Zuiderdam - did anyone enjoy it?

[Jewelfine]

Hi there
I am sure that I am just getting silly and nervous but we chose to try HAL and teh Zuiderdam for the first time in a couple of weeks. However there are so many negative comments about it over the last while. Does anyone have anything great to say about her? Things we shouldn't miss? We are going on Aug 28th and have rented the pink cabana -
Thanx

[DFD1]

Put your mind at ease. This forum tends to cause people to be a bit too detailed in their reviews sometimes. The Zuiderdam is a fantastic new ship, full of elegance and excitement. She has a great crew and staff. There are many who absolutely love cruising on her. There is one member here, one who has been cruising for years, who has already been on the new Zuiderdam several times.
Take a large portion of these reviews with a gain of salt. Go and have a great time...and share it with us when you get back.

[Giorgi-one]

Don't miss disembarkation or you won't get home! Just kidding!

We thought Pinnacle Grill was great especially for $10 on first night. Entertainment was very good particularly the Elton John impersonator.

[divinggirl]

As with any vacation and for that matter, life, there are differing opinions on everything. I have learned not to rely too much on what other people say, and go and decide for myself. I am leaving on the Z in 4 days, and although reading the reviews are interesting, people's likes and dislikes are their own, and going in with other's reviews on your mind can lead to a harsher judgment than if you hadn't been expecting anything at all.

I have also learned, and this is NOT directed at anyone on these boards, that some people just have to find something to complain about or they are not happy. Go in with an educated, open mind and reasonable expectations, and don't sweat the small stuff.

Nikki

[Lois R]

Nikki...great advice:D .........I have been reading all those reviews as well.....

And I leave 3 weeks from Saturday:) and plan on having a wonderful week!

[torpeedo]

We loved our cruise on the Zuiderdam and would go back in a heartbeat. Going on the Westerdam in Feb and look forward to it. We had a great time on the Zuiderdam and there were too many positives to even mention. No negatives for us in particular. :)

[ekerr19]

I think most of the reviews have been really positive - a far cry from what they were a year or so ago!

[cruzlover56]

We are just off two weeks (July 10 and 17th cruises) on the Zuiderdam. We had a great time with none of the problems stated by other cruisers. We also had the Pink Cabana. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Z to anyone. The crew were top notch and couldn't do enough to make sure our cruise was perfect.
We didn't see any underage drinking, complaints from staff about tipping, unpleasant PAX or limits on the number of entres allowed in the dining room. That isn't to say these things aren't happening but not on our two week stint.

Go and have a great time......and remember 10% in life is what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. :D

[jhannah]

We sailed the Zuiderdam fairly early on in her career. We, too, heard lots of complaints about things not working, odors, etc. We found credence in a few things, but I'd say fully 95% of what I had read was not what my experience was. We loved the ship and her crew, had a great time. I'm sure you will, too.

[doone]

I have learned to take everything I read here with a grain of salt. When I was going to embark on my Volendam cruise, there were lots of negatives about her. I was nervous and really wished I had never booked this ship. Well, I boarded the ship and all my worries were unfounded. I had such a great trip on the Volendam I have booked her again for next March.

I am going to sail the Zuiderdam the week before I board the Volendam, I am not worried about either ship, I know I will have a great time.

[lknick]

Been on the Zuiderdam 3 times in different accomodation categories and liked it all three times...even the inaugural voyage. Heck of a lot better than QM2 where waiters put their elbows in your soup.

Now, the Zuiderdam is not perfect...and not as charming as the Prinsendam...or imo, it's sister Oosterdam, but if you anticipate a fun time, you most likely will have one.

Many of the initial reviews were full of 'let me tell you' moaning and groaning. Yes, there was a vibration problem at the beginning due to cavitation, but this has been remedied. Yes, there are some who claim there is still vibration, but the Zuiderdam is a ship, not an onshore hotel.

Now, when it comes to outlandish children, that's the luck of the draw. Never experienced it myself...or maybe just ignored it.

