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Koningsdam

Zuiderdam

Eurodam

St. John's (Newfoundland)

We left on the Zuiderdam’s July 7, 2018 sailing for a two week cruise from Copenhagen, Denmark visiting Norway, Iceland, The Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands.  We flew a day in advance so as to make certain we would feel refreshed for boarding.  We stayed at the Clarion Airport hotel which was an easy walk with luggage from the airport.  We checked in and walked half way between the hotel and the airport and took the metro to the city center our first afternoon.  From there we did a boat ride through / around downtown.  

We left for the airport check in the next morning around 10:45 am.  Boarding the bus was straightforward and we arrived at the pier around 11:30 am.  The check in process was also smooth.  We were on the ship within half an hour.  The cabins were available by the time we got on (noonish).  The weather was warm and we had specifically packed our bathing suits for the pool.  Excellent check in experience.  

The ship is looking a little worn.  The benches in the hallway by the elevators are just pure ugly and chipped. The corridor artwork is also old and outdated.    As far as maintenance, there were a few issues.  Some of the arrows above the elevators are burnt out.  You cannot tell if the elevator is headed up or down.   The reading light by my bed was also burnt out.  The wooden door that covers the mini fridge had screws that had been pulled out from the frame.  Also, during the voyage, maintenance staff were sanding down the metal door frames to each cabin and repainting them.  The screeching from the sanding was annoying and I had to request that they stop so I could take an afternoon nap.  They obliged.  (It seems to me that since this ship just recently came out of dry dock, that would have been the place and time to address these issues.)  

In terms of entertainment, I did go to the shows featuring various headliners.  In the main show lounge, there was a pianist who was rather showy.  Also there was a couple who did Cirque du Soleil style entertainment including the ropes/ acrobatic style high wire movements.  There was a rather showy violinist from Iceland.  But, one or two songs from her were sufficient.  Also, all of the instrumentalists gathered for a BBC multimedia presentation.  This was the highlight in the main show lounge.  Besides the main show lounge, there was ‘The Lincoln Center’ featuring two violinists, a violist, a cellist and a pianist.  Unbelievable talent here.  They performed at least once if not twice a day.  Also, there was the B.B. King Blues Club featuring a group of talented musicians performing appropriately named style of music.  Also, there was the Billboard lounge.  Here, there were two pianists who did not receive enough recognition.  They were incredible.  In summary, the entertainment onboard was tops.    

The gymnasium was small, in comparison to other ships.  The treadmills were often all in use, especially at opening time, 7:00 am.  The resistance equipment was minimal.  There was a trainer on board who did classes throughout the day.  If you like to watch TV during your time on the treadmill, as do I, you need to ask for the TVs to be turned on.  The sound was minimal, but you can ask to have the dialogue text option turned on.  

The service desk did a good job, although this part of the ship is also small so the lines can get long to speak with one of the few representatives.  A plus here is that they will exchange currency for you.    Right next to the service desk is a single kiosk to print out current bills throughout the voyage.    (Being able to review charges is not possible from the stateroom.)

The shore excursion office, the future cruise booking office and the library have been moved up to Deck 10 in the Crow’s Nest.  The size of the future cruise booking office is the size of a large closet.  I consider this to be a shame.  These offices should be centrally located and closer to the service desk.  During this sailing, there was flooding from above.  Carpet dryers and shop vacs were all over deck 10 forward to dry this space.  I used to enjoy listening to music up here in the past, but the room is no longer set up in this way.  Speaking about the future cruise booking office, I asked for an atlas for next year, specifically one with deck plans.  Apparently HAL no longer considers printing deck plans in their promotional literature important.  Here, I highly disagree with this decision.  In addition, I had a couple of run-ins with the shore excursion manager, Reanetse Atema.  This was by far the low point of the cruise.   (Don’t be surprised by what the shore excursion office won’t be willing to do / discuss).

