Zuiderdam Review
Very Apprehensive - But was turned around within a Day
Rating by category
Additional details
After reading all the reviews of the Zuiderdam, I was almost fearful of sailing on the 1/3 Panama Canal voyage. I had visions of the air conditioning not working, the days long and boring and the food mediocre. Seeing that I was paid in full, I decided to go and make the best of it.
Embarkation: Flew to FLL from ATL day of sailing. Took the flight that arrived at 10:30, and grabbed a taxi to the port. It was confusing where to bring the luggage. Even the taxi driver stated that this was arranged differently than it had been the last sailing. Once that was figured out, stood outside in line just to get to security. With as long as the line was, I was surprised that only 2 points were open for security - when they had twice as many screening stations. This backed up the line and was time consuming. Once through security, I was then able to get in line for check in. Pictures were taken and boarded the ship. I was in my stateroom by 1:15.
Booked a Deluxe Verandah Suite. It was spacious. All prebooked items were there as well as the beverage card that came with the booking, and a complimentary bottle of champagne. The temperature in FLL was cooler than usual, so the room was comfortable.
Cabin Review
Large stateroom with a lot of storage space. The added make up area is a nice touch. Once I was able to figure out how all the light switches worked, it was much easier to navigate my way through the room. The pillow selection is nice. I never used the VCR, but there was a nice menu of movies to watch. The fruit was refilled as needed and the ice bucket never went empty. The Neptune Lounge was a good place to get a cup of really good coffee in the morning.