Unhappy with Zuiderdam

[TedC]

We've had very enjoyable cruises on Vistas, S class and Prinsendam. But we do like the separate food stations on the Vistas.

 

HAL has tried to do "food stations" on the smaller ships, but it just doesn't work as well, as those ships were built with the long cafeteria-style setup.

[RuthC]

I'm one (the one?) who prefers one buffet line to the separate stations. I found on the Noordam that I had to get in several lines at several stations to get what I wanted.

Just to get some milk at lunch required that I get in the ice cream line for the milk, then the water/ice tea line for the glass! And that's after whatever other line(s) I was in for food.

No thanks. Give me the "straight-shot and I'm done" method they have had on the S- and R-class ships.

[bepsf]

Ocean Bar is better on Zuiderdam that on S - smoking and non-smoking are totally divided by the atrium -also, you have a choice of listening to the band or not by choosing which side to sit

 

I much prefer the Ocean Bar on the R-Class and Noordam where the entertainment is in the same area as the Bar. I find it to be a much more convivial atmosphere than the original Vista arrangement where the Bar is on one side and the entertainment is on the other.

 

The downside is that the starboard side of Ocean Bar on Noordam is deserted since we're all packed into the "fun" portside - perhaps HAL can find something fun/useful to put in that space...

[Bramcruiser]

Well long-time HAL cruisers who prefer the other classes of ships are usually not big fans of the newer Vista class of which the Zuiderdam is one of four. You are probably not alone but don't look at the Vista class as indicative of HAL as a whole.

 

However, that being said, to each his own. I was on the Oosterdam - Zuiderdam's sister - and loved the ship. Yeah, I had an issue with the casino and the shops blocking the public flow but otherwise had no real complaints about anything else. I felt everything else was appropriately placed. Then again I am not a Lido type person as I discovered on the last cruise and so avoided it after day one.

 

You might want to try one of the older HAL ships.

[Guest LetMeGo]

Hi. I've never been on a cruise, but I just wanted to comment on the deck plans...

 

The Vista class of ships is largely copied from Carnival's Spirit-class, and is designed to maximise the number of outside cabins. Obviously they have different standards for designing their ships, but according to the deck plans there is no more than one walkway through the promenade on the S-class ships either. :confused:

[RuthC]

The Vista class of ships is largely copied from Carnival's Spirit-class, .... (snip) ...according to the deck plans there is no more than one walkway through the promenade on the S-class ships either. :confused:

I have to assume that by "S-class" you're referring to the Spirit class of Carnival you mentioned earlier in the post?

That could get a little confusing because HAL has four ships that are referred to as the S-class and they have two paths to the dining room on Upper Promenade.

Took me a minute to figure out that's what you meant (I hope that's what you meant).

[Guest LetMeGo]

I have to assume that by "S-class" you're referring to the Spirit class of Carnival you mentioned earlier in the post?

That could get a little confusing because HAL has four ships that are referred to as the S-class and they have two paths to the dining room on Upper Promenade.

 

Took me a minute to figure out that's what you meant (I hope that's what you meant).

 

My apologies for the confusion... Not for naming a wrong class of ships (I did mean the S-class of HAL's ships), but for not making it clear enough what I was referring to with my "one walkway" comment. There were mentions of the "number of public spaces that were right in the traffic area" or having "only one hallway on each public floor while most ships have two".

 

I'm sorry to break this to you, but there are numerous public spaces on the traffic areas of the S-class ships as well. And if your solution to avoid the traffic on the S-class ships is walking all the way on the upper promenade (through the traffic areas like the casino), why don't you try walking on the lower cabin deck of the Vista class... You're bound to get even less traffic there. ;)

 

I'm sorry to have barged in. I won't be making the same mistake again.