[jstducky]

i was on the Zuiderdam on July 10th!

it was wonderful. i too was nervous from all the reviews I had read, but we didn't experience any negatives! the food and service were excellent. the crew was friendly and extrememly helpful! i too wouldn't have a problem recommending the Zuiderdam!

go and have fun! enjoy yourself. you're on vacation afterall....

[fsdj1097]

We have sailed on the Zuideram the past two years and have nothing to say but good things about her and her crew.

A cruise is exactly what you make of it. If you go with the attitude that this is my time and I'm going to have a wonderful time, that's exactly what you'll have.

If you go with the attitude that you're going to find something negative, you can bet your sweet bippie that you will find plenty.

Two people can see the Grand Canyon, one comes away with a sense of awe at the majesty and beauty of God's creation, the other comes away bemoaning the "wasted space" for the big hole in the earth.

Go, pamper yourself and your family with this time that you've set aside to refresh and rediscover.

I.E. don't worry....be happy!!!

[divinggirl]

We are all so full of...words of wisdom, of course!!!;) :p

[Cruising Jake]

I too am worried about my upcoming voyage on the Zuiderdam in November. My husband and I sailed on the Oosterdam in January and had a great time. My sister-in-law and her husband wanted to cruise this fall and invited us to accompany them. We had two choices: the Star Princess or the Zuiderdam. We originally booked on the Star Princess (their choice) and then changed our minds because of our great experience on the Oosterdam in January. Now I am reading the comments and getting nervous. I am afraid my in-laws will not enjoy themselves after our recommendation to use HAL - the last time they cruised was 15 years ago on the Disney Line. Sister ships on Princess are only different in decor and room names. Yet I hear that the Zuiderdam is so different from her sister, Oosterdam. How could that be? I know that everyone has an opinion, but so many here are negative. I went to the Princess board to read about the Star Princess. Maybe I did not read enough posts, but there wasn't a lot of negativism there.

[kryos]

I think most of the reviews have been really positive - a far cry from what they were a year or so ago!
I think ships are like anything else. When they are new, they are working out the kinks ... and there will be problems; hence, poor reviews.

But the Zuiderdam has been sailing awhile now, and I think they've probably got most of their problems worked out.

I also read the reviews with interest ... the good and the bad. But, I think any review is tainted by its writer's expectations and past travel experiences.

If you go expecting white glove service and everything totally perfect ... maybe because you are used to a first class travel experience ... you could wind up getting disappointed when certain cruises cannot live up to those expectations.

Like Lois, I am leaving for a cruise on the Z the 28th of this month. I'm doing a b2b and I plan to go with the intent to have a great time. I expect that everything may not be perfect, but little imperfections generally don't bother me so I am sure I will have a fantastic vacation.

Besides, while the ship affects the quality of the cruise, to me the real deciding factor is the people I meet and the experiences I have. From the looks of things on the roll call boards for these two segments, I'm gonna have a whale of a time! Hope everyone else does too!

Blue skies ...

--rita

[ekerr19]

I too am worried about my upcoming voyage on the Zuiderdam in November. My husband and I sailed on the Oosterdam in January and had a great time. My sister-in-law and her husband wanted to cruise this fall and invited us to accompany them. We had two choices: the Star Princess or the Zuiderdam. We originally booked on the Star Princess (their choice) and then changed our minds because of our great experience on the Oosterdam in January. Now I am reading the comments and getting nervous. I am afraid my in-laws will not enjoy themselves after our recommendation to use HAL - the last time they cruised was 15 years ago on the Disney Line. Sister ships on Princess are only different in decor and room names. Yet I hear that the Zuiderdam is so different from her sister, Oosterdam. How could that be? I know that everyone has an opinion, but so many here are negative. I went to the Princess board to read about the Star Princess. Maybe I did not read enough posts, but there wasn't a lot of negativism there.

I am not seeing the negativity? Am I missing something?

Tyler Rose posted her experience was less than what she hoped it would be, and she is certainly entitled to post her experience. Teencruiser posted there had been a bit of underage drinking on her cruise, I posted we had an experience with an underage teen drinking and causing havoc on the Zui - but my post was geared more to underage drinking on cruise ships in general.

