Just Back Zuiderdam 4/23 Part One

[apr68]

Just let me begin by saying that I have a beautiful home that I normally LOVE coming home to after vacations. However, I am near tears as I write this(no exageration)as I would much prefer to still be on the Zuiderdam. Myself, my DH two DD's (8&5), my parents, my sister, her DH and DS(6) had the time of our lives on this trip. I must also say to those who have repeatedly bashed this particular ship...WHAT"S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" Okay the decor is "interesting" in certain areas of the ship (Vista dining room, Lido pool area) but it certainly does not detract whatsoever from the cruise experience. Our cabins (7052,7054 and 7056) were GORGEOUS!! The beds lived up to their billing..they were too comfy for words. As we were in the SS category(hope that's right I get the S and SS confused) we had access to the Neptune Lounge which was nice for early morning risers and late afternoon snacks for the kids. We ate breakfast every morning at the Lido and mostly had lunch from there too. We loved the multitude of choices and the kids always found something they liked. (My older DD is a VERY VERY picky eater and even she found something) the Taco bar outside near the Lido pool was EXCELLENT!!! We loved the grill as well. Their burgers are great!!

We mostly sat at the Lido pool which is more kids conducive as the Aft pool is adult only from 3-5. There was an exception to this on the Sunset BBQ night because they had removed all the chairs from the Lido pool area to make way for the tables. On Thursday(2nd at sea day)there were ALOT of older (I'd say between 11-14) kids at the Lido pool and they were not supervised by the parents at all( I know that kids this age don't really need supervision so the speak) but they were WILD!!! Pushing in and generally playing in a very dangerous manner with many younger children around.

We had the 6:15 seating in the lower Vista. Again to those who really hacked away at the food,service and the "vibrations" I say "YOU ARE A BUNCH OF COMPLAINERS WHO CAN NOT BE PLEASED" The food was wonderful except for the last night when it was just okay. Our waiter Willy was wonderful and after the first night always had what we liked on the table when we got there(soda for the kids and matzoh for my brother in law who was observing Passover). He was attentive and friendly. Our beverage guy Walter was FABULOUS! He did magic tricks and made origami animals for the kids.

Most people do not realize(or care enough to ask) about how these guys live. They are away from their homes for 11months and go home only for 4 months. That is a very hard life! Our cabin steward Sam was EXCELLENT! Our room was always beatiful. We had a problem with our AC (it didn't work) for about three days at the beginning of the cruise. We were totally laid back about it and it was eventually fixed. Sam was very attentive, asking us if we'd like fan to help keep us cooled. It really wasn't too bad and a fam was not needed. More about the ports and Club HAL later...Laundry awaits

[FlorenceItaly]

Thank you so much for posting. We are sailing on the Zuiderdam in December, and I love reading as much as I can on her. I have sailed HAL before, but my dh and the couple we are traveling with have not. I am so wanting them to have a wonderful cruise.

 

Marie

[ImpulsivePuppy]

thanks for the report!

[cruznon]

apr68,

 

Thank you for your firts installment of your review of the Zuiderdam. I look forward to our trip in July. We really enjoyed our S suite experience on the Oosterdam in Feb--the Neptune Lounge such a nice perk! (This time it's an SS for us.)

I'm disappointed to hear that older kids were allowed to be so boisterious in the Lido pool. (That sounds like an experience I had on Carnival.) Surprizing that a HAL attendant didn't step in to stop the rowdy behavior.

[BLStokes23]

Wonderful, positive review! Thanks for taking the time to post your review. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

[paradisegal]

What a good report!!!!! I am sailing on the Zuid this month.......and I am sure I will have a POSITIVE experience as well!!!! Thanks for posting!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Was it just your cabin that had the air-conditioning problem?

 

Did they tell you exactly what was wrong with it?

[wannago30]

We were also on this sailing, and I have to agree with you this ship was awesome. I am a first timer on Hal and I must confess I am hooked!!!!

[doone]

I am glad you enjoyed the Zuiderdam. I sailed her in March and was very concerned after reading some posts that made me almost wonder why I booked her. But two minutes or less after boarding her, I found my concerns to be totally unfounded. We had cabin S5187, corner aft suite, INCREDIBLE.

[djludwig@prodigy.net]

Glad to see you had a great trip !! We were on the Zui from 4/16-4/23 and also had a wonderful time. Early in the ships career there appeared to be some "start up" problems. But our experience was pretty much like yours, a very nice boat, a wonderful crew and a great vacation experience !!

 

Welcome back to the real world !!

[FCOWHER]

Apr, I was also on the 4/23 cruise and I think you were at the dining room table right behind us at the 6:15 sitting seating we had Willy as our server also. Dw and I thought he was very good, just too many tables to care for. I think he told us he was responsible for 20 tables. We also loved this cruise. We also experienced some problems on our HMC excursion and it seemed in general that the sea lice problem caught the shore excursion folks a little off guard. Nothing that ruined our cruise or even the day, just that the late cancellations caused some confusion. When we caught up with the shore excursion girl in the atrium some folks were blasting her, usuing profanity and demanding to know why they couldn't go on an excursion that had been planned for months. When we told her our issue, the butler never showed up for our cabana, she apologized, checked her sheet, and then walked us to the tender and radioed her manager on shore and once we were on HMC all was fine. Any hiccups that we experienced the crew did whatever it took to make sure we were satisfied and happy. Great customer service and great crew attitude aboard the Zuiderdam. All members of the crew had a great client first attitude. I think their attitudes reflect very well on James Deering and the hotel staff. Joe V.

[Sierrachik]

You would have been in the S category with the suites you had. We were in 7056 this past October. Great to hear you had a wonderful time, we loved the beds also. Tell you the truth, I'm thinking about selling the Select Comfort bed we bought just before our cruise and buying the HAL bedding....course dear Hubby doesn't know about this, LOL :)

 

We're scheduled to sail again this fall in an SS, I hope they have the same beds or will have it by then :)