Zuiderdam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I am just writing this review in case anyone has the same questions as I did. The itinerary on this cruise speaks for itself, I can’t imagine a better northern European itinerary so I will focus on the ship itself.
First of all, just a note, since all American flights to Europe get in first thing in the morning, if you want to spend the day in Copenhagen before boarding use Luggage Buddy or similar app and check your luggage, we checked ours at 10 am at Hard Rock and it was perfectly safe and we had the whole day to hang out in Copenhagen, since you can’t board ship till like 1pm.
This was my first time on a HAL cruise, and it was fantastic. I’ve been on Royal and NCL’s big Caribbean ships, Zuiderdam is smaller and older, but in some ways it was prettier even though the decor is dated. We had a suite (just the Verandah suite, not the super upgrade) and the room was fantastic! Totally spacious, like a regular hotel room, and the bathroom was larger than our bathroom at home - 2 sinks, 2 showers and a whirlpool bathtub. Bed was comfortable. The tv gets BBC, MSNBC and Fox News, all live. There is a huge DVD library, they have a book and you order the DVD you want so this is also great. I was worried about the outlets, our suite had 4 outlets, 2 American 115V and 2 European 220V, so if you bring Euro adapters you will have 4 outlets (plus one dual in bathroom that I couldn’t get to work). I was afraid the outlets would be all continental European, but they are American as well.
Cabin Review
Neptune Deluxe Verandah Suite
We had a suite (just the Verandah suite, not the super upgrade so I'm not positive what the category is but it was on the 8th floor) and the room was fantastic! Totally spacious, like a regular hotel room, and the bathroom was larger than our bathroom at home - 2 sinks, 2 showers and a whirlpool bathtub. King sized was comfortable. The tv gets BBC, MSNBC and Fox News, all live. There is a huge DVD library, they have a book and you order the DVD you want so this is also great. I was worried about the outlets, our suite had 4 outlets, 2 American 115V and 2 European 220V, so if you bring Euro adapters you will have 4 outlets (plus one dual in bathroom that I couldn’t get to work). I was afraid the outlets would be all continental European, but they are American as well. This is the best cruise ship cabin I have been in though I have been in newer ones, decor is slightly dated, but it was very spacious with amazing views off balcony.
Port Reviews
Copenhagen
The only thing about CPH was that the ship was docked at the farthest pier so it is a longer cab ride. If you arrive from America, you will get in around 7 am on departure day so use Luggage Hero app and store your luggage (we used Hard Rock Cafe) so you can easily check out CPH in the morning without hauling around your luggage.
Tallinn
Tallinn is very cool, it is medieval and there is a nice square there. This is an easy port to walk off ship and right into town.
St. Petersburg
We used Alla Tours not the ship tour, you can see my review of Alla Tours (5 star!) on TripAdvisor.
Helsinki
This was our favorite port and I will for sure be back to Helsinki. We took the shuttle in for like 20 euros though you can also walk but it's pretty far. Totally manageable on your own. Gorgeous city!!!! Loved it so much!
Stockholm
Stockholm was awesome though it is just like a little NYC, it is more gritty than the other cities we visited. You can easily walk into town from port, and I got off the ship and ran since it's an overnight, the port is right on the main running and bike path for Stockholm. Also you can walk up the stairs to Sodermalm which is like a little Soho, it's kind of cool if you're into more indie kind of places and it's right off of the ship. Stairs are right by photography museum.