Can't pull the trigger

[NelleS]

DH & I (well, 99% me) have been looking at the Zuiderdam partial Canal cruise. I've priced, booked, and cancelled at least one time. Right now, I have a temp hold on cabin 6052 (SZ), but...

 

The reviews are all over the place!

 

My only other HA cruise was on the Eurodam in Nov 2009, when she waas a new ship. I know I cannot expect a 10 years old ship to measure up, but I am such a freakin' princess!:rolleyes:

 

DH is leaving it all up to me, so, please, if you want, help me make a decision.

 

Ellen

[Roz]

What specifically concerns you?

 

Roz

[kazu]

DH & I (well, 99% me) have been looking at the Zuiderdam partial Canal cruise. I've priced, booked, and cancelled at least one time. Right now, I have a temp hold on cabin 6052 (SZ), but...

 

The reviews are all over the place!

 

My only other HA cruise was on the Eurodam in Nov 2009, when she waas a new ship. I know I cannot expect a 10 years old ship to measure up, but I am such a freakin' princess!:rolleyes:

 

DH is leaving it all up to me, so, please, if you want, help me make a decision.

 

Ellen

 

Ellen, you have to take all reviews with a grain of salt ;) Some people are never happy (I wonder why they even take a vacation:p),

 

We did this cruise last year and it was one of my nicer ones. The Zuiderdam was fine. (yes, she's an older ship, but she certainly wasn't falling apart)

 

Food was excellent and service and this was a great itinerary. I can only tell you our personal experience (there were six of us). We had a fantastic time.

 

I'd go again on this itinerary or this ship in a hearbeat:)

 

hope this helps a bit

[Sea42]

I think you're going to be able to find negative reviews for any ship you sail. What I try to do when going over reviews is see if certain items keep being brought up in review after review and then decide if those issues would matter to me. For example, I read quite often about bad coffee and hard beds. I never drink coffee so I don't care. I love a firm mattress so that's another one I can disregard. Peoples opinion on food vary so greatly that those too I disregard and know I'll have to judge for myself. The condition of the ship has been talked about quite a bit recently. While I personally don't want to see a ship in disrepair it would not stop me from sailing on it or having a great time. But I think I would be more prone to notice it after reading some of the negative reviews.

You describe yourself as a princess:D. Absolutely nothing wrong with that! If you know you're going to be disappointed if the little things are not tended to then I would say look for a newer or more recently refurbished ship.

I hope you have a great cruise no matter what you decide!

[NelleS]

Yesterday, when I booked, I was all excited about the cabin. Saw some pictures here, and it looks great. My concern is the condition of the ship - one review made it sound like she is ready for the scrap heap. Other reviews that concerned me was the dining, specically the Lido.

 

One thing I wll have to take care of, if we finalize the reservation, is the dining option. I mistakenly thought main dining was the earlier time. So I would switch to as-you-wish.

[Boatdrill]

Why are your considering that cruise ? The ship, or the itinerary, or both ?

 

The Canal is best done in its entirety, from one end to the other. If you're not into experiencing its history and engineering accomplishments, then the u-turn itinerary is fine and will give you some idea of what the canal is like.

 

That leaves the ship. As a 2002 ship, it's certainly not old, and many find it preferable to the newer, glitzier models. The Z is a big ship though, with lot's of people. When you book a cruise, you "book" your fellow passengers too.

 

Choose something smaller (example: Statendam ) that transits the canal, and you'll have a completely different experience.

 

Picture what kind of cruise experience you want, and go from there.

[Roz]

If the Zuiderdam is ready for the scrap heap, what about the ships like Maasdam, Veendam, Ryndam, and Statendam? They're all in fine sailing condition.

 

Roz

[NelleS]

Thank you, Roz & Boatdrill, for your responses.

 

Boatdrill, we picked the ship because of its itinerary. A partial transit works because we wouldn't have to fly. FLL is only a 4 hour trip from our home. The passengers also "work" because DH & I are in HAL's usual demographic.

 

Thanks again,

Ellen

[jtl513]

My concern is the condition of the ship - one review made it sound like she is ready for the scrap heap.

I've read reviews of cruises that I was on where I thought the reviewer was on a different ship, with the nit-picking that was done. I have to admit that the Zuiderdam is my least favorite ship because we were on it just before a much-needed dry dock, but if the itinerary and price suited me I would definitely sail her again.

[Randyk47]

Yesterday, when I booked, I was all excited about the cabin. Saw some pictures here, and it looks great. My concern is the condition of the ship - one review made it sound like she is ready for the scrap heap. Other reviews that concerned me was the dining, specically the Lido.

