We were excited to be on Zuiderdam on Aug 26, from Boston up to Quebec city. While the ship was nice and in good shape for being a few years old, it was the service and our cabin that disappointed us.
Pros:
- ship was in good shape.
- Our inside cabin was roomy for 4.
- good communication and service once we got quarantined in our inside cabin half way through the cruise (not ...
We are 3 star, almost 4 star mariners. We like Holland America for its itineraries and its staff. Let me be clear: for the most part we enjoyed our cruise. Our cabin was very comfortable and spotless. Our stewards were very customer oriented. Our excursions were great fun. However, from the beginning things were not as good as they used to be. Embarkation with Orange Status should have been ...
Zuiderdam was our first HAL experience. It was our worst overall ship and cruise experience ever.
We were greeted in our cabin bath by a gush of brown water from the cold tap, which lasted two days. There were leaking pipes around the ship, faulty A/C systems, and some of the worst shipboard food. When spaghetti and meatballs were the highlight...but don't expect any Parmesan to top your ...
As experienced cruisers on HAL and in Alaska, we looked forward to the 19-day land cruise starting in Vancouver on the Zuiderdam for three nights with 9 days crossing from Skagway through the Yukon to Denali and reboarding the Nieuw Amsterdam for a 7 day southbound cruiseincluding Glacier Bay. Seemed well designed . But HAL did not consider that most of the travelers were over 60 and expected ...
I relied on HAL's reputation for excellent food and service and it's reputation for activities for adults and entertainment on previous very long cruises. This cruise was 35 days long, with many, many sea days. I was soon disillusioned.
The food was almost always served lukewarm and , for example, never was the toast at breakfast in the dining room served even remotely warm. Frequently, ...
We chose this cruise for convenience. Direct flights from Vancouver, British Columbia, been to all the ports so not worried if ship was denied docking, familiar with Holland America historical “no touch” buffet. It ticked our boxes including vaccination requirements. We enjoyed our cruise but there is definitely a difference in what a British Columbian thinks are safe Covid protocols and what was ...
Hub and I booked a balcony cabin rather last-minute -- back surgery on his part necessitated us letting go a steal of a deal on Empress of the Seas and rebooking a different trip. We were looking forward to sailing on HAL again, as we appreciate the relative calm on board (we drop the average cruiser age by 20 years when we embark) and had not been on a Dam ship in four years.
(As background: ...
We chose the Zuiderdam for a romantic, relaxing cruise. We were very disappointed with many things about the Zuiderdam and Holland America as a company. First, let me start by saying the Holland America has some serious operational and procedural issues which need an outside consultant to fix.
Embarkation: You know you are in trouble when getting on the ship is the best thing you can say about ...
I am missing a single day to become a *** three star mariner with HAL. I crossed the Atlantic twice: once on the Noordam and once on the Koningsdam from and to Civitavecchia, plus three weeks on the New Amsterdam (which is still my favorite vessel in terms of decor and style). Firstly, the ship voyage was often unexplainably rocky - even when there was not particularly rough seas. This made me ...
Hi there. It’s January, and I’m back home in Michigan. We are all snowed in today so I’m finally going back to submit my review for my holiday cruise. Most of which I typed while I was on the ship, and some I filled in just now. (So please excuse my mixed tenses!) Here it is:
ROOMS:
It’s 4:24 a.m. and I'm on the ship, on Christmas Eve morning, actually. I’ve been thinking about it ...