We recently returned from the now infamous transatlantic crossing on the Zuiderdam and even though I have never posted a review of any other ship before, I felt compelled to share my thoughts on this cruise experience. Prior to sailing, I read reviews of the Z that were filled with complaints regarding sewage odors, disrepair of the ship, and a lack of attention from the crew. Frankly, those reviews made me apprehensive to embark on our transatlantic journey on this ship. I tried to prepare myself for a cruise that was not up to Holland America's standards and perhaps a less than stellar than usual. In retrospect, the only times that I had that were not positive were when we were told that the Captain decided to substitute Nassau for my beloved Half Moon Cay to spare the Westerdam the notorious norovirus that had been sailing with us for most of the journey—the Westerdam was sharing the island with us that day. Instead, we had to spend eight hours in Nassau with thousands of cruise passengers from five other ships rather than on an idyllic private island. The other time I was unhappy was when we were disembarking in Ft. Lauderdale and reality was setting in that our wonderful cruise was over and it was time to return to our life on land.

We were part of the Cruise Critic roll call group and the ship treated us well by hosting two gatherings for us in the Crow's Nest which included drinks and hors d'oeurves. We also received formal invitations from the hotel manager, Mark Pells, to a lovely lunch in the Pinnacle Grille. Speaking of Mark, what an ambassador he is for this ship and HAL. He was very entertaining and informative along with approachable, gracious, and generous in spite of the difficult conditions he was confronted with on this sailing. Our journey began in Venice where we spent two nights prior to sailing, too short a period of time, in this magical town. While there I felt that if the cruise was not what we hoped for, I would still be content because we had the opportunity to experience the essence of what makes Venice so unique.

When it came time to board the ship, the terminal became chaotic after a while with a check-in system that broke down and if fault needs to be assigned, I would have to assign it to the terminal staff who stopped communicating with the passengers waiting to check in—in some instances for a lengthy period of time. I witnessed passengers who were so irate that they kicked their carry on luggage, stomped around the terminal, and uttered expletives that made your ears blush. I guess that they were anxious to get in that line in the Lido to start their 17-day feeding frenzy! Perhaps I am being too hard on them. Some had just arrived from the States and were exhausted but I don't feel that a lack of decorum is justified even under those circumstances. We boarded after waiting about an hour and were ushered/herded to the Lido because our cabins were not ready. We had the usual welcome aboard Lido lunch and sooner rather than later, we were able to go to our cabin where I was expecting stains, tears, marks, and grime. None of the above was present. Our carpeting even looked fairly new. No complaints so far except our verandah only had one chair and an ottoman even though it could accommodate another chair. We ended up putting the chair in the cabin out there when we wanted to enjoy the verandah together. Problem solved. Read more