Panama Canal was Definitely the Highlight

Item: Zuiderdam
Rating: 4.1
Author: rubyintheeast

Zuiderdam Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

rubyintheeast

Contributor Level: Cruise Director

83 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 105

Overall rating:

4.1 out of 5

Panama Canal Sunfarer

Sail date: December 27, 2017

Ship: Zuiderdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

The cruise was a nice getaway for the New Year. While the weather was not the sunniest, we were lucky most days to miss the rain. Panama and Costa Rica were huge disappointments - areas we visited were dirty and uninteresting. Columbia and Curacao on the other hand were charming. Fun times!

Embarkation

3 out of 5

The insane lines at the cruise terminal are never fun but the process was quick once I checked in.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Holland America is still the very best for food and drinks. However the baristas at the Exploration Cafe were SO SLOW! OMG! You could tell people were getting frustrated.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Very much improved! It is obvious that HAL is reaching out to the younger generations. It was great to hear music from the 80's, 90's and 2000's. The BB King Band is always a winner and having them play the New Year's Eve bash was a superb idea. The dual pianos in the piano bar was another winner idea. The MainStage performers were better -- still not great.

Children's Programs

No kids

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

For the first time I found the room stewards to be a tad sloppy. They would forget requests I made day after day. It was also odd to be in the Lido and it took longer than usual for servers to bring around the water, lemonade or iced tea. Not severe but not the usual level of service.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

I really liked the upgrades since my last sailing. Love the Exploration Cafe now. So much more seating is available. BB Kings has a lot more seating as well and is close to all the other entertainment. The Thermal Suite is amazing! The large flat screens in the rooms is such an improvement.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5