Zuiderdam Review

We are sold on Holland America.

Review for Transatlantic Cruise on Zuiderdam
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patandjohn@mindspring.com
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

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Additional details

Sail Date: Apr 2016
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

This was our first cruise on a Holland America ship and we found it to be the nicest we have yet experienced. We have sailed on NCL and Celebrity in the past. We combined two separate cruises to get a 29 day total. The first was a 17 day transatlantic repositioning from Ft. Lauderdale to Copenhagen and the second was a 12 day Baltic Sea.

We found the itinerary to be wonderful, with stops in 11 different countries and a number of sea days. The ship offered quite a few options onboard during sea days and you could find things to participate in or not depending on your taste. Yes, most of them were geared toward an older crowd, but that is what we looked like on a HAL ship and on a trip this long.

The entertainment changed often and was extremely varied and top notch. We found the food to be better than our previous ships in the main dining areas and the food in the specialty restaurants was better. Granted you don't have a lot of options on the Zuiderdam, but there were enough not to get bored with the food. The service was the best we have seen, especially our cabin stewards who kept our cabin spotless the entire voyage and kept us entertained with towel animals each night of the cruise.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

Cabin VA

We found the location of this cabin to be particularly good. There are only cabins above this one and the deck below houses the photo gallery, which is very quiet almost any time during the day or night. It is slightly aft of mid-ship and it is an easy walk to the aft or mid-ship elevators/stairs. The room itself was in excellent condition and everything worked as advertised during the entire 29 days were on the ship. There is plenty of room for storage and the bathroom was small but adequate. We liked that the small tub/shower combination had a flat floor, which made it much easier to keep your balance. The bed was very comfortable and wider than a normal queen. The linens were first rate and the selection of pillows was just fine. We would certainly request this cabin again if we travel on the ship again in the future. If you are looking for a cabin that helps keep your exercising on track this cabin works well. You are only one deck above the walking track on the Promenade Deck and the Lido restaurant is on 9, so a nice walk up the stairs from 4.

Port Reviews

Ponta Delgada

Ponta Delgada was OK, but we don't need to go back. We walked around the port on our own and visited the Military Museum. The Museum was fine, just not a lot to it. None of the ship's shore excursions really excited us. The visit was nice but not too exciting a stop for us.

La Coruna

We chose to take an excursion to Lugo and had a great time. You get a nice drive through the countryside and then a walking tour of the old city. That city tour includes the roman built wall all the way around, still intact after all these years. The cathedral was pretty spectacular on the inside and the provided lunch was great. Turned out to be a 6 course meal or so with assorted wines, could hardly walk when we were done.

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