Zuiderdam 7/23 brief comments

[oliviaonthe beach]

We were pleasantly surprised at the condition of the ship. I thought it was fine. My husband has more eclectic tastes and absolutely loved it. It was his favorite ship out of a number of cruises and cruise lines. My favorite so far with regard to decor was Radiance of the Seas so different strokes...

I agree with those who say that you have to be really looking to find severe wear and tear. I doubt I would have made conscious mental notes if I hadn't read so much about them.

Our SS cabin was probably the highlight for me. A GREAT bargain! Lots of space and LOVED the large balcony.

Hard to believe that the ship was full. Never any lines to speak of.

Pinnacle was scrumptious (went twice). Lido was fantastic. Dining room was average in service and food.

One thing I do not remember being mentioned in recent reviews that I noticed was a lack of pressure compared to other cruise lines with regard to shore excursions, photos, alcohol, and shop purchases. I truly appreciated this and still spent too much anyway!

Club HAL for my six year old was great although he chose only to participate in several of the 8-10 evening events. When he was there he loved his "teachers" and new buddies but we did not pressure him to participate so he basically chose to hang out with us and consequently wore us out!

The most significant weakness of this ship was the lack of activities for older teenagers. The two 16 year old girls with us were very disappointed. Both had been on other cruise lines and although they knew it wouldn't be the same as say RCCL or Carnival, they still felt that HAL ignored them as an age group. The Loft is a joke. They called it a closet. Do not recommend this ship for teens at all!

My husband and I agree that if we had taken this cruise by ourselves and had the same cabin and same itinerary, we would have had a gloriously romantic and relaxing time. We are not big into entertainment and have no problem retiring early to our cabin and entertaining ourselves. We only went to one show but it was VERY good! No casino, bingo, comedian, or other organized action for us.

Half Moon Cay was paradise! Our pink cabana was a blast. We had great cabana boys who we tipped well and who actually took care of us for the rest of the cruise with poolside chairs saved for us and free souvenir glasses on sea days. We enjoyed the stingray excursion. We got to stay in the water for a very long time. We were the first group and it was a nice small one. Recommend 8:30 time slot. Aquatrax was too tame for my husband but my newly licensed daughter was terrified.

St. John is not to be missed. Go to Cinnamon Bay and skip Trunk Bay.

Embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze!

I wholeheartedly recommend this cruise for couples of all ages looking to relax and get away from the business of life. I do not recommend this ship for older children and teenagers. Of course, I now believe that land-based vacations are much more practical for kids.

Just my opinion...will be gald to answer questions.

[Gregg20]

I wholeheartedly recommend this cruise for couples of all ages looking to relax and get away from the business of life. I do not recommend this ship for older children and teenagers. Of course, I now believe that land-based vacations are much more practical for kids.

Just my opinion...will be gald to answer questions.

 

Having been on the Zui twice I couldn't agree with you more! It's such a great ship for just kicking back and relaxing. There being a shotage of teens and younger is a bonus. Don't get me wrong, I have 3 kids of my own that are pretty much grown and enjoy them very much however on a cruise I just like it better with fewer young ones running around. Thanks for the review!

[jhannah]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Too bad there weren't more older teens onboard. Perhaps the young ladies would have enjoyed it more. (Especially if their peers were male!!)

[ssca]

Olivia , We were on the same cruise and I totaly agree about the teenagers. We started out bad! We had a bad fight the day before coming from Ca,our room that night was discusting and I left the video camera in the hotel van when it dropped us off which I realized and chased it down the street almost killing my self . When we got on board my boys wanted to check out the basketball court and it was broken huge disapointment,after several inquirys it was fixed by the time we arrived back from Half Moon Cay the next day. Our room had no AC and after several calls and a trip to the front desk they were there fixing it at 11pm. We had a table for 4 that was tucked back against the wall next to a bus station and the first dinner was awful. My husband requested if they could, to please move us to a table of 8 like we requested. The next night they moved us to one of the best tables in the back of the dinning room against the window with a great view of the wake.Our new table mates were the best.The arcade was also a joke soooo yes they were a bit bored,they met kids but there was nothing for them to do. The hot tubs closed way to early. They made the best of it but compared to our last Cruise on RCI this ship is not for teens.

The food and service was great, though I was a bit disapointed in the lido times,we had 830 dinner so after 230 was really limited choices. We felt room service was better than RCI more choices. We also felt that the drink prices were more reasonable than RCI. Even though we brought our own wine I looked at the wine list and it also had better chioces. The corkage charge was higher but worth it having brought our own anyway.The suggested wine on one evening happen to be a wine we brought and in Ca we paid less than half even with corkage. We never went to pinnacle, we had such a great table we did not want to leave it.

We also felt like there were no crowds,but by the time we left the dinning room at 1030 I guess a lot of people were already retired to their cabins.

I think it is really really hard to compare ships,it got in the way a few times and even though RCI was a lot more I think it was worth it. If it was just my husband and I Hal would have been fine but the boys they need more to do.

