Pearl E.

Age: 53
Occupation: Manager
Number of Cruises: Seven
Cruise Line: Holland America
Ship: Zuiderdam
Sailing Date: May 22nd, 2004
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

My husband and I were very disappointed with the Zuiderdam. Having cruised with Princess, Celebrity, NCL, and Royal Caribbean in the past we were able to compare. The embarkation consisted of standing in line for one hour. The dining room service was poor - on the other ships your chair was pulled for you to sit; the pepper was ground for you; and the lobster meat was definitely pulled from the shell. None of this was done on this ship. We didn’t feel pampered at all. It was as if they didn’t want to be there. Our table for two was in front of a large emergency door and behind a service station and there was a vibration the first two nights that was very disturbing – not very romantic for our honeymoon dinners. The Lido restaurant had a sandwich station that stayed open late – I was having a sandwich made and the server was coughing all over the meat and bread. It was obvious that he was sick. I politely took the sandwich and put it in the trash. My husband and I both came home sick. The ports were good and the shows were average. However, I wouldn’t recommend this ship to anyone.

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