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Holland America Line

MS Zuiderdam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: N. Otanna
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: February 26, 2005
Itinerary: Caribbean

In taking a first cruise, we had little idea what to expect. We very much enjoyed our time on the Zuiderdam and think most folks would, too. The crew was helpful and efficient, the ports of call interesting, if not fascinating, and the food was outstanding.

We're not gamblers so spent as little time as possible in the casino; the ship's Erasmus Library was really neat and a great place to just poke a bit. We did a lot of emailing, so spent significant time in the computer lounge. Our group spent a lot of time in the Ocean Lounge, in the atrium martini bar, and later in the Crow's Next an on the Observation deck after main seating dinner.

We enjoyed the Lido for breakfasts very much. The crew there, especially the table staff, tried very hard to get to know us and our names. You'll likely hear of "Hunky Dory" a lot. He makes a point of learning virtually everyone's names. It was a pleasure to be greeted by him and his friends each morning. Jarl, of the supervisory staff, was also helpful and very much committed to customer service.

The Vista Dining Room staff was efficient and non-intrusive. Joe's chiming in the vestibules was always a lot of fun, too. Try the cheese plate at dessert, but pass it around the table so you can get a good "full" dessert of your own! We enjoyed sharing the cheese and fruits while getting our chocolate (or other sweet) fix. Try the rhubarb/strawberry crunch; the peach melba got high marks. The chocolate fudge cake, served to us on the first night, was a bit too much. Everyone who had it, ranted about how marvelous the flan was.

We ate at the Odyssey at the Pinnacle Lounge at lunch on Thursday afternoon. The citrus fruited custard dessert (don't ask me it's name) was great, as was the fish I had for lunch that day--grouper, I think.

The Italian pasta bar for lunch was a nice diversion in the Lido, too.

Upper Promenade, (Deck 6) starboard verandah suite, right about mid-ship. No complaints; the bed comfortable; the cabin steward (Aziz) was efficient and non-intrusive. The verandah was a pleasant place to sit and work crosswords and watch the ocean go by.

We're dull. Didn't bother with the shows, only after supper cocktails and conversations. The string ensemble playing in one of the smaller, lower deck bars, was a REAL treat.

One guy, at breakfast on debarkation day, commented that he thought it was a lot like being held hostage in a mall all week--not bad, certainly entertaining, but sometimes a bit much.

The rear lido deck pool was nice, and the observation deck, aft, was definitely the place to be for the launch, especially when the townies hooted horns and waved us off.

Half Moon Cay: Go! Enjoy the sand and the beach and playing in the water. We snorkeled with fast friends from the ship and had a ball. The luncheon there was a bit hectic and could've been better organized, or at least directionalized, as there was another ship there that day. The tender process is a bit confusing, but once one gets the hang of it, not bad. BE SURE TO BRING YOUR TOWELS BACK TO THE SHIP, otherwise, a $5 charge is made for leaving them in the collection bins on the island. And look around carefully for the water/juice area (free), otherwise, you'll be paying for bottled water!

Charlotte Amalia: ride a taxi into town, as you're about 3 miles west of the area at the under-construction peer. We're not terribly big on gaudy jewelry, but obviously it's a mecca of sorts for folks. I did buy a nice Citizen men's watch for a very fair price. We ate lunch at one of the back alley spots, and it was probably the personal highlight of the week...just the two of us, enjoying iced tea and fresh salads.

The open air market near Fort Christian had all the types of stuff we wanted: t-shirts for the kids, and nice, funky costume jewelry. We didn't need alexandrite, topaz, emeralds or diamonds. My wife wanted to find nice stuff she could wear for every day at work, and found it in spades from a woman who did the crafts herself (booth, about halfway down the length of the bazaar, on the parking lot--back--side of the block of vendors).

Note: other groups did the BOB underwater riding. I didn't see it on HAL's list of offerings. It looked like a heckuva lot of fun. (Don't ask me what BOB means...it just looked like a great time, but was about $100 a head.)

Road Town, Tortola, BVI: a much less hyped sort of place, not yet overgrown with commercialized stuff. We actually did most of our shopping there. It was very simple and pleasant. Not suburban or mall-like, just kind of small townish. We liked it very much.

Nassau: cold and windy day, so all the water activities were lost. The straw market was oversold; very trashy, junky stuff. We toured New Providence by rented taxi (6 passengers) and saw both of Lord Dunmore's forts, Fort Fincastle (center of town by water tower) and Fort Charlotte (near the waterfront). Tyrone, our tour guide at Fort Charlotte, was a good interpreter and nice guy. We did shop a bit there, buying some linen on what I would term a "sale" not necessarily a "bargain."

Try the sweet potato bread sold in the vending hall at the security checkpoint. Not too heavy, a nice holdover if you're hungry before going back aboard.

We went on a particular themed tour, and that's probably the only way we'd go on a cruise again. With nearly 1,900 strangers on board, it was nice to have some built in contacts and known common interests.

Most of the folks were older than we (early 40s), and for the formal nights, most of the men were in tuxes and women in formal gowns. Not everyone, mind you, but certainly a plurality of our 8 pm seatings. It was fun to see.

We do plan on staying in close touch with a number of the folks we met on our cruise, so in all, it was worth the trip!