Zuiderdam mini review Feb25-Mar8th

[drcandon]

Hi Folks ..finally got a chance to sit down and write a short review on the Zuiderdam cruise Panama canal 11day..

 

First..I think the ship is in great shape..new carpeting throughout..that looks great. I will admit this is my first time on the ship so I am basing this on a comparison between the condition of the Noordam ( last DAM ship we were on). I only noticed a few rust spots and gee - salt water no kidding..They varnished our railings on deck 5 while we were on the ship and painted the outside white hull on the cabin area (on the balcony)..Stupid me I leaned on the wet white paint...oh well..

 

The interior of the ship was very very clean..

 

Food...up to the usual HAL standards..great...we had some personality issues and minor conflicts with the waiter...the assistant waiter was a real good guy..His "boss"..I guess you would call him the head waiter for the section actually apologized for the waiters actions...

 

Toilets and air conditioning ...no issues at all, no backups, no smell, efficient..the air coming out of the air conditioner was actually cold...in some ways superior to the Noordam..

 

Staff...remarkable...other the waiter..the rest of the staff is the friendliest and most efficient I have encountered on a DAM ship..

 

Entertainment...the steel drum band folks were incredible...the rest was good...well worth watching..

 

And for once the HAL shore excursion folks knew about the shore tours in depth..

 

All in all a great cruise ( other the debarkation mess - beyond HAL control)

 

Would recommend this cruise and the Zuiderdam

[brian_uk]

After so many negative reports that I have read recently, it is good to read your brief review which seems more than positive.

 

Looking forward to our Panama trip on this Ship in November.

 

Brian

[kazu]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with us:D

 

We had a fabulous cruise on the Zuiderdam and I am glad to hear that she has now come back to what we remembered.

 

Sounds like a good cruise and a good time.

 

Thanks so much - and welcome home:D

[George C]

thanks for review

[aliaschief]

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience.

[PaulMCO]

Thanks for your review. We are on the same cruise on the 29th. We will report back and see if we concur.

[profteedee]

Thanks so much for a concise review. We are looking forward to our first HAL cruise on the Zuiderdam on the 29th. May you enjoy all of your future cruises!

[dobiemom]

Thank you for your review. I am on the Zuiderdam in May so I appreciate you taking the time. :)

[pepsigirl64]

:D Thank you for the review. We will be boarding the big "Z" in a little over a month. Looking forward to our trip through the Panama Canal.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your report.

Glad everything was fine on the ship.

We also enjoyed Island Magic when we were on that ship.

[cruiseapril]

Thanks.

 

Which shore excursions did you take?

[drcandon]

In answer to the excursion question....remember I am an avid photographer

 

In Aruba...Aruba town and countryside..okay..mainly because I wanted to photograph the sea on the rough side of the island ( take a spray cloth for the lens) and the Big rocks...so for me okay..the bus was A/C..for a change the stop at the lighthouse did not charge you for the bathrooms

 

Curacao..Caves and City Highlights...really wanted to see the caves - warning they are HOT caves, not cold ones...they pester you about not taking pictures, but if you put your camera on no flash, high ISO and silent shutter, they can't tell..its all about not disturbing the bats...City highlights - walking tour...quite warm...finally they showed you where the wedding cake house was ( not on the tour you have to walk to it)...I have missed it every time..also if you are in a tour group the vendors don't bug you ...unlike Cartagena

 

Cartagena...Cartagena by land and sea....remember I am an avid shutter bug..for me its all about the photos, so with that in mind I wanted one that took you to the fort and also the wall around the city...I really wanted a tour of the old city, but could not have both ..not enough time..so settled on this one..also only 15 min shopping...both DW and I hate the shopping ones so this was the tour with the least...good tour....WARNING...wear a hat..if you don't you will be chased mercilessly by hockers trying to sell those cheesy panama hats..one fool on our bus did not and he had literally 10 hockers stuffing hats on his head until we got into the fort - where they could not go, next time i am doing the tour of the old city with less shopping

 

Panama/colon - Monkey watch River tour - not bad...the wildlife is not as plentiful as it used to be because of the construction of the new canal..regardless we saw a sloth, white faced capuchin, crocs, turtles, and a few birds...the chicken sandwich was actually tasty, little skimpy on the chicken..next time I will do the village one...

 

Costa Rica - Veraqua rainforest arial tran and original canopy tour...again...remember for its all about the photos....so this was great...walked in a true rainforest - not the ones that some islands try to pass off as rain forests, huge 500 year old trees, lots of poison tree frogs, lots of really cool spiders, some monkeys...no birds..darn it...then we had a choice 15 minutes for lunch ( provided - very tasty) and then the butterfly, amphibian, reptile etc exhibits or 1 hour or more for lunch and skip that..well a democratic vote with a few grumpy dissenters got us the full tour...well worth, it...they take you right into the butterfly hatchery..we saw one pupate!!!..then from that on to the zip line...okay last warning..this is the only thing HAL is misinformed about...the zip line is a double line (true) and is 9 lines though the canopy (true)...but there is NO braking system ( you have to do it yourself) and that kinda forces you to look ahead at the guide and not around and down and let yourself fly free (like the HAL staff said)...so a bit of a warning there..but we had zip lined before and this was good

 

Oh yea Half moon Cay..do yourself a favour and walk to the backside of the island the mangrove "forest" is cool..you can actually wade into the roots..unlike any other mangrove one I have been to (too muddy and water too deep)...water was warm for a change...so other then eat - no tour....

[cruiseapril]

Very interesting review of the excursions. Appreciate the details.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!