Where are the other negative Zui reviews?

[Kylie]

We were on the Zuiderdam the week of July 31 - Aug. 7 and also had only good things to say. We were with superstein who is writing a mostly postive review of that week. Some of his 'cons' weren't even ship related. We also had the pink cabana - enjoy!!! You will have great service there.

[lknick]

I am not seeing the negativity? Am I missing something? .... Where are the other negative Zui reviews?Now that's a good question.

Is it that we just love to globalize or do you have specific examples of cons?

I've seen people harp about the following and attribute it to the Zuiderdam:

1. "The carpeting is worn." Not true. It has a center wear strip.
2. "That there was smoke in the casino is proof of bad design." Yep...so walk around.
3. "The music was not loud enough for me to hear it at dinner." OK...world shaking.
4. "The Ocean Bar combo plays the same music over and over." Sure, there is a HAL song book.
5. "Kids were [fill in blank]." And what does that have to do with the ship.
6. "The vibration is so terrible I couldn't eat." The vibration problem was resolved in last December's dry dock.
7. "The waiter forgot my ice tea." So ask for it.
8. "The decor is just too Carnival." Like beauty, that's in the eye of the beholder. [Bet those folks have never been on Carnival.]
9. "There are too many [kids, old, fat, smoking, rude, pushy, chair hogs] on Zuiderdam." OK. This is your fellow passenger, not the ship.

So, let's have the specific negatives.

[ASM]

We had a great cruise last August. The Zui was the first of the Vista class ships so maybe needed a few kinks worked out. She's also different from yhe older ships and people weren't used to the changes. The Oosterdam and Westerdam ( on which we sail in Dec) are newer versions of the same design. Maybe people got used to their style by now?? Stop worrying and enjoy!

[Cruising Jake]

Sorry, I did not mean to demean anyone's post in particular or draw any criticism. But I, like Jewelfine, felt there were a lot of negative comments in several posts over the last weeks about that particular ship. And I just wanted to post my thoughts as well.

I have been on 15 cruises; 4 were HAL, the rest mostly Princess. (That is a small number compared to a lot of you.) I always have a great time and would be hard put to define my favorite cruise. (Although it may be the one where it rained for days and I called Bingo for a free cruise, but had not listened to the complete instructions since I was in the bathroom. You needed to fill the card and I only had one horizontal line. Was my face red!) I like the cruise more than the islands and usually don't even get off the ship anymore. We usually take our daughters and their husbands and have a blast on our family vacation.

[ekerr19]

Sorry, I did not mean to demean anyone's post in particular or draw any criticism. But I, like Jewelfine, felt there were a lot of negative comments in several posts over the last weeks about that particular ship. And I just wanted to post my thoughts as well.

I have been on 15 cruises; 4 were HAL, the rest mostly Princess. (That is a small number compared to a lot of you.) I always have a great time and would be hard put to define my favorite cruise. (Although it may be the one where it rained for days and I called Bingo for a free cruise, but had not listened to the complete instructions since I was in the bathroom. You needed to fill the card and I only had one horizontal line. Was my face red!) I like the cruise more than the islands and usually don't even get off the ship anymore. We usually take our daughters and their husbands and have a blast on our family vacation.

Jake-

No problem, I think most people have had a great Zuiderdam experience and I hope you do too. :)

[lknick]

But I, like Jewelfine, felt there were a lot of negative comments in several posts over the last weeks about that particular ship. If you remember any specific negative comments, list them and we will be happy to comment on them.

[SANDY BEACH]

Cruising Jake, We also enjoy the ship more than the islands. We were on the Z July 24th cruise and went to the pool on the days the ship was in port. Only about 3 other people around the pool on those days. We received a lot of personal service and enjoyed the peacefulness you usually do not find around a pool. There were some others on the cruise that could not understand why we would not do excursions. We're all different and this is what we like. Great to have choices. The staff on the Z tries extremely hard to make your trip enjoyable. Yes, they do make mistakes. None of the mistakes were so terrible that they ruined our cruise. We are all human. Everyone should enjoy the Z.

