We cruised with another couple on Holland America for the first time this past September. We had read that the Zuiderdam had had a major face life last spring, but it must have been for the public areas, not the staterooms. The staterooms appear to be circa 1980s? Don't get me wrong - our suite had LOTS of room and the bathroom was the largest I have seen on a ship - double sinks, separate shower from the jetted tub. Very nice! The room though, was obviously older with dated tile needing some caulking and the color scheme was definitely not current. They swapped out the balcony furniture during the cruise - the new furniture was much nicer!

The cruise itself was wonderful. The staff could not have been friendlier or more helpful. We started to wonder if they ever had a bad day! Always a smile on their face! We embarked from Venice (spent two days there before the cruise) and had stops in Olympia, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Naplion, Ephesus, Naples, and Rome! Each stop was unique and amazing! The process for boarding the ship the first day is much smoother than some of our previous cruises on different cruise lines. Same with disembarking at the end of the cruise. They know their stuff!

We enjoyed the special guests (singer and a comic/magician) they had in the Lounge during the cruise. Both brought a lot of energy to the stage and the audience was delighted! The Zuiderdam singers and dancers were not exceptional however. (Reminded us of our kids' high school show choir.) We also enjoyed a couples massage and a "gambling lesson" as part of a package our kids bought us for our anniversary. We did these on our "at sea" day which was perfect. Read more