiderdam 8/7-8/14/04: Suites 7079 & 7081.
We learned more on this ship than any other cruise we've been on.
Cruising in the Carribean during Hurricane season ya have to go with the flow, so to speak.
The Zuiderdam is the stablest ship I have ever been on. I barely new we were between two Hurricanes, YES, the port cancellations and alterations in schedule were constant reminders, but her crew is top notch on every level and handled it with a level of professionalism that ended all concerns. For those of you wondering, we literally were altered to travel in front of the storm. We had NO RAIN, except FT Lauderdale departure. Humidity and heat were intense, but NO CHOP, NO SWELLS, NO VIBRATION.So, we never quite made it to the Carribean... unless your heart was set on that "one" excursion, or port, you just went with the flow.
Bigger Newer ships have a bigger entertainment budget! The shows are very professional, and the stage compares to a Los Vegas review! They are not to be missed! The Zuiderdam cast had 8 Dancers, 4 vocalists, and they also danced. The Vista Lounge has every Gadget built in that space, and weight allowed and they use every special effect to its fullest! The shows were our favorite part the days activites. The lounges are all wonderful, and the Spa, though I never used it looks amazing.
Suite life.
This is a very touchy subject for it has been a year since our last HAL cruise and I do not know if all the changes we experienced were only on the Zuiderdam or if they have sadly been implemented throughout the line.
NO More breakfast and lunch available in alternative restaurant. AND THE STAFF IS BITTER. We had three different Odessy staff members vent how they resented their reassignments throughout the ship to meet the 11 hour minimum requirments.
The Neptune lounge has "Snacks available" during its open hours. But pampering like on the other ships, or as HAL suite life was previously... we never found it!
Our rooms were large and lovely, most comfortable matress and duvet I have ever had on a vacation. BUT our steward never got to our cabin before we returned from lunch. No internet access in cabin as we had on the Prinsemdam. No Captains Luncheon, or dinner, just a Bruch buffet in the Crows nest after the Mariners reception.
Rooms are large with DVD players, but those traveling with children, please know there is NO privacy, the curtain the other ships provide was not on the Zuiderdam.
Number of passengers onboard and ships size DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
This ship is So big that one hand often did not know what the other was doing!
HAL charged me for a cabana that I booked last June for Half Moon Cay and later sold it to someone else. The Neptune Lounge "Appologized" and offered no other compensation. I am still waiting to hear from HAL or Shore Excursions. We booked the Cabana for my MIL who is in a wheelchair. She could not go to HMC now and I stayed behind. That Said, HAL chose that day to shut down the air conditioners for routine maintanence. Now it only lasted a few hours but it was not comfortable.
In Nassau, a rescheduled substitute port All water excursions had to be cancelled due to weather. We were not informed of change until we were wandering dock side searching for our excursion and approached the Excursions operators! Announcments overhead, or at the bear minimum, a sign, would have been appreciated.
I have Printed letters sent out in mass appologizing for all the toilet problems, air conditioning problems, and schedule changes. Often there was a reiteration of the same issue with a conflicting solution... confusing at best.
Being Handicapped is always a challenge in life. Luckily we live in a society that has grown increasingly aware of the needs of its aging population. That said, My MIL endured a week of minamal accessability at best. The Vista lounge is differcult to access near the front and her severly limited vision requires she be as close as possable. This was aggrevated by kids saving seats with clothing and running unsupervised throughout preshow and DURING THE SHOW. Not enough space exists between tables in Dining room for easy access and the Lido was nearly impossable for her. Eager kids in a rush to get "somewhere" stepped over her, banged into her, and she felt there was a general rudeness to her wheel chairs presence.
Club HAL ran 9-12, 2-5, 7-10, and even had extended hours for Group Baby sitting. Amy who runs it is wonderful.That said, my son's age put him in one of those gaps and he felt too old for his group and too young for the next. On day 3 he was bit HARD by another boy who wanted access to a video machine he was playing! That was the end of him and CLUB HAL.He kept with us mostly the rest of the trip, uncomfortable he might be bullied again.
My daughter had fun in TEEN HAL, but reported back there was underage drinking when older teens were no being closely supervised and 18 year olds were near!
Our reason for not ever exposing the kids to this trip again is primarily that. Too much partying by adults, who are entitlled to do so, but we don't want them following suit. The Carribean is a party crowd, but not an educatuional opportunity like Alaska and Europe.
Dresscodes: We cruise HAL because of its ambiance. Forgive me but there is no other way of putting it. The Vista lounge lacks it. This one has nothing to do with suites... just mutual respect of fellow passengers, Cruise requested formalites, and amenities.
There were 440 kids on board, and while HAL has greatly extended CLUB HAL hours, too many avoided it and ran loose. It is very hard for me as a parent to enforce dress code on formal night and respect of proper behavior through the courses when the kids at the next table are wearing kackis and a button down. Another night the folks at the table next to us were throwing a tantrum over not being able to get more lobster tails. Dresscodes got worse the second formal night when many who had dressed decided not to bother since they felt overdresssed the first night. We saw shorts jeans, and bathing suits in the Vista at dinner time on casual night!
HALS new Tipping Policy of $10 per day per person: The less visable employees love it, the visable ones never stopped complaining they were being short changed. It must be a very recent change because it was definately a hot topic among the staff complaining and those we have tipped additionally lost that tip do to our enduring their repeated complaints.
The Odessy restaurant is superb and worth the extra $20 although that charge too was new to us as well.
Reality is, August is just TOO HOT and TOO CLOSE TO PEEK HURRICANE SEASON to cruise the Carribean... and for our family, too casual and "Carnival like".
Yes, we'll be back on HAL again. But somewhere colder, educational, environmentally beneficial, and more elegant.
