Zuiderdam 9/3-9/10 review

[TriGirl]

Looks like some other posters beat me to it, but I'll post my thoughts/observations as well. This was our 7th cruise with HAL, I generally cruise with my mom, my Fiancee doesn't care much for cruising, but he's only been on one Carnival cruise.

 

I was a little concerned about the condition of the ship based on the reviews I'd read here. It is showing some signs of wear and tear but it wasn't really obvious. I agree with the 'potholes' in the hallways, but still not a big deal. They ship was very clean, the crew was always vacuuming and polishing the brass, & cleaning the bathrooms.

 

Except for the Pinnacle I thought the food was excellent. We were very disappointed in the Pinnacle food. The service was perfect, but the food was no better than what you'd get in the dining room. I had the halibut and it was very dry, the creamed spinach was mushy and had been turned into a baby food type mush that had no flavor. I had the rice and it was really bland. My mother had the halibut also, and it was very dry, the scalloped potatoes were very good, as was the salad and the crab cakes. The chocolate volcano cake was excellent. The food wasn't horrible, but I felt that for $20 a person more it should really knock your socks off. I think we could have easily had a meal just as good in the dining room. There were two very large groups eating in the Pinnacle when we were there and they were very LOUD and rowdy. That's not HAL's fault but it did dampen our meal. I wish that people would be more respectful of those around them, but oh well what can you do?

 

The service was fabulous, I cannot say enough about our Widi, Doddy and Rachmet. They crew in the Lido was just as good, always friendly and helpful. I don't know how they manage to smile and be so cheerful when they must be exhausted. Donny Walker always had a big smile and remembered so many names! Our cabin steward hurt his back after the second day so we had a 'fill in' and the poor guy had double the cabins. So it sometimes took awhile for him to get to our cabin, but he tried as hard as he could and was working well after everyone else had finished making up the cabins. We really felt bad that they didn't divide up the extra cabins.

 

I noticed there was a thread about keeping the balcony door open. Let me just add my two cents here. When we were still docked in Ft Lauderdale the ship was HOT, and stuffy. There was a little notice in our cabin regarding the temp on the ship. They said that because of there were many open doors for loading of luggage, food and passengers the ship temp was affected and would be hotter than usual. After we sailed the ship got REALLY cold. Our cabin was FREEZING. I turned the a/c way down but it didn't really have much affect. SOOOO, we thought we'd prop the door open for a little while to adjust the temp. BAD IDEA...DON'T DO IT. Within 10 minutes the a/c unit was dripping with condensation. I'm pretty sure they know what they're talking about when they post those notices about keeping the door closed....it's a nice idea to have it open and listen to the waves, etc. But it's not practical and it makes a big mess. Not worth it in my opinion. Everyone complains about the carpets being old and worn, I'm sure that the excess moisture causes mildew.

 

I'm taking the same cruise with my fiancee next month and I'm anxious to see if the service, etc is consistent.

 

Any questions, please ask.

[doone]

Welcome back, glad you enjoyed the Zuiderdam. I know I did last March.

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy the Pinnacle as much as you thought, I know the steak was wonderful when we ate there.

 

I found the Zuiderdam to be one of the coldest dam ships I have been on, it was cold everywhere.

[TriGirl]

Doone,

 

That's funny because I thought the Oosterdam was the coldest dam ship ever. The Zuiderdam was fine after the first night. I found the Vista Show lounge to be cold but other than that it was perfect for me.

 

We ate in the Pinnacle on the Oosterdam and it was much better, I think it just varies from ship to ship and I think what you order makes a difference. I've heard people raving about the steaks, but I hate red meat.

 

Stephanie

[McDebbie]

The steaks were fabulous. We were lucky enough to get a rowdy group also, except it was only one girl and guy, she was loud enough for the entire room. :D

[doone]

Stephanie, oh boy, the Oosterdam colder than the Zuiderdam, yikes. I thought the dining room on the Zuiderdam was so cold. After the Zuiderdam I boarded the Volendam and there was a big difference in temperature, the Volendam was more to my liking. I'll just have to bring more sweaters on the O or Z!!

