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Classic nautical finishes, modern amenities and a spectacular art collection make Zuiderdam a continued favourite. Numerous enrichment and entertainment activities keep guests going from the moment they wake on this cruise ship. BBC Earth In Concert features a live concert played to a massive backdrop of wildlife footage. Explorations Central makes every journey more meaningful with local insights. Music Walk® venues, such as Billboard Onboard, brings the best tunes to the sea. When it comes to dining, there are options for everyone, from steak at the Pinnacle Grill to burgers and fries at the Dive-In to exquisite Italian cuisine at Canaletto.
This is our third time doing this route to Canada. Weather was a bit chilly for this time of year but we expected it. We got an upgrade offer from an oceanview to a signature suite. We loved this room! Lots of space, seating and large balcony. Huge bathroom with double sinks, tub shower combo and extra shower. Loads of storage for everything. Room was very quiet also. If we got this deal again I’d jump at it. Ship was beautiful, lots of open areas. It never felt crowded and we could always find a seat anywhere. Food was average to good. We’ve had better previous years. Service in the dining room was very slow and we always had to wait with a beeper to get in. Missed a couple of shows because of the slow service. Drinks were good and there wasn’t a problem getting them. Pool was not supervised and kids took over bottoms and ran and jumped in the pool from the sides. Staff just looked on like they had no control with what was going on. Smoke free casino was a plus but it’s a very small casino for that size ship. Some nights you couldn’t find a machine to play on. The cultural talks were great and entertainment was good. Overall it was a very pleasant trip and that big suite made it even better.
First, the cruise. The Zuiderdam is lovely. Staff, with a few exceptions, were wonderfully helpful. Entertainment was FABULOUS. We had dinner in the dining room most nights and the food was great. We had a balcony, but couldn't enjoy it as the weather traveling north from Quebec City was cold and blustery. More experienced cruisers probably have better information. I just wanted coffee and water and a trip to the Lido deck was the only place these drinks were readily available. I will say that Jose, the ship's entertainment person, was FABULOUS. Unfortunately, the immigration situation in Portland ME on the 4th of July was terrible. This was not our disembarkation point - we were traveling on to Boston. EVERYONE had to get off the ship, go thru US customs, then return whenever. This took HOURS. If Portland counted on tourism dollars before - they can't now. BTW, the immigration issue doesn't come up mid-cruise when you depart from Boston as you don't have to get off the ship until Quebec City. if I'd known about this beforehand, I'd have made a different travel plans.
Overall, the boston to quebec city 7 day cruise was good. However, stopping in portland, maine from 7am to 1pm was a waste of time. also, being in charlottetown until 10pm, was too long. I think hal should modify the itinerary so that the ship could stay overnight in quebec city, like hal used to have about a decade ago. My wife and i have been cruising with hal for over 20 years. During the past 5 years, we thought the quality of food declined. However, we were very impressed with the quality on this cruise. The only lousy meals i had was the grilled salmon for dinner (too dry from over cooking), and the smoked fish and eggs for breakfast, with the fish being burnt and dry. In previous cruises, i recall the fish was de-boned with just the meat. This time it was the whole fish, bones, skin and all. One last thing, as on all of my hal cruises, the coffee was inconsistent. I had coffee delivered each morning. The first two days, the coffee was really black, as if it was leftover from the night before. The rest of the week, the coffee was week. Coffee in the main dining room during breakfast, the coffee was also inconsistent. As for main stage entertainment, they had a boring comedian, and a boring electric piano player. However, the group breton thunder was the best entertainment i have ever seen on all of my hal cruises. Cellphone and wifi is a concern for most cruises. I have mint mobile, and because the ship is usually close to land, i had bars about 75% of the time. Whenever i had difficulty with the connection, although i had at least one bar, i would have to shut off the zuiderdam wifi. For some reason, Zuiderdam WiFi would turn on, even though I didn't turn it on
I recently took an East Coast cruise from Boston to Quebec City aboard the Zuiderdam with my mom. This was her first time cruising since 2003, and my third since 2023. It says 14-days but we only took the 7-day portion. Embarkation: HAL still falls behind fellow Carnival subsidiary Princess in terms of efficiency and modernization of the process. It all feels a bit old fashioned compared to how easy Princess's Medallion Class is. Boarding at Boston was fairly quick, though. International passengers had to go to the counter to get a photo taken. Security was also a bit disorganized, but that's the port's fault, not HAL's. When we got to our room, we were pleasantly surprised to see our luggage already delivered. So they've really upped their game since I last sailed with them in 2023. Stateroom: I booked an outside cabin with an obstructed (lifeboat deck) view on Deck 4. If you've been on any HAL ship, most of the non-balcony outside cabins are identical. Spacious with plenty of storage, and a sofa area which also doubles as an additional birth if required. I had requested the bed be separated into