zuiderdam questions

[Spanky My]

Never Cruised Holland America lines! We have taken several other cruises from various companies. Our questions are How are the VF category rooms? Is the balcony big and or private like they state? Is the size of the room good? Also if folks can post the POSITIVE and Negatives with this ship it would be much appreciated . Thanks in advance for your response.....SPANKYMY

[MercedMike]

We love the Zuiderdam. We have taken her both to the Caribbean and to Alaska. Check out our trip reports and pics at

Cruising with the Halls

 

Positives -- beautiful ship, well laid out, outstanding staff, very friendly and willing to please, great entertainment, great food ... Well, this ship is just marvelous!

 

Negatives -- wow, I really have to think there. It is a small problem with HAL that their dining staff are not very familiar with the menu. You can't really get into a long conversation with the waiter (or headwaiter) about how the chef makes the sauce for the scallops. If that is the worst thing I can think of to say, you know I must love this ship!!

 

;)

[Spanky My]

for posting a link to your well written website. We enjoyed reading your comments and hope others chime in as well....spankymy

[txaggiemom]

We just returned from a cruise on the Zuiderdam and it was absolutely wonderful. We did a 15 day land/cruise trip so we were on the ship 5 days. We were treated like royalty, the ship was very clean and our suite was fabulous. We had a Deluxe Verandah Suite - SA class. The room was huge and the verandah was also. Some of the others in our group came to our room to see what the difference was and they all said they would definitely spend the bucks to do that next time. We had a bottle of champagne, flowers and fruit. The fruit was replenished everyday as well as there was always a treat for the day. The Verandah rooms you mentioned have a verandah that is much smaller and the rooms are much smaller. Our level even had free pressing and full laundryand dry cleaning service. We had some clothes pressed, but didn't take advantage of the laundry service. After we got home, I was wishing I had sent all of it out and I wouldn't have been doing it all now. LOL

 

We found the food to be really good . Didn't go to the Lido but a couple of times as we found we didn't like dealing with all the crowd there. If you are in the Deluxe Suites you can eat breakfast with no charge at the Pinnacle Grill or anybody can eat breakfast to order in the Vista dining room. Lunch can also be eaten in the Vista dining. They had a lunch for Deluxe Suite Passengers only one day and the officers and captain attended. It was held in the Crow's Nest Bar .That was very nice.

[Spanky My]

we are looking at VF in the verandah deck. Has anyone been in those rooms specificlly and have a first hand comments? The step up is quite a bit more money to SA price wise,but thanks for your information. Keep the comments coming and thanks to all who have responded....spankymy

[krewzin]

Cruised Zuidy as a family of 5 in mid July to Alaska, and we all really enjoyed.

 

Positives:

Service was great...room stewards are the best. Excellent room service menu (makes it easy when you don't feel like leaving your cabin). The crew goes out of their way to be nice. The ship is quieter than other lines (no hordes of wild kids running around) and it's pretty easy to get an elevator.

 

Negatives:

Ship is showing signs of wear and tear, the entertainment isn't that great and as far as scheduled activities ...they're lacking a bit and sometimes schedule conflicts with what they do have (my experience).

 

Positive *OR* negative, depending on the individual:

If you're someone who likes a lot of night-time action there really isn't much. It's quieter and more refined than other lines (a positive for me).

[seaisme]

Zuiderdam (like most of HAL's ships) tends to cater to a mature (behavior...NOT age!) audience. Good kids program. Lots of room...you never feel crowded. Bold colors. Service, particularly room staff are outstanding...will do just about anything for you. Food is OK...but we never went hungry! remember...if you don't like what you selected, ask for something else. and try the Pinnacle Grill (yum!). we're booked again on the "Z" in April 2007 and are taking my Sis and her family along this time. (they have teens 16 & 17).

 

Can't think of many negatives since we're loyal HAL cruisers...tried other lines...like HAL best.

Happy cruising!

Cass

[Spanky My]

who has stayed on the veranda deck in Vf category near room say 5062 or similiar. Is the location good? Is it near any noisy places on board either above or below? Looking on our 15 anniversary for a quiet time in general.

 

Normally it is more late nights/party time etc. Have I picked the right ship? Thanks again folks for the responses and keep them coming! The more information shared the easier the decison is....spankymy

[KSCnCA]

Looking at the deck plans shows that there are suites above and outside cabins below. Your verandah view down will be on the life boats (not sure if the boats directly below you will be used for tenders or not, if so you could hear some of the noise from that but it wouldn't be too bad). Most/if not all of the verandah cabins are nice cabins - not too cramped, especially if you aren't used to a suite. :D

[travelkeys]

Hi! I sailed on Zuiderdam June 2005 and had a blast. I can't help with the suite questions because I had an oceanview but the ship itself was great. I thought the service was fantastic and our waiter rocked. I was 26 on sailing and still enjoy a night of dancing but am not a partier. The ship had a decent night club and it was not crazy. Just relaxed fun in my opinion. It seemed pretty quiet in the halls and there were very few kids that I saw. I never felt there were too many people onboard because there were never crowds (except maybe the 1st day drill and then catching the boat to Half Moon Cay). Otherwise it was always a breeze getting to where I was going.

