Zuiderdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The cruise, the personnel, and the food were once again up to the high standard that Holland American has set for itself and has always maintained as far as my wife and I have experienced in our 4-star status.

The only negative experience was the dance band, the HalCats, that was chosen for before and after dinner.  As a jazz and background band in a lounge for drinking and talking, they would have been more appropriately placed.  As a dance band, they failed miserably.

When all goes well, when nothing negative comes to mind, when friends are made, when food is abundant, when skies are blue and when all is good in my world, I can only say  "Thank  You"  for a lovely respite from my usual and ordinary daily life.  It was a worthwhile trip and I am very 

glad that I decided to take it.

Holland America Line is the tops in the cruise industry. This trip on the Zuiderdam was no exception. We enjoyed a beautiful suite on the 6th level (Upper Verandah Deck) and had mostly very positive comments during the 10 day cruise to the Panama Canal. The food, as usual, was the best. We had meals mainly in the first floor of the dining room using the Open Seating meal plan. Met many very enjoyable travellers, and had exceptional service. We also had a few meals in our stateroom, especially breakfast. Eating breakfast on our verandah, early in the morning watching the ocean go by, is a great way to start your day.

We also took four excursions during the cruise, all ports except Costa Rica which we had visited previously. All excursions were well managed and we had only positive comments about them all. We especially enjoyed the jet ski (personal watercraft) experience on the island of Half Moon Cay. We're in our mid to upper 60's and throughly enjoyed this experience.  Obviously, the Panama Canal experience was exceptional, including the Ferry excursion we took to complete the transit through Gatun Lake and into the Pacific Ocean.

My wife and I have cruised on most of the Holland America ships. While the Zuiderdam is a beautiful ship, the only negative we had was that the Zuiderdam is starting to show its age and is in need of updating. Nothing major, but you notice the rust around the ship, as well as the wear and tare on the dining room furniture. In past cruises, we always noticed the maintenance crew painting parts of the ship on a daily basis. On this cruise, not once did we see any maintenance personnel painting or updating anything. This is just a minor observation, but it's time to get the ship into dry dock for a major overhaul.

Overall, we had a great cruise with Holland America

Food was not as good as other cruses even holland American cruses.The ship is showing it's age and need to be upgraded.The prices of the watches were over priced after I got home I fiund the exact same watch for $35 cheaper which really disappointed me.The show for the most part were good. The music that we heard was mostly jazz and not enough of the kind of music most people of the age of that cruise enjoy, although we did very much enjoy the piano and violin mucic.

Holland is my favorite cruise line, they are the best all around ... clean, customer oriented, goodfood, wonderful Crow's Nest, fabulous library, commraderie with fellow passengers

The Zuiderdam i getting a lilltle tired and semms to lack a good maintenance program but the crew is wonderful  and the food above average. The iterenary

is very good.

The food was excellent.  The crew was the nicest I have ever experienced.  The only negatives were the life boat drill and the ships electrical system.  Many passengers did not have any air in their staterooms for the first 4 days.   The power gave out before a show which had to be cancelled.  The life boat drill was awful.  Serveral people passed out.  I can see having passengers report to the boat, but have the vest demonstration somewhere else!

For some different sights that come with a cooler climate cruise than brour hot temperatures here on the USA east coast in August and our prior cruises in the Carribeancarribran, this cruise gave us a new and amazing experience. We so enjoyed seeing the continuous moutain rande view from our balcony. The moutsins that reached beyond the clouds down into the ocean were particularly breath taking as was Gacier Bay.

The staff and crew are one of the best I've encountered cruising. Very good diversity in food selection and presentation. The ports and engress and egress to these ports was great and very organized. The reason for a 4 star rating and not a 5 is because of the need to improve communications with guest. What I mean by this is as follows. Information of the ports for, a map of the area were not available until you were going ashore. A weather forcast for the day would have been nice and also the currency and conversion rate for each port . This information could be included in the daily sheet that was passed out the each evening. I had a problem with the safe in the room not locking and it took 3 days and numerous calls to have this corrected. There was a overcharge on the bill of $56 that was never corrected and even after filling out a form to remove the daily service charge of $23 so that I could tip directly was never removed. Even after going to the desk the evening before returning to port and being assured it would be. Why have a form to remove this option if it is not going to be done? If I decide to cruise with Holland America again I will do so with these shortcomings in mind.

Excellent experience with HAL. The service aboard was outstanding. we have been on many cruises with other lines but HAL is a cut above the others. We will definitely sail with HAL again.

