Zuiderdam thermal spa and hydro pool question

Hi all,

We are cruising on the zuiderdam at the end of February for our honeymoon and we are looking into the thermal spa. If anyone has any first hand experiences I'm interested in hearing them. I've heard some not so amazing things. Also is the hydro pool included in the cruise price? Its my first time sailing on HAL, not my husbands first but it's been years since he's sailed with them.

Thanks in advance😀

It is not included. You get access with (I think) any spa service. Or you can buy a full cruise pass or (usually) day passes. We bought a full pass last time and intend to again tomorrow! It's been a couple years so I'm fuzzy on pricing. I think it was maybe $250? But not sure if that was per person. Only a limited number of full passes are sold. And day passes are only available if they don't think it'll be too busy (so depends how many fulls were sold and spa bookings. Passes can't be booked online. You must sign up at the spa on board. They usually give a couple away at the spa welcome party (unless that changed, it had lots of raffles).

Last time you got access to the private hydro pool (we call it the "bubbler" and it's sort of a giant, fancy hot tub), the lounge around that pool, including spa water to drink, three steam rooms/saunas (our last time, one sauna was too cool, the other was broiling hot, and for me the steam steam room was just right). But my favorite part was what we called the "warming trays" -- heated, tiled loungers with a big wall of windows to enjoy the view while you relax. Go at off peak times and it was be a blissfull private retreat to curl up with a book after a soak and a steam. Showers also provided in the sauna/warming tray room, and access to the locker rooms/robes/sandals/towels. If relaxation is a top priority and the privacy/spa-ness appealing, I recommend it!

On our first cruise (a transatlantic on the Noordam), we spend 6+ days in Noro virus lockdown. The hydro pool and all hot tubs were shut down. Not sure about the saunas/steam rooms. So there is a risk of not getting your money's worth on a full pass.

I can report back on the 5th with an updated review ;)

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We had the spa package on our Christmas/New Years cruise. It was $249 for the two of us the first week and $199 for the second week. It was limited to 40 passes.

Unfortunately the hydro pool jets were not working the second week and we ended up getting a partial refund for the days we could not use it.

Loved the ceramic loungers :)

Rockfan2

If these pools are shut down for the day, for any reason, they normally give you a partial refund (be sure to ask for it).

I love the large hydro pool and my DW loves the thermal loungers, so we often go our separate ways.

The only negative things I have found are 1) each of these things get very crowded on Sea days (and other peak times), making them difficult to use, so we plan our visits for the off-peak times (like lunch/dinner hour, special events times, etc.), 2) the chemicals in the hydro pool can fade your swimsuit, so take an old one just for this.

The hydro pool and the thermal suite are my favorite venues on the Vista and Signature Class ships! I have been known to spend an entire day alternating between these areas and the mid-ship pool area if the hydro pool, thermal suite become too busy. (Rare in my experience.)

The information about the fading of one's swim wear is true, but for me, it took a few visits (cruises) for this to become noticeable. My Navy Blue trunks are now an interesting shade of purple, but still quite wearable.