Zuiderdam experiences?

[mr&mrcruise]

Maybe I'm spending too much time online obsessing about this lol but I have been getting mixed reviews on the Zuiderdam and would appreciate hearing from others who have been on this ship and what your trip was like. My BF and I are taking our first cruise together and we were a bit apprehensive about booking a "straight" cruise but it was one of those use or lose vacation time things and we booked at the last minute. Any info would be appreciated about onboard activities and also on things to see in port. Thanks! :confused:

[super_grover]

I can't provide a gay/lesbian perspective but if you try the holland america line thread there are quite a few discussions about the zuiderdam :)

[stebul]

We just got off the Oosterdam a week ago (sister ship to Zuiderdam). There were 15-20 gay couples onboard. I would expect Zuiderdam in the Caribbean to be about the same. We looked around Pinnacle Grill one night and realized that half the people in the restaurant were male/male couples. HAL is pretty gay friendly; don't worry about being on a "straight" cruise. Like you we were worried before our first cruise together, but the reality is that everyone is on the ship to have a good time. We have had lots of fun on board with gay and straight couples.

 

Our only disappointment on HAL is the main dining room food (hotel banquet quality, but that's about all they can do when they are serving almost 2000 people in a 2 1/2 hour block of time). Pinnacle Grill is very good, and well worth the $20/pp cover charge. The Pinnacle steaks are outstanding, and service is more attentive and personalized than in the main dining room. We went to Pinnacle 5 of 7 nights on our Mexican cruise (although by the fourth night we were wishing the menu was broader).

[garykool81]

On Zuiderdam, my partner and I (though we disliked the ship itself) had a great time and met plenty of other gay couples onboard. No issues with feeling out of place, etc.

 

Go to the Piano Bar. The guy there (I forget his name unfortunately) is VERY good, VERY fun and ?maybe? gay. Always hard to tell with the entertainers...but I think he was. He's also cute :-) Honestly, though, he is excellent at his job and one of the nicest people onboard.

 

Other than that, a swinging couple onboard (crew) tried to hookup with us...guess they didn't get the vibe that we DONT have that type of relationship, which is quite odd...was the first and ONLY time someone has done that to us LOL. After they got the hint, we still had a good time hanging out and chatting in the safety of public spaces :-)

 

So, to answer your question, Zuiderdam is quite gay enough for anyone I think :-)

[Golfgrl1911]

You will have a marvelous time!! Lisa and I went last Sept. on a shortened (7 to 5 night) cruise. We booked a veranda cabin but due to the many cancellations we wound up upgrading to a SS suite (one thing we'll never regret!) 5 nights was not enough time so we're booked for this coming Sept. I bought a few things about a month prior to us leaving through ship services..Corona 6 pack for the room, bottle of champagne for sail-away, 1st night in the Pinnacle, (BOGO, we'll do this one again & I highly recommend it!) parasail for Lisa at HMC & clamshell for the two of us, etc. This saved us time standing in line waiting to purchase while on board..I want to enjoy every moment while on vacation so for me any kind of unnecessary waiting is valuable time for me! We had a great Roll Call thread going on for about 4 months so alot of us on the cruise got to know each other before we even left! Hurricane Jeanne made her grand entrance so our whole cruise was diverted to Mexico..alot of cruisers simply cancelled, but those who decided to brave it (like us) had a blast! We made quite a few friends on board some of whom we still keep in contact with! I went to a scheduled FOD gathering and found only 2 men who seemed disappointed that I (a girl) was the only one who showed up. So I headed next door to the lounge where the CC gang was more than happy to see me! Lisa and I love to gamble so we met several (straight) couples in the casino we wound up having dinner, drinks, etc. throughout the rest of the cruise with as well! All in all I have nothing bad to say about the Zuiderdam. When are you all leaving? What type of room did you book? Wish I could cruise ALL the time! Have fun!! Chef Nancy:)

[Golfgrl1911]

One additional note...Because we were diverted to Mexico we did not go to HMC. All pre-booked excursions at that poprt had been credited on my credit card when I returned.

[mr&mrcruise]

Thanks again we are feeling much less apprehensive now about the cruise and are starting to get pretty excited. We really apppreciate your taking the time to put us at ease :)

Ira and Doug

[Brucemcdou]

Hi, Ira and Doug - you've gotten a number of good replies, but you might also like to read the review I posted after my partner and I were on the Zuiderdam last May. In short, we were somewhat disappointed in the food and service based on what we'd heard about HAL, but we had a pretty good time. In retrospect I also think part of our problem also is the "party-hearty" nature of any Caribbean cruise: no matter which cruise line you're going to get some silly pool games and fellow passengers who are only there for drinking, sun and fun. We're not, so we'll just cruise elsewhere in the future. Have a great time; here's the link to my review:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=5929