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Holland America Line

MS Zuiderdam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Patty and Don Spoor
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: July 19, 2003, 2003
Itinerary: Caribbean - Eastern

I must admit that when I read most of the other reviews of this ship I was wondering if we had made the right choice. We had the best time on this ship that anyone can possibly have. I would recommend this cruise and ship HIGHLY to anyone who wants to go first class all the way.

The public areas were very nice, the art was beautiful, the atrium with the revolving seahorse was gorgeous. The lounges were very nice and comfortable and there are plenty of them. None of them were ever overly crowded, we found seats all of the time. We loved the Crow's Nest up on deck 10 as here you will fine comfortable recliners facing the bow of the ship with floor to ceiling windows, sit and enjoy a drink while taking in a fabulous view. We walked by the exercise room which is a couple of floors below and they had the same beautiful view joggers on their treadmills looking out over the water. The vista lounge is gorgeous with the red velvet seats and beautiful balcony. Some columns do hamper views but even with the ship being fully booked, there was never a problem getting a set with a good view. The vista dining room is also beautiful, I couldn't find anything to complain about at all in this area.

We ate in the Vista Dining room, first seating, also ate in the Lido dining room which is buffet style. We loved both restaurants and if I may say, my husband and I eat out quite frequently and we enjoyed the food in both restaurants. The wine flowed freely, we never had trouble getting wine at dinner in the Vista dining room. Our meals came quite quickly never had to wait between courses, and the service was wonderful. Tommy our table steward and Dennis who assisted were great. They remember what you like, and if you are used to getting hot tea with dinner they will already have th cup there waiting. Zain, the head steward was always talking to us and always made good conversation. When we went to any of the lounges, we were quickly approached and asked if we'd like a drink. The Lido buffet was quite good, there is a good assortment to please anyone. My husband overheard a woman talking who was complaining about this and that, and we looked at each other in disbelief. I must say, that we found nothing on this cruise that would cause us to complain about anything. I just think that some people you can't please even if you stand on your head for them.

The cabin was again, perfect. We were on the Rotterdam deck, deck 7 and we were toward the stern of the ship. We had a deluxe outside. Not a suite. Didn't need one. There was plenty of room for two. The balcony had two very comfortable wicker chairs. The bath had a tub and a shower and a nice vanity with a shelf along the underneath part of the sink where you could put lots of other stuff. Since I had packed everything but the kitchen sink, this was a nice feature. Very spaciouse closets with a safe inside which was very nice. I over packed and there was so much room in the closets I couldn't believe it. There is storage under the bed too as well as the two nightstands on either side of the bed. Everything was well marked including where our life jackets were, as I read someone else said they couldn't find them. I laughed as when I opened the closet it was right there as big as day. The cabin was very soundproof. We had no trouble getting to sleep at night, I'm a light sleeper and I slept very well.

We saw all but one show. We enjoyed the entertainment very much. They had a magician who was very good, a juggler, named Barnaby who was very funny, and then we saw a very talented Zuiderdam cast who did a show of broadway songs. That was great!!! All the shows were great.

You sure don't get bored while on this cruise. We took a tour of the ship with Marco, who was very helpful in giving us a good tip about finding your way around this ship. If you get off the elevators and see a red rug then you are in the front of the ship. If you see a blue rug when you get off the elevator you are midship and a burgundy rug means you are in the rear of the ship. If we hadn't taken the tour we wouldn't have known that. There were relatively few people on this tour. Also took the galley tour as it's usually given on a day at sea. This was very interesting going through the galley and seeing how the talented chefs carve the vegetables into works of art, covering styrofoam molds with chocolate, they even gave samples out too, and you got to meet the head chef too, learn to fold napkins the fancy way they do there. It was a fun tour.

We didn't play bingo, but were waiting for the shopping seminar to start and saw 3 people split a $6000 bing jackpot. We enjoyed the shopping seminar with Richie Sacks who gives tips on where to shop and what to avoid. He even helped us with a diamond purchase in St Thomas. We took a "See and Sea" tour of St Maarten where you get a bus ride tour of the island. Dennis, our driver was great even sang to us and made our ride fun. Then he dropped us off for the "sea" part of the tour. We took a boat a "seaworld explorer" to a reef and went down in the hull where the viewing windows were to see the reef and the fish. I must admit that it was such a rough day that day the wind was blowing 40 mph, I felt a bit queezy but then felt better once I got back up on deck.

We took a tour of St Thomas and I recommend that highly as when you go to Mountain Top and see that view, you will be in awe. The only thing I can say I was disappointed in is if you go to Nassau, and take a water ferry to Paradise Island you will have to walk about 2 miles from the ferry to the Atlantis. This is not told to you before you pay for the ferry. It was very hot and my husband and I were told the Atlantis was to the left as we disembarked the ferry as everyone else was told. After walking almost a mile in the heat we gave up. We walked back and took the ferry back to Nassau. I would suggest taking a taxi over and that way you'll get dropped off closer if not at the door. Or better yet, see if you can get the Atlantis tour on the excursion as you get the full tour of that place. I hear it's very popular.

We didn't use the exercise facilities and we don't have small children so we couldn't comment on that. The pools were always busy but there were sufficient chairs and places to sit. We loved the Half Moon Cay beach and got some great pictures of the ship in the background, I wish they'd give two days there. As for St Maarten, the people there are very nice. Good people. However we thought that we'd like to have had an extra day in St Thomas rather than go to St Maarten. Or go back to Half Moon Cay and give another day on the beach at the end of the cruise.

My husband and I are both 50. We saw all ages on this cruise. Lots of small children, people in all age groups. A nice mix. We sat with some very nice people at dinner. Except for the two women who were complaining about everything I would take this cruise again and even try another Holland America Cruise. We were impressed with this ship and the whole experience.