Zuiderdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Overall the cruise was FanDAMtastic! It was very gratifying to extra attention being paid to keep the command areas free from germs. This gave my wife and I as well as other we met passengers onboard the feeling the Holland America was doing their part to reduce the chance of onboard illness. The food and service was outstanding. We especially liked the fact that we were not assigned to a fixed time, location and table for meals, dinning with different passenger made meal time that more interesting. The 11 days went by so quickly that we will most definitely take this cruise again. The only problem we encountered was the loss of my wife cosmetic case. Hopefully it will be located and returned to us soon.

We had never taken a cruise so we didn't know what to expect. We were so amazed at everything. Everything was very organized and we were informed as to what we needed to do each step of the way. The staff was excellent. They were always happy and always very willing to help. The food was excellent. We didn't really pack for the dress attire. It was very fancy which we didn't realize it would be that dressed up. We were fine though as we at on the Lido deck and the food was excellent. Many choices. The excursions we took were planned perfectly, were reasonable and we enjoyed all of them. We couldn't have asked for a better time.

Entire ship staff was professional, polite, helpfull which made our trip a pleasure. Entertainment was better than expected and performances were very good - or exceptional.

great cruise, great ship

This was a wonderful trip.

The Zuiderdam needs to be completely refurbished as it is "tired". There was no WOW factor as with other ships. The Lido pool area was disgusting and depressing. The deck chairs on the top deck looked as though they were left over from the Titanic. There always seemed to be maintenance issues throughout the ship. In general the food was okay. The Lido buffet had a nice variety but seemed disorganized and the tables were not always cleaned and set up. The anytime dining was anything but anytime. We did eat at the Pinnacle several times and it was wonderful. I did have a facial at the Greenhouse Spa which was very nice until the tech started pushing the products. I understand this is expected but she was relentless and I felt as though I was being held hostage. It was most uncomfortable. Most of the staff and crew were very helpful especially the cabin stewards and the bartenders. I think that the dining crew is understaffed. The ports were okay. Of course, the Canal experience was great. In summary, with so many cruise choices out there, I would not recommend HAL.

AFTER WAITING OVER 2 HOURS TO BOARD WE WERE ANTICIPATING A WONDERFUL CRUISE,. We enjoyed the ports of call, but found the ship very borring on sailing days. the food was ok and the waiters very accomadating.and the entertainment was excellent. But, We were without hot water for four days, the engines quit on the first night out, there was a fired in the incinerator and lights failed during the show. We are not sure that we will be sailing again soon with Holland America.

It seemed like the ship was not ready for service after spending time in dry dock. People pay good money to have clean staterooms and verandas. The ship experienced power failures 3 times, once at sea, once at dinner, and once during a show. The water system had serious problems; some people had no hot water and others had only hot water.There were long waits for open seating dining and entrees. It seems like there have been too many cutbacks and they were understaffed in the dining rooms. It was not as pleasant an experience as we have had in the past with HAL.

Ship accommodations were nice. We were most impressed with the friendliness of the ship staff. Everyone worked hard to make this a most pleasant experience. We especially enjoyed the spa package we purchased that allowed our whole family access anytime to the thermal suite the entire week.

