please reassure me about upcoming cruise on Zuiderdam

[jaguarstyper]

I've been on Zuiderdam twice. The first time was January 2003 a month after she was put into service and everything was nice and new and in tip top shape. I was on her again in January 2010 and I was surprised at how poorly the ship had aged. We did experience some minor plumbing problems that were quickly resolved and there was a nasty sewage smell coming from the public restrooms near the Queens lounge the entire week. And, there seemed to be a lot of just minor wear and tear evident all about the ship.

 

None of these were major issues and did nothing to reduce our enjoyment of the ship or the cruise. I would sail on Zuiderdam again with no hesitation. The crew was great and we had a great time despite a few cosmetic blemishes.

[fsdj1097]

I have sailed Zuiderdam recently(we disembarked June 14th) and also when she was experiencing the problems with the plumbing. I understand that some folks had severe issues during the plumbing problem era, ours were relatively minor (mostly just a delay). On our most recent cruise, I cannot think of a single problem that we encountered that was related to the condition of the ship. To my knowledge, all of the public 'facilities' were functioning during the entire cruise, and our cabin was problem free. My brother was 3 decks below us, and on the opposite side and end of the ship. He did not experience any problems with his cabin either.

 

The only issue that we reported on our comment cards, regarding the Zuiderdam, was regarding the Explorations Café. The issue that we reported was that, on occasion, there was such a line waiting for the specialty coffees, that it would take as much as 30 minutes to receive your order . I'm not sure if this problem was unique to our sailing, but the Explorations Café staff were simply overwhelmed by the demand for lattes, mochas, espressos, and such.

 

With that being said, we thoroughly enjoyed our Zuiderdam cruise and would not hesitate to sail her again.

Edited June 26, 2014 by fsdj1097

[Viesczy]

Life's full of gutters and strikes.

 

Some folks only see the guttberballs.

 

Those folks would complain if they got a million dollars but the money given was "only" in five dollar bills.

 

Can the Z be improved? Everything can be improved upon.

 

Is the Z in a condition where she is a rat nest and a nightmare? No.

 

You'll have a fine time.

 

Derek

[Delbankin]

We took the inside passage on Zuiderdam in late May. We were lucky with the weather, almost sun every day.

 

We did not find any problems with the ship in terms of condition or malfunction of any systems, despite the ship being one of the older ones in the fleet.

 

This was our first HAL cruise chosen for the itinerary i.e. Inside Passage, Glacier Bay and the opportunity to do the Tracy Arm small boat from the ship. A great choice for the scenery! The Tracy Arm small boat was the highlight of our trip and Glacier Bay spectacular too.

 

We have some great photos which once I download I could post to give an idea of the Tracy Arm trip. I would recommend it to anyone.

 

Not sure we will return to HAL as the style of the cruise and lack of daytime entertainment didn't really meet our requirements but I would say you will love your cruise for the itinerary alone.