Live from Zuiderdam 7/7

[rebeccalouise]

This is my first Holland America cruise since about 1981. The Zuiderdam is in great shape and I really like the size of the ship. It is easy to navigate. From what I have seen thus far- the crew is constantly cleaning and the pool area and public rooms are all spotless. The decor is sort of art deco without being too "Carnival" like. It isn't exactly my cup of tea but certainly not anything disturbing. I understand why people coming from larger, newer ships might be disappointed because the atrium is rather small and blah. In fact, the ship is a bit utilitarian but attractive enough. Frankly, after sailed the QM2 the last three cruises- the size of the ship is really a relief! Running back to the cabin isn't a 1/4 mile walk like on the larger ships. I like this ship just fine and it has a nice feel to it.We are berthed in Venice with a fantastic view of the Venice Island. Just lovely. This is my sixth trip to Venice and I must say that the view from the ship is better than the view from any of the hotels I have stayed in in Venice.Weather is great- much better than hot, humid Baltimore (where I live).So far, we have only dined in the lido buffet and I really enjoyed the pizza, made to order pasta and coconut flan. No complaints with the food. Tomorrow we will try the main diningroom (fixed early seating) and my parents gave me a gift certificate to the Pinnacle Grill- so I will make a reservation and let you know how it goes. Our SS suite # 8054 is lovely. This is the nicest cabin I have ever stayed in. Spacious marble bathroom- huge. Great balcony with two chairs and ottomans and a table for two. Nice and wide- good size. Only minor complaint is the placement of the tv- on the desk, parallel to the beds. Awkward for viewing from the beds- but as I say, very minor complaint.As for the vibe of the ship. It doesn't feel crowded, nor is it a floating retirement home. The average age is probably about 50, with plenty of kids onboard. Pools and hot tubs close at 9PM- much to our disappointment but now we know to get there earlier.For people with kids- the youth program seems fine so far. They don't have a list of organized activities yet- so I don't know how structured it will be. My 7 year old is a seasoned cruiser- I'll give you more feedback on this later. So far, so good. They expect cash for babysitting after 10. $ 5 per hour paid at the time of services rendered. You can not charge it to your room card, which is a first for me. Doubt he will be there after 10 anyway with our excursions in the AM. The video arcade requires coins or tokens- again you can not charge videogames to your room card. Just an observation.The internet is very slow. I purchased a package 250 minutes for $ 100. I am sure I'll use all my minutes over the course of the next 11 days.Tomorrow we are doing the vaporetto to St. mark's Square. It is 6 Euros one way and the vaporetto leaves from the port- right by the ships. So I don't think it is necessary to use the shuttle offered by Holland America but I will let you know how this shuttles works. Ciao for now.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have a great cruise.

[Cruzin Terri]

Thanks so much for your great report. I will be on the Zuiderdam on Sept. 5 starting in Barcelona for 24 days. It is great to hear such a good report on the ship. I too will be on deck 8 in 8046. It makes me happy that you are pleased with the accommodations.

Question: Do you hear any noise from the Lido that would keep you awake?

Have a wonderful cruise and I look forward to reading more live posts from you.

Terri

[GmaPajama]

Thanks for reporting Live from the Zuiderdam, rebeccalouise. She's on our to-do-list, and it sounds like she's in great condition.

I look forward to your next post.

 

[knitlady037]

Rebeccalouise, thanks for the live from post. We will be on the Z in Nov. SS cabin 8074. Gladt to hear the ship is in tip top shape. Enjoy the rest of the cruise.

[lawyerrose]

So glad you're reporting from the Z. We're taking her out of Venice for a transatlantic in October and I've been dying for news about her since her refitting.

We were on the Westerdam last year and really liked the size of the ship, too. Not too big, but big enough to have a little of everything. :)

I'll be avidly watching for more of your postings about the Z. Thanks so much!!:D

[NHBob]

There has been an argument floating around on various threads since March as to whether or not a screening room was to be added during the April dry docking. Hotel Manager on final cruise before dry docking informed a group of us CCers that Queen's lounge would no longer be used for movies, as a screening room would be added.

