Everything you need to know about Holland America Line’s cruise ship | Cruise | Travel

Zuiderdam is one of Holland America Line’s older ships but that comes with some benefits. It has fewer passengers than the company’s newer vessels – 1,964 compared with 2,650 – and there’s an understated Art Deco-style to its public spaces, with no brash water parks and plenty of quiet spaces.

I joined Zuiderdam on an autumn cruise from Quebec City to Boston – both off-the-scale destinations for their culture and colourful neighbourhoods. We sailed to Canada’s maritime provinces and down New England’s Atlantic coast, stopping at out-of-the-way Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island before reaching Portland in Maine, USA – a lively lobster-focused party town – and finished our cruise in beautiful Boston.

This is an itinerary Zuiderdam returns to from April to October 2026 while from spring 2027 the ship will sail Northern Europe cruises from Amsterdam to Scandinavia and the British Isles.

My autumn leaf-peeping cruise attracted mainly over-60s North Americans, some slightly younger Australasians and a handful of Brits, so it was pretty friendly and buzzy although never noisy. Zuiderdam has fewer facilities than Holland America Line’s newer ships but during the two-day sail up the Lawrence River from Quebec City to the Atlantic there was always plenty to do.

Many just enjoyed the mellow autumn sunshine while sitting around the two pools, reading or chatting, having drinks and snacks – although the pools were rarely used and the only people in swimming costumes were keeping warm in the hot tubs. There’s a free gym with sea views, a free sauna near the spa, a free pickleball court on the top deck that was constantly in use and a couple of ping pong tables.

You could also learn salsa or line dancing, take part in tai chi sessions or join in less vigorous activities including watercolour classes in the Art Studio, knitting and needlework meet-ups, scavenger hunts, quizzes and even origami folding. Not sure if anybody really needed to learn how to create elephants or monkeys by folding towels, but there was a class if you wanted it.

Overall, it was very relaxed with a slightly buzzier vibe in the evenings when there was live music in bars and shows in the theatre.

My Verandah stateroom had everything you need for a comfortable week or two, including a balcony that provided a peaceful escape from other passengers. All cabins have HAL’s signature queen-size Mariner’s Dream bed, which can be reconfigured into twin beds if preferred, and a wall-mounted TV for news and sports channels, films and information about the cruise. My cabin also had a small sofa, coffee table and fridge with a paid-for mini-bar.

The bathroom was reasonable with plenty of storage space and although there was no bath the shower cubicle was a good size and refillable toiletries were provided. In all there are five main types of cabin: Inside Staterooms have no windows but virtually everything that Ocean View (cabins with windows) and Verandah (cabins with balconies) staterooms have. 

Signature Suites are twice the size of Verandah Staterooms, with a queen-size double and single pull-out bed plus bigger bathrooms that include bath tubs, while Neptune Suites are bigger still with extras such as espresso coffee machines, free laundry and use of the Neptune Lounge. 

Fully accessible staterooms are also available with roll-in showers for wheelchair users but there are no purpose-designed solo cabins.

The food on Zuiderdam is exceptionally good, from the complimentary Dining Room restaurant and Lido Market buffet, to the paid-for speciality restaurants Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto. The Dining Room has a warmly sophisticated décor and is open for waiter-served breakfast and dinner every day, plus lunch on sea days. Its New York strip steak is almost as big as the paid-for Pinnacle Grill steak and it’s not even on the specials list. 

One main course is highlighted every day and these included tenderloin with grilled shrimps, calf’s liver with apples and pancetta and on Orange Party night there was a special dish from Holland America Line’s homeland – Hodge Podge Klapstuk, which is braised beef brisket with vegetables and butter gravy. Dress code for The Dining Room was more casual than it might be on a European cruise, although if you really don’t want to change out of daytime shorts the Lido Market buffet has a great choice of food that you can take outside to the back of the ship if it’s warm enough.

Most nights the Lido Market offered a paid-for New England Seafood Boil including Dungeness crab, mussels, shrimp, salmon and lobster with lobster chowder to start and blueberry pie to finish, although not many chose to spend $35 just to eat in the buffet. Despite this, there were plenty who paid to eat at Canaletto, the Italian speciality restaurant serving fresh-made pasta every night in a tucked away section of the Lido Market.