 

I loved the Crows Nest and there was some great live music during my cruise. Great for couples dancing. Don't know if I just lucked out there.

 

I ate on the Lido deck often but usually not during actual breakfast/lunch time. Could never time it right. I ended up eating alot of pizza which is fine because they had this tomato/basil pizza which was fantastic.

 

I was part of a theme group and we had our own entertainment itinerary so I did not partake in the cruise entertainment so I am no help there.

 

I have some great photos of the ship from the outside but they are too big and I can't figure out how to resize them. As soon as I do I will try to post them.

[BM64]

We were in 4163 in Nov. 05 and I believe that was a VF cat.. We loved the stateroom, we are a fmily of four and found the room to be larger than Celebrities and RCCL balcony rooms. The veranda was quite large with two wicker chairs and ottomans and a small table. The bathroom was a decent size with a bathub and shower. I would book this cat. again with no problem. Enjoy your cuirse you will not be disappointed.

[Spanky My]

Looks like the Zuiderdam is probably a good choice and value. I appreciate folks taking the time to tell their experiences.

 

We all learn from more knowledge. I may have a question or two later,thanks again....spankymy

[erbngrl]

I traveled on the Zuiderdam in October, 2005 for a week. We were in cabin 4040 (cat VA I believe) and it was roomy enough for 3 of us to share. Sofa pulled out to a twin bed, and then there was the queen bed. We didn't spend a ton of time in the cabin except for sleeping and preparing for dinner. It served our purposes.

 

Things I liked about Zuiderdam - great staff, from the room service staff, to bartenders to waiters, a real pleasure, the whole lot of them. I wonder if Wilhelm is still serving afternoon tea??? As other posters have said - mature crowd. Not too much craziness, no kids running in the halls, no crazy silliness around the pool. I went on that cruise so I could relax and relax is exactly what I did. Entertainment - besides the usual song & dance, we had Joel Mason (Elton John impersonator) and Julie something (can't remember her last name, but a great comedienne). Medical care - one of the people I was traveling with fell down the stairs in the main theater (be careful, the carpet makes you dizzy as you are walking down) and the medical staff couldn't have been nicer and more accomodating. Followed up daily for the rest of the cruise to ensure she was ok.

 

Things I didn't like about Zuiderdam - what is that smell near the Queen's Lounge???? Everytime you walked past the Queen's Lounge you had a god-awful smell hit you in the face. Spa - $60 for a pedicure? WAY overpriced, I could have had 3 pedicures at my salon at home for that price. As usual, the spa attendants try to jam their products down your throat at the end of the service. Fitness center - either the cruise I was on had a ton of fitness fanatics, or else not enough equipment. Whenever I tried to get on a treadmill first thing in the AM, they were always jammed up.

 

All in all, I enjoyed Zuiderdam and HAL. It was a great trip that we thoroughly enjoyed, and I would consider sailing them again. Have a great time!! And if you see Wilhelm, tell him I said hi :)

[lb0103]

We are booked in a VF for the 10/21 on this ship. We have not been on this ship before, but we have been on the Westerdam, her sister in a VF and had a great time. The balcony is small but great to sit and watch the world go by. I agree that the cost of the next cat. is not worth it to us because that would mean we could take fewer cruises.

 

The entertainment is not great on ANY dam ship, in my opinion, but we do not go for that anyway. Depending on your tastes you might like it. It is a quieter crowd, but there are hot spots if that is what you want.

 

I didn't get where or when you were looking at going, but we'll be on board in Oct. If you are looking after that I'll let you know when we get back.

[Spanky My]

Our cruise is in feb. So there is still time to get tips from all and reports. Like I said previously we have been on a few other lines ,but this will be the first time on HA.

 

Have fun in october and give a full report upon your return if you can....spankymy

[wgeddings]

You can go to the Reviews section of the website and there will be an "official" CruiseCritic review. That will also have links to member reviews (one of which is even by me). In addition, you can do a search in the forum for more posts about Zuiderdam. There is a lot of great information that people may not want to post again so I encourage you to check out what is already posted so you will be fully informed.

[familyofd]

Zui Room:We were in room 4161 and 4163 I loved the location of this room as compared to my other family who was on the same floor but the other side of the

ship seems they had to back track alot.

 

As for staying up all night and or being in the bars this is no where near

royal carribean as far as that goes, they (zuid)had 1 bar that was hoppin

with 70's music but by 1 am it was dead, for St Pattys night we would of thought it should of been rockin all night but it was not.

Would I suggest you still go yes cause you wont know if you like it

if you dont try it.

:) :) :) :) :)