EMBARKATION. It was a breeze at the terminal in Civitavecchia as half of the Zuiderdam’s passengers were staying on from the previous cruise. With no lines, we were processed in minutes. Within 30 minutes boarding was opened and we all headed for the ship to start our adventure. Holland America Lines, Zuiderdam was built in 2002 and holds almost 2,000 passengers. We had traveled on her once before in 2003 and she has had one refurbishing, but needs substantial work to bring her up to date. The ship is clean, worn in spots, but well maintained in the public areas. We found the Indonesian and Philippine staff to be very friendly and helpful. However, the officers seem to be aloof and don’t tend to mingle with the guests as on other lines. Safety seems to be taken seriously and the life boat drill is required for all passengers.

CABINS. We had a large outside cabin on deck one. (When we booked, balcony cabins were not available) Our friends were in a balcony and it was several feet smaller than our cabin – seems that the balcony took space away from the cabin. We had a much bigger sofa and more storage space. The bed was extremely comfortable. The only real issue was the extremely small screen TV – they do have DVD players and lots of free movies – but it is hard to watch. The bathrooms all have tub / shower combination and enough storage space. We had a noise issue (from a trash machine below our cabin) which was solved by the guest relations team. The cabin attendants are really over worked and under staffed but they did their best to keep things neat and tidy.

DINING. Main Dining Room (MDR): We had select dining for the evening meal. After the first night we were able to have the same table / wait staff with our friends at 7:15. The food and service in the dining room was great. Some meals were better than others, but overall it was a really nice experience. In fact, we enjoyed the dining room food and service better than the specialty restaurant “The Pinnacle Grill”. Whenever possible, we ate breakfast in the MDR as we don’t like having to fight the crowd in the Lido Buffet. We also enjoyed some lunches in the MDR – a very relaxed atmosphere. Lido Buffet: Cafeteria style with section for Salads, Mains, Asian/Indian, Italian/Pizza and Ice cream. Food quality is generally good and there is a nice selection for all meals. I give very low marks for the Asian/Indian selections. However, pizza and ice cream were very good. Drive Inn: Outside the Lido Buffet, near the inside pool, is the Drive Inn for hamburgers, hot dogs and fries. They have some of the best hamburgers at sea or on land! I limited myself to three for the entire trip and everyone thought they were great! Specialty Restaurants: We had a really bad experience the night we went to the Pinnacle Grill (bad steaks awful deserts) and would not go back. Read more