two twins. It wasn't. However, our Steward, Johann, was quick to resolve the issue and always asked if we needed anything. The beds are a bit harder than I prefer but still comfortable. They come with adequate and comfy sheets and pillows. Unlike the Volendam, the room had a fridge with a well stocked minibar. This was nice for keeping our water bottles cold. For power, there are four sockets, two North American 110v outlets, and two European 220v. USB-A ports have also been retrofitted next to the beds. The obstructed view didn't bother us much. We still got plenty of natural light in the cabin through the large window, and you could still see well enough. Though having crew randomly doing maintenance on the catwalk outside your window was a bit disconcerting. Though it's good to know the lifeboat was being kept well maintained. The bathrooms on the Zuiderdam were, ironically, a bit more dated than the older Volendam. Though they're about the same size, and offer the same amenities. Just older decor. The Zuiderdam does have a bathtub/full-size shower combo, which is rare. The tub is a bit cramped but serviceable. The bathroom was always spotless (like the rest of the room) and well stocked with supplies. A hairdryer and makeup mirror are available and stored in the vanity. You also get two robes, two beach towels, and a golf umbrella, which is a nice touch as other lines make you request these. Dining: HAL has definitely stepped up their game here as well. We didn't have a single bad meal the entire cruise. Everything was fresh, tasty, and always cooked perfectly, with decent but not massively sized portions. Dining room staff were always attentive and service speed was a lot better than when I last sailed with them. Though there are occasionally minor wait times for tables, they give you a buzzer now to alert you when one opens up. The most we ever had to wait was 15-min. The was a good variety of dishes on offer with local port themed dinners. One complaint my mom had is if you order coffee, HAL doesn't provide you with cream. Just whole milk. Which is bizarre since half-and-half is available in the Lido Market. She did appreciate the variety of sugar-free desert options. The Lido Market buffet offers plenty of quality and variety as well. Actual ice cream was nice, since everyone else just seems to offer soft serve. One common complaint is that HAL ships have stretches throughout the day where the Lido Market is closed and snacks aren't really available. This is true, but given how much food is on offer, it wasn't an issue for me. Water, iced tea, lemonade, coffee, juices (mornings), and tea are always available and included with your fare. I didn't run into situations where some free drinks would run out like I did last time I sailed with them. I didn't try the a la cart Pinnacle Grill, but it looked nice. They now have a special Asian themed night with a menu prepared by a former Iron Chef contestant. Their Italian restaurant, Canaletto, was pretty sad looking. It's just a cordoned off area of the Lido without any special tables. Can't speak for the food but it's not a great spot for an intimate dinner. Especially at a premium. The Explorers Cafe offers fancier tea, coffee, and hot chocolate, along with light cafe style snacks. The drinks cost extra but prices were reasonable. You can save 25% if you buy their HAL branded travel mug, which is also reasonable and you can take it home. Unfortunately, I forgot mine from the last cruise. Room service was a bit hit and miss. I ordered morning coffee and tea to be delivered. One day it came as ordered, but with only one saucer between two cups. The next day I ordered the same and it was delivered with two pots of coffee and no hot water for my tea. I gave up after that. It was always delivered on time, though. Bars: I'm not a big drinker, but I have no complaints about the bar service. Prices aren't wholly unreasonable, and every cocktail I had was well made and well presented. The staff were always friendly though they don't come around as often asking for drinks like they do on other ships. In the theatre for example, I rarely saw anyone taking drink orders. There's a good variety of beer, pop, and specialty drink options on the menu alongside classic cocktails. Wine options were a little thinner. If you're Canadian, yes, they can make you a Caesar. Amenities: The Zuiderdam is an older ship and small by 2025 standard, with just under 2000 passengers. It's not one of those floating malls, and is pretty light on amenities comparatively speaking. HAL are not party boats, nor are they targeting families. Here you'll find the classic cruise experience from quiet bars to intimate night clubs, catering to an older demographic or younger introverts like myself. One of my complaints about HAL is their limited outdoor spaces. There's not a lot of deck chairs available nor much in the way of deck games. The outdoor pool also wasn't quite as clean as the Lido one. One of their signatures, though, is a retractable roof over the Lido pool. So you can still enjoy swimming, "sunbathing", or a round of ping pong even when it's raining. It was partially open for most of our cruise. This was a pleasant spot to hang out which wasn't crazy busy. There's also a premium outdoor area called The Retreat. Located on Deck 10, it has cabanas and attendants. I never saw anyone using it, though. One thing HAL does really well are their libraries. There's a small one on Deck 3 where you can check out a good variety of books. However, one of the best spaces on the ship is the Explorer's Lounge. Here you'll find the cafe along with a great reading area and a variety of board games and puzzles you can check out. Huge, panoramic windows give you a great view of the outside world. There's