We learned more on this ship than any other cruise we've been on.
Cruising in the Carribean during Hurricane season ya have to go with the flow, so to speak.
The Zuiderdam is the stablest ship I have ever been on. I barely new we were between two Hurricanes, YES, the port cancellations and alterations in schedule were constant reminders, but her crew is top notch on every level and handled it with a level of professionalism that ended all concerns. For those of you wondering, we literally were altered to travel in front of the storm. We had NO RAIN, except FT Lauderdale departure. Humidity and heat were intense, but NO CHOP, NO SWELLS, NO VIBRATION.So, we never quite made it to the Carribean... unless your heart was set on that "one" excursion, or port, you just went with the flow.
Bigger Newer ships have a bigger entertainment budget! The shows are very professional, and the stage compares to a Los Vegas review! They are not to be missed! The Zuiderdam cast had 8 Dancers, 4 vocalists, and they also danced. The Vista Lounge has every Gadget built in that space, and weight allowed and they use every special effect to its fullest! The shows were our favorite part the days activites. The lounges are all wonderful, and the Spa, though I never used it looks amazing.
Suite life.
This is a very touchy subject for it has been a year since our last HAL cruise and I do not know if all the changes we experienced were only on the Zuiderdam or if they have sadly been implemented throughout the line.
NO More breakfast and lunch available in alternative restaurant. AND THE STAFF IS BITTER. We had three different Odessy staff members vent how they resented their reassignments throughout the ship to meet the 11 hour minimum requirments.
The Neptune lounge has "Snacks available" during its open hours. But pampering like on the other ships, or as HAL suite life was previously... we never found it!
Our rooms were large and lovely, most comfortable matress and duvet I have ever had on a vacation. BUT our steward never got to our cabin before we returned from lunch. No internet access in cabin as we had on the Prinsemdam. No Captains Luncheon, or dinner, just a Bruch buffet in the Crows nest after the Mariners reception.
Rooms are large with DVD players, but those traveling with children, please know there is NO privacy, the curtain the other ships provide was not on the Zuiderdam.
Number of passengers onboard and ships size DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
This ship is So big that one hand often did not know what the other was doing!
HAL charged me for a cabana that I booked last June for Half Moon Cay and later sold it to someone else. The Neptune Lounge "Appologized" and offered no other compensation. I am still waiting to hear from HAL or Shore Excursions. We booked the Cabana for my MIL who is in a wheelchair. She could not go to HMC now and I stayed behind. That Said, HAL chose that day to shut down the air conditioners for routine maintanence. Now it only lasted a few hours but it was not comfortable.
In Nassau, a rescheduled substitute port All water excursions had to be cancelled due to weather. We were not informed of change until we were wandering dock side searching for our excursion and approached the Excursions operators! Announcments overhead, or at the bear minimum, a sign, would have been appreciated.
I have Printed letters sent out in mass appologizing for all the toilet problems, air conditioning problems, and schedule changes. Often there was a reiteration of the same issue with a conflicting solution... confusing at best.
Being Handicapped is always a challenge in life. Luckily we live in a society that has grown increasingly aware of the needs of its aging population. That said, My MIL endured a week of minamal accessability at best. The Vista lounge is differcult to access near the front and her severly limited vision requires she be as close as possable. This was aggrevated by kids saving seats with clothing and running unsupervised throughout preshow and DURING THE SHOW. Not enough space exists between tables in Dining room for easy access and the Lido was nearly impossable for her. Eager kids in a rush to get "somewhere" stepped over her, banged into her, and she felt there was a general rudeness to her wheel chairs presence.
Club HAL ran 9-12, 2-5, 7-10, and even had extended hours for Group Baby sitting. Amy who runs it is wonderful.That said, my son's age put him in one of those gaps and he felt too old for his group and too young for the next. On day 3 he was bit HARD by another boy who wanted access to a video machine he was playing! That was the end of him and CLUB HAL.He kept with us mostly the rest of the trip, uncomfortable he might be bullied again.
My daughter had fun in TEEN HAL, but reported back there was underage drinking when older teens were no being closely supervised and 18 year olds were near!
Our reason for not ever exposing the kids to this trip again is primarily that. Too much partying by adults, who are entitlled to do so, but we don't want them following suit. The Carribean is a party crowd, but not an educatuional opportunity like Alaska and Europe.
Dresscodes: We cruise HAL because of its ambiance. Forgive me but there is no other way of putting it. The Vista lounge lacks it. This one has nothing to do with suites... just mutual respect of fellow passengers, Cruise requested formalites, and amenities.
There were 440 kids on board, and while HAL has greatly extended CLUB HAL hours, too many avoided it and ran loose. It is very hard for me as a parent to enforce dress code on formal night and respect of proper behavior through the courses when the kids at the next table are wearing kackis and a button down. Another night the folks at the table next to us were throwing a tantrum over not being able to get more lobster tails. Dresscodes got worse the second formal night when many who had dressed decided not to bother since they felt overdresssed the first night. We saw shorts jeans, and bathing suits in the Vista at dinner time on casual night!
HALS new Tipping Policy of $10 per day per person: The less visable employees love it, the visable ones never stopped complaining they were being short changed. It must be a very recent change because it was definately a hot topic among the staff complaining and those we have tipped additionally lost that tip do to our enduring their repeated complaints.
The Odessy restaurant is superb and worth the extra $20 although that charge too was new to us as well.
Reality is, August is just TOO HOT and TOO CLOSE TO PEEK HURRICANE SEASON to cruise the Carribean... and for our family, too casual and "Carnival like".
Yes, we'll be back on HAL again. But somewhere colder, educational, environmentally beneficial, and more elegant.