My only other complaint was the walking track on deck 3,out of 6 drinking fountains only 1 worked and we walked 3 miles almost everyday and it was Hot!! For a ship 3 years old I do think it is time for a facelift.

We did have an awsome time once we got passed the first day and all 4 of us agreed that the people we meet on board is what made our trip.We do like RCI for a family. Sorry so long, I also would love to answer any ??

[vicocala]

Oliviaonthebeach,

 

 

Thanks for the review. It is nice to hear that some of the comments of the past may have been a bit picky or exagerated.

 

We will have an SS cabin when we travel in October and are looking forward to it very much. We will have cabin 8044, which number was yours?

 

I was also glad to hear the sales was low key and not pushy.

 

My wife and I are leaving the teens behind, I thought it would be a good decision based on what I have heard about HAL. Plus, I don't want them out of school.

 

Thanks again and I am glad you had a nice time.

[oliviaonthe beach]

Vicocala,

I am SOOOOO jealous! You are smarter than us. We were in 8042 right next door to yours. Budi was our room steward. He was great, attended to all of our requests in a timely manner and was very quiet and reserved. We did bring small gifts for our room stewards as suggested by someone on CC a long time ago. They were very much appreciated. The cabin you are in is a GREAT location. Portside, perfect distance from elevators and very short walk up one flight to the Lido. Will you be after the facelift or before? I can't wait to hear from someone afterwards.

 

Also, for all those traveling on Zuiderdam soon, I forgot the most important thing in my review.

The room service chocolate chip cookies are WONDERFUL!!!!! Our family probably ate a combined total of 200 of them throughout the cruise. Funny story about them: the girls in their own cabin called room service and ordered 10 cookies; they literally got 10 plates of cookies delivered to their door. We found room service to be efficient and tasty. We used them a lot. they always say 45 minutes but I don't think it ever took that long.

[drdaddy]

Olivia,

 

If at all possible, would you mind emailing me. I have some questions about HMC that I am sure anyone reading this thread would not be interested in.

 

drdaddy at earthlink dot net

 

Thanks so much.

 

So glad you had such a grand time.

[ssca]

Olivia that is so funny about the cookies! I believe it to because my boys did it with the pizza asked for 4 pieces rather than 2 and they brought 4 4 piece pizzas. I agree with the cookies they were great. My boys also loved thecsteak sandwich. Boy this is about the time we had our shrimp cocktails and a cheese platter with a glass of wine out on our balconey.

[WeatherBoy]

We can't wait for our (storm-free) cruise in September.

 

Can anyone tell me about the TV's in the cabins? Not that I plan to be in the cabin that much, but I may want to hook up my iPod or camcorder to view the day's video highlights. Question: do the TVs have A/V jacks built into them?

 

Thanks in advance.

[vicocala]

Great to hear the nice things about our cabin. The only thing better would be if we can get the upgrade fairy to come by with an "S" cabin. :)

 

 

Hopefully we will get the same fine service that you received. Unfortunately she is going into drydock a few weeks after we are aboard.

 

I expect it to be a great first time for us.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We can't wait for our (storm-free) cruise in September.

 

Can anyone tell me about the TV's in the cabins? Not that I plan to be in the cabin that much, but I may want to hook up my iPod or camcorder to view the day's video highlights. Question: do the TVs have A/V jacks built into them?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

We were onthe same cruise as Olivia and unfortunately there are no a/v hookups on the TV. Believe me my son tried. He had the music system unplugged and moved it on to the balcony.

 

Bill

[artvlay]

The over ordering happened with us with the pizza. Thanks for the tip on the great cookies. We are going in three weeks and my wife loves chocolate chip cookies.

[SForman]

Olivia, It was the perfect cruise for 2 adults traveling without children. Try it again with just your Husband.

[Cruisergal1208]

Olivia, What kind of small gifts did you take for the cabin attendants? Going on the Z Sept. 24 and would like to do the same. Thanks for any suggestions.

Mary Ann

[SForman]

We can't wait for our (storm-free) cruise in September.

 

Can anyone tell me about the TV's in the cabins? Not that I plan to be in the cabin that much, but I may want to hook up my iPod or camcorder to view the day's video highlights. Question: do the TVs have A/V jacks built into them?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

We had A/V jacks on the front of our TV.

[oliviaonthe beach]

DrDaddy: Please post your questions about HMC on the 7/23 Zuiderdam roll call and I will respond.

SForman: Way to rub it in! Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not such a brat that I am complaining about having my son with me. It was just different than our previous cruises.

About the steward gifts, we followed the advice I read on here about putting some items from wherre we live in the package such as a t-shirt with the name of our city, candy, etc. It was much appreciated.

BTW, at the risk of seeming obsessed about chocolate chip cookies, do not confuse the cookies in the Lido with cookies from room service. They are completely different.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Seth,

Lucky you, or maybe lucky for us. We had no jacks on ours as my son was going to hook something up. You should see his room. So many wires and contraptions. I don't venture into the black hole very often. ;)

 

Bill