Dining in the main dining room was a bit of a letdown.  We had open seating and in order to get a table within a reasonable time frame, without making reservations for a specific evening, in advance, showing up before 6:00 pm was important.  That seemed to be the time when the lines began.  I find having opening seating and needing to reserve for a specific time to be a bit contradictory.  But HAL is not the only company who follows this type of policy.   With respect to the food, I had some disappointments as well.  The baked potatoes were white potatoes, not baker potatoes.  That was disappointing.  The Caesar salads were soggy.  The dressing was not seasoned with anchovy paste, but rather a single anchovy was placed on top of the salads.  The crème brulee was flavorless.  The everyday sirloin steak was so so.  Otherwise the food was acceptable.  

Dining in the ‘market place’ lido buffet was great.  Breakfast and lunch choices were plentiful.    As an aside about space in the lido buffet, I noticed there were no identified areas as ‘reserved for the handicapped’.  There were multiple passengers in motorized scooters who would have to navigate the close tables in order to eat here.   Although the ship has rooms that are handicapped accessible, more attention needs to be given to other public spaces onboard.   

We ate in the specialty dining area 4 times.  Three times, the room was noted to be the Pinnacle Grill.  The 4th time, the same space was noted to be Rudi’s sel de mer.  Each night the service and the meals were excellent.  The lobster bisque was one of my favorite dishes.  I had lobster one night, a pork chop another night, a filet mignon a third night then had Alaskan crab another.   Remarkable dining here.  There was one other spot noted for specialty dining called Canaletto.  This Italian dining venue was actually part of the Lido Market Place.  I ate in this venue two summers ago on the Koningsdam and swore I would not return here.  

Only the Lido Bar and the Ocean Bar on deck 3 offered drink specials (basically 2 for 1) from 4:00-6:00 pm every night except for the first night.  Space was tight here during these times especially on dress up nights.  Drinks were good and reasonably priced during these hours.  I was disappointed that this offer was not available across other bars on the ship.  Nevertheless, thanks to Nice and Albert for your service. 

In summary, weather or not I sail with HAL again will depend upon a response to a letter I wrote to President Orland Ashford regarding the shore excursions office.  I am a 3 star mariner with HAL and have sailed with them since 1968.

Shore excursions:

Our first port Bergen.  We were on a bus ride to see the general area of Bergen.  That trip was O.K.  What was better was strolling the main road for souvenirs, including wool sweaters, and stopping for a beer.  Also, there is a Star bucks here that has free WiWi.  So, if you are not up to spending $20.00 a day for a WiFi connection on the ship, this is the location to head for. 

Port two was Alesund.  We did a great boat ride through the fjord.  This provided us wonderful views of the area.  We highly enjoyed this experience.  

The third port was Seydisfjordur.  We payed $70.00 for this tour.  It was a walking tour through the town.  We chose this tour because we did not know where the town was in relation to the pier.  After all is said and done, I would recommend getting off the ship and walking the town independently.  The pier is at the base of the town.  No need to spend the money.  Also, in hindsight, I would suggest that HAL remove this port as there is really nothing here.  Or, if not, I would recommend staying onboard.

Port four was Akureyri.  Once off the ship we boarded a bus to Myvatn Nature baths.  This location is not as popular as the geothermal baths in Reykjavik, but as enjoyable without the hype.  It was part of a combo tour visiting a ‘falls’ on the way.  I would recommend, for sure.  This was booked directly the HAL.    

Port five was Isafjordur.  From this location we boarded a boat to take us to the now non-existent town of Hesteyri.  I would say skip this tour as well.  It was an hour’s boat ride in each direction to walk in the fields with a talk about the way this town used to be.  There is currently one family living in this town.  They provided us with some sweet bakery delights and coffee before our return back to the ship.  

Port six was day one in Reykjavik.  Here we boarded a bus for the ‘Golden Circle day trip’ featuring Thingvelir, Gullfoss waterfall and the viewing of a Geysir.  I had some issues on this trip.  The bus itself was old with broken reclining levers, no seat head rest covers and most importantly inoperable seatbelts.  We were told to wear seat belts and that we could be individually fined for not wearing them.  But many, including several senior citizens, could not wear them due to the condition of the bus.      The tour itself was fine.  The problem was with the tour operator.   I sent a letter to the HAL president about this experience.