 

On the other hand, several posters (who were not on that cruise) disputed this rather vehemently since no screening room is shown on the post- dry dock deck plans. So:

• Was a screening room added?
  
• If so, where is it?

Thanks in advance for helping lay this matter to rest once and for all.

 

Bob

 

PS: Apologies if this has already been answered elsewhere and I have missed it.

[Broon]

Rebeccalouise, thanks for reporting from the Zuiderdam. We have friends, 3 couples from Hamilton, Ontario, who are on board and they, too, are in suites. If I remember correctly, they're in 8038/40/42, but I may have this incorrect.

They are Dave & Nancy, Bob & Sharon, Jim & Terry.

Looking forward to more news about this cruise.

Harvey

Hamilton, Ontario

[Sir PMP]

I did the 24 day end of April into May on the Zuiderdam and the ship is in great shape, the 'theme' and colors are meant to show 'Carnival in Venice' with the masks etc. , tha's why you'll find a lot of red around the ship, I really think it looks great, and there is alot of expensive art on the ship.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your 'Live From' thread. They are always fun to read.

 

Happy you are enjoying Zuiderdam and having a good cruise.

 

Have fun!

[Sir PMP]

There has been an argument floating around on various threads since March as to whether or not a screening room was to be added during the April dry docking. Hotel Manager on final cruise before dry docking informed a group of us CCers that Queen's lounge would no longer be used for movies, as a screening room would be added.

 

On the other hand, several posters (who were not on that cruise) disputed this rather vehemently since no screening room is shown on the post- dry dock deck plans. So:

• Was a screening room added?
  
• If so, where is it?

Thanks in advance for helping lay this matter to rest once and for all.

 

Bob

 

PS: Apologies if this has already been answered elsewhere and I have missed it.

 

Yes there is a movie room because I kept running into it coming out of the elevator at the bow, but I can't remember its exact location, but I believe it's on the prom deck, the mirabella shop is there but the shops right behind it are not there, that's where the room is and after that the shops start, but I might be wrong, all I know is I ran into it while people where watching movies...

[off2ctheworld]

Thanks for posting about the Zuiderdam. So far the reports sound like drydock really made her shine.

[rebeljohn]

Thanks for your Zuiderdam report......................she is a fine ship..........

 

For those of you that decide to spend the extra money on internet minutes, to take us along with you..........we are VERY appreciative...........

THANKS for taking us along................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[earl_m]

Thanks for telling us about your cruise. hope you have a great one!!

[MamaTene]

Such a nice, uplifting post regarding the Zuiderdam. We sail her in Nov of this year right after Turkey Day!

[rebeccalouise]

Sorry I haven't been able to get back. The internet has been intermittent and very slow.

 

We are having a marvelous trip. The crew has been very friendly and helpful so far. No complaints.

 

Our cabin steward left a towel shaped like a crab on the bed last night- complete with plastic eyeballs- very cute.

 

We had our dinner on the balcony to watch the sailaway- so still haven't dined in the main diningroom yet!

 

There is a screening room on deck 3. It holds about 40 people and is equipped with large lazyboy type chairs. So this is a nice place to watch movies.

 

Marc loves the HAL Club- so I do recommend this ship for families. He really likes the outdoor pool (freshwater) and the hot tubs are very nice.

 

Split is really picturesque. We didn't tender in today- just too jet lagged and need a day to relax and unwind. Too much hustle bustle the past two days. We are really enjoying the ship. I like its size and highly recommend Zuiderdam.

 

Ciao for now.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad everything is going well and you are having a good time.

[rich_cathybrock]

Please do not burn up any minutes while you are at sea attempting to upload photos, but if you have any opportinuty to get a few shots of her aft and/or the aft cabins post-refurb, you will do a great service to me, and to many others I am sure.

 

Most of all, happy sailing, and enjoy!

[barbels]

Can you tell us who the cruise director, DJ and Piano bar performers are? I'll be on the ship in August and I'd love to know. Thanks.

