Holland America Zuiderdam Cruise Review - Eastern Caribbean

About us. My wife and I are a very young age 53 and 56. She power walks 4 miles a day and I run 10K a day. She's a Personal Shopper at Bloomingdale's and I'm a trial lawyer. We live in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All year we eat a healthy, low-fat, low-calorie diet, except when we cruise, and then we eat everything not nailed down, usually in multiples of at least two. An August 2005 cruise we had booked in August 2004 on board Celebrity's Century was cancelled in December 2004, so we sailed instead on Holland America's Zuiderdam to the eastern Caribbean from August 6, 2005 to August 13, 2005. Our companions were a slightly older local couple and a slightly younger couple from Wisconsin. Both couples had cruised with us before on the Century. All of us like to cruise and love to laugh.

Before sailing on the Zuiderdam. I had read a number of Internet reviews complaining that the Zuiderdam's loud and powerful engines caused some sections of the lower level in the Vista Dining Room to shake and smell from fuel, which at least in my mind do not create a desirable dining ambiance. I had therefore requested a table for six for dinner in the upper level of the Vista, "main" seating ("early dinner" seating on board the Zuiderdam is more like "late lunch"). Because we had made our cruise reservations and paid our deposits at least six months before sailing, you would think that Holland America would have no problem satisfying my request. But you'd be wrong. It took months of telephone and e-mail contacts with Holland America and a final exchange of unpleasantries just a few weeks before sailing until Holland America said yes to my request. I believe it was my dogged determination that saved the day, when instead it should have been the incomparable tradition of unsurpassed service which Holland America proudly, and at least in this case, falsely advertised. By the way, during my cruise I took the time to personally verify that those complaints about the noise and vibrations on the lower level of the Vista were in fact true and accurate.

The Zuiderdam cruise ship. Some Internet reviewers have complained about the decor and appearance of the Zuiderdam. I tell you that they should have their eyes examined. Less than 3 years old, the Zuiderdam is, in three words, a beautiful ship. Artwork is everywhere, sometimes even in the shape of lamps, bar stools, elevator doors, and wall and floor surfaces. Glass elevators run along the sides of the ship, offering a panoramic view of the sea. The atrium is not as majestic as, say, Celebrity's Century, but is still impressive. Most of the cabins have verandahs of various sizes, and they are worth the price. Our cabin on Verandah deck 5 was comfortable and more than adequate for our needs, which included mooning other cruise ships. As avid exercisers, my wife and I appreciated and took advantage of the excellent gym on Lido deck 9 and the running track on Promenade deck 3. A beautiful ship does not however make a perfect ship. There were no shaded areas for lounge chairs by the swimming pools - an astonishing omission for a cruise ship - and those of us who listen to our dermatologists about the dangers of the sun were forced to seek shade elsewhere. (By contrast, the Century had plenty of shaded areas by the pools for lounge chairs.) In the otherwise splendid Zuiderdam theatre, posts obstructed the views from some seats. For a big ship like the Zuiderdam, though, with a passenger capacity of nearly 1,800, there was rarely any congestion; attributed either to superior design, or to the group of 500 Evangelical Christian passengers on board our cruise who arranged for their own entertainment and stayed clear of the bars, nightclubs and casino.

Embarkation on the Zuiderdam. Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and, I imagine, several other cruise lines, have calypso bands playing on deck when their ships leave port for the tropics. For the crew, of course, it's just another work day; but for the passengers it's the exciting beginning of an exotic adventure, and the music makes the occasion festive and fun. But when the Zuiderdam left Ft. Lauderdale, no band was playing on deck, few people were even on deck, and except for some minor activity on the aft deck, the ship was strangely silent as we set sail. It was almost as if we were sneaking out of port. Holland America has a reputation for being the cruise line of the elderly, so I was pleasantly surprised to see so many young people on board, but no one will ever mistake the Zuiderdam for being a Party Boat.

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