Zuiderdam

[stllex88]

So I booked our first cruise ever. It's on the Zuiderdam, Eastern Carribean on 11/20. 5 year anniversary. We currently have 6080 on the upper verandeh. It's the first balcony just aft of the suites in the center of the ship on that deck. Elevators very close. It's our first cruise. Not sure of the motion, but figured the center of the ship should be good for wary Newbies, yes? I usually stay away from elevators, but figured motion or lack thereof might be more important than a little elevator/traffic noise. I've read Air Cond. in the rooms makes white noise that masks it anyway. True on the Zuiderdam?

 

If there are suites available before the cruise, will Holland contact us and inquire about upgrading? We would have spurged, but for that particular cruise, the difference was $600pp and couldn't justify it. If it had been $200pp, I might have pulled the trigger. We booked through an online cruise site. Analy, I checked other online cruise site and our cabin is no longer available so I'm guessing it took.

 

All that was left was the late seating, but since we're from the midwest, the 8:30 is our 7:30, so I didn't mind that, plus I'm sure we can find something to eat onboard for a snack.;) It also reasoned if we have been on an island all day, it will give us time to relax on the balcony, shower and leisurely go to dinner instead of rush. Am I reasoning correctly?

 

Any other Holland or Zuiderdam tips anyone cares to give? What is the earliest we can board the ship. We get into Miami the night before and will taxi/limo to FLL so time is not an issue. I'm sure I'll have more questions and will scan the internet for more info, but we're pretty excited and had to write something now.

[Ziggy7]

So I booked our first cruise ever. It's on the Zuiderdam, Eastern Carribean on 11/20. 5 year anniversary. We currently have 6080 on the upper verandeh. It's the first balcony just aft of the suites in the center of the ship on that deck. Elevators very close. It's our first cruise. Not sure of the motion, but figured the center of the ship should be good for wary Newbies, yes?yes I usually stay away from elevators, but figured motion or lack thereof might be more important than a little elevator/traffic noise. I've read Air Cond. in the rooms makes white noise that masks it anyway. True on the Zuiderdam? True

 

If there are suites available before the cruise, will Holland contact us and inquire about upgrading? NO We would have spurged, but for that particular cruise, the difference was $600pp and couldn't justify it. If it had been $200pp, I might have pulled the trigger. We booked through an online cruise site. Analy, I checked other online cruise site and our cabin is no longer available so I'm guessing it took.

 

All that was left was the late seating, but since we're from the midwest, the 8:30 is our 7:30, so I didn't mind that, plus I'm sure we can find something to eat onboard for a snack.;) It also reasoned if we have been on an island all day, it will give us time to relax on the balcony, shower and leisurely go to dinner instead of rush. Am I reasoning correctly? YES

 

Any other Holland or Zuiderdam tips anyone cares to give? What is the earliest we can board the ship. 11:15am We get into Miami the night before and will taxi/limo to FLL so time is not an issue. I'm sure I'll have more questions and will scan the internet for more info, but we're pretty excited and had to write something now.

I also posted a link to my review of the Zuiderdam if you would like to read it :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=71371

 

Hope this helps and you'll have a wonderful cruise! We did!

[dakrewser]

Since you booked a specific cabin, no one will ask you to upgrade. You can ask your TA to request this, though.

 

Enjoy!

[Orcrone]

Stllex,

 

I looked up the location of your room. I know that people riding the outside elevators can see onto the verandahs of the rooms right next to the elevators. I don't know about the next set of rooms. You may want to post a specific question to find out that info if people looking onto the balcony will bother you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we rode the elevators on the Oosterdam (sister ship) we were able to everything completely on the balconies right next to the elevators. We were able to see part of the balconies on the second verandah. As long as you don't sit right near the rail, you should be okay.

[Ziggy7]

we had cabin 5102 second from the glass elevators, no one could see us sitting on our verandah, we went on the elevators to see also and all we could see into was the first cabins verandah, although the elevators move pretty fast so it was not like we could sit and stare at people hehehe.

[stllex88]

Many thanks for the comments. We probably will leave our room as is. Having the balcony was important to us and this was reasonably priced compared to some other lines. Does anyone know if upgrading to SS gets you priority at check-in and access to the Neptune, or is it just S and above?

 

Glad to know the balcony we have is mostly "private". Couldn't believe it was still there considering it was center ship and all and it was only one of two left on that level.

 

I've read deeper in the boards and can't believe how polarized people's opinion of this ship is. You'd think it was a Presidential debate! I'm going to attempt to approach it with a clean slate, but it is interesting reading. Our expectations of food have been set by AI's in Mexico. I doubt the cruise will be worse than that and hopefully much better.

[Tatka]

We just returned from Zui, we were in inside room I-6067 which was on the same deck as your cabin will be. Even our "inside" cabin was roomey.

 

Don't worry about being hungry, you can call room service and they have pretty good menu, specially from 12:00 noon till 10 PM so you won't be hungry before the dinner.

 

My only complaint (and it didn't really spoiled my vacation) was that sometimes our room wasn't made before 12 noon!

 

You've made a great choice of the ship and in for a great time. Have fun out there.:)

 

I hope HMC will be fixed before your cruise.:)

[dakrewser]

Many thanks for the comments. We probably will leave our room as is. Having the balcony was important to us and this was reasonably priced compared to some other lines. Does anyone know if upgrading to SS gets you priority at check-in and access to the Neptune, or is it just S and above?

Sorry, suite perks are only for S and PS...

 

-dave

[stllex88]

Sorry, suite perks are only for S and PS...

 

-dave

Thanks! Pretty well seals the deal that we will keep our AA cabin. All Holland cabins appear to well sized.

 

I wonder if the verandeh area is included in the sq foot numbers. It doesn't appear at the surface to be much bigger than a Deluxe Oceanview except for the Verandeh. Not that it truly matters. Just curious.

[dakrewser]

Thanks! Pretty well seals the deal that we will keep our AA cabin. All Holland cabins appear to well sized.

 

I wonder if the verandeh area is included in the sq foot numbers. It doesn't appear at the surface to be much bigger than a Deluxe Oceanview except for the Verandeh. Not that it truly matters. Just curious.

The A verandah is about the same size as an outside, plus a balcony. The SS is quite a bit larger.