It’s certainly good value at $25 for antipasti or small plates to start, a choice of main courses such as ossobucco and Italian sausage paccheri, plus dessert and coffee all included. Like Canaletto, speciality restaurant Pinnacle Grill is on every Holland America Line ship and while the Italian restaurant’s décor was not as attractive on Zuiderdam as on newer ships, Pinnacle Grill has a really stylish room of its own.

Eating there felt like a night out at a major city’s top restaurant and no wonder, with a menu by world-renowned American chef David Burke – a pioneer of modern US cooking. Dishes included locally sourced fresh seafood such as snow crab and Prince Edward Island mussels for starters and Atlantic turbot for mains – although the lobster and massive steaks are always popular. 

We also tried David Burke’s speciality, Clothesline Candied Bacon – a string of bacon dripping in maple syrup – which were delicious and cost $25 at his New Jersey restaurant compared to paying $52 for three courses and coffee on Zuiderdam. Once a week there’s a Morimoto by Sea Pop-Up at the Pinnacle Grill, when a menu devised by Michelin star Japanese celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto is available.

Morimoto is Holland America Line’s Global Fresh Fish Ambassador and there’s plenty of sushi on the menu with crispy fried whole fish and Angry Lobster Pad Thai among the main dishes. Three-course dinners cost $55. Zuiderdam’s fifth restaurant is the burgers and hot dogs stall Dive-In, which is free and next to the main swimming pool, but there are also snacks available at the Crow’s Nest Café, which sells speciality tea and coffee.

Holland America Line’s entertainment is largely music-based so if you’re a fan of live music it’s the cruise line for you. This summer it launched an “entertainment evolution”, introducing regional bands and solo musicians to its World Stage theatres and lounges such as the Crow’s Nest – deck 10’s observation lounge – and the very attractive Ocean Bar, which on Zuiderdam surrounds the atrium on deck 3.

During my cruise the regional band was Nova Scotia-based Breton Thunder, who had a flamboyant theatre set that reflected their Celtic roots and mainly Scottish and Irish playlist. There was jazz from the Dam Band – the ship’s excellent musicians that provide live music for theatre shows – and a classical music duo in the Explorers Lounge, a fleet-wide venue that has replaced Lincoln Center Stage following the 2024 demise of HAL’s partnership with New York’s Lincoln Centre Performing Arts complex.

There were three sets of live music most nights at the Rolling Stone Lounge from a band belting out cover songs and another three sets most nights from a pianist at Billboard Onboard. But Zuiderdam does not have a BB King’s Blues Club, which features on larger HAL ships, and unfortunately the Explorers Lounge was very small and lacked atmosphere.

Some HAL ships have duelling pianists in Billboard Onboard, which is more entertaining than just one, and although the Rolling Stone Lounge band worked really hard the original rock band concept appears to have been lost. On a brighter note, Zuiderdam’s World Stage productions are much improved now that dance-only shows by Step One Dance Company have been replaced with song and dance performances such as Class Act, which featured songs from major female performers.

Also, American comedian Dave Konig – an Emmy award-winner who appeared on TV’s Marvelous Mrs Maisel – was very funny. And that doesn’t always happen.

Holland America Line has 11 ships, with the oldest – Volendam – launched in 1999 and newest – Rotterdam – in 2021. Zuiderdam was launched in 2002 and has had several refits since then, with the latest taking place before its winter 2025 season in the Caribbean to upgrade public areas such as the Crow’s Nest, spa, Rolling Stone Lounge, Lido Market and Canaletto restaurant, as well as expanding the casino. The pools and hot tubs were also refreshed.

An improved Arts Studio and Games Room was being installed in The Crow’s Nest, aimed at improving family amenities as the line continues to target family and multi-generation groups. Holland America Line started taking European immigrants from Rotterdam to America back in 1873 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023. It now offers cruises to 98 countries and territories and sails to Antarctica, Australasia, Asia and South America but its most popular destinations are the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada & New England, the Panama Canal and Europe.

With its ships registered in Rotterdam, Holland America Line retains strong links with the Netherlands and operates charity initiatives such as fund-raising walks around the ship’s exercise track in aid of causes such as Cancer Research UK.

Zuiderdam is spending winter 2025/ 2026 sailing from Florida to the Caribbean, but returns to Canada and New England in spring 2026. 

* A 7-day Canada & New England: Unesco Sites & Quebecois Nights cruise from Boston to Quebec City departing May 9, 2026, calling at Portland, Halifax, Sydney and Charlottetown, costs from £799 per person, two sharing, cruise only (0344 338 8607; hollandamerica.com)