Port seven was also Reykjavik – day two.  Although the Blue Lagoon is a highlight from my trip – 2nd time to a geothermal bath, the operator was once again a problem.  The bus was not air conditioned so the escape hatches need to be opened.  One person was not on the bus at departure time, so a bus full of people needed to wait 50 minutes before returning to the ship.  After pre-showing we had about an hour of time in the lagoon.  We were treated to a silica mask and a drink.  This was certainly a novelty.  Had the tour operator returned on time and the bus had air flow, I would have rated this activity as a 5 star opportunity.  This also entailed writing a letter to the HAL president about this experience.

Port eight was Torshavn, Faroe Islands.  From this port, we traveled by bus to Gjogv.  At this site we had a midday snack of cold pancakes and instant coffee.  From this restaurant, we walked down the hill to Gjaar church.  It was nice but not impressive.  I cannot imagine living her in the winter.  

Port nine was Lerwick, Scotland.  This was a tender port.  We boarded a bus to take us to Scalloway Castle, the Scalloway musem and to see some Shetland ponies.  The castle was small and not impressive.  Same can be said for the museum.  Seeing the size of the Shetland ponies was impressive.  PS, downtown Lerwick has some wonderful souvenir shops.

Some bumps in the water

We had not sailed Holland for several years.  I feel that the clientele has moved to a much older crowd.  Many guests on walkers, wheelchairs etc.  My biggest disappointment was the itinerary during the day.  There was nothing to do.  No karaoke, no dance classes, nothing to fill the time if you decided to stay on the ship.  Holland may do this intentionally in order to sell excursions.  However, there was not much at night either.  The trivia games were at odd times that interfered with dinner or happy hour.  The trivia guy was not very energetic--he did not make it very fun.  Since we had been to several of the ports before, I was looking forward to staying on the ship.  Other than a movie, happy hours, or just sitting on the lido, there was nothing to do.  The bright spot was the shows at night.  The dancers and singers on this ship were very talented and put on some awesome performances.

Holland America is for an older crowd.........

May 17-29, 2017.  Two places to visit on my bucket list were Norway and Scotland, so when I saw this HAL cruise to both places, I was sold.  This was my first cruise on the Zuiderdam and I was very pleased. The itinerary was round-trip Copenhagen, with ports every day of the 12 night cruise except the last day.  Ports included Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Flam, Bergen, Lerwick (Shetland Islands), Portree (Isle of Skye), Invergorden (Inverness), South Queensferry (Edinburgh), and Newcastle on Tyne (England). 

Copenhagen:  We arrived early in Copenhagen in order to recover from jet lag and to see the city.  Glad we did.  We had an overnight flight arriving on Sunday the 14th in the afternoon. I flew from Sacramento to Chicago (4 hours), had a 5 hour layover, and then a 9 hour flight. Upon arrival, we decided to take a cab instead of trying to figure out the excellent public transportation options.  All cabs accept credit cards.  It cost about $40 for the cab ride to our hotel, which was The Admiral Hotel next to Amelianborg Palace.  I had purchased a Copenhagen Card on line (www.copenhagencard.com) before we left for 89 Euros for a 72-hour adult card. You receive a voucher which you print out and exchange for the card when you get there.  The time starts the first time you use it. You can also buy them for 24, 48 or 120 hours.  This card was a wonderful purchase.  It gives you "free" passage on all buses, trains and the metro, a free canal cruise (note specific location where valid), free admission to all public museums and the Tivoli Gardens. We didn't sit down to figure out if we saved money, but the convenience was well worth it.  We neglected to exchange the paper voucher I had printed out for the card at the airport, and so had to scurry to the Central Tourist Information location (right across from Tivoli Gardens and the Central Train Station) to get there before it closed at 4:00 (it was Sunday). Not sure where to get it at the airport, but that would have been a better place.  We used it to take a canal tour; take the bus to Tivoli Gardens and admission to TG; bus back to Christianborg Palace; admission to Palace residence and guided tour; bus to Danish National Gallery and admission to same; admission to Rosenborg Castle; bus back to our hotel; admission to Amelianborg Palace Museum. There is so much more we could have used it for, but that was all we had time and energy to do. It was so easy to use - just show to bus drivers and admission persons. The Tourist information office folks were very nice and helpful and spoke excellent English. 

