Cruise Overview
In April 2026 we took an Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America MS Zuiderdam.
7-Day Eastern Caribbean: Amber Cove & Bahamas
For this cruise, we drove from San Antonio TX to Austin TX and then flew round-trip from Austin TX direct to Miami FL. The cruise route was Miami FL -> Half Moon Cay, Bahamas -> Sea Day -> Grand Turk, Turk & Caicos -> Amber Cove, Dominican Republic -> Sea Day -> Key West FL -> and back to Miami FL.
One of the best cruises we have ever been on!
We went on this cruise with 3 other families over Easter weekend. We were a group of 9 people including my wife and I, my wife’s best friend, and two of her kids families. We were meeting together for the cruise coming from a mix of places Texas, South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Family times always make for good cruise memory times.
The itinerary and ordering of the ports for this cruise was just wonderful! (Itinerary Rating: 9/10) We loved the Half Moon Cay private island beaches, the Grand Turk donkey’s, golf cart tour and beaches, and the culture and exploring on our own in Amber Cove. The laid back style of Key West is always a welcoming shopping port day with key lime pie. Unfortunately we had some issues in port of Miami with a long wait at the airport and miscommunications involving the airport transfer.
Departure day lunch with my wife Elie, her “baby” Miles that she used to be a nanny for 28 years ago, and his son Mills.
MS Zuiderdam Activities and Entertainment Review
The MS Zuiderdam has a great variety of entertainment options available. We generally enjoyed the variety in the evening shows in the World Stage theater. I also really enjoyed the live music in the Rolling Stone lounge, the rock band that played there nightly was exceptional! Other musical options included a couple of classical music recitals in the deck 2 explorers lounge that we enjoyed. They also had a piano bar near the casino that guests seemed to enjoy, but I only attended a few of the Billboard game activities in that area. (Entertainment Rating: 8/10)
The orange party was a neat idea and made for a different unique type of fun activity that we have not seen on any other cruise line before with the carnival games near the enclosed pool area. The pool area had a rooftop that opened and closed across the top deck which made the space very versatile and usable even on bad/cooler weather days. Deck 10 forward games area with the vast game selection was one of our favorite places on the ship for family Mahjong games. 2 of the 4 couples on our cruise enjoyed the casino game tables, but my wife liked the smoke free environment of the casino and unfortunately she didn’t win anything at the slots, so in the end she disliked the casino over all. (Activities Rating: 7/10, Casino Rating: 5/10)
Holland America MS Zuiderdam Review
Launched in 2002, refurbished in 2017. A smaller ship with a crew of 800, and 1970 passengers. We loved the smaller more elegant feel of this ship! The crew is wonderfully attentive to the guests needs and many of the staff paid attention to details and they even had our names memorized after the first day. (Ship Staff Rating 10/10). Excellent free dining options and a few extra cost dining options are available. We were on this cruise with a family/friends group of 9 people (4 families) together on our cruise and we all made it a point to dine together every evening at a large table in the main dining room. With the exception of 1 night, we really enjoyed the menu options and food taste in the MDR. (MDR Food Rating 8/10, MDR Service Rating 10/10). We found the deck 10 buffet a little better than average, but we only used it for daily breakfasts and lunches on the 2 sea days, plus an occasional midnight buffet snack which had an extremely limited menu at night. (Buffet Food Rating: 6/10)
Verandah State Room 4144
- Port Side, Deck 4 Aft
- Bathroom has a bathtub which is unheard of on a cruise ship
- Near to Aft elevators and stairs
- Above the deck 3 aft MDR Kitchen area, but not noisey at all
- (Cabin Rating 10/10, Steward Rating 10/10)
Holland America MS Zuiderdam Overall Cruise Rating: 8.3 / 10