Just returned yesterday fro a 7 day round trip from Vancouver, BC to Alaska on the Zuiderdam. The trip was in celebration of my parents 50th anniversary. we had 9 family members on board with my wife and I in our late 40's, My parents in their 70's, My mid-forties sister, and my early 40's brother with his wife and 2 preteen children. It appeared that at least 75% of the other passengers were 65 or older.Embarkation was fairly easy at Canada Place. The line to check in and board took about an hour including going through US Customs. We are Platinum Cruisers with another line and always have priority boarding with that line so I expected the worst but was pleasantly suprised. All passengers were sent to the Lido deck to wait for cabins to be ready at 2:30. We boarded at noon. We were suprised to find that our luggage arrived at our cabin by 5:00.The rest of my family had made the "Open-seating" meal-time selections. We had not, but the change rome Late to Open-seating was easily accomplished. Those that have open seating are strongly encouraged, by the ship's staff, to make reservations for dinner, especially if in a large party. Reservations for our party of 9 were limited to 5:00, 5:30, 8:00 and 8:30. This makes attending the evening show almost impossible. We also missed some of the great interactions we've had in the past with our Waiters at fixed seating dining. Also missed was the mini-show put on by the dining staff at the end of the meal. Our first dinner was an alarming start to the meal service! All our orders were taken at the same time but each person was served randomly. Some were still on the first course while others were being served the second after having waited for their food to arrive for over 15 minutes. Certainly not the treatment I expect on a HIGHER-END line. This pattern continued throughout the meal with my frustration growing by the minute. After 2 hours, with only half the table enjoying dessert, I had to complain! I spoke to the head waiter and of course he apologized. He paid special attention to us at subsequent meals but the service was never outstanding.Dining on the Lido deck was a disappointment. Food was only average and always had long lines. There are only 2 beverage stations and one always seemed to be closed for cleaning. Self service was discouraged and you had to wait for someone to fill your glass for you. There is no self serve water, coffee, Juice or ice tea stations in the pool area.The grill by the pool made a pretty good burger but the taco bar would fail Taco Bell's standards.

The room service breakfasts we ordered the night before arrived on time, hot and well prepared. Room service breakfast food was of much higher quality than at the Lido Buffet even though the same menu items.Our veranda suite cabin was very nice. Bed comfortable and furnishings nicely appointed. Bathroom was fair. The shower drain was so slow to drain it spilled water onto the floor. We chose to shower in the bathtub which also drained slowly but contained the water. The toilet in my brother's cabin did not flush and required repair that took several hours to obtain. A difficult proposition with 2 small children in the cabin.Apparently the toilet problem was common as many restrooms in common areas throughout the ship were signed as "out of service" at times.The evening shows were quite good. A little higher quality than many I have seen on cruise ships. The "clean" comedian was great.Disembarkation requires that you read the info sheet delivered to your room very carefully. Something I failed to do. We got off the ship at the right time but at the wrong gangway with about 150 others and hand to wait 45 minutes in the dock terminal before we were allowed to go through customs and leave.Overall, our experience was disappointing. We feel that HAL or at least the Zuiderdam did not live up to the classy reputation it has. While we are not cruise "snobs", we spend alot of hard earned money to be treated to an experience greater than that of a mediocre resort.Our past experiences on other lines surpass what we encountered on the Zuiderdam and I expect the we will forgo HAL for another line in the future.