Had a great time. Each couple had a deluxe veranda room, spacious, extremely clean and fresh. Large veranda where we could eat outside if we chose. Room service prompt and food delicious. Stewards were excellent. Even had laundry and concierge services. No language problem. Least liked was Puerto Limon, no excursion but choose to walk into town by ourselves. Mistake. Returned to the ship as we did not feel safe. Panama Canal experience was superb. Highly recommended! Enjoyed Island Magic Steel Drums, they were great! Enjoyed meeting people of all ages on this cruise. Holland America is not a party ship (thank you) but there are plenty of things to do or not. Ready to go again on another cruise! We like the intimacy of the smaller ship and not the mega ships that we have been on before.

This is the second time I've cruised with Holland and was not disappointed. The crew and service is exceptional. Our verhandah room was very nice but small due to limited availablity for 3 persons total and one of us with a wheelchair, etc.

It is our 7th cruise (second with HAL) and we highly liked it. Food was good, ship clean and the crew was smiling and happy to work. They were like friends to us. They really made the difference with others. Rating: 1st out of 7. We are planning another cruise within the next 8 months and it shall be with HAL. Denis

The ship was fine. The food was excellent. The service was fantastic. The only problem was most (like 95%) of the passengers were 70 or older. At 10:30 the place turned into a ghost ship. All food other than room service is shut down. The only thing open is the casino. After 11 days it was long and I was glad to be home. One problem was even with the older clientele was the saving/hording of deck chairs. They put their stuff on them then go to lunch or whatever for a couple hours.....not cool. Wouldn't have expected that from the older generation. The trip was quite enjoyable. There needs to be a happy medium ship for people aged 35 to 55. i was travelling with my spouse. The next option doesn't give you that choice

I was not pleased with the cruise for several reasons. The crew was poorly trained. They were very pleasant and willing; however, they did not really know what to do or when to do it. They also did not know enough English to just get by. I know you will call me a spoiled American but listen up HAL ceo: Americans pay they majority of your salary. Crew unpreparedness is definitely a fault of management. The food selections were limited, more inexpensive cuts of meat than expensive ones, and quite a few dishes were somewhat more salty than they should have been. Salt hides many sins when it comes to food. Again, crew cooks what management gives them. When I put on a sweater everyone else in the room is putting on their coats and mittens. Heat helps to cover up the smell of dry rot but we were in warm climes so I guess you have to ramp up the cold air. I was cold in some of your public spaces. Luckily we were one of the few that could still control their room temperature. Quite a few people were not that lucky. Tours were ok but on the expensive side for what we got and were set up so they left little port time. The shows were ok - nothing outstanding. Maybe it's a sign of the times and this is the "new normal" where the ceo is teaching the peons to start getting used to the "haves" and the "have nots." Also, for your reading pleasure mr. ceo go to the newspaper we got on board I believe on March 4 where the Swiss people voted to curtail ceo pay and impose fines and jailtimes on ceos who ran a business into the ground. This cruise makes me think of a business headed for the ground.

Captain was very approachable and visable around the ship. Cruise Director Dave was excellent. Enjoyed all the evening shows, especially the Island Magic Steel Band. Evening meals were delicious. Enjoyed all the excusions we took. Two from the ship in Colon and Limon and one on our own in Curacao, and took a local bus in Aruba to a beach. Tablemates were superb. All seminars attended were thoroughly enjoyed. The last program with the crew was the best ever of all 9 cruises that we attended. Very entertaining.

My over all experience is wonderfull. We enjoyed 10 day cruise. Aruba, Curacao and Costa Rica were nice ports. We did not enjoyed really at Half Moon Cay because we have seen better Islands in Fiji. Customer service, food, entertiment and all activities in the cruise really good.

If you have cruised before you may be disappointed with this supplier. The ship had just come out of drydock and had about 80 percent new staff. Water dripped from many places, even while standing in the food lineups, lots of washrooms were not working, etc. The food looked awesome but had very little taste or seasonng, the lineups for seating were ridiculous with lots of empty tables, no food or coffee available after 9 pm except room service. Bar staff in most areas had no interest in serving guests.

We seldom complain but feel this is necessary and hope our experience helps someone else. After cruising many other times we had heard a lot about Holland America so we decided to give it a try. Never again. Ship was late coming in from drydock and when we finally got to our stateroom, it was filthy along with the rest of the ship. Our balcony couldn't be walked on for the dirt. Asked twice for it to be cleaned and never saw a difference even tho we were told it had been done. There are so many problems that I will itemize our complaints: 1. Ship and stateroom filthy' 2. Food below average 3. Service way below average w/rude employees 4. Most men spoke no English 5, Trash not removed a few days 6.

What impressed us the most: The captain. He was very friendly and down to earth. It was quite apparent that the crew respected and like him. He was the first ship captain we have met that wasn't a stuffed shirt. We would certainly take another cruise on the Zuiderdam because of the captain.