also an art studio here where you can take art classes. If you're into shopping, you'll find the typical stores on board where you can buy perfume, EFFY jewelry, watches, etc. I'm not really sure who this stuff is for, though. Like who's buying a Rolex on a mid-range cruise ship? You can also buy merch, souvenirs, booze, smokes, even bed sheets, and there's a small drug store. All of which is overpriced, as to be expected. Store staff were always nice and attentive, though. There's a large photo gallery on board. You get your cruise pictures here along with photography supplies. Again, I didn't use this space, but stuff looked pricey for what it was. The Zuiderdam has a fairly large casino with a couple of nice bars attached to it, with live music, trivia, and bingo. I don't gamble so I didn't end up using this space. Though it was kind of annoying to have to walk through here to access the theatre's lower level. The theatre is large and spacious and as noted further down hosts shows and presentations. It's also a great quiet space to hang out in during the daytime. If you have kids, there's a children's area on Deck 10. It's very small and didn't seem to ever have much going on. I walked by here a couple of times and it was consistently empty. Most kids were playing games outside or in the Explorer's Lounge. HAL is not known for families but even this seemed a little half baked even for them. As for the spa, it's there. Neither of us used it as it seemed a bit pricey. It sucked for the Deck 10 cabins, though. as there was always a pretty strong chlorine smell emanating from the spa up there. At least in the hallway/lounge entrance. Like most cruise lines, HAL has an app to see menus, book dinner reservations and excursions, and check daily activities. Like most cruise lines, it's hot garbage. It's slow, janky, and even options to order things seemed quite limited. Judging by the reviews on the Play Store, I'm not just imagining it. They badly need to fix it. I didn't end up using the on-board WiFi since we were in cell range most of the trip, so I can't attest to its quality. If you can get away without using it, don't bother. The packages are always grossly overpriced regardless of the cruise line. I believe HAL are upgrading to Starlink service, though. Activities: On board HAL, you'll find cruise classics from trivia night, scavenger hunts, live music, dance lessons, art lessons, and presentations in the theatre. There didn't seem to be a wide variety though from day to day, but this was expected given their focus is more on laid back cruising. They did host a couple of parties. Orange Night (bring something orange to wear) is a HAL tradition celebrating their Dutch heritage. They also had a Fun Fair night with games and carnival food. Both seemed well organized. Entertainment: HAL is not particularly known for their grand shows. Most are straight forward musical acts. We did enjoy watching Breton Thunder, who played traditional Maritime music. All the shows were good, but if you're expecting lavish Vegas style ones, you'll be disappointed. Like all cruise ships, there's plenty of live music going on throughout the day. These ranged from excellent to just average. Not a huge fan of the acts they had in the Rolling Stone lounge. I feel like I keep comparing them to fellow Carnival mid-tier subsidiary Princess, and this is another area where the latter does a much better job. Itinerary: This cruise sailed from Boston to Quebec City with stops in Portland, Halifax, Sydney, and Charlottetown. I feel like Portland and Sydney are kind of odd choices since there's not a lot going on in those places. Some of it was a bit rushed too. We pulled into Portland around 7am-ish and were scheduled to depart at 1pm, which didn't leave much time to do anything. We were also kicked off the ship pretty early in Quebec. We did take an excursion, but a lot of people still had long layovers at the rather miserable Quebec City airport. Disembarkation: Disembarkation in Quebec was fast. Since we had a tour, we put our bags out the night before and they were immediately available at the cruise terminal for us to pick up. The tour and included transfer to the airport was decent though probably not worth the money. If you don't have a long layover, just get a taxi or Uber. The Quebec terminal is also close to the Palais Du Gare train station (walkable if you don't have a ton of luggage) with service to Montreal and Toronto. Value: We paid in the ballpark of $2200 Canadian for two adults. That's comparable to other cruises I've been on recently. Given that some cottage rentals now cost that much, with no included food or services, it's a great deal all things considered. Cruising hasn't been hit that hard by inflation yet, and on board prices haven't gotten crazy like other tourist destinations. My biggest complaint about HAL, though, is they still heavily punish solo cruisers by making them pay the full double occupancy rate. I went with someone this time, but I usually cruise solo. Most other lines cut you somewhat of a deal now, even under the Carnival umbrella. I've never understood why there's so much variability between lines that are owned by the same company. Overall: HAL along with Cunard feel like the last men standing in the classic cruising business. At least at reasonably affordable prices. If you're looking for a laid back holiday, the Zuiderdam will offer that. The ship is starting to look a bit tired and dated in places, though, as is the way HAL runs their operations. They also offer better East Coast itineraries than the one we went on. So definitely shop around. Overall, they are improving since I last sailed with them in 2023. We both enjoyed our trip and I'll probably sail on them again at some point.