 

One thing I wll have to take care of, if we finalize the reservation, is the dining option. I mistakenly thought main dining was the earlier time. So I would switch to as-you-wish.

 

While we've never been on Zuiderdam I'd find it really hard to think she's ready for the scrap heap. I've never seen a HAL ship in that condition and recently cruised on the Maasdam in March on her last cruise before dry dock. Sure, there were things that needed repair or replacing like a worn piece of carpet here or there or a chair that needed recovering but it was far from being trashed and a dump. If there were a consistent set of reviews from a lot of CC'ers that were negative then I'd be concerned but that doesn't appear to be the case.

[BumperII]

I know I cannot expect a 10 years old ship to measure up......

 

DH is leaving it all up to me, so, please, if you want, help me make a decision.

 

Ellen

 

To the first part of your quote, let me say this about that. Bullfeathers!! These ships are well broken in and proven performers. All the bugs you find in a newer ship have been found and corrected. These ships are in their prime, but like all things they must be maintained and they require tender loving care.

As to the second part of your quote: 'Tis a fate devoutly to be wished!' DW pretty well leaves it all up to me. That way if something goes wrong I have to accept responsibility. Fortunately, very few things have ever gone wrong on a HAL cruise. When things were off track, the HAL reps responded promptly and made it right. OK, they aren't perfect, but they are pretty good.

We have never been on a perfect cruise. We have been on a whole bunch of very enjoyable cruises and overall I would have to say the experiences were well worth the money.

The most important part of a cruise isn't the itenerary or the ship, it is the passengers. All any cruise line can do is provide the opportunity for us to have a good time. The rest is up to us.

When I am being served flaming shiskabobs and grown up beverages by a steward with long legs, soft warm curves, and hauntingly beautiful eyes, the smudges in the paint fade quickly into the background.:D

It is up to you to select your own point of view. Enjoy the cruise Bon Voyage

[RuthC]

When evaluating reviews, one thing I keep in mind is the source. Is the reviewer someone whose opinion I hold in high regard? When checking their posting history, are they usually a "Debbie Downer", or do they tend to be upbeat? A negative review from someone who is usually positive would say more to me than one from someone who tends to be a buzz-kill most of the time.

Likewise, an over-the-top positive review from someone who never sees anything wrong also would not hold much value with me.

[kjw869]

Ellen, We were on the Zuiderdam's partial Panama Canal cruise and disembarked in February of this year. For us, it was our finest of our seven HAL cruises. We saw none of the items some of the posters claimed, but we were not on to inspect the ship.

 

We had the best crew and food of any of our cruises. When we first embarked, we met the stewards and the Neptune Lounge staff. Each one mentioned that it is the "passengers favorite" based on their surveys. I know that may not be an accurate tool to measure their results (such as pressure to give all "nines"), but by the end of the trip, we enjoyed it as much as the Eurodam. Of course the only thing missing was the Tamarind, but the ports made up for this loss.

 

We liked the Zuiderdam so much as to book her for our third Alaska cruise in May of next year.

 

I take many reviews with a "grain of salt". Every HAL ship we've sailed on had a "bad" review, which we found wasn't true for us. But, then again, we don't board ships to find rust, missing or broken tiles, worn carpeting, etc. We board to have a great cruise, which HAL has provided each and every time.

 

I would rebook your cruise and find out for yourselves. If you haven't been to the Dutch Caribbean islands, Panama and Costa Rica, you are in for a wonderful trip!!

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Ken

[iancal]

We have never had a bad cruise on any cruise line. Having said that, food quality, service, and entertainment can vary greatly on the same ship between sailings. Just because a ship gets a particularly good review for food and entertainment does not mean that you will and vice versa. Personal taste come into the equation-as does crew and most particularly management.

 

About the only thing that turns us off are persistent bad reviews of a particular ship's engineering...plumbing, A/C, engine problems. A few complaints are OK but if they span an elongated time frame it is a strong indication to us that the cruise line is willing to offset some complaints against the cost of resolving the problem. We refuse to spend our money there. This does not happen with many ships or with many cruise lines but they are out there and you have to watch for them.

 

I think that you have to weed out both the frivolous complainers and the people who feel that their chosen cruise line is perfect and any issues are down to the passengers. Neither will provide you with any realistic balance.

[NelleS]

Thank you all for your comments & encouragement!

 

I've let the hold expire, but I've decided to call my TA tomorrow & see what is still available. The agency has soom pretty good perks right now, well, they start tomorrow, so time will tell.