First I must mention that for the third time in my extensive cruise history, I booked passage on a cruise ship that was sailing it's last time before being drydocked. I wish that I had been told this before I booked this very expensive cruise. Why? Well, on the Norwegian Dawn I found that the people that booked the verandah suite next to me paid less than half of what I paid for, the staff on the ship was sparse to say the least, and it was obvious that the cruise line was milking the most it could before the ship was refurbished. The second time, it was on a Royal Carribean ship that had been sold to France and was making its last cruise before being handed over. That was quite evident in the fact that trash recepticles were overflowing, coffee was absolutely unheard of on the ship, and as for service, well it was miserable, to say the least. Our two-family suite was on the top living deck, right under the buffet. All night long we were subjected to a thundering noise, causing me to run to the window to see if we were in the midst of a storm. I found out that it was the kitchen staff rumbling carts of dishes over a joint in the ship, right over our room. The air vents in the bathroom did not work, so we were subjected to a sewer smell the entire cruise, and the shower did not drain, so we ended up wading in water every time someone showered. This time, because my husband had been stationed in Panama some years ago, I was very interested to see it. We paid premium for our verandah suite, but still the bottom bedsheet was small, not fitted, and therefore halfway through the night I found myself sleeping on a bare mattress (yuck!). The service was impeccable, the waitstaff were overworked, and I found an absolutely inexcusable (although they made a comic attempt at a serious response) noises near our suite. Every night I would hear a banging, as if a steel door slammed against the wall near my door. I actually recorded the noise and went to the front desk to complain. I was told to come back a day later if I heard it again. I did. I called and they sent someone to our deck (I was on deck six, in suite 6115), and the poor girl jumped out of her skin when she heard it, saying "oh, that can't be good". She went to investigate. Later that evening I was called to be told that the noise was "flexing of the ship" due to high seas. SERIOUSLY? This is my seventh cruise, and you tell me that the ship flexes so much it causes someone who works on the ship to say "Oh, that can't be good?" I laughed when they offered me earplugs. Yup. Earplugs. Thanks to Holland America, we have decided to fly to the Grand Canyon next year instead of cruising with them. Avoid them.

This was my very first cruise. Definitely an older crowd and I was youngest at 45. As we were first boarding and making our way down hall to our room the staff already knew our names. Very impressed.

We were pleased.

Had a marvelous cruise to Panama Canal. The service, food, creature comforts & ship itself was absolutely fantastic. I should have booked through a travel agent instead of through HAL, and I am a Mariner with more than 10 HAL cruises -- not great service here. I should have known better. Not much help from the company.

My husband and I live a high-speed work and travel life. We needed a place to disconnect and recharge The Zuiderdam provided this perfectly. We absolutely loved this cruise. Going through the Panama Canal lock system was an unexpected highlight. White-water rafting excursion and Aruba sunset cruise were our top highlights for excursions. The food and service was wonderful. No matter the age, gender, or physical condition of the guests, everyone was treated with respect and as a V.I.P. It's hard to come home!

Couldn't ask for more...Easy boarding, great luggage service, supper cabin staff and a wide variaty of activities. Only problem was getting a seat in the theater to see a movie... Seniors arrive very early and save many seats.

The crew was top notch, best of any cruise I have been on. Ship was clean and food was great.

p Holland America has exceptional service. The Indonesians and Phillipinos working there are happy and friendly. Our cruise went to the western Caribbean,Aruba,Bonnaire,Curacao and then Panama Canal Gatun Lake,Colon Panama and Port Limon Cost Rico. The tours were very good. We went through all the locks for the Canal experience and enjoyed it ,but expect a long bus ride to and from the ship. Food is excellent. The entertainment was very good and the dancers and singers were excellent. ALl in all we enjoyed a wonderful 11 days. The Neptune lounge for the suite people was an enjoyable lace to goo meet other suite peopple,have coffee,tea and some light food or just relax and read.

Ship was clean, staff was friendly, stateroom was comfortable.

Enjoyed this relaxing quiet cruise very much. If you want peace and quiet choose HAL. Entertainment isnt that good though so if thats your thing or lots of kids and waterslides are your thing reconsider them strongly. If good food, slower crowd and relaxation are your thing for a holiday pick HAL.

I really enjoyed our cruise, however, as this was our first cruise perhaps this section will be more of a review on cruising in general. For us, it was the perfect balance between the strengths of an all-inclusive (meals prepared for you, same bed every night, all you need to concern yourself with is relaxing, etc.) and independent travel when in port (you are often in port for long enough to strike off and explore the island using public transit, taxi, on foot, etc.). The staff were amazing. The passengers sometimes less so. As it was our first cruise, we weren't really used to people being so possessive about something so valueless as a place in line - we're on vacation, why hurry? There was always plenty of everything available at a given time - entertainment, space, food, etc.