brief review of Christmas 2022 Zuiderdam 7 night Western Caribbean

[killsport]

As usual, the disclaimer - these are my opinions, based on my experiences... other people may have (very valid) differing opinions.

 

Not a hugely detailed write-up, but happy to try to answer any questions. My wife and I went by ourselves (and met our 2000 new best friends).

1. Embarkation - VERY easy check-in at about 1030. Then in a holding pattern for 90 minutes until they let people on board.

2. Cabin - we had 8116 and it was okay. Nothing more, nothing less. The room was showing its age (carpet, couch, desk, all had a lot of visible wear). The plumbing (thankfully) was not an issue and neither was the A/C and heat. The bed was fine. The balcony was small and the furniture very worn. The separators were loose so when there was a lot of wind, there was rattle.

3. Cabin Service - daily cleaning and never needed anything. Very efficient. Chocolates only on dressy nights. Yes, I did get my tiles.

4. Ship Service - generally good (as we expected). 

5. Bars - the bars were not overly crowded, but nicely busy. Had no problem getting service and never went over the 15 drink limit, including the coffees and other drinks. Many of the higher end liquors were missing, and they substituted lower quality ones. No Don Julio 1942 (wife's luxury). Bulleit, Buffalo Trace, etc all were in limited supply (and ran out) even when listed on that bar's menu or in its drinks.

6. Food - The most disappointing thing on this cruise. The ingredient quality is awful. The menu selection is poor. The presentation was sloppy. The beef tenderloin was, in fact, beef tenderloin. But instead of years past when it was choice (and tender), I believe this to be select. Blood lines in the salmon appetizer. I could go on, but no reason to... it was poor. The buffet wasn't great either. The first "steak" night had a nice gristle line in the MIDDLE of the NY strip. No idea how that can happen. The two dressy nights, however, the menu and food was B+ and the presentation decent. So they KNOW how to do it, they just decide it isn't worth it for all nights. Very different than our pre-pandemic HAL cruise where the food was fantastic night after night.

7. Entertainment - Comedian was good. Shows were basically piano guy??? We didn't go as none sounded interesting to us. The other ship music was nice, but we severely missed the Lincoln Center Stage.

 

All in all, this experience pushed HAL well below Celebrity for us (for Caribbean cruises). We don't really care about the ports (been there, done that). We care about the food and beverage, and the experience. Post-pandemic, HAL clearly has dropped quality more significantly than Celebrity.

I won't take comments personally, so feel free to provide your opinion. If you have a question, I'll try to respond.

 

[canadianbear]

Thanks for your honest review.  We unfortunately (or fortunately) haven’t cruised since just before the pandemic hit.  I’ve read a lot of reviews lately and yes, cruise lines are struggling, but it certainly seems some things like food & entertainment has gone way down on HAL.  
 

As a 4* I really miss cruising HAL but when we start again we hope it will have improved.  We’ve done Princess & Celebrity which we may try them as an option. 
 

Thanks again for your review. 

[cbr663]

Thanks for your review.  Food quality and visibly worn cabins are an issue for us.  I realize it isn't for everyone.

[bz]

I completely agree with your comments about the food.  We are on the Eurodam in February and unless there's an uptick in the food quality it will be our last HAL cruise, just when I got to 3 star.  Headquarters, are you listening?  And now I have to request evening turn-down service?  i love coming back from dinner/drinks/show and everything is so tidy, certainly not like home.

[TexasBrit]

We were on NS earlier in December and echo your comments about food and service.

Very disappointing for our first HAL cruise, probably our last as well.

[Ellencruise]

Sorry to hear the food was so awful. There needs to be more consistency with the quality. One week it’s good next week it’s awful, across the fleet.

[DJanet1974]

I could not agree with you more regarding the food selection. Ugh. So disappointing. Retire the Zuiderdam.