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Holland America Line

MS Zuiderdam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Steven Champion, CTC
# previous cruises: 5
Date of Trip: December 21, 2002
Itinerary: Caribbean - Eastern

Holland America's newest Five-Star ship with One-star service left me totally disappointed and certain to never sail with HAL again. Having sailed on the Maasdam two years ago with mediocre service, I was hoping Holland America's much vaunted service standards would come through on this new ship. Unfortunately, HAL's marketing department has failed to let the hotel department know what they have promised. From beginning to end, this ship has service problems which makes the whole voyage a disappoint. Even long-time Holland America customers, proudly wearing their pins, were grumbling about the service.

The Zuiderdam is a beautiful ship, no doubt about it. The design is striking both inside and out. The artwork and appointments were creative and appealing throughout. Some of the public areas are quirky, such as the split Ocean bar which is actually very narrow and difficult to navigate when crowded, rarely, but it is still a pleasant room. Overall, there is a feeling of spaciousness without giving way to the notion that you are on a large ship. The main dining room is comfortable and seems almost clubby but the back half of the dining rooms suffers from an engine roar and terrible vibration that takes away any hope of elegant dining. One dinner included some horrible engine noise and vibration to the point that diner's look around to see what was happening to the ship. Holland America is making a stab at a younger market, a good idea, but needs to take a look at the nightclub and gymnasium design first. Both are nice spaces, well appointed and staffed but the Northern Lights nightclub has a wall separating the dance floor and bar areas, making the rooms feel very much apart and the gym is painfully short on equipment although what is there is of top quality. Also, the "thermal suite," containing steam rooms and saunas, is not even worth the $15.00 per day charge and is small and of poor design. Regardless, at every turn, the Zuiderman is pleasing to the eye and senses.

Really, HAL and Zuiderdam have missed the boat on this and provided some of the sloppiest, most indifferent and careless service I have ever experienced on a ship, or most anywhere else. Check in, though probably a contract service issue, sets you up, with over an hour spent just getting through lines. Once aboard, it goes downhill. There are just so many things wrong in the service area, it's hard to know where to start. But, first, the Odyssey dining room, the specialty restaurant, needs to give it's staff a lesson in service. The maitre d' is aloof and pays no attention to detail. On the night of our dinner there, they were out of Cabernet and the only Chardonnay available was a $69.00 bottle which, later in the cruise, became a $21.00 bottle. It's not that the ship was out of wine as following nights more wines were available, it's just that they didn't have any that night. Couldn't they go get some more? We actually requested the wine list from the main dining room which took so long to produce that it was useless. The meals came out piecemeal, were not served together and the whole presentation was sloppy. So much for fine dining. Room service is painfully slow, frequently an hour for the simplest items, and usually had errors, omissions, or was just wrong. The bartenders seem to move at the speed of a glacier and make some of the worst drinks ever. Even common drinks appeared to be a mystery to them. And, they have developed the fine art of never looking at you so getting their attention and service is a chore. Oddly, the main dining room is only open for lunch for one hour, 12noon-1:00pm forcing a lot of people to the Lido, which is a fine alternative, but not nearly large enough for the number of passengers forced to dine there. We were often left wandering, looking for a table in the Lido.

As poor as the service is, the food is excellent, well prepared and proportioned. The main dining room provides pleasant meals, aside from service snafus and the engine roar.

The Zuiderdam easily provided one of the nicest cabins I have ever sailed in. They are roomy, a delight to the eye, and have plenty of storage space. The bathrooms are well appointed, large and comfortable as well. Even under the beds are storage bins which adds a little extra space. The verandah has a clever feature in that the dividers with adjoining verandahs can be folded back, if you are traveling with others, making for a large joint outdoor space.

The cruise staff and entertainers were fine and seem truly interested in providing a memorable cruise experience. The shows were well produced and entertaining. On this sailing, the Northern Lights nightclub was plagued with under-age teenagers in the adult only club. One night, they were asked to leave by the Beverage Manager, they didn't, a hotel manager, they didn't, and the ship's chief officer who was in the club washed his hands of it and left. The following night, the cruise staff was ready for the teenagers again but with no officers to support them ended up on a shouting match, in the bar, with the parents. No fault of the cruise staff, but the rules need to be defined and enforced.

Overall, the itinerary and activities were typical of a cruise of this type. Ports are a matter of choice and personal taste and there is nothing to make this ship any different. The shore excursions seemed well organized and on time.

This particular cruise, being a holiday, had a broad range of passengers, from families, singles, teenagers, up to seniors aboard for several back-to-back sailings. Overall, everyone was pleasant and friendly.

Would I invite them over to dinner? Certainly, so I could show them what service at dinner should be like.