Life on the Zuiderdam
May 11, 2024 The Zuiderdam First, About our ship - The Zuiderdam is a bit bigger than the Amsterdam was on our first go around the world trip. It is what they classify as a Vista-class cruise ship. It was launched in 2001 and refurbished in 2017. Capacity is right at 1900 passengers and 842 crew. We only had about 1200 on board for most of the trip. Made it very nice for us. There are 3 sister ships, the Oosterdam, the Westerdam and the Noordam. Each ship translates into a direction of the compass. Zuider is Dutch for south. The Zuiderdam is 936 feet long and has a width of 105.8 feet. She has 11 decks. She draws 25 feet in the water, and there were times in the Amazon and a few other places where we were only a meter or so from the bottom. Top speed is 24 knots. There are two main places to eat, the Lido and the Main dining room,... also a couple of specialty restaurants should you wish to pay ext...