Zuiderdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This cruise was everything we were hoping it would be. From the cleanliness of the stateroom to the fabulous dining experience we enjoyed every minute of our cruise.

The staff on Holland America are the best - they could not be more accommodating.  The room service charge is a bit rich  as well as the drinks on board,  It is easy to run up another $1000.  

Holland does a superior job!!!    Great cruise, great ports, great staff, great food.Smaller ship made it easier to get around.    The ship needed refurbishing!But the staff made quick repairs and things worked most of the time!

very nice cruise . the guys that cleaned on room did a very good job very day .getting off the ship was very nice The Panama  Canal was a experica that was something you don't what to miss. I loved the Rainforest and the waterfall

Cruise was not up to par.  We have traveled with Holland America 5 times previously.  We have always had a good time.  This time our cabin was under the galley and we had non-stop noise.  Sometimes it was 18 hours a day and sometimes it was almost 24 hours.  Try sleeping with banging, wheels sliding across the floor, noise and more noise.  Ship did not have lecturers like they normally do and it just wasn't up to par.

We enjoyed the delicious Food, Great Entertainment and Friendly Professional Staff. Our Excursions were very organized and met all our expectations. Our Stewards Waylan and Ruben were very professional but more importantly very attentive.

We really enjoyed our Animals created by towels, so cute.

The dining room, room service staff and bartenders on the Zuiderdam were exceptional!!  They were professional, courteous, friendly and fun.  The food served on the ship was also exceptional.  Nicely prepared with good choices and great presentation. Going through the Panama Canal was interesting.  Curaçao was a beautiful island. We also enjoyed our in Costa Rica.  We were unable to stop at Half Moon Cay due to the weather so our compensation was 2 more hours in Aruba. Although we enjoyed an excursion in Costa Rica, we wee disappointed that there was only time for the excursion and no time allowed for shopping or exploring the port. So, the time we were ported there was not long enough. The entertainment on the ship was lacking. There were daily shows (offered twice)! But three of them were by Zuiderdam staff. The comedian show was completed filled by the time we got to the show after our assigned dinner time.  When we had sea days, the entertainment on the ship was trivia several times a day and bingo once.

The Canal was the high light of the cruise.  There were no disappointments. The cruise was uneventful as for the weather.  The seas were smooth.  The travel time at sea was something that couldn't be shortened but it was long with over 4 days at sea with no port calls.  The Canal was worth the trip.  The experience was good. Not wanting to put down Holland America but when you've had a perfect cruise as we did with Norwegian you tend to compare everything with them.  All my responses are rating as compared to Norwegian being a perfect 5 STAR.  The cruise was well worth the expense and as mentioned I'm not putting down Holland America.  They did a fine job.  The details were the difference.  The onboard shops were not ones we particular cared for.  There were days while at sea they sold souvenirs but the selections wasn't very good.  They could learn a great deal by checking with Norwegian for the little nice things that make for a more enjoyable journey.   

My reason for cruising the Panama Canal for the 6th time was to see and hopefully experience  the completed new locks.  We were not previously informed that due to the astronomical over-budget cost to complete the canal and the nearly 2-year delay, the Panamanians are charging triple the cost to pass through the new locks vs the old locks.  Needless to say, the new locks sit virtually unused, causing the usual delays and back-ups getting through the old locks.  Be prepared to be disappointed if you had hopes of viewing the completed and costly project.

cruise was ok

not terribly impressed with service

wait staff on decks for drinks was lacking

entertainment was only ok

dining rooms needed fancier dressing than we are accustom to

We chose this cruise to get warm in January as well as because it was a great buy. We were not disappointed!  In addition we thoroughly enjoyed our open seating dinners in the dining room daily. It was like going to a fancy restaurant with wide ranging food choices each evening. We also enjoyed meeting a wide variety of people--including immigrants from Shanghai, Greece and Jerusalem and people from Nebraska to Maine to Utah and on and on. 

