In less than one year HAL won us with the Eurodam (April 2012) and lost us with the Zuiderdam (December 2012). If you have the time and inclination to read our comments below you should understand why.

Prior to boarding we knew that Zuiderdam had recently (Dec. 1-10, 2012) undergone dry dock repairs/improvements. However, we did not know about the complications and issues that affected the ship in the aftermath of those repairs/improvements. We only learned about those after heading back home and in hindsight these issues may explain part of our experience, but certainly do not justify it.

I'm not sure if carpets throughout common areas were replaced as part of dry dock work, but whatever the case the replacement was only partial. Funny, because there are two different shades of blue everywhere and it's really hard to tell new from old carpeting. All dark blue carpet on the ship looks really shabby in general. Other carpet areas (different colors) appear to be in much better shape. In highest traffic/impact areas (e.g. near elevator doors) a half moon cut is the classic tell-tale sign of a partial replacement, and they're now fraying at most junctions/seams. Tsc, tsc, tsc, why not replace the whole thing? Read more