Live from Zuiderdam 01/03 to Panama

[JPCruising]

Enjoying your review and pics! :)

 

We have Explore 4, too, and wondered how they handle the PG Dinners. It said they assign a time? Is this info in the room upon Embark?

 

Thanks!

Yes they assign the time, they delivered a card to our room after we set sail with the day and time. We were able to change the date and time to suit us better. Loved the food in the Pinnacle but found the service to be very slow if there were more than two people in your party. Had lunch one day and it took over 2 hours. Main course took over an hour to receive.

[JPCruising]

Is it the Signature Beverage Card or the $50 Card?

 

My wife and I each received a $50 card, neither of us used the total balance. Sadly I still had the price of one soda left on the card this morning as I exited the ship.

[JPCruising]

Well got off the Zuiderdam today after 10 wonderful days. There was 3 couples in our group and we each had been offered an upgrade to a Neptune Suite which we each took. We had rooms, 7084, 7082 & 7080. None of us experienced any AC problems of plumbing issues, nor did I hear of any other passengers complaining of issues. Our rooms were very nice and I enjoyed the extra room and large balcony. All three rooms were on the port side, aft of the mid ship elevators. I found the ship to be in good order and the staff was constantly cleaning, polishing, and maintaining the ship. The bathroom was smaller than other premium suites I have sailed in on other lines and the fixtures somewhat dated but everything was functional. We had plenty of storage space & closet space. The free laundry service was a nice perk that we took advantage of on several occasions. Overall it was a very good cruise, liked the ship and staff.

[startwin]

Well got off the Zuiderdam today after 10 wonderful days. There was 3 couples in our group and we each had been offered an upgrade to a Neptune Suite which we each took. We had rooms, 7084, 7082 & 7080. None of us experienced any AC problems of plumbing issues, nor did I hear of any other passengers complaining of issues. Our rooms were very nice and I enjoyed the extra room and large balcony. All three rooms were on the port side, aft of the mid ship elevators. I found the ship to be in good order and the staff was constantly cleaning, polishing, and maintaining the ship. The bathroom was smaller than other premium suites I have sailed in on other lines and the fixtures somewhat dated but everything was functional. We had plenty of storage space & closet space. The free laundry service was a nice perk that we took advantage of on several occasions. Overall it was a very good cruise, liked the ship and staff.

 

Thank you for this report - hopefully things are improving, though there were other recent reports about a/c issues in some Neptune suites (perhaps the starboard side). Last year we had 7088 and all was well.

 

Back to reality for you now - awful feeling, isn't it?:( Thanks for taking us along with you.

[musicismylife]

Thanks for the review. I'm glad you and your friends had a fun and problem-free cruise!

[budisal]

How does the Zuiderdam compare to the Eurodam? We're considering the Panama Canal cruise next year. We've been on the Eurodam twice now.

 

 

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[AlohaPride]

My wife and I each received a $50 card, neither of us used the total balance. Sadly I still had the price of one soda left on the card this morning as I exited the ship.

 

Talk about AWESOME budgeting ;) Welcome home!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

Glad you had a wonderful time and had no issues on the ship.

Loved reading your review.

[zelker]

Well got off the Zuiderdam today after 10 wonderful days. There was 3 couples in our group and we each had been offered an upgrade to a Neptune Suite which we each took. We had rooms, 7084, 7082 & 7080. None of us experienced any AC problems of plumbing issues, nor did I hear of any other passengers complaining of issues. Our rooms were very nice and I enjoyed the extra room and large balcony. All three rooms were on the port side, aft of the mid ship elevators. I found the ship to be in good order and the staff was constantly cleaning, polishing, and maintaining the ship. The bathroom was smaller than other premium suites I have sailed in on other lines and the fixtures somewhat dated but everything was functional. We had plenty of storage space & closet space. The free laundry service was a nice perk that we took advantage of on several occasions. Overall it was a very good cruise, liked the ship and staff.

 

Glad you had an enjoyable cruise. We'll be taking the same one in a few weeks - our first time to the canal area and Costa Rica so really loved reading your posts and seeing your pictures! We have booked the Gatun Lake and Expansion excursion too so I was glad to read that you enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

 

May I ask what cabin category you were in before they offered you the upgrade to the Neptune Suites? Also, when you were in Costa Rica, did the ship stay on ship time or go to local time?

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

[Himself]

CURACAO - Jan. 07, 2014

 

Started with breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill and hurried to get off the ship to meet a private tour with Tours By Martin L. that I found on the net. Martin was there waiting for us and four of us loaded into his car to begin a tour of the island. Martin was a great guide and took us to many beautiful places and I am looking forward to sharing many photos in the future. Really enjoyed Curacao and preferred it over Aruba. Could have enjoyed another 2 hours or so. Dinner in the MDR and we attended the BB King’s Blues Club which was the main show. It was a very good show and everyone in our group really enjoyed it.