[imsulin]

My first cruise on the Zui was in May of 2003, doing the Western itinerary. I had a wonderful time, and I had been on a number of HAL ships before. In fact, I'm booked on the 4-9-05 Zui to do the Eastern. I also read the negative comments about the Zui before my first cruise on her, but basically igniored them, and had a great time. I'm sure you'll have a great experience , like I did!

[Little Feet]

We cruised on the Zuiderdam in June of 2003.....read lots of horrid things and thought we may have made a bad choice. Were we ever impressed! The ship was wonderful, the crew is the kindest, all service was excellent. We just could not get over the experience so we had to do it again .....Cruised again on the Z in November and enjoyed it just as much. You will have a great time! Relax and enjoy the pampering.

[Phil_W]

TURN BACK NOW!

You dont want to go on the Zuiderdam. I'll take your tickets. :D

I really enjoyed the Zuiderdam. While everything wasn't perfect it was certainly a very enjoyable vacation and I would go back again (especially if you gave me your tickets) in a heartbeat.

Phil

[Jewelfine]

Thanx for the reassurances!

I feel better now - I usually go with the flow and can have a good time no matter what

I am getting excited now!

[NJsharon]

Personally me & my DH preferred the Zuiderdam to the Oosterdam.

The ship itself seemed the same to us, didn't notice a vast difference. But the staff on the Z were much friendlier & nicer to us. Entertainment staff were fun & room steward was amazing (and also very friendly). Just didn't get the same service or friendly staff on the O.

[Gregg20]

I've been on the Z twice, this past May and May of 2003. I always try to keep my expectations at a reasonable level with just about everything in life and especially with vacations. In just about every catagory HAL met or exceeded my expectations on the Z. This last time,the only "niggle" I had was the change in their liquor policy although we did manage to bring liquor to our cabins anyway. My first cruise was on the Destiny about 5 years ago and I enjoyed my two experiences on the Z much better.

[CINCY40]

We went on the Zuiderdam last December and liked it so much we went back in December. We will probably take the Westerdam this December but only because of the itinerary.

Zuiderdam is a lovely ship and you are treated very well.

Nancy

[Jewelfine]

Thanx for the info guys!

I am getting excited!

[uncialman]

I hope that my comments are not taken the wrong way...

My wife and I cruised the Z last April and found her to be a decent ship for the most part. In comparison to the Veendam, Volendam, Zaandam - I think that she just slightly falls below the mark in a number of categories but excells the R and S class ships in the Lido rest.

After sailing vessels of similar size (RCI Radiance and the Celebrity Millenium), we were hoping that HAL would hit a home run with the Vista class. Instead, we found the interior design rather lacking and cramped.

I'm not saying that you won't enjoy your cruise on the Zuiderdam; I just personally think that there are better choices among the ship offerings of where to spend your money.

[dexter]

I'd like to make a comparison for what it's worth. When the Zuiderdam, or any other ship, was new there were lots of problems. I work for a radio company which owns 8 radio stations here in Augusta, ga. Just two months ago we all moved into a brand new building. You talk about kinks to be worked out. If our building was a cruise ship, we would have sunk weeks ago. However, as time goes by the problems seem to be eliminated one by one and now we are running fairly smoothly. We sailed on the Carnival Glory when it was new and there were several problems with service, the toilets, the food and more...but I've read no negative reviews lately. I guess ships just have to have their "shakedown" cruises and then everything is okay. We are hoping the kinks have been worked out of Zuiderdam cause we're on her next week.

[jerseydiver]

Our first time on HAL (H&W + 13 yo d). Sailed Celebrity twice and Carnival five times. Every cruise is different. Always more children in the summer. This sailing is sold out but I am hoping not too crowded. Looking for a great time. This is my first cruise disabled so will probably be staying on board at ports (no diving). There are always problems but if you focus on them you don't enjoy your cruise as much. Don't cheat yourself, enjoy your time on board. I like meeting new people, the food, and the views. Find out what you like and do it. If something is bothering you do something else. Hope to meet you all on board and have an outstanding week.