We had heard prices in Copenhagen are high so we were prepared for that.  Some good finds for food:  Irish Pub on corner of canal on corner of Nyhavn and Holbersgade (excellent hamburger and fries and a beer); Joe and the Juice on Skt. Anne Plads between Amaliegade and Bredgade (saw the Crown Prince having coffee there one morning); and Kompasset (great smorresbord - open faced sandwiches, and selection of aquavits). We loved our hotel - The Admiral - great view of the water and comfortable room with giant timbers and wood paneling.

Then on to the ship on Wednesday.  Embarkation was easy - usual line to get to counter for check in, but it was smooth sailing and there were a lot of people there to check folks in so it went quickly.

We sailed away on time, and the captain gave 3 long blasts of the ship horn. He did this leaving every port, which I loved. It was like saying, "so long for now. Thanks for the visit and we'll be back soon!"

Our cabin was the usual clean and well-maintained Holland cabin - Room 6153 - Veranda balcony cabin at the aft starboard side of the ship (near the back on the right hand side). We liked the location as it was out of the main anything - very quiet. Our cabin stewards were excellent, and unobtrusive - cleaning our room magically while we were gone each morning, doing the evening turn-down while we dined.

Oslo - Hop On/Hop Off (HOHO) is right outside the ship. Takes credit cards. Has a good route to all major sight seeing seeing spots. We skipped the Vigeland sculpture park but heard it was terrific. Stopped at Folkemuseum, an outdoor set up of farm houses, old church, old school and little village with an indoor exhibit about the Sami population (formerly known as Laplanders). Got back on and next stop was Viking Ship Museum with 2.5 old Viking vessels and various Viking artifacts and history.  We skipped the next stop which was 3 more museums - Kon Tiki, Fram and Norwegian Maritime museums. Heard from others that these were very good stops. Rode the HOHO around again to Opera House and climbed to top (design of building is to allow public to walk on its sloping roof). Then walked back to ship through Akershus Fortress which is right across street from cruise port. 

Kristiansand: took little sightseeing train right at tender drop-off through town to get overview and orientation.  Got off at city center. Walked down central pedestrian mall. Wonderful bakeries /coffee shops on nearly every corner. Very small town, easily walkable. Went to fortress - nothing much to see there. Walked through town and stopped at beautiful shop for home goods and beautiful yarns and sewing/knitting supplies. Went through fish market ("Fiskebrygga") that is right next to tender drop off pick up place. Amazing array of fresh fish and seafood.  Ate at Pieder Ro restaurant in fish market complex and had a delicious fish soup with beer. Very nice restaurant with indoor or patio dining. Good little ice cream shop frequented by the locals is just across from it.

Stavanger: took HAL excursion of fjord cruise up to place to see Pulpit Rock. Fjord boat was large and comfortable and a good tour guide joined us to narrate what we were seeing.  Fjord boat is moored right next to our ship. Beautiful scenery all the way up the fjord. Stopped for waffles and coffee/tea on way back. Got back to ship with plenty of time to walk through the old town of quaint houses and a few shops along cobblestone lanes right above our ship. Then walked through local farmers market/craft fair about a block from ship, and ventured up another street lined with a variety of pubs, shops and restaurants. Stopped for a beer at pub with good wi-fi.

Flam: took HAL excursion of train ride to spot that had hotel that served waffles and coffee, tea.  Stopped on way at waterfall. Hotel stop was about 1.5 hours, giving time to walk around and take pictures of mountains and valley below.  In Flam, just wandered around enjoying scenery and nice park along the river and fjord near the ship.  Met folks who rented little electric green car near hotel and drove up the mountain. They said they had a blast, with provided GPS and narration that came with car. 

