Holland America Zuiderdam Fam

Gene E.
For the most part the FAM was very good. This was my first experience with Holland America and my first time to the ports of call on this itinerary.
TRANSFERS:
We flew in to Miami and purchased transfers with HA and Worldwide Shore Services MIA airport to the pier roundtrip. I would NEVER recommend this to a client as it was a horrible experience and a terrible way to start and end the cruise. There is only one transfer to the pier and back to the MIA airport so you either sit and wait for everyone to arrive (two hours in my case) or are in danger of missing your flight on the return if your flight is fairly early. I found the personnel for Worldwide non-responsive and at times very rude. There was also NO assistance at all with luggage handling. I would suggest private transfers or Super Shuttle.
MS. ZUIDERDAM:
The ship was beautiful with a very convenient design. Very easy to get around. I was in an ocean view cabin on the Main Deck. The cabins were larger than most that I've had on other lines, especially the bathrooms (with the exception of Carnival). The bathroom even had a bathtub! We did have a few issues with our cabin. There were dirty dishes in the cupboard that had the hair dryer that evidently the cabin steward overlooked. One of the light switch plates was falling off of the wall. We had a terrible time keeping the water temperature in the shower consistent. It would go from ice cold to scalding hot in a second with no warning and happened no matter what time of day you showered.
There are no irons or ironing boards provided and there is not a laundry room. Therefore, you either wear your clothes wrinkled or pay to have them ironed at $2.50 per item or $30 unlimited.
I felt the food in the buffet was mediocre, at best with the pizza being the best option. It was actually pretty good.
The main dining room food was good but by no means fabulous. I kept waiting to be wowed and was not.
The service by our cabin steward was the best I have ever experienced on any cruise. Our steward was VERY attentive, personable and absolutely adorable. He could not do enough for us.
We had one negative experience with one of the shore excursion desk personal. She was a bit "snippy".
The service in the main dining room was very good and again the waiter and assistant waiter were very good. The wine steward was VERY slow many nights.
The entertainment was average.
The American Express training seminar was very good.
The ports of call were fabulous; Grand Turks, Tortola/Virgin Gorda, St. Thomas/St. John and Half Moon Cay. Half Moon Cay was gorgeous with a variety of things to do. The shore excursions were also very good and reasonably priced.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed with the HA product overall. I was really expecting to be wowed in many ways and was not. Often times the price is higher with HA than on other lines and I'm not sure it would be worth it. Maybe my expectations were just not realistic.