VERY, VERY WINDY in the Caribbean this Year due to GLOBAL WARMING...many many people seasick and 1/2 passengers ended up with major head colds.  HAL Excursions were a HUGE Disappointment, double price of Independents at the ports, besides the tour guide(s)..(Cartagena) Unable to be Understood due to heavy accent!  Thus when Independent Tour Guides used MUCH BETTER RESULTS and Very Interesting Sights & History NOT Offered on HAL Tours!   High Class Pinnacle Restaurant on the Zuiderdam Big Disappointment for last night's Family Meal.  Sports Deck Equipment very used and worn out..shuffleboard court unplayable due to abrasive deck, ship's staff not helpful in remedy of sports...Entertainment selections @ 50% ..1/2 good, other 1/2 below average.

Great service, the best food that I have ever had on a cruise. This was my 11th cruise. The cabanas in the retreat area were fantastic. I felt completely spoiled in the cabanas. The pinnacle restaurant was wonderful. We went back another night because the food and service were so good. The entertainment on the ship was great. The mentalist, comedian, and zuiderdam dancers and singers very good. The shows were the best we have seen while on a cruise. I would recommend this ship because of the great food and service.

trip was fine, but food has gone downhill.  prime rib was tough.  (prime rib is NEVER tough)  all steaks thin and hard to cook rare.  food on lido deck  was

better than restaurant.  Loved the canal.

We would not choose Holland America Cruise Ships after this trip, although the staff was extremely excellent! We thought we had a on board credits for something but there were none.. they only had a $250 coupon book for services we don't use. We paid for everything and they did not have a beverage package, we paid for water in our room and the food was not that great and very disappointing.

 This cruise was fabulous, the cabin was clean and the space was well used.

 The waitstaff were responsive to anything we requested. 

In fact, we had so much fun at our table that the waiters you stand around our table because we laughed so hard, and often

 They were few things  which I would find needs improvement communication is one  of those there was a lot of miscommunication as far as what we would be doing and dressing for dinner.  The announcements we did not hear.  Food was great many choices. Drinks were well watered down 

i didn't mind.   

  Occasionally  we would encounter a passenger or a crewmember a little cranky however they were few and far between everybody was so polite and so happy on this cruise.  

The on-board activities were adequate, but we chose not to utilize them (the shows, gambling, etc).  Food was good, service in stateroom was outstanding.

We chose to use the on-board restaurant one evening.  The $35 per person extra fee seemed a bit excessive, but the food was truly outstanding, as was the service.  Highly recommend this restaurant!

After a hectic year, it was nice to once again travel on a "dam" ship.  The crew make it so that you don't even have to lift a finger.  The weather was perfect.  The ship, as always, was clean and the food was excellent.  I hesitate to recommend cabanas to you just because we don't want availability to run out for us!  Haha! 

I am definitely going to recommend this cruiseline and ship

The service is impeccable, food excellent, we didnt take excusions because we have already been to these places

The New Years Eve party was great

Very good entertainment

While an 18 day cruise might not be feasible for most, for those of us with the time available it was both enlightening and relaxing. The eastern Caribbean segment of the first week featured a variety of ports to include Puerto Rico, Grand Turk, and St Thomas in the U.S.V.I.  The cruise line's private island in the Bahamas, additionally, was a gem.  The latter eleven days featured a return stop in the Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Cartagena in Colombia, a partial transit of the Panama Canal, and a stop in Limon, Costa Rica.  The Panama Canal was the highlight, but all other destinations offered an enriching distinctiveness.  And Costa Rica never disappoints.  For us this mid-size ship with under 2,000 guests was the perfect size.  Holland America staff treated us ever so well and the food, entertainment, activities, and the independent shore excursions chosen provided the satisfaction one would anticipate.  This latter segment is probably best suited for adults.  Our rating, if possible, would be 4.5.  HA comes with our recommendation.  Don't expect Disney, but they don't purport to be.  HA does a great job of keeping you informed while on board with all the necessary and optional items on your radar. One negative, HA still permits smoking in limited areas but attempts to limit second hand smoke; they aren't always successful.  HA has no control of the weather, but our good fortune in this regard put this itinerary over the top!  If like us, you live in colder climates in winter, this cruise in late Dec and early Jan is just what your therapist would order.