Bergen: short walk from ship to town, but we opted for a HOHO tour that included ticket to funicular. It was a competing company to Red HOHo buses with smaller blue vehicles. We were advised to go to funicular first as lines can be very long. Good advice, as we were able to skip first long line for ticket purchases and get in second long line for entrance. Line moved quickly and it was well organized. Up at top, spectacular views of city, plus restrooms and places to eat, as well as hiking trails.  We opted for restaurant to have waffles and coffee, use facilities and wi-fi.  When we went back down about an hour later, lines were down the block. Visited the Hanseatic Museum, quite interesting look at German merchant operations and living facilities. At that time of day we could only buy a ticket that included admission to that museum plus two others with shuttle in between.  We walked to second one and skipped third as it was on far side of town.  Then we went to the open air fish market set up along the pier across from the Hanseatic Museum. Multiple stalls selling fresh fish, dried fish, whale and reindeer sausage and dried meats like jerkey.  Bought sandwich at one of stalls, very fresh, fish is right off the boats.  Then walked up the street into the city center to a pedestrian mall near museums and Central Park that has a large lake with fountain in the center. Caught HOHO bus again to finish the tour. Funicular lines were even longer with both lines stretching down the block. Finished the tour and went back to the ship. The fortress is right near the ship, but we decided we had enough of fortresses. Wonderful sail away with ship horn blasting both as we left dock and as we sailed under suspension bridge. 

Lerwick, Shetland Islands: took HAL excursion with panorama tour of Lerwick and out across island to Scalloway. Excellent museum with castle right next door. Thouroughly enjoyed our tour guide who was funny and informative. Bought book, Shetland Bus, about British/Norwegian collaboration against Nazis in Norway during WWII, that was based in Scalloway. Very good read. Stopped to visit Shetland ponies and chat with breeder. Back in town with plenty of time to meander through village, stopping for a bit of shopping. Bought hand knit mittens made from local wool, and goat milk soaps hand made by local woman. Had lunch at tiny restaurant called The Fort, right below Fort Charlotte. Recommended by locals as best fish and chips. It was excellent food. Has both a take-away counter and tiny cafe. Get the small (1 large piece of fish), or split the large (2 large pieces of fish), as the pieces of Haddock were enormous  with a generous portion of fries. Heard from others that the local museum was surprisingly good for such a small community. 

Portree: took HAL excursion to Tallisker Whiskey Distillery and island tour. Tender drop off point was at base of cliff with narrow short steep road up to the town center. Buses for excursions had to come in one or two at a time, load and go back up hill before next buses can come down, so a bit of slow process. But we got on our bus with a fairly small group and headed out across the town out to another part of the coast to the whiskey distillery.  Fascinating tour, in very high demand, so they stick scrupulously to the schedule. Folks coming in at about 10:00 had to wait until 12:30 for the next tour, and by the end of our time, I believe the wait was until about 3:30. Toured the country side then, which is beautiful.  It was foggy so we couldn't see the mountains, but others on different excursions hit it at better times and said they were spectacular.  Returned to town, and wandered through a few shops, including a nice little bookstore with good selection of books about the islands, Scotland, and local authors. Had some good ice cream and went back to the tenders for return to the ship.

Invergordon/Inverness: took HAL excursion re "Monsters, Lochs, etc.". We wanted to see the Highlands, and this provided a nice drive through the countryside to Loch Ness and the museum/castle. We only had a relatively brief time here, which meant we were hustling to see the short film, then hot foot it down to the castle ruins, take a quick peek and climb up some steps for views of the Loch, then back down for the arduous climb back up to the museum/gift store, and the climb back up the hill to the bus. Then we waited about half an hour due in part to someone being late getting back to the bus.  We next drove back to Inverness and did a short panorama tour before stopping at a lovely hotel for a surprisingly nice lunch, given there were 2-3 other tour buses at the same time. After lunch we drove out to Culloden Moor battle site for a 15 minute stop to see the field where the most significant battle of Scottish history took place. There's a museum but we did not have time to visit it. Then on to Calder Castle which is still being lived in. We had more than enough time there to look through the rooms of the castle, and meander through the grounds and gardens. It was quite warm the day we were there, which apparently was unusual, because our bus lacked air conditioning and was like a sauna inside. I think the heat zapped our energy, as we stood outside near our bus for about 20 minutes waiting to leave. Heard from others that they spent a beautiful day in Inverness on their own, with plenty of things to see and do. 

