7/24 Zuiderdam Western Carribean Report

[florie]

:) :D Since I gained so much useful info from other members I thought I'd contribute a trip report from our 7/24 Western Car. cruise on Zuiderdam:

Ship - The ship is pretty with unusual art and colors and has allot of lounges and meeting places tucked away in corners. Our group enjoyed playing cards and trying out these nooks and crannies throughout the trip. The cleanliness aboard the ship was incredible expecially after it was reported that 20 people had a GI virus. The pools were drained and cleaned and they offered only served food thorughout the ship (even at the lido). It actually made for a more elegant food experience! No one else go sick after these measures were instituted! The only negatives were that it was hot in the entire aft of the boat ... on every floor! They tried their best to cool that section off but it never got really cool in the aft. Also - I felt that the ship did not have the openess and spaciousness of other ships I've been on of the same size - Celebrity Millenium and Infinity, RC Brilliance.

 

Entertainment: Dane Butcher the new CD and his staff (particularly Heather - the Bingo Queen and his Assistant) were the best I've ever seen. They made the trip particularly fun and catered to young and old. The shows each night were the best I've ever seen....real Broadway quality for the revues and the comedian, Elton John impersonator and illusionist were terrific. The juggler, Adam Cario deserves a special mention...he was a great juggler AND very funny. They switched him to an earlier night at the last minute (due to some technical difficulties with the Elton John act) and he was awesome.

 

Half Moon Cay: I could move in! It was the cleanest pretties beach I've ever seen (and I've seen some great ones). We listened to the advice on the message board and rented a cabana since it was sooooooooo hot. Even though it was $219 it was worth it to get out of the heat and have a shower and spritzers! Also, we had rafts (which were sold out) and snorkle stuff. It really doesn't matter which one you have...we had the blue one.

 

Food: Food service was excellent, I loved breakfast on my balcony but they always came at the earlier side of the chosen time. The lido was excellent, we loved the sandwiches and wraps (the turkey was fresh carved) and the assortment was terrific. The dining room food varied from okay to great...the desserts were particularly good and the formal nights food was incredible. Other times it was difficult to find an entree I liked. BUT, we learned that you could order anything you wanted from that day's menu for the following day. So, we always asked for the next day's menu at dinner and then could pre-order something. The iced tea on the ship deserves special mention...it was delicious and fresh brewed and FREE always throughout the day. We bought our kids coke cards that worked for HMC and we really got our money's worth from them.

 

Cabin: Our cabin was beautiful and I loved our balcony. We were with a group of 12 and we had the whole aft of the 6th floor. We were able to move between the balconies. We had a great view and really enjoyed our spot even though as I mentioned, the cabins were on the hot side. Our steward was great and very accomodating.

 

Laundry Service: We enjoyed the free laundry service we got with or suites but they lost several items of clothing (just sent in for pressing) for 3 days and then lost a pair of my husband's shorts. I understand that others on the boat had the same problem!

 

Ports: We followed the advice of others on this board and used Nativeways for our stingray tour in Grand Cayman. They were awesome. We were on a smaller boat and had 2 terrific guides and everyone in our group from the 9 year old to the 71 year old enjoyed it! We also spent a fraction of what it would cost doing it through the cruiseline. You can find the info on the web at www.nativeway.com. We also went to Paradise Beach as was also recommended. It was definitely delightful and up their with HMC. Very clean, lots of chairs, great water toys, and fabulous food! They can also be found on the web.

 

That's all for now. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have!

[ekerr19]

Thanks for posting your review. It sounds like you had a great time. It also sounds like the problems with the A/C (and lack of it) continue, unfortuantely. We cruised Western Caribbean last summer and I remember how hot it was.