Nice Ship

I like this ship. I didn't always, but they've done good things with the decor since I first saw her in 2003.

Yes, Zuiderdam is still the zany sister compared with stately Noordam, but she's now more "colorful" than "psychadelic".

(That said, I really prefer the white Corian countertop used in the Crow's Nest ladies' room to the red Corian used elsewhere.)

On the housekeeping front, the ship was spic and span, as you'd expect from a HAL ship. Gleaming brass, fresh paint, no dirty cups lying around. If you are obsessive compulsive about cleanliness, HAL is the only way to go. Overall, upkeep was good. I wasn't looking super-hard, but I didn't see any broken fixtures or obvious maintenance problems (some LEDs went out in the disco, but that occurred on the last night and I saw an engineer addressing the problem). The teak was well taken care of, etc. There was a little carpet wear in places, some scratched panels in the elevators, and a couple of the couches will benefit from reupholstery during the upcoming drydock, but unless you're a compulsive blogger (like me!) it's nothing to write home about.

The discos on HAL ships are probably the only discos in the world where I feel completely safe barefoot, knowing there would not be any broken glass or, um, sticky spots on the floor.

The size of the Vista ships, 1,950 guests at double occupancy, is a noticeable increase over the older ships in the fleet. It is now essential to arrange specific meeting places and times with friends, as "see you in the Lido" may leave you wandering around a pretty big space for a while. On the other hand, this class is noticeably and delightfully smaller than most other classes at sea.

This class of ship has no self-service laundry. In my opinion it's no big deal -- onboard full-service laundry is far cheaper than in hotels, and if you don't like others handling certain items, use the sink and the convenient retractable drying line over the bathtub. Shampoo is an excellent, residue-free stand-in for Woolite. (Note: do not leave clothing on the verandah to dry, as this is a fire hazard -- if someone accidentally drops a cigarette and it blows onto your verandah, clothing can be kindling.)