[Harry1954]

Yes, post drydock there is a S/R. The screening room only has about 32 or so seats, so get there early if you plan to watch a movie as it always seemed to fill up fast.

harry

[Candy]

Can you tell us who the cruise director, DJ and Piano bar performers are? I'll be on the ship in August and I'd love to know. Thanks.

 

... and the HotMan and Captain?

 

Oh, and WE NEED PHOTOS, PLEEZE!

[rich_cathybrock]

When I saw your post I was hoping you were coming to the rescue!

 

DH and I sail her in October - I promise to post them if nobody else does, unless you get to cruise her before I do, in which case we all know we can count on you to get the job done!

 

Until then, I will just keep logging in and searching for Zuiderdam pictures....I think I am going to need therapy soon...:eek:

[rebeccalouise]

Cruise director is Jason Venner

Captain is Werner Timmers (who I haven't met but is very witty over the PA).

Piano bar entertainment Jenny and the HALcats, Bruce Kleinberg, and DJ Jesse in northern lights, Dancing with Matiz in the Ocean Bar

 

As for the aft cabins. I don't know how to download photos here but the aft cabins look very nice from the back of the ship. Covered balconies. I think you'll be pleased. Our stateroom SS 8054 is wonderful in every way. Except my back hurts after a while sitting in the chair with my feet propped on the ottoman. It is a plastic (fake wicker) chair with a cushioned seat. Comfy at first but after about 1/2 or reading- started to bother my back. Minor complaint.

 

As for the refurbishment. I haven't sailed her before. The Explorer's Lounge where I am sitting now is quite nice and new. There is a coffee bar= you have to pay a dollar or two depending on what type you want. Snacks here are free though.

 

The Vista Diningroom was good and bad. The service was great- the waiter and assistant were very good. Drinks were very slow though. My tablemates are great. Interestingly they did not seat us at a table with kids- not sure why. This is a first. We are with three lovely couples- two from Colorado and one from Texas. The bad part is the table for eight is way too tight. The chairs are extremely heavy and bulky and we are sandwiched in. I don't like this at all. It isn't a huge deal- since we have tended to dine on our balcony and probably will tonight- since we will be sailing out of Pireus at meal time. But for those who want a nicer table- I would chose a table for four- not one of the larger ones.

Food was excellent- I had the puffed pastry with mushrooms and salmon for my meal. The desert was ok- frozen meringe with a dollop of strawberry mousse. I find the lido desserts to be better for some reason (and they are excellent! I have the sugarfree mousse each day and it is wonderful). Had banana ice cream last night in the lido as a late night snack- was yummy!

 

Crew have been great across the board. However, they do look at you with a bit of dissappointment when purchasing drinks with the drink cards- that were a gift from my travel agent. You can tip in cash if you wish to. So bring some dollar bills with you if you are using the drink cards- so they get some sort of tip.

 

Today we decided to stay onboard and have a ship day. Pireus is very hot!

 

As for the refurbishment- the ship looks fine. Nothing looks 2008. It all still looks the way it does on their site. The kids club is not according to the new plan. I don't know what happened but the kids club was not refurbished as planned.

 

I have had two spa treatments- a haircut($75) and a one hour swedish massage($119)- both were good. I wrote on the consultation form to please not try to sell me products and they didn't.

 

Don't get too worried but deck three, by the gift shops has had an awful odor- like dog poop. Some of the crew attributes it to the refitting of the gift shops and glue, etc. But I think it is a sewage smell. It does leach into the atruim on both deck three. I don't think the cabins are effected. It is bothersome though and I hope they get it sorted out.

 

I am going to reserve a reservation in the PG for myself and I'll let you know how that fares. I understand it is wonderful.

 

We are having a wonderful time and think this is a great ship for exploring Europe- the perfect size with enough things to do that you won't get bored and very good food.

[macaroni]

Thanks for all the info. Are you saying that the aft balcony cabins are completely covered. I understood they were partially covered except for deck 5. We will be on deck 6 next year and want SUN.

[brucory]

Your trip sounds wonderful... Thankyou for sharing with us all. Wondering if many of the passengers stay on when in port? I can imagine many people choose not to do excursions in every port... :D