Boarding: Most of my party arrived at about noon, we followed the "Mariner" signs, but the lines where no longer at the non-mariner area. HAL insists on a passport or birth certificate as a form of ID, no other forms of ID are acceptable, oh well! My pre-printed US immigration form downloaded from the web was ready and this speeded everything along, but before you can proceed, HAL insists on having each passenger fill out a Bahamas immigration form that nobody checked yet collected (I was told this form was required for the private island, you will have to do this form once more if the ship stops in Nassau, kind of an overkill IMHO). This entire process took about ½ hr and then we proceeded to the ship.

Your luggage is left at the luggage drop off with the baggage handlers - Note: there are signs clearly posted that they are salaried and tips are not necessary, you will leave your luggage - before you enter the terminal, so make sure your room number is clearly indicated on your HAL luggage tags. For this process I give HAL overall 3 out of 5 stars, nothing great or out of the ordinary, heads up, a cab ride from the Fort Lauderdale airport is about 10 minutes and the cost is about $10PP.

Cabins: I try and book the cheapest; my past experience with HAL is that most of the cabins are about the same Square footage (unless you are in the premium ones i.e., veranda, suite etc) and they are relatively large in size compared to other lines. However, on the Zuiderdam it appeared that room size was related to category, Cabins for our group ranged from a category "N" (lowest) to an "AA". I was in a category "G"; outside cabin with obstructed view/yes you had a full floor to ceiling view of a life boat/ but no big deal as I spent very little time in my cabin. Room size was about 185 sq ft, but the arrangement was poorly laid out. Storage cabins beneath the bed were awkward, some drawers with locks were very hard to open and the hair dryer (which automatically turned off when it got a bit hot) was in the small sitting area vice in the bathroom. Room colors were not lively and considering how new the ship was, looked worn. I visited a category 'N" cabin and be advised they are SMALL! Prior to this sailing I had read about problems with the ships toilets, I did encounter a toilet leak on the first day of the cruise and another member of our party complained that her toilet did not work and that there was an awful smell the entire trip. Additionally, we were on level 4 and our category "N" cruisers said they could hear the LOUD noise from the shows and the bands until the wee hours on the morning. I will give HAL 2 out of 5 stars. Read more