Holland America New England | Zuiderdam Food Review 2023 | Buffet, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner food

[@inmyhouse11]

Memo to Ghost. Next energy drink flavor needs to be Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

[@CaffeineMan1]

Maybe they'll do it in their next protein, LOL!

[@NoFate247]

Now I am hungry! Seems like they try to fill you up with carbs so you don't dig into the more expensive meats. 🎉🎉🎉

[@CaffeineMan1]

Very true! Its why I have my "no bread" rule for buffets... and to the same extent, limited carbs.

[@shreddy9130]

Heck yeah part 2 already!, Gotta grab my coffee rq

[@CaffeineMan1]

Enjoy! The coffee... and the video !

[@shreddy9130]

@@CaffeineMan1 That was some yummy looking food

[@Tony-jb8ue]

WOW all of that food looked amazing. Didn't really help that when I was watching this video, I had not eaten supper yet and was rather hungry, so all of the food looked so good and wanted it all LOL. That is a lot of food they offer you which is nice to have. Thanks for showing us all these different kinds of foods they offered.

[@CaffeineMan1]

Oh yeah, definitely dont want to watch hungry!!! 😂😂😂 A lot of options, which is great since they have something for everyone.

[@Christopher.G.P]

Thank you for posting this video! Quite helpful as I am travelling on the Zuiderdam in a month and a half. May I ask you what lines and waiting times were like for the buffet and the dining room (when you were there)? Thank you

[@CaffeineMan1]

Glad you got value out of the review!!! As for lines, they weren't bad at all. Ive been on numerous cruises and some places can get really crazy, but overall you didnt have to wait long at all. The only busy times were at-sea days, when EVERYONE was going to dinner and you might have 7 or 8 people in front of you at the main entree buffet line. I hope you have a GREAT Trip!!!

[@NoFate247]

Loving these....might be a new calling

[@CaffeineMan1]

Commission on a case of energy drinks, $2. Commission on a cruise... WOW! 😂

[@rebeccalyons1327]

I’m surprised MSC wasn’t your favorite pizza. Thanks for the review. We will be on Zuiderdam this spring.

[@CaffeineMan1]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@roustabout4fun]

If they can figure out a way to caffeinate the chicken...that would fly too! I remember on NCL, they had cheese stacked up all the way to the ceiling...(Alaska Cruise)

[@CaffeineMan1]

Yeah, a lot of buffets keep the bread, cheese and fruits in mass quantities!

[@Lawson578]

Good Job, Man!

[@CaffeineMan1]

Thanks!

[@Lawson578]

@@CaffeineMan1You’re Welcome!

[@rebeccalyons1327]

Im going on a transatlantic in the spring on this ship. I’m pretty sure I’ll be on the young side. I’m early 50s.

[@CaffeineMan1]

Hope this whole series is informative for you!!!

[@MiriamPrell]

I cruised that exact itinearary last September 2023 on the Zuiderdam (first HAL cruise) and loved it so much that I'm bringing sixteen of my friends this October 2024 -- same ship, same itinerary! Consequently, I've booked four more HAL cruises. I need to compare the ships after all. 😂

[@CaffeineMan1]

Wow! Sounds great! Hope you all have a great time! Enjoy!

[@outlawzen460]

love it man

[@CaffeineMan1]

👍👍👍

[@VikingZeroReviews]

Whoa caffeine man giving a 10 for chicken it must have been so good

[@CaffeineMan1]

MMMmmm...so good!

[@VikingZeroReviews]

The dinner looks bomb

[@CaffeineMan1]

We definitely looked forward to seeing the options each night.

[@PerryAdam-fh5bk]

Love you caffeine man ❤

[@CaffeineMan1]

Thanks so much!

[@VikingZeroReviews]

Yum lots of food choices I don’t notice but did they have a free soda fountain?

[@CaffeineMan1]

Nope. They have 2 drink packages. One is an alcohol drink package. The other is a soft drink package. You pay one up front fee and then you get unlimited soft drinks all cruise long. Either from the bar or one of the waitstaff. The only free drinks they had were water, tea, lemonade or iced tea.

[@VikingZeroReviews]

@@CaffeineMan1 which package did you guys get hmmmmmm lol

[@CaffeineMan1]

The "I smuggled energy drinks in my bag" package.

[@xyience1337]

What a moment of truth Caffeine Man!! 😂 Definitely I would of thrown a little side of ice cream to make that chocolate cake well rounded! 😋 🤤

[@CaffeineMan1]

The ice cream was only a 7, so I didnt want to downgrade the cake. 😂

[@xyience1337]

@@CaffeineMan1 LOL 😆

[@kathleemcallister]

is tere salt and pepper at te table

[@CaffeineMan1]

No, they don't have anything at the table but if you ask for it they will bring it over. Same with Ketchup, mustard, vinegar, etc.

[@NoFate247]

Craving some oatmeal cookies

[@CaffeineMan1]

You may have to settle for some Stop & Shop bakery cookies... Those are in my Top 3!

[@joeyr2892]

I'd gain 100lbs with all of that food lol

[@CaffeineMan1]

Luckily enough, we did a lot of walking in each port!

[@laureljaneg]

So you are smuggling energy drinks on the ship? 😊

[@CaffeineMan1]

Yes. Yes, I did. 😂 I think if it was soda or something they sold on the ship that they may have confiscated it.

[@johndefalque5061]

The food looks rather plain but it's the flavour that counts. My beef must be rare-I hate to chew!

[@christinemccoy1673]

Did you only eat in the Lido? The main dining room food is even better than the Lido buffet.

[@CaffeineMan1]

The main dining room had the same exact menu as the Lido Buffet. We went once and although it was served up nicely, they were a bit slow and we went to see if it was the same in Lido and it was. A little sad. We’ve done this on other cruises too. We would check out the restaurant menu and if it didn’t sound good, go to the buffet. I think there were only 2 cruise lines so far that had the same menu in both places.

[@DanielM77477]

Looks amazing! 🤯 But yeah, American cheese on pizza sounds gross lol… 😅

[@CaffeineMan1]

I mean, there’s no preparing you for that! You bite in expected a good, maybe great, pizza and then get this yucky American cheese taste. And it wasn’t good American cheese, it tasted like those individually wrapped fake ones.

[@johnjenkins777]

Vegetables are important for you.

[@CaffeineMan1]

Agreed! Which is why we were a little let down with the lack of options.

[@howardosden3112]

Great review. Thanks too on the tip to not subscribe (because I already had). I unscribed though as, despite being a coffee drinker, I really despise energy drinks (sorry), although I do like 5 hour energy if I think I need it, but that was before I retired. 😊

[@CaffeineMan1]

Fair enough! Hope you at least enjoyed this and found it useful! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@howardosden3112]

@CaffeineMan1 I did indeed! I'm considering a cruise right now on Zuiderdam and am doing my due diligence homework. 😉 👍 💯

[@LMFuqua]

I am a bit horrified by the amount of buffet food you got instead of MDR food

[@CaffeineMan1]

One of the things we learned many years ago was that the MDR food and Buffet food can sometimes be the same depending on the cruise line. We would check the menu to see what the MDR had and then check the buffet. If it was the same food, we would just go to the buffet. The MDR usually had a small wait, even with a reservation and we found the wait staff to be a little bit slow, not to mention if we got a dessert. We saved more than half the time just going to the buffet for the same food that they served you in the MDR.

[@samuelhernandez4769]

First

[@CaffeineMan1]

🏆