Zuiderdam Review-July 24th

[SANDY BEACH]

EMBARKATION-We arrived a little after 11am. Door were a little late in opening. The lady at the desk said they had a few computer problems. Check in was great since we had a "S" Suite and went to a separate line with only 1 person in front of us. It took a little longer due to the computer but we were on the ship by noon and escorted to the Neptune Lounge to wait for our room. Made reservations for the Odyssey, met some nice people and were in our room a little after 1.

[SANDY BEACH]

Sorry about my review. I had written a very long review, the phone rang and kicked me off the computer and only the first section printed. I will try again.

 

ROOM-S Suite was very large. Chilled wine and flowers were waiting upon arrival. Bedding was geat, very comfortable, five pillows on a king bed. Double sinks in bath, tub and separate shower. Balcony was large. Our room was very comfortable but I heard some complaining about lack of air conditioning. Steward was good and worked very hard. Handled any request we made promptly and with a smile.

 

DINING-Dining room food was above average except for the entrees which I would say were only average. We had a table for two on the railing and it happened to be the same table we had in November. Service was good. We have had better service on other ships; however, the stewards give 110% effort. Always smiling. Had a great wine steward who was very pleasant. Dress code was observed most of the time. Yes, I did see jeans and shorts in the main dining room for dinner but they were definitely the ones that looked out of place. Beautiful gowns on formal nights.

Lido was ok. Nothing special except for the salad bar and bread pudding. Outside Lido they serve great hamburgers and also a taco bar. It seemed to always be very warm in Lido. No problem finding seats. On Thursday of our cruise there was a health alert with 40 passengers coming down with the cruisers illness. Staff had to serve everyone and did with a smile. Never heard a complaint.

Room service was prompt and food was hot. I did ask for my tablecloth and was told that it could not be provided. My DH asked for hash browns with his eggs and they were not served also. Such small requests that were not filled.

 

ENTERTAINMENT-Elton John impersonator should not be missed. He was outstanding. We did not see all shows but the ones we did were very good. Crows Nest is a great place for dancing and people watching.

We ate in the Odyssey twice. A great experience with exceptional service. Everyone should try it at least once. Get the steak, out of this world.

 

Overall a very nice cruise. A great mix of ages on the summer cruises. I was told there were over 400 kids on board. Rarely did I see any problem. Summer cruises are different so if you prefer a quiet atmosphere and an older crowd, go when the kids are in school. I could not believe the difference from our Nov cruise last year on the same ship. Great to have choices. I believe Zuiderdam gives you a great cruise for the price they charge. So go and book that next cruise. Life is good.

[stillfrantic]

Thanks for the review. A month from today we'll be flying to FL for our trip on the Zuiderdam.

 

For the suite check in, the SS suites are not included, correct?

 

I've read several mentions of the ship's AC not working well. I hope they correct this over the next month. That will drive my husband crazy.

 

Which steak entree are you recomending for the Pinacle? Is there only one, or several beef choices?

[Giorgi-one]

Were were on July 3rd saiing and had about same experience. Food about average nothing special. Very disappointing since we expected HAL to be special. I also thought that deserts were poor to bad.

 

Still having air-conditioning problems I see. Several posts have indicated the problem was most noticeable on embarkation day. We also had problem on informal night when all the men abandoned their sport coats.

[localady]

Sandy Beach states : "I did ask for my tablecloth and was told that it could not be provided".

Gheesh:/ Now that is silly beyond belief! You are in a suite and want a linen for your table and they said no????:eek: That is such a shame, I really think if you asked you concierge, that it would have been done. How hard is it to get an extra table cloth????:rolleyes:

[dst]

I am not sure why SandyBeach was told that. We were on the same cruise also in a suite and got a table cloth with our breakfasts and our snacks. However we went to the Neptune lounge and told them what we wanted......what a shame

[jstducky]

stillfrantic:

 

there are 3 different steak choices in the pinnacle grill.. there is the ribeye steak (huge, but really good!), the porterhouse steak (even bigger!) and the filet mignon that comes in petite cute or odyssey cut. all steaks come with a choice of 3 different sauces on the side. the sun dried tomato steak sauce is excellent.

 

giorgi-one: i was on the zuiderdam's 7/10 sailing the week after you. we also had a/c problems in our cabin on embarkation day. we called the front desk and were told that while the ship is in port the engines aren't running on full power so the a/c isn't cranked up. we were told to wait until after dinner and see if the problem was resolved. sure enough, after we left fll the a/c was working at full power in our cabin. actually for the rest of the trip we had to turn the temp up to the lowest a/c setting as it was downright freezing in our room!

[SANDY BEACH]

Check in for the SS is not the same line as the S suites. There were several hundred people in the other line but also a large number of people waiting on them. How bad could it be if you are waiting to cruise.

 

My favorite steak in the Odyssey was the filet. My husbands was the ribeye. I did taste the ribeye and it had great flavor. Very tender; however, I think the filet was a little better.

 

Never thought to go to the Neptune to ask for a tablecloth. I'm not very demanding so when they told me no, I didn't dwell on it anymore. It would have been nice and made a nice picture but now I have a reason to go back and give it another try, not that I really need a reason.

 

Don't over analyze if you're on this ship. A great cruise and lots of fun with a staff that tries very hard to please. Smiling faces and pleasant greetings always no matter what they are doing. Go-have fun.

[Giorgi-one]

Jstducky:

 

I have been on 14 cruises and never encountered air conditioning problems on the first day. My guess is that HAL turns down the AC to save money or they have an AC problem that needs to get fixed.

 

We also had the same problem on informal night when we were at sea. Can't use the engine excuse here.

[dst]

Sandy, now there is a good reason to cruise again :)