HELP! Thinking of trying Hal's Zuiderdam

[Cruise Junky]

We just got off the Zuiderdam this morning. Weren't impressed. Walking down the stateroom hallways she truly reminded me of a Motel 6. Horrible, horrible wall colours and the colours of the doors :eek: . There were so many things that HAL did right, the crows nest, the friendly staff, the Pinnacle Grill, but we had so many problems; no hot water, 3 days to fix the safe, they were serving pollock and passing it off as Dungeness and King Crab, no 24 hour buffet, the food in the dining room was just blah and not really that good. Really hated the layout of the buffet, always long lines, breakfast items never changed. Only unsalted butter for the first 5 days, ketchup was like panning for gold, just not there. We loved Alaska and had a great time inspite of the Zuiderdam which was a shame.

[Coral]

We just got off the Zuiderdam this morning. Weren't impressed. Walking down the stateroom hallways she truly reminded me of a Motel 6. .

 

I haven't been on the Zuiderdam but the colors in the pictures do look awful. I hear they toned it down on the future ships. On the Oosterdam, the first couple of days I was like "why the heck did they choose this color" but by the end of the week, I got used to it but again, I hear the Oosterdam was toned down from the colors on the Zuiderdam.

[Sunsailor]

We sailed on both the Zuiderdam and her sister ship, the Noordam and both were good experiences. The cabins are larger than Princess, the buffet better (made to order poached eggs at breakfast), the service good and the ships are a comfortable size.

That said, we much prefer Princess because we have more fun. The other passengers are more outgoing and the whole experience is better on Princess. If you are sailing with friends or a family group that won't matter as much and HAL presents a good product. If it's just the two of you...stick to Princess.

[Cruise Junky]

We sailed on both the Zuiderdam and her sister ship, the Noordam and both were good experiences. The cabins are larger than Princess, the buffet better (made to order poached eggs at breakfast)

 

Were the eggs at the lido or the dining room? someone in front of me in the line asked for poached eggs and was told they didn't have any. I know you could go to the omelet station and get a fried egg, but I didn't see any poached.

[Christapie]

We just got off the Zuiderdam this morning. Weren't impressed. Walking down the stateroom hallways she truly reminded me of a Motel 6. Horrible, horrible wall colours and the colours of the doors :eek: . There were so many things that HAL did right, the crows nest, the friendly staff, the Pinnacle Grill, but we had so many problems; no hot water, 3 days to fix the safe, they were serving pollock and passing it off as Dungeness and King Crab, no 24 hour buffet, the food in the dining room was just blah and not really that good. Really hated the layout of the buffet, always long lines, breakfast items never changed. Only unsalted butter for the first 5 days, ketchup was like panning for gold, just not there. We loved Alaska and had a great time inspite of the Zuiderdam which was a shame.

 

Wow! I am sorry that you didn't like the ship! I have still not booked as of today. Where were they serving the pollock? Did you like the evening dinners? Did you enjoy the pools and hot tubs? Thank you for all of your observations.

 

Christapie

[Cruise Junky]

Wow! I am sorry that you didn't like the ship! I have still not booked as of today. Where were they serving the pollock? Did you like the evening dinners? Did you enjoy the pools and hot tubs? Thank you for all of your observations.

 

Christapie

 

The pollock was served in the main dining room in both an Appetizer that was supposed to be dungeness crab in pastry and was served as an entree...Alaskan King Crab Cobb Salad. I ordered the appetizer version and another lady at our table ordered the salad, both containing the fake crab.

 

Evening dinners were ok, some better than others, my husband had a really bad chicken salad in the main dining room. One guy at the next table was having a fit with the maitre d' over his steak, not sure what was wrong with it. My husbands Surf and Turf showed up without the Turf and he waited for it about 10 minutes. I just found the food to be ok, not very flavourful and a bit bland. Hot tubs and pools were good, but keep in mind, we were in Alaska, not exactly aft pool weather :)

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

We were on the same cruise as Cruisejunky and I have to echo her comments. We have sailed primarily Princess but wanted to try HAL because of all the good things we've heard. They were terribly disorganized, it took until 2:30 in the afternoon to gain access to our cabin. However, the cabin was very spacious with more storage than Princess and the balcony was also very nice.

