Zuiderdam Panama Canal Sunfarer review published. Four stars, not five

[StartrainDD]

Our review of our recent (Jan 25 sailing) Zuiderdam Sunfarer cruise has been published. We did not experience any of the issues reported in recent reviews, yet we still found the overall cruise experience to be not up to what we have come to expect as HAL's "Standard of excellence."

 

Here's the link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=115180

I will try to check back to answer any questions.

[kazu]

very in depth review - thanks so much for taking the time to share:D Sounds like you had a good time overall:)

 

Too bad you were disappointed in your stateroom.

 

Thanks again and welcome home:)

[IRL_Joanie]

Very thoughtful and good review. Thank you.

 

Joanie

[metairiegal]

Great review. We sailed on the Zuiderdam to Aruba and Curacao in December 2012.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

Sorry about your cabin.

Overall it sounds like you had a great cruise.

We also enjoyed the group "Island Magic".

We have also stayed at the Embassy Suites Resort in Deerfield Beach -- it is really nice.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review of your cruise on the Zuiderdam. Sounds like you had a good time on your trip.

[startwin]

Thanks for the review. How did you like the forward cabin, given the rough seas? I always book midship to aft, as I understand you feel the movement more if you are towards the bow.

[alwaysfrantic]

Was the $299 spa pass per person, or per couple?

[stlouistravelers]

Thanks for the review. It was informative and should help us with our cruise next January

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[maxie99]

Our review of our recent (Jan 25 sailing) Zuiderdam Sunfarer cruise has been published. We did not experience any of the issues reported in recent reviews, yet we still found the overall cruise experience to be not up to what we have come to expect as HAL's "Standard of excellence."

 

Here's the link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=115180

 

I will try to check back to answer any questions.

:) - thanks for your review, i was on the westerdam for newyears, and I'm still working on my review = :eek: i really enjoyed your experience

[metairiegal]

Thank you for your review.

 

Sorry about your cabin.

 

Overall it sounds like you had a great cruise.

 

We also enjoyed the group "Island Magic".

 

We have also stayed at the Embassy Suites Resort in Deerfield Beach -- it is really nice.

 

We loved Island Magic, too. We thought they were fantastic.

Also, just want to add that the Embassy Suites is not far at all from our house. :D

[djhsolara]

Thank you for the review. We will be on the same cruise in October.

 

I would have thought that $299 for a couple for the Thermal Suite for 10 days would be in line. We normally pay something like $250 for a couple for7 days.

 

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 2

[elkd43]

:)Thank you for the very informative review. We are thinking about doing this cruise in Oct. when we will celebrate our 45th anniversary! Been reading up infor on HAL excursions for this trip but will also do some things on our own. Seems like the Aruba bus service will take us to the beaches and butterfly farm.

[madera1]

Enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for sharing.

[erewhon]

Thank you for taking time to write your review.

[Laminator]

Thank you for taking the time to write an informative review. We'll be on the Zuiderdam March 29th. Quick question for you or anyone who has been on a Zuiderdam Panama Canal Cruise recently.

 

My wife and I remember one night on our previous Panama Canal cruise, we think, where they had a pig roast on the Aft deck by the SeaView Pool. They had two stations set up, one port and one starboard, where they roasted small pigs. To this day it was one of the best meals we have ever had on HAL. Is HAL still doing this?

 

It is also possible I am completely nuts, okay I am completely nuts, and they did it on another HAL cruise we were on. I do know that HAL did it. I am hoping it was the Panama Canal cruise.

 

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

[StartrainDD]

Thanks for the review. How did you like the forward cabin, given the rough seas? I always book midship to aft, as I understand you feel the movement more if you are towards the bow.

 

If we choose a cabin (we often book a guarantee) we usually book midship-forward. We did not find the movement in our deck 7 cabin unsettling. We felt the movement much more in the main dining room - deck 3 aft.

 

By the way, we did attend a talk by the future cruise consultant and he was very clear that if you're hoping for an upgrade a "Guarantee" cabin is the best way to go. Given reviews of the Z over past months, we were not willing to risk an aft cabin as they have most often been cited as having drainage issues with the plumbing.

[StartrainDD]

Thank you for the review. We will be on the same cruise in October.

 

I would have thought that $299 for a couple for the Thermal Suite for 10 days would be in line. We normally pay something like $250 for a couple for7 days.

 

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 2

 

We have previously paid $199 per couple for a 7 day, and $299 per couple for a 14 day. We would have gone for $249, but they said no.

