Holland America Line Zuiderdam Cruise Reviews

Although we have enjoyed multiple cruises with the other mainstream lines, this was our first with Holland America. Embarkation was interesting!!! As I passed through the electronic security screen, I set off the alarm. Before I could remove my watch, (which caused a similar reaction at the airport), I was hustled over to the side and groped in a most intrusive manner by a wannabe prison guard. ...

After reading several reviews of the Zuiderdam I was thinking we had made a mistake in booking this ship. I'm thinking those who wrote the negative reviews must have been on the wrong ship - yes, the decor in the staterooms is a bit dated, but then we didn't go on a cruise to see modern decor. The ship was wonderful - clean and very comfortable. The crew was great! We'd do it again! EMBARKATION: ...

The ship has not been refurbished in years and is badly in need of a total overhaul. - There is rust on may areas of the exterior of the ship. In the past, when cruising, I noticed that, in every port, there were workmen paining the hull of the ship. Not so on this cruise. - There is rust on the tiles in the pool. - There is rust on the rails of the movable roof (over the pool). - When they ...

Embarkation – HAL staff / Port Everglades personnel need to do a better job of directing incoming passengers to fill out the Medical Condition forms before they get on the escalators. Otherwise, the check in and boarding process went well. However, once across the threshold and onto the ship we were merely directed to the elevators to take us away to our rooms with no real sense of being warmly ...

After reading all the reviews of the Zuiderdam, I was almost fearful of sailing on the 1/3 Panama Canal voyage. I had visions of the air conditioning not working, the days long and boring and the food mediocre. Seeing that I was paid in full, I decided to go and make the best of it. Embarkation: Flew to FLL from ATL day of sailing. Took the flight that arrived at 10:30, and grabbed a taxi to the ...

This was our first HAL cruise and I booked it with some concerns for all the reviews concerning the lack of A/C. I was surprized that we had no mechanical issues with the ship. Everything worked perfectly. I took along Kestrel 3000 portable weather station to check it out. Our cabin temps stayed within 2 degrees F of the setting. It was perfect. We used open seating for dining and it was great. ...

My wife and I booked this cruise without the kids so we could relax and enjoy the cruise. FYI we took the kids with us on a cruise in Decenber. Our desire to see Aruba and the Panama canal were the reasons for this trip. We booked suite # 7058. Embarkation was very smooth. Would have enjoyed some refreshments in the staging area where we waited to board. Once aboard our suite was ready and waiting ...

We decided to take this cruise because Holland America was reported as a premium line and we were going to visit the Panama Canal. My DW and I are in our mid 50's and were in stateroom 5104 mid ship. We did the partial transit because we had no interest in the cities on the Western side of Mexico and wanted to see Aruba and Curacao. I will attempt to break the review into destinations and specific ...

I have cruised on Holland American ships in the past so I had high expectations for the Panama Canal cruise. I was very disappointed. The ship is old and had plumbing problems with many passengers w/o a toilet for up to 6 days. The carpeting on the stairways was dirty and worn. The cruise director was very young and inexperienced and did not speak with correct English and definitely lacked class. ...

This time I was much more pleased with Holland America than the previous time when they were doing construction while we were cruising. The main disappointed was not having an enrichment seminar or a staff person giving the history of the area along with valuable information. We had taken a HAL cruise in the Mediterranean last spring and loved the information and history of each area given by a ...