Embarkation: The Zuiderdam arrived 3 hours late and boarding took hours. There were no beverages or snacks available in the terminal like other cruise lines provide. Even though we had a "Superior Verandah Suite" we did not get priority boarding. On other cruise lines, a balcony category or higher gets you priority boarding. Once on the ship, we were greeted by mass confusion. When I stopped to ask where we could eat, I was rudely told to keep moving.

Cabin: When we entered our cabin, we discovered our balcony was filthy. It was covered by a black sooty dirt all over the furniture, rails, and flooring. We scrubbed the balcony ourselves so we could sit out there. Anyone who sat down on there balcony unaware of the filth would have ruined their clothing. While they held us captives in the terminal, they could have warned us that the balconies were filthy. The following day, they hosed them down, but those balconies needed a scrubbing which they didn't get. Our cabin was spacious with a large bathroom with two sinks, jacuzzi tub, and separate shower. The decor was 1950's trailer park. Nothing matched and for a suite it was really quite tacky. The decor I could overlook, but not the filth.

Food: The overall quality of the food was very good. However, the "As You Wish" dining was "As HAL Wishes" you would dine, not how you wanted to dine. We asked for a table for two and were taken to a table for six. When we questioned this we were told we needed to make reservations. That defeats the purpose of "As You Wish" dining. The diningroom manager made a standing reservation for us for 6:30 PM as nothing else was available. This was not when we wanted to eat, but we had no choice. The Lido Buffet was a nightmare. Number one problem is they have no trays for you to carry your food to your table. This required multiple trips to the buffet and when you finally got to sit down to eat, the food was cold. You could not serve yourself and there was not nearly enough staff to keep the lines moving. The set-up was really inefficient. Twice I was given food on a plate so hot I couldn't carry it. Water and cold beverages were doled out by staff in tiny juice glasses requiring multiple trips just to get a reasonable amount to drink. The whole dining experience on this ship was very aggravating at the buffet as well as the diningroom. The only good experience we had was with our room service breakfasts which came on time and were what we ordered. Read more