Fun, but disappointing for several reasons

Zuiderdam Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5
Verified Review
Zuiderdam

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

Sail date: November 17, 2022

Ship: Zuiderdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 5115

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Fun but I feel we were deceived by Holland America because they knew in advance that we were not going to stop in 2 of the Mexican ports, but did not tell us in advance, which would have been the honest, ethical thing to do.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
many of the same things on the menu each night

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
We used the fitness center, pools, ping pong tables, shuffel boards

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
Our bathtub did not drain, we complained about it on Day 2, but it was not fixed until day 10

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
our cabin was good and comfortable

Ship tip

Be very careful about standing near the rails on the outer deck cause many spots are rusty and if you put your foot on them they will break and you can cut your foot on them

Ports of call

San Diego, California

3 out of 5

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Did not visit port

Cruises have not been stopping at this port for for over 2 years due to safety issues, they knew LONG before departure we would not stop there, but they still kept it on the itinerary, which is clearly intentional deception. We should have received a discount for not making this stop and one other in Mexico

Huatulco, Mexico Did not visit port

Cruises have not been stopping at this port for for over 2 years due to safety issues, they knew LONG before departure we would not stop there, but they still kept it on the itinerary, which is clearly intentional deception. We should have received a discount for not making this stop and one other in Mexico

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

3 out of 5

Puerto Corinto, Nicaragua

3 out of 5

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

4 out of 5

Panama Canal Transit

4 out of 5

Cartagena, Colombia

4 out of 5

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Disembarkation went smoothly.
Was this review helpful? 29

5 Comments

jjbj    1 year ago

We just been to puerto vallarta so i dont understand why you say it is not safe On the koningsdam at the moment

javawoody    1 year ago

Don’t understand your statement about being deceived by HAL, because these ports have been open

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

mcraf98    1 year ago

We stopped in both of those ports on HAL in April of 2022.

4tanya    1 year ago

If you new the y had not stopped at these ports for two years seems YOU new a head of time you would not be stopping either …..

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