I see another entry for the same cruise right before mine and am wondering if we were on the same ship! Although there were some good things about this cruise (not many kids, the ports of call, great tender service), I will list our experience and why we will never sail with Holland America again.
First of all, the travel agent sent our tickets to the wrong place. That is not HA's fault, but it started us off in a bad situation. However, the travel agent sent the tickets directly to HA's ticket desk. Check in and embarkation was a breeze, taking less than 20 minutes or so. After check in we were herded to an area which did not have enough seating for the people waiting. No music, no nothing. But after about 40 minutes, we were boarding the Zuiderdam. I knew we were in for a different type of cruise when so many were being boarded in wheelchairs and scooters. This was not the case with our last cruise on Carnival. Most of the passengers were older than myself (53).
On the way to the Lido deck upon embarkation I needed to use the restroom. I ducked into one on the way only to find it running over with feces on the toilet and the floor. NASTY! Strike one. I quickly went down the hallway to the next ladies room to find it out of order. Not a good start. Finally I found a restroom and went to the Lido deck to have a pina colada and wait for our room to be ready. The first thing I noticed is that the windows in the restaurant were filthy. There were heavy streaks of rust and salt running down the windows. Not a great first impression.