 

The interesting thing is, after a few days they were offering the pass for $249, but there were only 7 days left in the cruise. They did not come close to "Selling out." We walked past the hydro pool many times each day, and on the Z you can see into the room as the curtains do not completely close off the windows. There was very rarely anyone in the hydro-pool, at any hour.

 

I guess each ship sets their rate - another example of inconsistency.

[StartrainDD]

:)Thank you for the very informative review. We are thinking about doing this cruise in Oct. when we will celebrate our 45th anniversary! Been reading up infor on HAL excursions for this trip but will also do some things on our own. Seems like the Aruba bus service will take us to the beaches and butterfly farm.

 

Don't get me wrong, this was a good cruise. 4 stars from me is a good cruise. We had a really nice and relaxing time. For your 45th, if you have the time (I would guess you may be retired?) and the $$$, going THROUGH the canal is better than going into the canal and turning around.

 

Look at the many repositioning cruises after the end of the Alaska season that start in San Diego or Los Angeles and end in FLL. 14 - 17 days and not a lot more $$$. From Long Island, you can catch a good fare to the west coast on Southwest. Based on the ships I have been on, I would look at the Westerdam or if you're willing to wait until December, the Amsterdam. Our experience on both those ships was five stars, what we consider a "Great" cruise.

 

Aruba? The bus service is great and it will definitely take you to the beaches. For just a few dollars more, if you can find another couple on board to join you, sharing a cab is certainly more convenient that the buses.

[StartrainDD]

Thank you for taking the time to write an informative review. We'll be on the Zuiderdam March 29th. Quick question for you or anyone who has been on a Zuiderdam Panama Canal Cruise recently.

 

My wife and I remember one night on our previous Panama Canal cruise, we think, where they had a pig roast on the Aft deck by the SeaView Pool. They had two stations set up, one port and one starboard, where they roasted small pigs. To this day it was one of the best meals we have ever had on HAL. Is HAL still doing this?

 

It is also possible I am completely nuts, okay I am completely nuts, and they did it on another HAL cruise we were on. I do know that HAL did it. I am hoping it was the Panama Canal cruise.

 

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Wow. There was one night, I don't recall which one, but around the time of the canal day, that there was a "Barbeque" dinner option by one of the pools. In fact, that was the one (and only) night that we thought dinner was rather lacking in the dining room. We had intended to go up and "Check it out" after dinner.

 

For whatever reason, when we finished dinner we were sidetracked, and didn't make it up to the Lido deck until 8:10, only to find that the "Barbeque" was over at 8:00. They had mostly cleaned everything up already, so we didn't get to see what was offered.

 

So sorry, I can't say for certain, but I do know that the Explorer did not specifically say "Pig roast."

[StartrainDD]

Very thoughtful and good review. Thank you.

 

Joanie

 

We should have checked your great cabin information site before we booked. Those forward "J's" are very tight on space on the Z. I did see that after we booked, but being afraid of a more aft cabin we stuck with it.

 

Thanks for your very informative cabin listing. I am sorry but this time, the one thing I didn't do was take photos of our cabin!:o

[FrankNJ]

Thanks for the great review . Enjoyed reading it . Can't believe it's almost a year since we sailed the beautiful Zuiderdam . But ....... for now we stay at our condo in Naples Fl and enjoy beautiful beaches and sea breeze and the A/C and toilets always work . If they don't we get it fixed right away instead of trying to convince some smiling person at the front desk that there really is a problem . Hope HAL reads these boards because as much as we love ships there are nice , reliable alternatives . Ciao .

[Laminator]

Wow. There was one night, I don't recall which one, but around the time of the canal day, that there was a "Barbeque" dinner option by one of the pools. In fact, that was the one (and only) night that we thought dinner was rather lacking in the dining room. We had intended to go up and "Check it out" after dinner.

 

For whatever reason, when we finished dinner we were sidetracked, and didn't make it up to the Lido deck until 8:10, only to find that the "Barbeque" was over at 8:00. They had mostly cleaned everything up already, so we didn't get to see what was offered.

 

So sorry, I can't say for certain, but I do know that the Explorer did not specifically say "Pig roast."

 

Thank you for your quick response!

[kcscrapper]

On our December cruise, there was an evening BBQ on the aft deck area. As a recall (and I've just checked the Explorations), it wasn't even announced other than the "Lido casual dining" note. Chicken and (seriously rare) steak, along with some vegetables, were served. It was actually one of the poorer meals we had.