[bcc99]

I'd agree, it was "dam" hot while we were docked at Fort Lauderdale...and for anybody who stayed aboard in Nassau, how about when they had to shut down the A/C in certain sections of cabins for a few hours? That was quite toasty as well, but I dealt with it by going to the Lido Pool for a while. :)

 

I ate in the Pinnacle on Thursday night, and the place was virtually deserted. It was good, I guess, but I doubt I would have gone if I hadn't been invited! And my waiters missed me when I was away... :o

[pklopp]

So, did you all have fun though? Did your CC group get together?

Peggy

[WeatherBoy]

I'm just curious as to what night is the one "casual" dress evening?

 

Thanks in advance.

[bcc99]

So, did you all have fun though? Did your CC group get together?

Peggy

We sure did...most everybody stopped by for at least a few minutes. Apparently there was also a ship-sponsored CC gathering on Friday morning, but I slept through it. :o It must have been an official function, as it was listed in the Daily Program and everything.

I'm just curious as to what night is the one "casual" dress evening?

 

Thanks in advance.

Hehe, you're doing the same thing I almost did! :D There are four "casual" nights, and one "informal" night ("informal" in HAL-speak being a jacket with optional tie). For the Eastern itinerary...

Formal: Monday and Thursday (the sea days)

Informal: Wednesday

Casual: Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday

[JimVrhovac]

Thank you for the review.

 

Especially interesting were you comments on the open door - Thank You.

 

Jim & Ruth

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your review.

 

Interesting comment here about a 'shipboard sponsored CC meeting'. I've never heard of the ship having a CC get together and definitely never saw one mentioned in the Daily Program.

 

I'll be looking to see if there is such a think on our upcoming VODM cruise.

[TidePrideGA]

s7s, I think a "ship-sponsored" CC gathering actually has to be initiated from someone here. I've looked into it and am trying to set it up for our roll call. They don't go all out like RCI, but will supply munchies and name tags (no free drinks) and put it in the Daily Program.

[TriGirl]

I noticed that a lot of passengers were very casual, even on informal nights. Overall I thought the dress code wasn't followed.

 

 

We had a great time, we enjoyed the ship and crew.

 

Stephanie

[marti2282]

Thanks for your review.

 

Interesting comment here about a 'shipboard sponsored CC meeting'. I've never heard of the ship having a CC get together and definitely never saw one mentioned in the Daily Program.

 

I'll be looking to see if there is such a think on our upcoming VODM cruise.

I was on the 9-3 Zuidy and there was a meeting set up by the senior staff for CCers. It was a question and answer session. The Hotel Manager, Bar Manager, Cruise Director, Excursions Director, and one other--forget who--were present. They basically wanted to acknowlege our presents onboard, I think. They have the coffee/cookie set up and the Hotel Manager, Derrick Rigamortis (sp), greeted us and asked for questions and comments.

 

That was about it. Not a get-to-gather, social thing. Marti

[mrskmirolla]

We had a great time and thanks to Ben we met alot of our fellow CC. I was apprehensive after all of the reviews but we did okay. My husband and I had to learn all over where everything was since it is much bigger than the other ships we have been on. It was cool running into our new friends all over the ship and getting updates what everybody was doing. At the CC meeting the other officer was the one in charge of food and dining. I had heard that the crew have a small desk on board for them to purchase calling cards and other things and I asked at the meeting if they could make those cards available to us because we know how many of them send their money home but this would be a nice little gift they could use to call home. Calling cards around $10 and you could give them to some of the staff that went out of their way for you. Anyway just a thought. I really would love to buy some and give them away. I wonder if I bought some at home and could give them to them. I will look into it. We truly enjoyed ourselves and winning at one of the Bingo's was nice too :D We are looking forward to the Massdam in May 2006.

 

Oh and just a note on disembarkening it was great for us and very timely.

 

Kathy

[shirljean]

Kathy, so did they allow you to buy those calling cards? If so, where did you get them? That is a great idea.

[mrskmirolla]

Kathy, so did they allow you to buy those calling cards? If so, where did you get them? That is a great idea.

 

No they said they would check into it they thought it was a good idea too. I am going to check on the cards around here and see if they could use them to call home and buy some for my May Canada/New England trip.

 

Kathy

[Candy]

Kathy, so did they allow you to buy those calling cards? If so, where did you get them? That is a great idea.

