Zuiderdam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this 24 night cruise because of the itinerary. It proved a good choice. On board dining and service was what we have come to expect fro HAL. Very good. The ports were worth visiting, particulaly the 2 days in st Petersberg. We did miss our last port, Helsenborg Sweden due to high winds and no pier space.
However, the MS Zuiderdam is definitely showing her age. Outside of our veranda, the crew spent nearly every day grinding, chipping, hammering, welding and painting the rusting portions of the lifeboat gantrys. The noise and constant dust/paint chip accumulations on our veranda meant we could not use them. The noise was so loud, that an afternoon nap was not a pleasant wxperience. The type and extent of this work is something that would normally be done during a re-fit not while at see with passengers.
HAL did compensate us for our situation and this made us feel a bit better. Would we sail with HAL again? Most definitely. We view this cruise as an anomaly.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean-View Stateroom
Our cabin was a good sized unit with ample storage including wood hangers. The bathroom was large with a 3/4 size tub/shower. The veranda however was only half as deep as a regular cabin as we were directly above the lifeboats. This made it impossible to open the partition with our neighbours, who were cruising with. We originally booked a veranda on a different deck but were given an "upgrade" by HAL. We should have checked the location before sailing but felt an upgrade had to be good right. In this case it was a downgrade. Since the ship was full, we had to live with not beefing able to fully enjoy the verandas.