 

 

 

I agree with you. I love the Duchness of Cuacao.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Himself

[Himself]

Thanks for the report. I enjoyed every word of your fine report

[JPCruising]

Glad you had an enjoyable cruise. We'll be taking the same one in a few weeks - our first time to the canal area and Costa Rica so really loved reading your posts and seeing your pictures! We have booked the Gatun Lake and Expansion excursion too so I was glad to read that you enjoyed it. Thanks for posting.

 

May I ask what cabin category you were in before they offered you the upgrade to the Neptune Suites? Also, when you were in Costa Rica, did the ship stay on ship time or go to local time?

 

Thanks!

 

Barb

 

We were originally booked in a SY suite before upgrading to the Neptune Suite. We did change our clocks the night before Costa Rica.

[zelker]

We were originally booked in a SY suite before upgrading to the Neptune Suite. We did change our clocks the night before Costa Rica.

 

That's encouraging as we're in an SY too and are hopeful they'll make us a good upgrade offer. (is it rude to ask how much of an upcharge it was? :o)

 

Re: clocks - does that mean you changed the clock so you matched CR time when you got off the ship?

 

Forgot to ask - did you need insect repellant in Panama and Costa Rica?

[JPCruising]

Have posted photos from Aruba & Curacao on my site at: http://jprimages.com/travel/hal/zuiderdam/panama Will be posting more as time permits.

[JPCruising]

Just got back on Jan. 13 from 10 day HAL Zuiderdam Panama cruise, this was a partial transit where our ship went through the Gatun lock into the Gatun lake and turned around and came back out. I decided to take the ship excursion to tour the Gatun Lock and Expansion project and really enjoyed getting the perspective from being on the ship and watching the ship go back through on land. I have posted my photos at: http://jprimages.com/travel/hal/zuiderdam/panama/canal

 

I did get up early to try to get a good position on the front bow. The opened the access shortly before 6:00 am and I was one person back from the front. As the sun rose it did get quite crowded but by 8-8:30 the crowds really thinned out. We had great weather with no rain and a nice breeze and very few mosquitos.

[mountaingal1959]

Thanks for the photos. We were on the Zuiderdam only 3 days going to Alaska so we are looking forward to our cruise on Feb 3rd..

[richarduk]

We did this cruise also. We usually take Med summer cruises, although I have taken another leaving FLL a few years back. We were in Neptune suite SA7067.

 

My main comments good and bad are as follows and in no particular order:

 

Pros:

 

1. The Staff. Very good mostly, as usual. Very good room stewards.

 

2. Neptune lounge was good for handy and better coffee than lido.

 

3. Gluten free options were clearly on show at the Lido, e.g. breads, biscuits, pasta. Far better than any other cruise to date. There was even no bother getting room service club sandwiches on gluten free.

 

4. Food was in general fairly good.

 

Cons:

 

1. Embarkation was a joke. At about 1130 there must have been hundreds in the line outside the terminal and did not move for a LONG while. Once in the terminal there was only one security screening point operating. We eventually got to checkin to find a long line, then saw a sign for suite check-in, with a small line. We waited and a good few people joined behind us. After a while an agent asked if the entire queue were "disabled". I think that was the word she used. Nobody was. We all then moved to an area with no wait and basically just skipped the other line. Pretty badly oragnised. I heard quite a few complaints to checkin, but no responses or apologies.

 

2. The expected "scenic cruising" of Gatun lake was not that at all. We just entered the lake, moored to let the tours off, stayed there for an hour maybe, then turned around and back into the locks. In my opinion, not what they say they will do.

 

3. This is just a personal opinion, but the itinerary didn't float either of our boats. Of all stops we enjoyed Willemstad most. Aruba and Half Moon Cay was ok, but Panama and especially Puerto Limon was pretty bad. We don't do many tours and like to wander, so Pueto Limon just appeared very hostile so we re-boarded after about 5 mins. We go all over the world. Our gut feel was that it was not safe. Shame.

 

4. As per our past experiences, room service was still very hit and miss. Out of three occasions, once we received one main instead of two, another time we received three soups for two, and the next time when we ordered later evening club sandwiches we received nothing at all! We laugh now as that's been pretty much our experience on other HAL cruises.

 

5. Early morning sunbed reserving on sea days with next to nobody using them. Unfortunately eventually it was a case of "if you can't beat them, join them". Not my favorite way, but that's what we had to do.

 

Summary:

 

A mix of good and bad, but we will definitely stick to the Med from now on. It's just more relaxing and the ports are much better for us. The choppy seas didn't help me much. It's 6 days since we disembarked and I'm still swaying from side to side for a few hours every morning!

 

So, did I enjoy it?.....I'll give it a 6 out of 10.

Edited January 20, 2014 by richarduk

[suz1607]

We were on the same cruise. Boarding and disembarkation were the worst I have ever experienced! Not sure I will go through Fort Lauderdale again because the airport was a zoo, as well. richarduk is correct on all points. From now on I will cruise HAL for the itinerary and not expect it to be the HAL that I knew and loved. Otherwise it is back to NCL for us!!!!