Zuiderdam

[kdowneymd]

Before anyone books a Zuiderdam cruise or anyone who has but still can back out I would suggest reading the current member reviews of Zuiderdam (especially Gaylec) our cruise was not nearly as deficient but ours was certainly not ideal. I am certain that many enjoyed their cruises however, it has been a long time since I can remember as many inidividuals having serious issues with their ship. With a number of choices available doing similar itineraries it sounds to me that HAL isn't what it used to be. Hopefully HAL will listen to the complaints and respond accordingly

[powderhorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdowneymd

I just thought I would confirm that in response posts to my original review others confirmed having problems with odors in their cabin and in the public areas so it was not imaginary. As I said, I am sure it varies from where your cabin is located but it shouldn't happen at all

 

We are on the Zuiderdam in February and have booked an SY on the upper Verandah deck. Our travel companions are booking a guarantee on the Verandah deck. Can you give us any idea on how pervasive or isolated this problem is and if our cabins might be in the odor zone? I have read your review and other posts with similar experience and it is disconcerting I must say.

 

Is the odor present in any of the dining areas?

[LADYLAYLA]

Before anyone books a Zuiderdam cruise or anyone who has but still can back out I would suggest reading the current member reviews of Zuiderdam (especially Gaylec) our cruise was not nearly as deficient but ours was certainly not ideal. I am certain that many enjoyed their cruises however, it has been a long time since I can remember as many inidividuals having serious issues with their ship. With a number of choices available doing similar itineraries it sounds to me that HAL isn't what it used to be. Hopefully HAL will listen to the complaints and respond accordingly

 

 

We have a cruise planned on the Zuiderdam in March, and I have no problems with keeping our reservation. I am sorry that Gaylec had such problems, but there is nothing in the reviews that would make me go off the deep end and change cruises or ships.

[waiting2retire]

Too late....

 

Booked and ready to go next month. Nothing could keep me away at this point. I guess I will see for myself what the situation is.

 

Bonnie

[kdowneymd]

The odor was never present in any of the dining areas that I was aware of. And certainly it was not an everyday occurrence (except the smell in the carpet outside of dining area) I would suspect that the majority of individuals will thoroughly enjoy their trip but if I had a choice I would consider booking elsewhere to try and make sure I didn't experience any problems when I am spending a huge sum of money. Yes problems can and do occur on any line but when there are a number of reviews with issues bells and whisltles should go off

[Love the beach]

Too late....

 

Booked and ready to go next month. Nothing could keep me away at this point. I guess I will see for myself what the situation is.

 

Bonnie

Please let us know when you return-- we're also booked-- for January.

[Cruzin Terri]

Too late....

 

Booked and ready to go next month. Nothing could keep me away at this point. I guess I will see for myself what the situation is.

 

Bonnie

Same here. I sail on the Zuiderdam on Sept. 5. These reveiws are disappointing and a bit scary. I will keep an open mind and see for myself as well.

 

One comment I have to make about Gaylec's review. The shore excursion brochure does not mention a visit to the Sistine Chapel in the Panoramic Tour of Rome. If she assumed that it did, she should have read the brochure more carefully as there is only one tour that clearly states that the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel are included in the tour and it was not the one she chose. It clearly explains what panoramic means and that for the most part it is a bus ride. (Page 9) HAL shoudl not refund her tour money just because she did not read the brochure.

I do agree that there is no excuse for a non-response on HAL's part during all the mishaps on the ship. Those items should have been corrected immediately.

 

I hope HAL has their act together by this time. I am so excited about this trip that I don't think anything will ruin it. 10 days to go. Actually, we leave in 8 days.

Terri

 

Terri

[Culater]

I can only say WOW, if Gaylec's review is correct to the letter, I really feel sorry for them that they definitely appeared to have had the vacation from Hell. I have no reason to believe that what people write is the truth and what they feel. But it sometimes funny (and no disrespect to Gaylec) when you read a review and wonder, was I on the same ship? (Or at the same hotel? or whatever?)

We cruised on the Zuiderdam on the same cruise in July as kdowneymd. We didn't experience any odors, or plumbing problems. We only had an ocean view room, maybe there were no problems on the lower decks. We had no door or key problems. Our room was as nice as expected and I am not sure about the space, it was expected. Unless you have a suite, the room isn't big. There are three of us, and it's a bit cramped but we are small people so we're fine.

We had AYWD and always got a table for just the three of us without any problem whatsoever.