[WallyB]

Mechanical Problems

I was on the August 7 -14 cruise on the Zuiderdam.

I have been on 27 cruises and I believe that I am experienced enough to declare that this cruise was a calamity. This was my second Holland America cruise and probably my last.

The Holland America Zuiderdam is a very elegant ship. The cuisine was admirable. The service was first-rate. The foremost mechanical problem on the Zuiderdam was with the air conditioning system. I was aware of the air-conditioning problems on this ship from information gleaned from the Cruise Critic web site. I should have expected it. Anyway, there wasn't a cool public room on this dam ship. They refer to the ships in their fleet as dam ships. In every room I would break out in a sweat, whether we were eating in the dinning room, having a snack in the Lido restaurant, playing cards in the casino, or watching a production in the theatre.

On Friday, the last full day of our cruise, we received a letter informing us that the crew would be working on the air-conditioning system while the passengers were ashore at Half Moon Cay. Nevertheless, when we returned to the ship there was no noticeable difference in the temperature on board this vessel.

It was very warm in my cabin all week and impossible to sleep there. I had cabin # 7111, on the Rotterdam deck. The first couple of days I repeatedly complained and on four different occasions I requested repair service for the air-conditioning. After being unable to repair the air-conditioning they placed a fan in my cabin. After sleeping with the fan on me every night, which just circulated warm air around the room, I came home with a severe head and chest cold.

Throughout the entire cruise there were two restrooms that were “out of order”. In fact the door handles had been removed from both restrooms to prevent anyone from entering these restrooms. The most essential restroom that was out of order was located on the Lido Deck Aft, between the Lido restaurant and the aft pool. Of all places to have a restroom out of order! There were many children using the aft pool and one can only image where they went to the bathroom when they discovered they couldn’t use this restroom. Also, it would have been nice to be able to wash your hands before food handling in the Lido restaurant. I observed children come in from the pool area and help themselves to food located on the buffet without even having the opportunity to wash their hands. The other important restroom that was out of order the entire cruise was located on the Promenade Deck between the Atrium and the shops.

The shipboard Internet was out of service on Tuesday evening, and all day Wednesday. I wonder if they only fixed this problem because this service generates income for the ship?

Finally, I was glad that the ship was diverted from the Cayman Islands to Nassau in the Bahamas to avoid a confrontation with Tropical Storm Charley.

Our flight was on time and we arrived home without incident. However, since I arrived home I have been suffering with a very severe head and chest cold. Thanks to the air-conditioning problems on the Zuiderdam I spent both Sunday and Monday in bed. I am feeling a little bit better today.

[Nasmas]

Hi there
I am sure that I am just getting silly and nervous but we chose to try HAL and teh Zuiderdam for the first time in a couple of weeks. However there are so many negative comments about it over the last while. Does anyone have anything great to say about her? Things we shouldn't miss? We are going on Aug 28th and have rented the pink cabana -
Thanx We are booked on the 09/04 sailing and plan to thoroughly enjoy it.
Some thoughts from my husband:
YOU MAY ASK, WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE ZUIDERDAM? BECAUSE, I DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING THAT I READ AND I KNOW THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE SO PICKY THEY ARE NEVER SATISFIED. TO SHOW YOU WHAT I MEAN, ONE COMMENT SAID THAT THE SHIP WAS NOT BUILT TO ACCOMMODATE 3 YEAR OLDS. ANOTHER STATED THAT SHE DID NOT GET HER TEA UNTIL LATE, YOU CAN RAISE THE HAND AND REQUEST SERVICE. I HAVE BEEN AT THE BEST PLACES TO EAT AND THE WORST, SOMEHOW I AM STILL ALIVE. THE STORK CLUB WAS GOOD, THE BURGER WITH MY FAMILY WAS GREAT. YOU CAN MAKE THE CRUISE WHAT YOU WANT TO---- MAKE IT THE BEST.