Zuiderdam Review

We had a very relaxing and wonderful cruise on the Zuiderdam. It was our very first 10 day. Work has always prevented us from indulging in more than a 7 day, but we were able to find a way this year. What a difference! Having those extra few days made it feel like a very long (relaxing) cruise!

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale the day before and stayed at the Hyatt Place. The shuttle took a very long time to arrive. As we look back, it would have been wiser to take a cab.

Dinner was at Gilbert's. I had read good reviews and it was close to the hotel. It was excellent! The burger was one of the best I have ever had (goat cheese with carmelized onions). The fries were great and the wine choices were limited but good. We spoke with the manager, she was a sweetheart and she had me laughing, a very pleasant experience.

The shuttle from Hyatt Place to the pier was a much better experience. Quick and efficient.

Embarkation was good as always. We had several pics taken throughout the cruise, but it was the embarkation picture we came home with. The lighting and photographer were best there, but I am kind of picky about lighting I guess, haha.

Our Neptune Suite was perfect. Our stewards were unobtrusive but provided everything we needed. We had smoky neighbors but didn't choose to say anything or confront them.

The Neptune Lounge didn't seem to have the same quality offerings as a few years ago, but the coffee remains excellent and I was very happy that the sound was turned down on the TV. I do NOT want to hear the (breaking!) news while on vacation.

We visited BB King quite often, they were amazing and we enjoyed it so very much.

Pinnacle was superb, the filet, the lamb, oh my! And the cod sandwich at lunch was so good, I had to return a second time!

No shows, no casino, no piano bar. Not us.

We had a spa pass and that was great, but dislike the sales pitch going on at the entrance of the spa...tacky!

Canaletto was wonderful: food, service, ambience.

The pool area is very nice, both aft and lido. My husband and I are out quite early and enjoyed meeting people in/at the pool for an early swim, what a pleasant time to enjoy the ship and meet new people! After a few days, they are the same people, and that is fun.

I liked visiting the Panama Canal and learning the history, but don't feel a need to do this itinerary again. I did miss the Caribbean sunrise/sunsets. Coming from a cold climate, the turquoise waters call to us.

We noticed a lack of activities on the daily planner compared to previous years. While this doesn't affect us, it did seem quite obvious.

The food in the MDR was excellent. We take only one cruise per year. This year was better than the previous two.

The salad bar at the Lido was amazing...fresh tuna!

Did not like Adagio this cruise, but that is personal taste. I am not a show tunes kind of girl, but they were very talented.

It was a lot of fun having Explore 4. I tried drinks I never would have.

We are looking forward to a 2018 cruise, such a long time to wait. We met so many that cruise so often, do you know what a gift that is?

I need to ask myself the same question. :)

Thank you for your review. We loved the Zuiderdam & her crew.

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

Were your neighbours smoking on the balcony?

Thank you for your review.

Glad you enjoyed your longer cruise.

Wish HAL would enforce the rules about smoking on the balconies/verandahs.

We have also notices the cutbacks in the Neptune Lounge and activities.

Thank you for your review, we just returned from the Eurodam and noticed the lack of daily activities on sea days as well, hope HAL addresses this issue. I agree on the food for us as well on the Eurodam was excellent and we loved breakfast and lunches in the Market Place oh and the Dive In, delish. I too am looking forward to my next cruise.

Wish HAL would enforce the rules about smoking on the balconies/verandahs.

Me too, but if the affected neighbors don't alert Guest Services, how will they know someone is violating the rules?

My brother was just on the same cruise, stayed at Hyatt Place 17th, dined at Gilberts and was in a Neptune Suite! I thought that your post might have been him while I was reading this.

If you do not mind - what cabin were you in and how did you like it?

I liked visiting the Panama Canal and learning the history, but don't feel a need to do this itinerary again. I did miss the Caribbean sunrise/sunsets. Coming from a cold climate, the turquoise waters call to us.

I'm confused:confused:

Maybe you missed the sunrises/sunsets drinking the yummy coffee inside the windowless Neptune Lounge? :D We did this cruise in December - there's only one day involved in the Canal and that day we saw both sunrise and sunset - both in the bay at the mouth of the canal. Aruba, Curacao and Puerto Limon all had that lovely turquoise water with colorful sunrises on the way into port and sunsets at the end of the day.