South Queensferry/Edinburgh: This is another tender port, with the ship anchored in the Firth of Forth. It is some distance from Edinburgh so you have to find transportation into the city if that is your destination. The ship did not offer a shuttle bus service. We intended to find a cab when we got off the ship, but instead, as we walked off the tender pier, there is a local shuttle bus service that costs £5 each way into the city center. You can buy round trip or one way. It leaves about every 30 minutes and takes about 30 minutes. Its drop off and pick up spot is across the street from Charlotte Square.  It turns out that the HOHO bus has a stop right next to the pick up place, although we didn't know that. Last shuttle back to the ship is at 5:00. Although we were told that the drop off point is only a 5-minute walk to the Waverly Bridge pick up spot for the HOHO bus lines (there are three different routes of buses), it was more like 20 minutes. It was quite warm the day we were there, and there were masses of people at the HOHO spot, and traffic in the city was quite congested. We had pre-purchased tickets that afforded access to all three lines, and included admission to Britannia, Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace. Holyrood was closed the day we were there, as Princess Anne was visiting that day. With tickets in hand we avoided the long line at the ticket booth and got on the bus line to Britannia (town of Leith) just as it was leaving. Britannia has an excellent tour, with hand held audio devices included in the admission.  After that tour we got back on HOHO and took it to the base of the hill for the Castle. Stopped for a bite of lunch at a place called Cafe on the Mound, which was decent and had wi-fi.  Then we hoofed it up a very steep hill to the castle. The audio guides here were an extra cost, as was the printed guide. Maps were few and far between and it did not appear the audio numbers were in any particular order, which frustrated us as we tried to go in sequence. There are also free guided tours every 15 minutes, which we opted to skip.  There are several museums, each seemingly focused on a different military outfit. If you like military history and paraphernalia you will enjoy this.  It was a bit much for me however. The residential part was pretty bland in my opinion. Some folks later said they thought the castle was the highlight of Edinburgh but for me, I thought it was very overrated. To each his own, I guess. It didn't help that it was mobbed with tourists sticking their selfie sticks all over the place, and it was incredibly hot and I was on the verge of heat stroke. By 4:00 we thought we should make our way back to the shuttle stop, and it took us about 45 minutes of very fast walking to get there. The bus left promptly at 5:00, leaving one poor passenger outside waiting for his wife to show up at their designated meeting spot. Back at the tender pick up place, we went across the street for some ice cream, and then back onto the tenders to return to the ship.

Newcastle on Tyne: this is another port where the ship is docked some distance from the city of Newcastle. As we left the ship, there is a tent with tourist information and free walking maps for the City of Newcastle. There is a free shuttle bus into Tynemouth that drops you off at the Metro station. There was a flea market going on at the station with all kinds of things for sale. We bought our pass for the Metro (lots of friendly help from Metro employees showing us how to purchase tickets and use the Metro). Trains come about every 15 minutes and it's about a 30 minute train ride into the city center. We got off at Monument stop, and searched for the HOHO bus stop. It was supposed to be there at 10:50 (that's the earliest pick up time of the day for that stop), so we got in line with the few others. More folks got in line, but formed a new direction, so after about 20 minutes there was basically a mob waiting with no line whatsoever. Finally the bus pulled up 20 minutes late and it was already completely full and would not take on more passengers. So after that frustrating waste of time we decided to take a walk and stumbled upon Grainger Market. This is a huge indoor market with vendor stalls selling everything imaginable. Produce, meats, cheeses, deli items, cafes, antiques, clothing, vacuum cleaners, etc.  We bought some sharp English cheddar, then found a booth with Spanish products where we bought Manchego Iberian cheese and Iberian Ham from Acorn-fed pigs, a top delicacy in Spain. The merchant threw in a small bottle of Spanish wine for free. We then wandered around outside, but didn't really know what else to look for in terms of sights, so wandered back up to Monument Square. There was quite a crowd and we only learned later that there was a demonstration going on. That and the recent Manchester bombing might explain the police with their machine guns patrolling the area.  Being blissfully ignorant, we stopped and listened for awhile to an awesome street band and then went back to the Metro to return to the ship. At the Tynemouth metro station, we wandered through the stalls, picked up a delicious hot chicken mushroom pasty, some local heather honey and Scottish Tablet (a delicious, sweet soft semi fudge like confection), and a couple of used paper back books by a Scottish author which is the basis of the popular BBC Scotland series called Shetland (I'm a huge fan). Then back on the very crowded shuttle to the ship. 

