HAL Zuiderdam

[Luv2Cruis]

I am presently in Vancouver awaiting my Alaska cruise on the Infinity, but just had to post this before I left. I just got back from a last minute cruise on the Zuiderdam and must say I was a bit disappointed. We had a wonderful suite and the service was good - but I could not believe how many people were smoking. It seemed no matter what public area we went into, smoke filled the room. I know there are designated smoking sections - but the design of the public rooms made it impossible to escape. Also, it has been a few years since I sailed on HAL - but it is definitely not the same caliber of clientele, nor experience that I remember (t-shirts in the dining room, shooters and beers being downed by obnoxiouly loud people at 10 AM in the morning). This used to be my favorite line, but based on this cruise - I will look elsewhere in the future. Does anyone else feel that they have somehow lost their way - or is it me???
Shelley

[NancyN]

Shelley,
While I have not been on the Zuiderdam, I have heard similar comments from other former HAL fans. I know they are trying to change their image to capture a new market, but it may be at the expense of their loyal customers.
Nancy

[Oggy Boy]

Shelley, I have to agree with you. I love the Rotterdam VI and the Amsterdam, but the new Vista Class leaves me wondering what the designers are thinking. They are supposedly built to appeal to the "next generation" of mature cruisers (that would be me) but they have missed the mark in my opinion.

I much prefer Celebrity's Millennium class ships and find them much more to my liking.

Tom