 

Thanks again - you guys here are the best!

[1cruiselvr]

I don't know which sail date you were reserving but I have a booking on the Oct Zuiderdam partial transit. Final payment is due next week. So if you book Monday you will only have a few days before you will have to firmly commit if it's an Oct date. With that said, I was feeling a bit like you after booking and reading some of the reviews on CC of the Z. However, I have sailed HAL many times, different ships and have never not enjoyed my cruise. Probably the worst cruise I ever had was on Carnival. So I think if you decide to book, you won't be disappointed. I am taking a leap of faith because HAL is worth it. Happy Sailing!

[DFD1]

NelllieS. Of course you should book the cruise! We don't live in a perfect world, but the Zuiderdam is a fine ship and that's a good itinerary.

 

We've had so many new ships coming into the market in the last few years that some folks have decided that to be a good ship, it has to be brand new. Not So. Some of the best cruises we've ever taken were on ships which had been sailing for many years.

 

The crew is far more important in making a great cruise than the ship. IMO

 

Have a great time.

[Sophiebaby]

Re the Zuiderdam being an "old ship" at 10 years of age, I don't buy that. I sailed transatlantaic on the Maasdam in 1996 when she was a couple of years old, very new. I sailed her for 14 days last year when she was 16. I will be sailing her in October for 45 days. Why? Because of her size and the wonderful officers and crew. She's an "old friend" by now, and I don't dump old friends if they get old and creaky (which the Maasdam is NOT). There must be a reason why HAL passengers love the Prinsendam which is much, much older...perhaps 22 years old. The number of passengers who are "repeaters" on the Prinsendam boggles the mind. I'd rather be a "princess" on an older, happy ship, than just one of thousands on a behemoth like the Oasis or Allure of the Seas! JMHO.

[pizzalady1]

Where are you all seeing the partial transits? I have looked for Zuiderdam cruises for Panama Canal and only saw full transits or the "double" transits. Can you help me find it? Thanks.

[Jemima]

Where are you all seeing the partial transits? I have looked for Zuiderdam cruises for Panama Canal and only saw full transits or the "double" transits. Can you help me find it? Thanks.

 

The partials are often listed as Caribbean rather than Panama Canal.

[RuthC]

Where are you all seeing the partial transits? I have looked for Zuiderdam cruises for Panama Canal and only saw full transits or the "double" transits. Can you help me find it? Thanks.

 

The partials are often listed as Caribbean rather than Panama Canal.

To be more precise, look for Southern Caribbean.

[AZNative2000]

To be more precise, look for Southern Caribbean.

And, even more precise, look for the "Sunfarer".:)

 

We did this one in November and the ship, the itinerary and the Canal were all fabulous!

[SwissMyst]

I know I cannot expect a 10 years old ship to measure up, but I am such a freakin' princess!:rolleyes:

 

DH is leaving it all up to me, so, please, if you want, help me make a decision.

 

Ellen

 

I think you just answered your own question. Go on a Crystal Cruise instead. They take care of Princesses. HAL takes care of travelers. :o

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

You call your self a princess. When you are on board any HAl cruise you will be treated as a Queen. You will not want to get off the ship.

 

Mary

[Bippie]

Ellen - How well do you know yourself? If you're already stressing about a cruise on hold, are you the type of person who will start looking for every little flaw if you go on the cruise? Or are you the kind of person who sees the glass half full and knows how to have a good vacation even if you do find a few flaws. After all, I'm now older and have developed a few flaws but that doesn't change my worth. Same is true for some cruise ships - the cruise lines can't always sail with ships that were delivered in the past two years. If this is important to you, then you should definitely book a cruise on a newer ship. Otherwise you'll probably enjoy your partial-transit cruise. Just be honest with yourself before you make the decision.

 

Personally, I'm amazed at people who will give a hotel a one star review on Trip Advisor just because they find a hair on the bathroom floor. To me, that's no big deal but others apparently have a much higher set of expectations than I do. On Trip Advisor and on CC, I read a lot of reviews (both good and bad) and then try to put that information into perspective.

 

I do not want to throw the baby out with the bathwater - some of the negative reviews do provide practical advice. Sometimes they help me with the cabin location selection. Find the nuggets of truth, ask yourself how important those aspects of your vacation would be to you, and let that be your guidance. And most important is to be truthful with yourself. There is nothing wrong with wanting to cruise on only newer ships if that truly will enhance your vacation experience.

 

Good luck!