We sailed on the Zuiderdam Eastern Caribbean on September 17, 2005. This was my 15th cruise but the first on HAL. We arrived at Port Everglades at 11:45 am and were quickly directed to the check in area. We were greeted and checked in very quickly. We then proceeded to security, had our picture taken and boarded the ship. We were told that our cabin wouldn't be ready until 1:30. We are used to going directly to our room and dropping off carry on bags but this wasn't possible as the fire doors to the cabin hallways were all closed. Had we know this we would have check the carry ons. We later found out that we could have checked our bags in the Piano Bar.

We proceeded to the Lido buffet and had a bite to eat. It was very crowded and luckily found the last table available. The food was pretty good with a variety to choose from. Plenty of dining crew to assist in carrying trays, getting drinks, etc. We then proceeded to the pool bar for a cool one and to wait for the 1:30 time.

At 1:30 we proceeded to our room which was category SS on deck 6. The room was a suite but not their largest suite. It has a large balcony with two outdoor padded wicker chairs and ottomans as well a small table with two additional chairs. It had two phones, a DVD player, a 6 foot couch, a mini bar, a lighted make up mirror but three additional chairs in the cabin is too many. The best part was the storage. On many ships we have encountered poorly designed storage space but this room is definitely the exception. There were three closets with shelves that would fold up or down depending on your need for hanging clothes. Lots of drawers, a double sink vanity in the bathroom as well as a jacuzzi tub and a separate shower stall. Overall we were very pleased with the room. Read more