As for flights, I'm fortunate, I used my miles but I am not sure that even if I had to pay for flights, I may have booked them myself instead of going through the cruise line. Although, they always try to push you I'm sure to make you stress about how you aren't guaranteed to make the cruise if your flights are delayed. We did take the bus in venice arranged by HAL at the end of the cruise to P Roma, no problems. I am wondering if Gaylec retrieved the luggage and box directly from the Bus before entering the airport terminal, I would have. Or I usually watch to make sure all my luggage is taken out before proceeding anywhere else. It's not clear from the report.

As for tours, I usually do things on our own. On the first cruise we had on Prinsendam I took more tours and was disappointed because we didn't stop in the town where I thought the tour was supposed to go. But we just drove through, I should have known. On tours, it is best to straight out ask the desk exactly where the stops are and how much time you have and are admissions included.

Anyway, we had a great experience on Zuiderdam and I hope those that are going to cruise soon will have the same experience.

[Culater]

I want to correct a statement in my previous post because I am not calling anyone a liar. I wrote "I have no reason to believe that what people write is the truth and what they feel". Sorry about that. I meant to say that I have to believe what people write and have no reason not to believe them.

[Sunshinecrew]

Same here. I sail on the Zuiderdam on Sept. 5. These reveiws are disappointing and a bit scary. I will keep an open mind and see for myself as well.

 

One comment I have to make about Gaylec's review. The shore excursion brochure does not mention a visit to the Sistine Chapel in the Panoramic Tour of Rome. If she assumed that it did, she should have read the brochure more carefully as there is only one tour that clearly states that the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel are included in the tour and it was not the one she chose. It clearly explains what panoramic means and that for the most part it is a bus ride. (Page 9) HAL shoudl not refund her tour money just because she did not read the brochure.

I do agree that there is no excuse for a non-response on HAL's part during all the mishaps on the ship. Those items should have been corrected immediately.

 

I hope HAL has their act together by this time. I am so excited about this trip that I don't think anything will ruin it. 10 days to go. Actually, we leave in 8 days.

Terri

 

Terri

 

We're on the same sailing, Terri. I'm booked on the fifth level in a VC so am worried by the report but there's nothing we can do now and I'm hoping for the best.

[westboroatty]

I too am booked on deck 5 of the Zuiderdam eighteen months from now. I hope she is headed into drydock sometime soon so the odor issues can be dealt with.

 

Rick

[Krazy Kruizers]

Before anyone books a Zuiderdam cruise or anyone who has but still can back out I would suggest reading the current member reviews of Zuiderdam (especially Gaylec) our cruise was not nearly as deficient but ours was certainly not ideal. I am certain that many enjoyed their cruises however, it has been a long time since I can remember as many inidividuals having serious issues with their ship. With a number of choices available doing similar itineraries it sounds to me that HAL isn't what it used to be. Hopefully HAL will listen to the complaints and respond accordingly

 

Thanks -- I will check out out Gaylec's review.

[Cruzin Terri]

We're on the same sailing, Terri. I'm booked on the fifth level in a VC so am worried by the report but there's nothing we can do now and I'm hoping for the best.

Nice to meet you. It will be nicer to meet in person. I realize it is late, but there has been a rolll call for this cruise that no one except about 3 persons, myself included, has ever participated in. I had thought about calling HAL for a meet and greet, but decided there wasn't enough interest.

Hope we get to meet on the ship. I'm in room 8046.

Terri

[Love the beach]

I too am booked on deck 5 of the Zuiderdam eighteen months from now. I hope she is headed into drydock sometime soon so the odor issues can be dealt with.

 

Rick

 

If I'm not mistaken, I believe she just came out of drydock recently.

[Cruzin Terri]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe she just came out of drydock recently.

You're right, She was in drydock for the good part of April 2008. These issues should have been resolved then.

I was on the Zuiderdam last July in Alaska. I did not notice any of the problems referred to by Kdowneymd or gaylec. I was on the upper verandah deck (4) and while the room was small, it did have a balcony and it was in good shape and clean. However, since my husband is not fond of buffets, we did not eat at the lido restaurant except once for lunch. So I really cannot comment on the cleanliness or quality of the food at that venue. I was very satisfied with our room and with the cruise in general. I am sorry to hear that things have deteriorated and am skeptical about what I will find next week when we board her for 24 days.

 

I will try to post a review on my return (Oct. 1). I will tell you beforehand. I am going on this cruise to enjoy myself and not to seek out problems. If they arise, I will report them and make the best of the situation.

 

Terri

[PadLondon]

Just returned from a 12 night eastern med cruise on the Zuiderdam. Although I cannot say that the cruise was perfect, all the people we travelled with (we had 3 cabins altogether) had a great time.

