Zuiderdam Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,028 reviews

No Clothes!

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Zuiderdam

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Sail Date: Jan 2011
Cabin: Signature Superior Verandah Suite

It was a nightmare start to our Panama Canal cruise when we discovered that a suitcase had gone missing. This was due to the driver of the shuttle bus from FLL offloading our suitcase at the wrong ship. We had enjoyed 2 cruises before on Eurodam, our case enjoyed a third! The staff at the dock couldn't have done more to try to locate the case prior to sailing, but no luck. At that stage we didn't know where it was. It was a great relief when it was located. As the case contained a lot of our clothes, the front desk staff on Zuiderdam, did everything they could to help, even tho it wasn't HAL's fault it happened. We had free laundry the whole cruise, my husband has never had his shirts ironed so well. We were lent a Tux and evening skirt etc. so although I missed wearing my own formal things, it worked out ok. Luckily, the case was waiting for us on our retun to Ft. Lauderdale. We couldn't fault anything about the ship or staff. Our stateroom was a really good size, shame I didn't have enough clothes to fill the wardrobes! The flower arrangements and art work all round the ship were a pleasure to look at. The food was good, on the whole. The potatoes were often cold and overcooked and there were very few green vegetables served, but there was always a good selection to choose from. The Asian section in the Lido was excellent. It was a shame it wasn't available at night. There were always plenty of staff around to help carry trays or fill up coffee, water etc. We had room service breakfast a few times, which always arrived at the requested time. It saved having to face the crowds when it was an early start. The shows were very enjoyable, especially the Magician with Indie the dog and the Steel Band were outstanding. We felt there was a very comfortable atmosphere on the Zuiderdam, we would certainly cruise with HAL again. The passage through the locks on the Canal was a tremendous experience, made better by attending the talks with Lance, telling us all about the history etc. We enjoyed all the ports we called at, found our own excursions at each place which we felt were bette,r and a lot cheaper, than those offered by the ship. All in all, a most enjoyable experience inspite of the bad start.

Cabin Review

Signature Superior Verandah Suite

Cabin SS

Very spacious cabin, lots of wardrobe space. Bath and separate shower was really good. Jacuzzi bath. Good location for lifts. Good size balcony. Good selection of TV stations. Nicest cabin we have ever had.

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