Holland America Zuiderdam Western Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 6: November 13, 2025

Day 6 already — and yes, I’m back in Cozumel, Mexico. If you’ve been following along, I was just here last week during my cruise on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, and before that… well, I’ve lost count. Let’s just say Cozumel and I see each other more often than most people see their extended family.

I like to call Cozumel the “Nassau of the Western Caribbean.”

Why?

Because if you sail to the Eastern Caribbean or the Bahamas, you always end up in Nassau — the most visited, most disliked, and consistently worst-rated port of call year after year. Flip that around to a Western Caribbean itinerary, and nine times out of ten your ship is calling on Cozumel.

The difference?

Cozumel doesn’t have the rock-bottom ratings that Nassau does. Not even close. People actually like Cozumel. Myself included!

But today’s visit is a little unique for me. Instead of the standard 8am–5pm stop, we don’t dock until 10am… and then we’re here all the way until 9pm. A long port day in Cozumel is rare.

The day, however, started with an unexpected… wake-up call.

At 6:20am, the captain came over the shipwide PA system — which normally only broadcasts into public spaces — but this one was piped directly into all staterooms. When that happens, it’s never good news. He apologized for the early intrusion but explained that a guest had been reported missing, and missing-person procedures were underway. He announced the guest’s name and cabin number and asked him to immediately contact Guest Services.

About ten minutes later, the captain came back on to let us know the passenger had been found. Crisis averted.

Naturally, this became the hot gossip of the day. Rumors swirled faster than you can spell Z-U-I-D-E-R-D-A-M. People were tossing theories around all over the ship, and — let’s just say the missing guest wasn’t actually missing… he just “happened to” spend the night in someone else’s stateroom, much to the “surprise” of his family.

What happens on the ship stays on the ship, right?  Well… mostly.

The Post-Cruise Survey

Since I’ve covered Cozumel more times than I can count, I’m not going to bore you today with yet another rundown of the three different piers, what excursions you can do, or where to find the closest beach. If you want all that, hop back to my Day 8 Queen Elizabeth report from last week, where I provided plenty of details.

Instead, today I want to talk about something far more important than which pier you’re at: the post-cruise survey.

Every single cruise line sends one out.  Every cruiser gets one.  And almost nobody fills it out properly — or at all.

But here’s the thing: the post-cruise survey is one of the most powerful tools you have as a guest. It’s the only official channel that shoreside leadership absolutely, 100% pays attention to. They read the ratings. They read the comments. They track trends. And yes, they take action based on what guests say.

So when you skip the survey or breeze through it just to get it done, you’re missing an opportunity to shape the future of the experience — both for yourself and for the crew you interact with.

Why Surveys Matter So Much

You’ve probably heard crew members gently reminding you to remember them on the survey. There’s a reason for that — and it’s not because they just want a pat on the back.

Crew members have a very real, very personal stake in your feedback.

When a guest mentions a crew member by name and department, that comment is sent to them directly. They get recognized onboard and those mentions help determine things like:

• Extra hours off
• A dinner in a specialty restaurant
• Internal awards
• Priority for promotions
• Preference for scheduling and contract assignments

For many crew, these surveys are their version of an annual performance review — except it happens every week, and the “bosses” are the guests they serve.

You’d be amazed how many crew worked their way up from stateroom attendants to supervisors, to managers, and even to onboard leadership positions — all helped along by consistent positive guest feedback.

When you meet someone who makes your cruise better — a server, a bartender, an activities host, a cabin steward — snap a quick picture of their name tag. That way, when the survey hits your inbox a day or two after the cruise, you won’t be trying to remember if their name was “Maria,” “Marina,” or “Mariano.”

Fill out the survey honestly. If something was great, say so.  If something was not so great, say that too.  Cruise lines want that data. They use it. Trust me — the entire hospitality industry lives and dies by Net Promoter Scores (NPS scores).

But above all, take the time to recognize the crew who took care of you. That one comment you write might be the thing that helps them move up, get a perk, or feel appreciated when they’re thousands of miles from home working 10- to 14-hour days so that you can relax.

So when that survey shows up after your cruise… don’t ignore it. Fill it out.

Holland America Daily Gratituties

Now, let’s talk money and a subject that gets a ton of attention in online forums.  Daily gratituties.

Gratuities, or “Crew Appreciation” as Holland America calls it, are a big part of how the crew gets compensated, and they’re automatically added to your onboard account as a lump sum amount. As of November 2025, it’s $17 per person, per day for standard staterooms and $19 per person, per day for suites. On top of that, an 18 percent service charge is automatically applied to things like drinks (if not part of a drink package), specialty dining, and spa services.

