Great cruise with some not so good ports

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

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 87

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: 5 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.

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

Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

5 out of 5
nice island

Agadir, Morocco

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

Casablanca, Morocco

5 out of 5
Lots to see and great tour

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

was sick and did not get off in the port.

Souda (Chania), Crete

5 out of 5
Good port and shopping

Limassol, Cyprus

5 out of 5
Good port with plenty of shopping

Suez Canal Transit

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

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

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

Aqaba (Petra), Jordan Did not visit port

skipped because of war

Safaga (Luxor), Egypt Did not visit port

did not see because of war

Cross The Equator

3 out of 5
not much there but water

Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles

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

Zanzibar, Tanzania

5 out of 5
Dirty town but great history and shopping

MAMOUDZOU, MAYOTTE

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

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

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

Maputo, Mozambique

4 out of 5
Nice port great craft market

Durban, South Africa

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

Cape Town, South Africa

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

Luderitz, Namibia

2 out of 5

Walvis Bay, Namibia

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

Luanda, Angola

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

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.

Abidjan, (Ivory Coast) Cote D'Ivoire

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

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.

Dakar, Senegal

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

Mindelo, Cape Verde Island

2 out of 5
Nice island but expansivo.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

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

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
fast
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