Viking Passage Far More Fun Than We Expected

Zuiderdam Cruise Review to Transatlantic

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 57

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Zuiderdam

17 Night Viking Passage (Copenhagen To New York)

Sail date: August 21, 2016

Ship: Zuiderdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8032

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Bright, Crisp, Sunny Weather in Norway, Iceland, Greenland & St John's, NFLD, Canada, but bring your warm sweaters and rain coats just in case. Our daytime temperatures ranged from 50 F/ 10 C to 73 F/ 23 C with one quite cold & windy day on the north coast of Iceland. The day-long scenic transit of Greenland's Prins Christian Sund (Prince Christian Sound) was an unexpected & spectacular experience, viewing icebergs, glaciers and mountain peaks reminiscent of the spires of Gaudi's Cathedral in Barcelona. The onboard commentary of an Icelandic professor and the ship's Dutch Location Manager made the viewing from the ship's bow (forecastle or foc'sle in Navy terminology), the Crow's Nest (Deck 10), Observation Deck, Veranda Staterooms and even the Sea View Pool Deck (Deck 9 Aft) made this "Inside Passage" transit even more memorable. The Cruise Director, an English lady from Newcastle, made timely and informative announcements on the ship's PA system and at the evening's Vista Lounge entertainment sessions. Even the Lifeboat Drill before sailing was fast and efficient. The Crew was friendly, the food was fabulous and the ports of call were spectacular.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Located Port Side in the forward third of the ship, we got our exercise going to meals in the aft third of the ship. Very convenient to the Crow's Nest, Greenhouse Spa & Exercise Rooms and to the activities and entertainment in the Vista Lounge. Handicap access cabin had no toe-stubbers going into the bathroom. Port side Veranda had nice warm sun exposure on our generally westward transatlantic voyage.

Ship tip

Zuiderdam is one of four Vista-class Holland America ships built in the early 2000s with less than 2000 passengers, so the ship is comfortable, not jammed with 3,000 or more as do some other ships of the same size. We met lots of folks, Australians, Canadians sharing Lido table at Breakfast or Lunch

Ports of call

Copenhagen, Denmark

5 out of 5

Bergen, Norway

5 out of 5

Akureyri, Iceland

5 out of 5

Cruise Eyjafjordur, Iceland

5 out of 5

Isafjordur, Iceland

5 out of 5

Cruise Isafjardardjup

5 out of 5

Reykjavik, Iceland

5 out of 5

Cruise Prins Christian Sund, Greenland

5 out of 5

Qaqortoq, Greenland

5 out of 5

Nanortalik, Greenland

5 out of 5

St. John's, Newfoundland

5 out of 5

Halifax, Nova Scotia

1 out of 5
Halifax cancelled due to Hurricane Hermine

New York, New York

5 out of 5
Took GrayLine Hop-On Hop-Off and saw all of Manhattan, Harlem, part of Queens and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on the extra day in NYC.
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