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Holland America Line

MS Zuiderdam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: David DeVargas
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: December 28, 2002
Itinerary: Caribbean - Eastern

I should've know at check-in (1.5 hours to check-in and get on the ship, add to that incorrect boarding cards were issued which made us have to go stand in another line) that this cruise was going to have problems. From start to finish the HAL cruise staff aboard this ship (and on the ground) made the cruise the worst possible cruise for everyone aboard. As pretty as this ship is, the indifferent and rude staff made what could've been an otherwise tolerable cruise, extremely disappointing.

The public areas although very pretty and incredibly decorated are odd.

The bars and lounges are long and narrow and accommodate few people for such a large ship.

MAIN DECK - Has a great atrium bar except it's very small. The theatre is nice but has very narrow aisles between the rows of seats (so get there early, or you'll cause the entire row to have to get up for you).

LOWER PROMENADE- The Piano and Sports Bars are nice and probably the best sized bars on board. The casino is nice and has a good variety of games. The disco is the worst space on board. The bar is triangular which allows for only 1 bartender (2 at the very most). There is a giant firewall that separates the dance floor and bar so you can watch people dancing. Horrible space but given that the average cruise passenger age on HAL is 80 this was probably not a very important public space for them. The movie theatre is not terraced so you have a very nice view of the persons head in front of you.

PROMENADE - The internet cafe is very sleek, but it is NOT open 24hrs. It has very odd hours. Ocean Bar is nice to have a pre dinner cocktail, (if you can find a seat or a nice bartender).

LIDO DECK - The Gym...The gym is OK but small and has an aerobics floor that takes up half the gym so there is not much variety of equipment. The Sauna/Steam rooms are COED and are in what is called a "Thermal Suite". It also costs $15 per visit. NOT WORTH IT. Whoever designed it apparently does not use a steam or sauna as they used tile and marble benches in the dry sauna and marble in the wet. Seared flesh is not a pretty site and many people were burned. They do provide small vinyl sized cushions to sit on in the dry sauna, you know, the type you take to a football game? Ridiculous. The public pools are nice though.

OBSERVATION DECK - This has the best public space, The Crows Nest. Bingo is held there and that is nice.

Food was excellent. The service getting it was HORRIBLE. Dinner took 2.5 hours each night and there were LONG lags between courses. It was apparent the ship was understaffed. Our servers did the best the could but it took quite a while so be prepared.

The fourth night we ate in the Odyssey Specialty restaurant which ran out of white and red wine. They had one bottle of each left that were $89 each. Again, service issue. Matre d didn't seem to care or offer an explanation. The Lido offered a good variety but once it closes your only option is pizza and pasta, nothing else. So past 2pm you're on your own.

Wait staff needs fine dining training, starting with serving the ladies first (which they never did).

Room service takes over an hour to be delivered anytime of the day (including at 2AM!!).

Spa attendants are very nice and pleasant. Since you'll be so bored on this ship, do many spa treatments!

Our cabin was very nice and well appointed. We had a suite on Navigation deck. The only drawback is that the pool deck was above us and early in the AM you would hear chairs and noise above you. The whirlpool bathtub in the bathroom was nice to have.

The entertainment was no different than any other ship. It was OK. Same craptacular show different cruise line. Ships DJ was nice.

If you have teenagers HAL is not the cruise line to book. This ship only had the video arcade for teens. There were no other activities for them at night so many times they were bored and would start wandering into the disco and bar, which is off limits to anyone under 18. We only went to St. Thomas, St. John, and San Juan. San Juan was the best of them all. St. John is pretty but there is nothing to do on the island.

People VERY VERY VERY old go on HAL. If you are used to a nightlife after late seating, forget it. I would not invite anyone on this ship over to dinner with the exception of two couples I met on board. This was my second and last cruise on HAL. The service was so bad, rude, arrogant and indifferent it was amazing nothing else went bad. The only real good thing is that we didn't get Norwalk virus.