Dave, our room was just a few doors down from the Lounge. We were able to choose it when we received an upgrade offer. The room was amazing, storage galore, great light from the big window pouring in. I bought myself some flowers and enjoyed them everyday. :)

The weather was on the cloudy side several mornings and evenings, and the extra sea days meant we didn't have the beautiful turquoise waters moving from island to island. But we were still able to capture some beautiful pictures, just not as stunning as other years.

We did this cruise in February and were very happy with it. The sales at the spa never bothered us, as we went up the forward elevators to the spa and didn't have to pass the promo table out by the pool. When we left the spa to go to the pool area, we passed the table but never were bothered by it. I wonder how many people go for those offers.

I don't think the Neptune Lounge food has changed in quality so much as it has changed in style. They've gone to more of the "small plate" approach, as has the Lido. The food looks good for what it is, but a lot of it is cutesy and there's less that appeals to me.

I'm happy to hear this, although slightly disappointed about the lack of activities. I'm MUCH younger than the general HAL demographic and traveling solo. But the true point of my (now TWO- one on zuiderdam) upcoming HAL cruises are the itineraries-- very heavy port focused. Maybe I will be so tired that I won't care about there being nothing to do at night.

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Thanks for your review - we will be boarding the Z in a couple of weeks. Rules are rules and if the no smoking on the balconies rule is in place then it has to be enforced. In the past we have put up with it - we won't now!

What is the Explore 4? We are sailing 11/15 for the Canal. Celebrating anniversary and thanksgiving on board.:)

Thanks for posting your review. We were on the Zuiderdam in February and noticed the same lack of activities. HAL has really cut back on the cruise director's staff over the past several years. We remember a lot more activities on our first HAL cruise about a dozen years ago. If you had the same Adagio Duo we had, they were falsely advertised as playing "sophisticated classical music" in the daily programs. We listened to them a few times, a couple of numbers each time, and never heard anything classical--more show tunes and gypsy melodies.

I couldn't tell by your description if your neighbors were smoking on the balcony or in their suite. Either would be unacceptable to me.

This is why I don't do balconies. We are on the 11 night Z pc in December. Difference is that we go to Cartagena. Lack of activities concern me since my 24 year old son will be with us

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We're doing the PC 11 Night in December too. Our 2nd HAL Cruise. The lack of activity doesn't bother me. We are better finding our own way anyhow. I like the quieter atmosphere of HAL. How was the aft pool area? We were on the Rotterdamn last year the aft pool was in bad shape. Half the time they didn't even bother to fill it (it's more of a wading pool too).

Thanks!

Thanks for sharing.

We're doing the PC 11 Night in December too. Our 2nd HAL Cruise. The lack of activity doesn't bother me. We are better finding our own way anyhow. I like the quieter atmosphere of HAL. How was the aft pool area? We were on the Rotterdamn last year the aft pool was in bad shape. Half the time they didn't even bother to fill it (it's more of a wading pool too).

 

Thanks!

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If you had the same Adagio Duo we had, they were falsely advertised as playing "sophisticated classical music" in the daily programs. We listened to them a few times, a couple of numbers each time, and never heard anything classical--more show tunes and gypsy melodies.

 

I couldn't tell by your description if your neighbors were smoking on the balcony or in their suite. Either would be unacceptable to me.

Exactly! Show tunes and gypsy melodies appeal to many, and that's OK, just not to us. Every ship and cruise is different, and we roll with it.

Neighbors on balcony smoking. It isn't such a big deal to me and we never said anything, maybe they didn't even know about the new rules.

We were on the Zuiderdam a few years ago, and loved the ship. We will be on the Nov 15th cruise. Just wondering..will the Zuiderdam be in dry dock before November?

Good to see the review. We sailed Zuiderdam to eastern Caribbean in 2003 and Panama Canal in 2009- looking forward to Quebec-New York in September.

It is interesting seeing how a ship ages, and how a line's service evolves.

Thanks for your review - we will be boarding the Z in a couple of weeks. Rules are rules and if the no smoking on the balconies rule is in place then it has to be enforced. In the past we have put up with it - we won't now!

It wasn't enforced on our January cruise nor our Alaska cruise in May. I had no idea where it was coming from in May, as we had the Pinnacle Suite, and with the bend I couldn't see if it was below our cabin. We had the aft wraparound Neptune Suite in January, and a couple of guys were smoking on two decks below at night.

It didn't bothered us and we survived, as we spent very little time on our deck at night on that cruise.