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Great cruise with some not so good ports

Zuiderdam Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 109

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5
Verified Review
Zuiderdam

73 Night Grand Africa Voyage (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 10, 2023

Ship: Zuiderdam

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 8042

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 10 months ago

Review summary

Overall great cruise. Boat is old with many leaks but we had not issues and it was very pleasant experience. Staff could not have been better. Even the Captain was very friendly and informative. Africa is a very difficult place to maneuver even the Cruiseline had a lot of problems with ports, government staff and shuttles. Africa is what I call an appreciation cruise. You learn to appreciate where you live compared to this continent that seems to be so engrossed in corruption and poverty that seems unable to escape it. It can be a very sad experience.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
fast

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
food was excellent even in the lido.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
painting, origami, pickleball, ping pong, country talks and others. Good variety and excellent speakers for the most part.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Rolling stones lounge was excellent, the billboard singers were not good. Sleepy music at the Ocean lounge. The shows were weak at times.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff was outstanding

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
always clean

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
plenty of storage space in suites

Ship tip

small ship, the store was very small and not well equipped.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Funchal, Madeira

5 out of 5
not much to do but plenty of shopping
Thumbs Up

Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

5 out of 5
nice island
Thumbs Up

Agadir, Morocco

3 out of 5
Very dirty town. Lots of trash everywhere, but plenty to see
Thumbs Up

Casablanca, Morocco

5 out of 5
Lots to see and great tour
Thumbs Up

La Goulette (Tunis & Carthage), Tunisia Did not visit port

was sick and did not get off in the port.
Thumbs Up

Souda (Chania), Crete

5 out of 5
Good port and shopping
Thumbs Up

Limassol, Cyprus

5 out of 5
Good port with plenty of shopping
Thumbs Up

Suez Canal Transit

5 out of 5
nice trip down the canal, interesting things to see
Thumbs Up

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

5 out of 5
Valley of the kings was 3.5 hours away but fascinating.
Thumbs Up

Aqaba (Petra), Jordan Did not visit port

skipped because of war
Thumbs Up

Safaga (Luxor), Egypt Did not visit port

did not see because of war
Thumbs Up

Cross The Equator

3 out of 5
not much there but water
Thumbs Up

Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles

4 out of 5
nice little island that is super expensive. The most expensive Piña Colada ever.
Thumbs Up

Zanzibar, Tanzania

5 out of 5
Dirty town but great history and shopping
Thumbs Up

MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE

1 out of 5
Horrible port, nothing but poverty and dirt.
Thumbs Up

ANDOANY (HELL-VILLE), NOSY-BE, MADAGASCAR

1 out of 5
Horrible port, nothing to see but poverty and dirt.
Thumbs Up

Maputo, Mozambique

4 out of 5
Nice port great craft market
Thumbs Up

Durban, South Africa

4 out of 5
Many place to see but apparently very dangerous town.
Thumbs Up

Cape Town, South Africa

5 out of 5
Awesome town with lots to do and see. Great tour.
Thumbs Up

Luderitz, Namibia

2 out of 5

Walvis Bay, Namibia

4 out of 5
Small but nice town especially Swops town.
Thumbs Up

Luanda, Angola

1 out of 5
Skip this if you can. No taxis, not much there.
Thumbs Up

Takoradi, Ghana

1 out of 5
Run if you can, terrible port. Nothing but poverty and trash. I think it was here that they tried to bribe the Cruiseline into paying money for a favorable inspection.
Thumbs Up

Abidjan, (Ivory Coast) Cote D'Ivoire

1 out of 5
Horrible port. Dirt and poverty. Big problem with shuttles here.
Thumbs Up

Banjul, Gambia Did not visit port

They charge Americans visa fees unlike other nationalities. Many of us refused to get off. Was told by others it was nasty.
Thumbs Up

Dakar, Senegal

3 out of 5
Descent port but not much to see.
Thumbs Up

Mindelo, Cape Verde Island

2 out of 5
Nice island but expansivo.
Thumbs Up

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
PR is an awesome place with awesome food, sights and shopping. Always great to visit.
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
fast
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5 Comments

Ladyjunecliff     8 months ago

Thanks for all the info
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WorldCrusinJW     10 months ago

Thanks for the review
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wkran71     10 months ago

Interesting itinerary. Thanks for sharing.
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cruising2004     10 months ago

Thank you for your review.
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Gwbigdog     10 months ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us
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