This is our third time doing this route to Canada. Weather was a bit chilly for this time of year but we expected it. We got an upgrade offer from an oceanview to a signature suite. We loved this room! Lots of space, seating and large balcony. Huge bathroom with double sinks, tub shower combo and extra shower. Loads of storage for everything. Room was very quiet also. If we got this deal again I’d jump at it. Ship was beautiful, lots of open areas. It never felt crowded and we could always find a seat anywhere. Food was average to good. We’ve had better previous years. Service in the dining room was very slow and we always had to wait with a beeper to get in. Missed a couple of shows because of the slow service. Drinks were good and there wasn’t a problem getting them. Pool was not supervised and kids took over bottoms and ran and jumped in the pool from the sides. Staff just looked on like they had no control with what was going on. Smoke free casino was a plus but it’s a very small casino for that size ship. Some nights you couldn’t find a machine to play on. The cultural talks were great and entertainment was good. Overall it was a very pleasant trip and that big suite made it even better.
First, the cruise. The Zuiderdam is lovely. Staff, with a few exceptions, were wonderfully helpful. Entertainment was FABULOUS. We had dinner in the dining room most nights and the food was great. We had a balcony, but couldn't enjoy it as the weather traveling north from Quebec City was cold and blustery. More experienced cruisers probably have better information. I just wanted coffee and water and a trip to the Lido deck was the only place these drinks were readily available. I will say that Jose, the ship's entertainment person, was FABULOUS. Unfortunately, the immigration situation in Portland ME on the 4th of July was terrible. This was not our disembarkation point - we were traveling on to Boston. EVERYONE had to get off the ship, go thru US customs, then return whenever. This took HOURS. If Portland counted on tourism dollars before - they can't now. BTW, the immigration issue doesn't come up mid-cruise when you depart from Boston as you don't have to get off the ship until Quebec City. if I'd known about this beforehand, I'd have made a different travel plans.
With refined amenities and Holland America Line signature Mariner’s Dream bed gracing each elegant stateroom, the ship offers six grades of staterooms. Most are ocean-facing, many featuring teak-lined verandas for dining alfresco or private sunbathing.
Holland America Line invites you to dine "As You Wish". To savour Italian cuisine one night and a perfectly grilled porterhouse steak the next. To take your place in the Dining Room at a specific seating time or be spontaneous, following your desires. Onboard, there are restaurants to suit every mood, along with the flexibility to choose the dining style you prefer.
Boasting an expansive range of enrichment facilities and opportunity, Holland America Line's ships are bound to offer something you'll want to know more about. Why not have a go at the Digital Workshop powered by Windows and learn how to enhance your holiday picture or how to easily share them.
Every day aboard a Holland America cruise ship brings a wealth of cruise activities and indulgences, along with the freedom to partake in as many- or as few- as you please. It's an opportunity to try something new that surprises you, every day. Dabble, discover, daydream- do everything, or do nothing at all.
Whether you want to workout in the Fitness Centre, learn yoga, pamper yourself with a massage and spa treatment, or enjoy a game of basketball, there's a perfect onboard activity for everyone.
Holland America Line's youth activities program, Kids Club, offers an array of entertaining events for kids and teens ages 3-17, supervised by a full-time, professionally trained staff. They'll have an opportunity to join other kids their age for arts and crafts, sports, video game competitions, scavenger hunts, challenging team games and themed parties.
Note: Kids Club is not offered on cruises of 25-days or longer, including all Legendary and Grand Voyages. We will offer a selection of children’s activities throughout these longer voyages for any children who may be onboard.
Safety Comes First
Safety is our primary concern and strict policies are in place for effective supervision. Adult guests are not permitted to remain in Kids Club unless attending to a special-needs child.
Please note: During voyages with a high number of families onboard, we will make all efforts to accommodate interested parties. However, participation in our program cannot be guaranteed. Hours of operation may change to better serve our guests.