According to our wine steward, Joselito Anca, the best one is "Hello Asia", but I couldn't find the place in Key West where the crew buys theirs. I found them online at PinOnSale.com. Calls to Indonesia are 1.9¢ per minute and no connection fee. They're sold in $10 and $20 face values.

 

Candy <-- stocking up for Zuidy #6

[JimVrhovac]

REF: Ship sponsored CC meetings

 

Have been able to have the ship spring for these meetings twice over the years. Both times it was provided by the Guest Relations Manager that we had sailed with before.

 

Best thing to do is go to the Guest Relations Manager and talk to her(him). It helps to have a list of the people in the group and their cabin numbers as they will send out invitations to the cabins.

 

The provided a private room, finger foods, champagne, and waiter staff. They did a nice job for us both times.

 

Jim & Ruth

[rickcohen2]

Is this something new since Hotel Director James Deering hooked-up with HAL. I know he kept-up with the CC-board when he was elsewhere and arranged a few extras for the CC members He's a true gentleman.

[NashDB]

I'm pretty much in agreement with all the other comments.

 

Pinnacle: Ate there 3 times. We preferred the atmosphere and service to the Dining Room. In the dining room, we were at a table of 6 nice folks but not much in common with them and you can only make small talk for so long. My favorites in the Pinnacle were the ribeye steaks, the green dinner salad (best on the ship), asparagus side dish, and the volcano cake.

 

Production Shows: B+. Talented dancers, but only 4 singers. All the rest is lip-synched. Nice production values though (set, sound, lighting, etc.) Nothing objectionable but not much "wow" either. On our cruise the other entertainment was enjoyable; fun comic (Julie Barr), singer (sorry, can't remember the name, but it was a great show), and a "comic juggler" that was not quite up to snuff.

 

Suite Perques: Unexpected and very nice: Breakfast in the Pinnacle (same menu, but quieter and attentive service), Neptune lounge staff (incredibly helpful), special lunch with the captain, and many others. If the price is good, grab it!

 

Best food item: Hamburger at lunch on Tuesday. Hand-formed, nicely spiced, great bun. Sometimes the simple things are the best. (Unfortunately, I didn't find the non-red meat entrees to be that great.)

 

Items I wish I'd brought: wine stoppers for use in room and US postage stamps for mailing postcards from St. Thomas.

 

Most incredible misuse of my vacation time: Early morning "Customs" parade in St. Thomas. I'm still waiting on an explanation of what this does to deter terrorism or illegals. BUT it resulted in going by the spa and finding....

 

The Best Spa Treatment....Ever! On port days prices are lower and they offered a great treament on the St. Thomas day: dry exfloliation, seaweed or milk wrap on a "float" table, mini facial, scalp massage, neck and shoulder massage, and foot massage. 75 minutes for $99. Great deal and very relaxing.

 

Best extra expense: The Cabana on Half Moon Cay. Certainly not necessary, but it allowed us non-sun worshippers to enjoy the entire day on the island in comfort. And the night before the spa called and offered massages in the cabana for $79. So when most people were tired of the heat and heading back to the ship, we were enjoying a massage in the shade and coolness of the cabana about 20 yards from the surf. Got the vacation off to a great start.

 

Dress Code: Moderate dissapointment. It is routinely ignored. "Informal" is interpreted by most as "casual"; saw very few jackets on "informal" night. However, if you like dressing up, do it. My suggestion to HAL would be to make one or two of the seatings (8:00 and 6:15?) as mandatory dress code and the others as casual. I'm OK roaming the ship with others not dressed up, but when you show for dinner in a Tux and your table mates are in casual attire, it really defeats the purpose. It's not going to work to require formal or informal attire for all seatings, but doing that at one would be nice.

 

and finally,

Tipping: I don't think the current policy works. We ended tiping all the Neptune staff, the Pinnacle waiters at dinner, and several that were nice to us at breakfast, plus adding some for our cabin steward. I saw many people tipping on the last night. I'm happy to tip but think the $10 a day just confuses the issue. I think next time I'll ask that it be partially removed and tip directly to those that have worked so hard to make my cruise enjoyable.

 

It was great to meet the other CC'ers at our meet and greet and to see them during the week. It was a pleasure to cruise with them. Overall, I really enjoyed this cruise and it was the vacation I was looking for.