Yet another Zuiderdam 7/31 review

[Cruising5]

I'll start by saying this was a wonderful family vacation, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I am going to be honest about what I term minor annoyances I found on this cruise, however.

 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale the day before and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was fine, and the free shuttle service from the airport and to the port worked out great.

 

We arrived at the port at about 12:45. I would guess the process took about an hour from the time we arrived to the time we boarded. We did discover while in line that apparently this cruise had some sort of beauty pagent going on, as we saw a number of teenage girls in sashes depicting their state and tiaras. We were traveling with our three teenage sons. They were enjoying the cruise already, and we hadn't yet departed.

 

Every cabin was booked on this particular cruise, yet the only time I felt the ship crowded was that first afternoon on the Lido deck. Everyone was pretty much crammed inside as there was some rain, so it did get a bit warm.

 

We had cabins 8035 on the outside and an inside I category 8045 for the boys. I was worried before we arrived that the boys' cabin might be too small, but it was fine for them. Two of the boys are almost 6 ft., so if they can be comfortable it should work for almost anyone. Our cabin steward, I can't remember his name, was so-so. We felt he was AWOL for the first few days. I had signed up for the unlimitted laundry service, and I had a heck of a time trying to get bags and information from him at first. It took a few days to get the process going. After that it was fine.

 

We had main lower seating in the dining room. The first night they had the five of us at a table for four, which didn't work too well. We asked to be moved to a different table, and to our delight they were able to accomodate us. We had a table for six from that point on right by a window. Our wine steward, Willy, was wonderful. A few nights we ordered wine the evening before so that was waiting for us. We are quite picky about our martinis, but on nights we had those he was able to bring it to our exact specifications.

 

As far as the food goes ... I thought the appetizers and soups were very good. The salads were poor in my opinion. The beef was hit and miss. A steak one night was very tough and fatty. I also didn't care for their version of filet of beef Oscar, which I usually love. On the other hand, I thought the Beef Wellington was wonderful (I was a pig and got the lobster, too), and the roast in horseradish crust was also very good. We generally had breakfast on the Lido, and that was fine. Oh, yeah, the deserts ... the chocolate truffle cake was to die for, and I also really enjoyed the creme brulee.

 

One of my favorite parts of the cruise was sitting on the Lido in the morning with my coffee, watching as we came into the different ports. There was hardly anyone up there at that time. It really got me ready for the day.

 

Half Moon Cay was fabulous. The boys went parasailing and loved it. The only thing we would change in the future is the time we picked. We signed them up at 12:30, so they missed the barbeque. But the beach and the sand is unbelievable. My husband and I were close to the last ones out of the water.

 

I think other posters have mentioned the festival going on in Tortola. It was hard to judge Road Town given that. I have never seen so many empty and broken beer bottles lining the streets and gutters in my life. We took the afternoon excursion over to Virgin Gorda and the Baths. My husband and boys went snorkeling and really enjoyed it.

 

I also really loved St. Thomas. We shopped for about 3 hours then took a taxi to Magen's Bay. What a spot. At some point in the afternoon I found myself thinking, "This is what it is like to have zero stress." Of course, the pina coladas could have contributed to that feeling. Anyway, it was great.

 

I could have done without Nassau. We opted out of doing an excursion and went on our own. There were at least three other ships in port, so it was crowded everywhere. We thought the taxi drivers were going to come to blows over getting us in a cab. We took a cab over to Paradise Island to see the Atlantis. What a place! We paid to walk around the different aquariums and really enjoyed that part of it. Then we walked over to the public beach on the island. I would not recommend this spot. You run the gauntlet of locals trying to rent chairs, umbrellas, jet skis, parasailing and the like. Once you sit down on the beach you are continuously approached to buy all sorts of things. It was not relaxing in the least. An excursion would probably be a better bet in the Bahamas. Of course, since this was the last day, I was probably feeling out of sorts since the vacation was almost over. I was sitting on our verandah as we sailed out of Nassau and was met with the most amazing sight, a beautiful rainbow in an arc from the lighthouse into the sea. I can't put into words the feeling this gave at the end of a fabulous family vacation.

 

The disembarkation was incredibly smooth. I had arranged for a limo to pick us up, and we were to the airport by 9:30, in plenty of time for our 11:20 flight.

 

Even with the minor annoyances this was a trip I would recommend to anyone.

[sail7seas]

Thanks so much for your review. Sounds like your family had a wonderful time. We are eager to return to Zuiderdam.....we have enjoyed that ship very much and know our upcoming cruise will be wonderful.

 

 

Welcome back. Thanks again for sharing your comments with us.

[Orcrone]

Thanks Cruising5. Glad that, in spite of the annoyances, you had such a great time. With all these reviews of the Zuiderdam, I'm really beginning to get anxious for our turn at the ship.

[Roboat]

Thanks for the in-depth helpful review. We are booked on the Z for 10/16 and I love the pre-cruise psyche-up period fueled by recent reviews!

 

I haven't noticed any complaints about the broken chairs in the Crow's Nest, so I presume they have repaired them since we cruised on the Z last October or November.

 

There was also a headless statue next to the forward elevator (on deck 4, I think). That was a unfortunate, and it has hopefuly been repaired.

[npeters]

Hi Cruising5,

thanks for the review. I'm on the 8/21 Western Caribbean. Can you tell me what time was Main Lower Dining? I thought it was 8:30pm but others are now saying that it's earlier.

 

Thanks!

[teencruiser18]

Hi, I was on that cruise too, and I think that I met your boys. Was one of them David? If so, can I please have his email address? I never got it.

Thanks,

Kerry

[Cruising5]

I'll just answer a few of the questions ... the main, lower dining was at 8:30. Yes, Kerry, David is one of my boys. Isn't this board great so people can stay in touch!

[teencruiser18]

Can you please tell David to email me at genius118899@yahoo.com? I was on his parasailing boat, but I was able to grab some barbecue before leaving.

Kerry