 

The Lido was very confusing and congested - a couple of staff were friendly and helpful but most seemed too busy - altho they did always greet you with a smile. Interesting - I tried to get a corkscrew to have in the room and couldn't - in response to each phone call they sent a wine steward who told me they didn't have corkscrews for the cabin - so of course that's the first thing we bought:D. The room service menu is more extensive than Princess however they never got our order right once - either breakfast or dinner and we finally gave up and just went to the Lido. The food options there never changed and were basic at best.'

 

We did As You Wish Dining as we are used to Princess' personal choice and it was okay - we went early (by 6 at the latest) and didn't have trouble being seated, but when we came out the lineups were very long. On the last three nights the dining rooms were quite empty. Food was bland and uninspired and not the selection you usually get with Princess. The Pinnacle Grill was excellent and more the standard we are used to in regular dining with Princess.

 

I'm surprised to hear the Zuiderdam had a refit in 2008 - because on my comment card I noted it was due for one - if that's a refit, then they were hosed by the contractor.

 

The beds are very comfortable, but the temp controls are a little off - ie. you are cold or too warm, but you can't turn it off at night so the noise is there all the time. I heard a fellow at the main desk complaining about it, but there was nothing we can do. They sent a notice out about plugged toilets - ours was fine, but obviously someone had some issues.

 

Finally - there is more smoking allowed on HAL than on Princess which we were quite disappointed in - we avoided some areas of the ship because of the smoky smell and at the end of the cruise they sent out a survey to each passenger asking if we would still sail HAL if they disallowed smoking in the cabins and in public areas.

 

On the whole, the product is similar - there are some small things as I've noted that made me prefer Princess over HAL, but it may work the other way for others.

 

We have booked another HAL cruise because it is an itinerary that we really want but that Princess doesn't do. So, at the end of the day - if the itinerary is considered equal, I would do Princess every time. If HAL had an itnerary that I really wanted and Princess didn't have a comparable one, then I would do HAL - but I would do it knowing in advance what the issues are and just work around them.

 

Hope that helps and good luck with your decision.

 

YAYA

[Cruise Junky]

. Interesting - I tried to get a corkscrew to have in the room and couldn't - in response to each phone call they sent a wine steward who told me they didn't have corkscrews for the cabin - so of course that's the first thing we bought:D.

 

You should have knocked on my door, there was a corkscrew in our room. Interesting they can't get their stories straight!:(

[Coral]

We were on the same cruise as Cruisejunky and I have to echo her comments. We have sailed primarily Princess but wanted to try HAL because of all the good things we've heard. They were terribly disorganized, it took until 2:30 in the afternoon to gain access to our cabin.

 

Princess is one of the few lines that has the cabins available immediately at embarkation. Even the top lines such as Crystal does not make the cabins available until 1 or 2. When I sailed on HAL - the cabins were not available right away - they made an announcement when they were available.

[Christapie]

Thanks ya ya cruiser and coral. You know I wanted to try HAL because the price looked good and the itinerary on Jan 2 looked real good. I have always LOVED Princess and would be very down if HAL did not produce well. I certainly enjoy my food so that is a real issue for me when it comes to picking a new line to cruise. Oh wow! Now you all really have me confused.

 

Christapie

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

HI Christapie,

 

I'm sorry all we've done is muddy the waters for you. Cruising is a very subjective thing and what is one man's pleasure is another man's catastrophe.

 

There are some things HAL does well - like cabin size, beds and products such as their wine cards which are good value.

 

However I must say that the food is not as good as Princess IMHO and I prefer the Horizon Court to the Lido Buffet. But that's my personal perspective. You may feel differently. The one thing I did like about HAL is the fact that they serve ice cream in the Lido every day for no extra charge - but at the same it's only average ice cream - not the home made kind we can get at dinner on Princess.

 

At the end of the day, the only way you will truly know is by trying HAL. And, let's face it - whether it meets your expectations, falls a little short or exceeds them you're still on a cruise and while I did have some issues they paled in comparison to what we saw and did in Alaska - the port stops and scenery enroute more than made up for the things that rubbed me the wrong way. If you like the itinerary, and it sounds like you do - and you go knowing things will be a little different (and you pack a corkscrew if you like wine in your cabin:D) then I imagine you'll have a wonderful cruise regardless of whether it's HAL or Princess.

 

Hope that helps,

YaYa