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Holland America Line

MS Zuiderdam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Kari D.
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: August 9, 2003
Itinerary: Caribbean - Eastern

First time cruisers. Wonderful ship! Everything was spotless and the service was fantastic.

There was plenty of lounge space, although the ship could get chilly so bring a sweater. The Lido pool was fun first thing in the morning with the retractable roof open and breeze blowing through the room. The gentleman in charge of the pool area was very pleasant. When I saw him in other areas of the ship he would recognize me and greet me. Impressive.

The workout room is lots of fun. Plenty of treadmills, two quasi-elliptical machines, free weights and all the cybex equipment. Stretch mats and body balls, too. It has a great view of the ocean. I did not take any of the classes, though. The locker rooms were clean and well lit; the decor was nice, too, like something you'd see at a "nice" gym.

I paid $15 to use the hydrotherapy pool for a day. It was worth it as it was very relaxing. The two overhead jets will send very strong streams of water right to the sore spots on your back (so it's a lot cheaper than a $100 massage!). Ask for a robe at the desk when you sign up.

The food in the dining hall and the Lido was wonderful. Varied selection, always presented well. (Easy to eat healthy, too. The Lido salad bar is to die for: spinach leaves, walnuts, sun dried tomatoes, beans, sprouts, olives, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, mushrooms, corn, everything you could ever want.)

You MUST try the raisin scones w/ raspberry jam at the daily tea. Bran muffins are also great. (If you eat breakfast in the dining hall, a server dressed in a Phillip Morris costume will bring you rolls on a cart...and he won't let you take just one!)

Our server at dinner was Tommy, and our assistant server was Hendrik. Both were friendly and fun to talk to. :) We always looked forward to seeing them every night. Zain, the head waiter, stopped by our table every night to check on us. Our servers also entertained us with magic tricks. You can tell that they enjoy their work. They would always stop and talk to us when they saw us around the ship.

Get to know your table stewards. They're quite fascinating people.

Once I saw the head chef stop in the hallway and pick up a piece of paper that was on the floor. He could have left it there for someone else, but he didn't. I was very impressed.

We had a small inside cabin w/ two twin beds. The beds were very comfortable and the room was quiet. It was great! The bathroom had everything we needed; a nice shower w/ a hand held showerhead and a large vanity, too. The bathroom was very well lit.

We were on the eighth floor (navigation deck), which was close to the Lido and the workout room.

Abdul, our room steward, cleaned our room twice daily. Everything was always shipshape! We were so appreciative!

We are morning people and did not attend any of the shows. We heard they were great, though!

Cozumel and Grand Cayman are mostly for shopping (diamonds and tanzanite), which is not our big thing. Key West is fun for the attractions (Truman house, Hemingway house, etc.) Half Moon Cay was fantastic! We could have stayed there forever (as the sign on the island says).

Yes! We would absolutely invite our dinner mates over! We dined with two lovely couples every night. .