We just returned from our Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America Zuiderdam and had a wonderful time. I traveled with my husband, my 9 year old son, and mother-in-law. We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale the day before our cruise was scheduled to set sail. We thought that coming from a northern state that gets some nasty winter weather we wanted to be sure to arrive in time. It's a good thing we traveled a day early as our flight out was delayed causing us to miss our connecting flight causing us to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale 3 hours late. We found that American Airlines was not one bit helpful or sympathetic to our situation and were down right rude about it at times. On our trip home the airline agents outright lied about why we were 2 hours late getting out of Ft. Lauderdale. They blamed the weather, but the plane Captain told us the true story- the plane was delayed by customs and the airline allowed no time for this. I'll never fly American Airlines again!!! In Ft. Lauderdale we stayed at the airport La Quinta which was a well kept, adequate hotel. They offered a free shuttle from the airport, but we missed the 11:00 stop time because of our delay and had to take a taxi. We did use the free shuttle to get to Port Everglades. Getting on the shuttle was very chaotic and unorganized, but we got to the ship so we can't complain much. The hotel offered a free average continental breakfast, and late check out so it worked well for us. We arrived at the pier around 12:30 and we were on the ship by 1:00. It was a very quick and well organized check in. I would strongly recommend filling out your immigration paper work on line as the express check in line was much shorter and moved much more quickly!!!! The check in staff were very informative and friendly.

The ship was very nice. WE have previously traveled on the Westerdam and found the Zuiderdam to be less elegant and more worn, but it was still beautiful. The pool areas were very well kept with adequate lounge chairs and bar staff to keep you happy. We spent a good bit of our free time around the pools. It's nice to have a sheltered indoor pool for those days when it rains. Our stateroom, a Verandah balcony, was perfect. It was probably smaller than the rooms on a Carnival ship, but much more elegantly decorated with a shower and tub combo in the bathroom. The bed and bedding were the most wonderful things I've ever slept on. We had two connecting rooms which makes it nice if you travel with others. Our room stewart, LiLi, was very attentive to our needs and went out of his way to greet us everyday. There was ample storage space with extra drawers and space for luggage under the beds. The food in the dining room was superb. The presentation of the food was beautiful and the taste was better than any other ship we've been on. Our dining room staff. Didit, Bernard, and our chief stewart, were beyond words. They knew what we needed before we did. We figured they must have had a hidden microphone at our table because as soon as we said we needed something or would like something they were there with it. The dining experience was top notch! The Lido food was also very good and the staff there was also very attentive to our needs. The desserts, as on all the ships we've been on, were average. We did however have a piece of strawberry cheesecake to die for!!!!

The entertainment was good. The dancers were the best we've seen on the five cruises we've been on. We attended the late show so the crowd was minimal. The one thing we like best about the Holland America line is that there are less crowds. They put fewer people on the same size ship as Carnival. We rarely waited in line for anything. The crowd does tend to be older, but I think there were more young people on this ship than when we went on the Westerdam 2 years ago. We like this more subdued, laid back crowd (we're in our mid-thirties). We enjoyed our ports, but had some trouble with our shore excursions. They adjusted our ship board account to compensate for the less than adequate shore excursions. The troubles with the shore excursions were related to weather, so it really wasn't their fault, but they compensated us anyhow. Grand Turk is a new port and not very well developed yet. In five years I bet it will be pretty spectacular. It was nice to see it before it was over developed. We did the kayak, Hike and Snorkel in St. Thomas which was great. It was very well organized and an enjoyable time. In Tortola I would recommend going to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. They are amazing. Unfortunately, we arrived an hour late into port so our excursion was cut really short because of darkness. Our favorite port was their private island, Half Moon Cay. An absolute paradise!!!! I would recommend getting to the island early if you want a chair as they were pretty much filled up by 10. The Stingray Encounter on the island was pretty poor, but my 9 year old liked it. My son did not use Camp Hal so I can't rate it. He spent most of his time in the pool and with us. Disembarkment was a breeze and we were off the ship by 9:00. They moved us through pretty quickly. The Ft. Lauderdale airport was a nightmare!! We were in three lines for a total of 2.5 hours. We did the Holland America ship to airport transfer service which was not he best. Our bus driver was pretty much useless. The beauty salon was my biggest disappointment! The gentleman who fixed my hair did an average job and my appointment was late both times. Overall we had a wonderful time and the service on the ship was fantastic. I would recommend it to anyone!