These amounts go into a pooled fund that supports far more than just your room steward or dining room team. Everyone who plays a part in your cruise experience—from housekeeping and dining teams to the laundry staff, deck crew, guest services, entertainment techs, and tons of behind-the-scenes workers you’ll never actually see—benefits from this pool. Holland America even says in their FAQ that these gratuities represent “an important part of their compensation,” and that is absolutely true.

The thing to remember, and the part most guests don’t realize, is that when you remove or reduce the daily gratuity, you’re not just stiffing the person who cleaned your room. You’re taking money away from dozens of people who helped deliver your vacation without you ever knowing their names.

Yes, you can go to Guest Services and have the automatic gratuities adjusted or even removed entirely—it’s your cruise, your choice—but doing so has a real impact on a lot of hardworking crew members who are relying on that income. Some guests take them off because “I barely saw my steward,” or, “I tip people in cash,” but the gratuities don’t just pay the people you personally interact with. They also support the folks making your food in the galley, the cleaners keeping public areas spotless, the maintenance workers fixing things at 3am, and the laundry team who make sure your towels are clean.

They don’t get to opt out of doing their jobs, and when guests remove their gratuities, the crew feels it.

Dinner at Canaletto

Tonight’s dinner took me to Canaletto, Holland America’s little Italian restaurant tucked into a carved-out corner of the Lido Market. Don’t let its location fool you — once you sit down, it transforms into a proper white-tablecloth, full-service dining space that is separated from the buffet it lives next to. At $25 per person (+18%), it continues to be one of the best specialty-dining values in the fleet, especially on ships like Zuiderdam where your options are limited to just Pinnacle Grill and this spot.

If you’re a die-hard Canaletto fan, brace yourself… the menu changes next week. Yes, the beloved Osso Bucco — the dish everyone raves about — is sailing off into the sunset, making way for a veal scaloppini. So that’s exactly why I ordered the Osso Bucco tonight. Gotta get the good stuff before they yank it away. And it did not disappoint. It was huge, fall-apart tender, and packed with flavor — served over creamy risotto with a rich sauce. If it truly disappears next week, I guess I’ll find out when I board Rotterdam on Sunday.

Dinner starts with a fantastic bread service — a dense, addictive bread with several different spreads and dips.

For starters, I went all in with the antipasto plate and meatballs, both solid choices and full of the familiar flavors you want from a casual Italian spot.

For dessert, I kept it light with an affogato, because a scoop of gelato drowned in espresso is always the right answer.

Since it was Orange Party night, more on that in a minute, a special Dutch menu was being served in the main dining room which you can see in both the MDR and Lido Market menus below.

Dinner at Canaletto had great service, hearty Italian comfort food, the pacing was spot-on, the team working the room couldn’t have been more attentive, and honestly… it’s impossible to walk out of Canaletto hungry. If you do, that’s on you, not them.

Holland America Orange Party!

Now — onto one of Holland America’s most fun nighttime events: the Orange Party.

If you’ve never sailed HAL before, here’s the deal. Orange isn’t just a random color; it’s part of the cruise line’s heritage tied to the Dutch Royal Family — the House of Orange-Nassau. So once per cruise, they throw a massive themed bash where everyone is encouraged (let’s call it strongly encouraged) to dress in as much orange as humanly possible. Shirts, dresses, hats, sunglasses, tutu skirts, glow sticks — if it’s orange, wear it. The more ridiculous, the better.

Tonight’s Orange Party kicked off at 9:30pm at the Lido Pool, which is a perfect venue since the retractable roof can stay open for a breezy Caribbean night or close up if weather goes sideways. When you walked in, the lighting was orange, the décor was orange, the drinks were orange… you get the idea. HAL goes all in with this.

Speaking of drinks, they offer specialty cocktails available only during the Orange Party — and yes, they are orange.

Servers also migle with passed appetizers, little bites, puff pastries, and other finger foods so you can nibble, sip, and people-watch without ever needing to stand in line.

And then there’s a DJ to get people dance around the pool, start a conga line, and it’s just a fun, festive night that’s always the highlight of a HAL cruise.  Now we all know that HAL doesn’t have a reputation for being the “late-night party cruise line,” but the Orange Party honestly proves they can throw one heck of a bash when they want to.

Tomorrow, it’s our last day and we’re spending it at sea as we head back to Miami.  I get one day off in between cruises, as I board Holland America’s Rotterdam on Sunday!  So stay tuned for one more report from the Zuiderdam and as always, thanks for following along!

Daily Schedule

Personal Day-By-Day Zuiderdam Cruise Review: