I am writing this review of our cruise on the HAL Zuiderdam for those of you who are curious about doing the Eastern Caribbean trip. We started our 7 day cruise on April 24, 2004. Here is my personal recap:

DAY 1: HAL does allow early boarding, but be aware that they do not have your cabins ready to be occupied. When boarding they would like you to go to the Queen's Lounge and check your carry on luggage with them. This defeats the purpose of carrying your breakables/valuables on with you. We just kept our bags and went to a comfortable lounge to wait for the PA system announcement that the cabins were ready to be occupied. This was definitely better than waiting in the cruise terminal.

The room was a cat. SS. This was the best room we have had on a cruise (8 previous cruises). For two people, the space was more than adequate. My lovely companion, Betty, did enjoy the space in the bathroom (double sink, separate shower and tub--with Jacuzzi jets). The balcony was large and totally covered. I would avoid the balcony cabins that are next to the outside/glass elevators. I am not that big on privacy, but those balconies are entirely viewable by all guests in the elevators. DVDs are available at the front desk for the DVD player they provide in the room. They allow three to be checked out at a time (no fee). Be aware that the most popular DVDs are checked out and unavailable through much of the cruise (first come, first served). However, I tried to be considerate, and returned each DVD as soon as I viewed it, so that others could enjoy the movies. Read more