 

Good things:

Overall food quality and choice was excellent. Most nights we were in and out of the Vista within 90 minutes which was about right for us.

Service may have deteriorated slightly but still very good.

None of us detected any 'sewage' spills or smells but that isnt to say that there weren't any. We were on decks 1,4 and 6.

Our cabins were fine. One of our cabins had a problem with a toilet not flushing but this was fixed within the hour

We were given plenty of advice/warning about when to get off/on the boat at Santorini in order to avoid the queues

Really liked the library/coffee bar up on deck 10.

 

Niggly problems:

As you wish dining seemed to cause problems/annoyance/ Long queues in first few days.

Tipping still an issue. We stuck with the policy of paying through our bill but the look of disappointment in the faces of dining stewards made us feel bad, which we shouldnt have to for what we paid

Cinema very good but with only 32 seats make sure you get there early.

 

I am sorry that gaylec had such a bad time...perhaps an unlucky cruiser as the other review posted by Gaylec was also of a terrible time in 2005

[SabreSailor]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't find a "Gaylec" user on Cruise Critic - help!

[Susie51]

DH and I sailed on Zuiderdam Nov. 2007 and we had a wonderful experience. Now DH only wants to cruise with HAL. In Dec. 2008 we will be on Oosterdam.

 

For those who will soon be on Zuiderdam, I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Sunshinecrew]

Nice to meet you. It will be nicer to meet in person. I realize it is late, but there has been a rolll call for this cruise that no one except about 3 persons, myself included, has ever participated in. I had thought about calling HAL for a meet and greet, but decided there wasn't enough interest.

Hope we get to meet on the ship. I'm in room 8046.

Terri

 

I've posted on the roll call. Yes, it has been quiet. I'll try to look you up!

We may be moving cabins after the report posted here about level five problems. I emailed our travel agent about the bad reviews; she contacted Holland America and they've offered us suites but for an additional charge which she says is a really good deal. Not sure we want to spend the money though.

[jtl513]

I want to correct a statement in my previous post ...

Just FYI: you do not have to make a new post to correct one entered less than 20 minutes prior. You can simply Edit the erroneous post. :)

[Culater]

jt513, thanks for the tip. I'll have to remember that next time. I was typing faster than I was thinking.

As for the Gaylec review, I too searched the member list and couldn't find that person. I went to the "review" section on this website (home page) and to "Zuiderdam" and you can see people's personal reviews. Gaylec's is there.

I read the post from PadLondon and he mentions that Gaylec had another review in 2005 which was also a terrible experience. Hmm....just a coincidence??

And yes the Zuiderdam was just in dry dock in April. It seems it was spruced up well, I guess except for the plumbing problem. I do wonder if the problem is now fixed once and for all. I hope so.

[Sunshinecrew]

It seems it was spruced up well, I guess except for the plumbing problem. I do wonder if the problem is now fixed once and for all. I hope so.

 

I expressed concern to our travel agent since we are on level five and she contacted her Holland America sales representative who responded:

 

"I always caution guests from believing everything they read online. Many people go online and blog just to complain.

 

The Zuiderdam is a wonderful ship. She has just been through dry dock where we added 34 new staterooms, our Explorations Café, Merabella shop. We are getting great reviews on the ship. My very best Holland America Line agent just sailed on her last month and was totally impressed. She has sailed with us over 200 days, so I trust her comments.

 

Unfortunately, on occasion, we do have plumbing issues (this can happen on any cruise line). It always amazes me what people will flush when they are on the ship that they would not dream of flushing when they are at home. Our staff works diligently to correct any problems as quickly as possible."

[Krazy Kruizers]

I just got through reading Gaylec's review about their Zuiderdam Med cruise. ----WOW!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

jt513, thanks for the tip. I'll have to remember that next time. I was typing faster than I was thinking.

As for the Gaylec review, I too searched the member list and couldn't find that person. I went to the "review" section on this website (home page) and to "Zuiderdam" and you can see people's personal reviews. Gaylec's is there.

I read the post from PadLondon and he mentions that Gaylec had another review in 2005 which was also a terrible experience. Hmm....just a coincidence??

And yes the Zuiderdam was just in dry dock in April. It seems it was spruced up well, I guess except for the plumbing problem. I do wonder if the problem is now fixed once and for all. I hope so.

 

Okay -- now I am off the go look for the 2005 Gaylec cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am mystified.

I also checked the Member List and could not find "gaylec" anywhere.

It was my understanding that you have to be a member to submit a Review??? Am I wrong??

I could not find a 2005 review by her -- someone maybe can lead me in the right direction?

Maybe a Host will drop by and clear up about whether or not you need to be a member to write a review.