Last day of cruise was our first sea day, and I think we were all relieved to have a free day. Lots of activities on board. We enjoyed a talk about the sun and why there are places with 24 hours of daylight/nighttime (spoiler alert: it's due to the tilt of the earth's axis). Then Mariner luncheon and greet the captain and staff, and afternoon Q and A with the captain and cruise director. Then to cramming -er- packing our bags. 

Speaking of on board activities, we enjoyed the evening shows, and the Zuiderdam dancers and singers put on some of the best shows at sea I've seen. Very talented, and staging was exceptional. Guest artists were also good. We had skipped their individual shows but the last night all three came back and performed again. 

I highly recommend this cruise.

Norway Scotland Cruise on Holland America's Zuiderdam

We chose this cruise because we'd heard good things about Holland American and they offered the best deal to the fjords and Iceland, a place  we'd never been.   Overall I was very happy with the experience and the ship itself.  The service was impeccable; everyone was super-polite and pleasant, the waiters in the dining room, the cleaning staff, at the front desk, everywhere.   

In the main dining room, the Vista, where we ate, we got excellent service and tasty, gourmet meals; the plates weren't overflowing with food  but that was fine by me since I didn't want to go home 20 pounds heavier.  As for the buffet dining room where we ate breakfast, we would have liked to see more cheeses, salads and vegetables since we're used to a Mediterranean diet and did not bond with the pancakes, sausages, French toast and waffles that's more the taste of Americans.    But the ship has to cater to all palates and I managed with the great omelets, although my husband was constantly grumbling that he couldn't find cucumbers, olives  or tomatoes!     

The activities on the ship are mostly catered to milking you for money which is irritating - such as the woman who gave me the best massage of my life but tried her utmost to sell me hundreds of dollars of useless products - but this isn't unique to Holland American.    We had four sea days which meant plenty of time on the ship.   My husband spent those days in the gym and I relaxed in the Crow's Nest reading, playing Scrabble (organized by the ship, which I appreciated, since I'm a big Scrabble lover) and participating in the trivia contests, which were organized by Kevin, a charming, funny, entertainment director .   

One outstanding feature for my husband and me was the superb musical duet - a violinist and pianist - who played both classical and popular pieces  every evening of the cruise, four times a night.   They were just outstanding and attracted audiences which got larger every evening they appeared.  I don't remember this on cruises with other companies we've traveled with.    Another thing I liked:  the emphasis on hygiene.    Dispensers to disinfect your hands everywhere, toilet seat covers in every bathroom.    One more thing:   we had an unpleasant experience on our shore excursion to Bergen, Norway, when our tour guide left without us!     Luckily it wasn't a problem to make it back to the ship by ourselves.  I complained and at first got merely a letter insinuating that we were to blame (we weren't).    I complained again and this time not only got a bottle of wine delivered to the room, but 20% off the price of the excursion.  

The level of evening shows was erratic.     They brought a great violinist from Hungary named Tom Suha and a very professional singer named Coleen Williamson (I think) but others were so-so.  

When will cruise lines learn to reduce the price of Internet use??  Or heaven forbid, free Wifi??   On ships the  prices are such a rip-off that hardly anybody uses it.    

I was very happy with the cruise and would definitely travel with Holland American again.

Two Happy Customers

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