not what we had hoped for

Item: Zuiderdam
Rating: 3.4
Author: scotiagirl

Zuiderdam Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

scotiagirl

Contributor Level: Cruise Director

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 319

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

Verified Review

14 Night Panama Canal Westbound (Ft. Lauderdale To San Diego)

Sail date: February 13, 2022

Ship: Zuiderdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 5178

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

We would not choose this cruise line again, the negatives for us did not go away and the positives were what we have know on other cruises lines. Holland is more expensive and the value added is just not there for us. I realize that it is personal choice and Holland has many loyal return cruisers, but we will not be one of them. Sadly for us we paired this cruise with a 34 Tahiti cruise on the same ship and we really wished we had not as we feel stuck here for the next month.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

routine

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

we came on board expecting great food it was not. Menu (suuposedly due to supply chain issues) did not change much daily but it was also not presented well. All in all a huge diference from other cruise lines

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

routine nothing extra special trivia, etc

Entertainment

5 out of 5

we did enjoy the 4 shows we went to in the main theater particularly the Jukebox Rogues

Children's Programs

no children

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Service was excellent but what we find on every cruise line we sail. Customers are the crew ' priority

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

very clean and the design is lovely, however on a daily basis we had an issue with our toilet not flushing

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

we were very pleased

Ship tip

Ihave no tips to offer, I will only say that we will not every sail on this ship or any other Holland Cruise, with so many other cruise lines to choose from, Holland is pricey and the food on this experience was so lacking, that we cannot think why we would want to come back. There was nothing exceptional about this trip that would be a selling point for us. In fact after more than25cruises this is the very that we had negative feelings about the cruise that never seemed to leave us.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

3 out of 5

Cartagena, Colombia

3 out of 5

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5

even though we've done the transit in the past seeing the canal work is always a treat

Thumbs Up 0

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

2 out of 5

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

2 out of 5

Huatulco, Mexico

3 out of 5

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

3 out of 5

San Diego, California

2 out of 5

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

about the same as every line to get off a ship

6 Comments

PDXrae 2 years ago

Wow, really sorry you didn't get what you expected. I am sure there is another cruise line more suited to your taste out there somewhere. We've sailed 9 times with Holland America and have never had anything but exceptional service, wonderful food, and an overall amazing trip. We are sailing soon on the new Rotterdam for a 21-day cruise and can't imagine going with anyone else.

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wl1962 2 years ago

We did koningsdam last month and we’re very disappointed as well. HAL is supposed to be better. It wasn’t. I don’t want to hear COVID one supply issues, did you refund me when you could not give what I paid for? Stop making excuses for business that don’t give what they promise. They don’t say on their website mediocre food. They say gourmet.. it is not even close

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blackholesun 2 years ago

Great review

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RetiredRay 2 years ago

May you have a better match elsewhere.

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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javawoody 2 years ago

Thanks for the review

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Holland America is worth the trip!