Zuiderdam Itinerary

What Zuiderdam's Autumn Caribbean Season Is Actually Like

Zuiderdam spent the summer in Canada and New England, which is the cruise-ship equivalent of a cardigan-and-chowder phase. Now she's back in Miami for the winter, and the Caribbean schedule is far more varied than a list of dates suggests. Our own database doesn't record ports for these sailings, so the ports below come from retailer and timetable listings. Check them against Holland America's own page before you book, because aggregators don't always agree and nobody wants to find out about a port swap at the gangway.

What's sailing

The long sailings are mostly short ones stapled together, and once you see the pattern you can't unsee it. The 17-night is the 10-night plus the Nov 21 Western Caribbean week. Every Caribbean 14-night from Nov 21 to Dec 19 is two consecutive seven-night weeks, with a Miami stop in the middle. So the Nov 21 14-night is that Western week followed by the Nov 28 Bahamas week, and the Dec 12 14-night is a Western week followed by the Dec 19 Key West holiday week. Only the Jan 2 Panama Canal sailing breaks the pattern, because it leaves the Caribbean loop for a one-way trip to San Diego. If you can't spare 14 or 17 nights, you can still get a slice of the same itinerary.

Weather and seas

The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on November 30, so the Nov 11, Nov 21 and Nov 28 departures all start inside it. That's a reason to buy travel insurance and read the fine print. It isn't a reason to panic, and it isn't a reason to pick an itinerary based on a hunch about where storms like to wander. Holland America describes November as temperatures in the 70s and 80s with "sporadic showers." For mid-December onward it describes lows in the 70s, highs in the 80s and little rain. Insurance is the plan whichever route you choose.

Holland America's weather page doesn't cover sea conditions, so I won't promise you calm water. Anything in the 82,820-ton range handles the Caribbean fine, but you should still pack motion-sickness remedies if you're prone. The 10-night Nov 11 sailing has four sea days, and there's a two-day crossing before the first port, Bonaire. Translation: if you're going to find out whether you have sea legs, you'll find out early.

What the ports are really worth

• Key West (8:00 to 14:00 on Nov 22): A short day. Pick one thing and do it. Don't try to see everything. The Dec 19 sailing's Key West call on Dec 25 runs 8:00 to 18:00, so you get four more hours to wander.
• Cozumel (11:00 to 21:00 on Nov 26, and the same on Dec 17): A late arrival, but you get a long evening ashore.
• San Juan (13:00 to 22:00 on Dec 8 and again on Dec 29): An afternoon-and-evening call. Dinner in Old San Juan beats the buffet.
• Half Moon Cay, Amber Cove, Grand Turk: These are beach-and-relax stops, so the Nov 28 week suits you if you want to switch off.
• Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba: The best reason to choose the Nov 11 sailings. Expect real diving, snorkelling and walkable towns, not just a beach.

Port times can differ by sailing, so check the hours for your own departure date before you plan a shore day.

Holiday pricing and crowding

This is the quirk that costs real money. One retailer, Cruiseweb, lists the Dec 5 seven-night to San Juan and St. Thomas from $584 per person. The same route on Dec 26, the holiday sailing, is listed from $934 per person. Both are "from" prices, meaning the lowest category available (for Dec 26, that's an inside cabin), quoted per person on double occupancy with taxes and fees included. Same ports, same ship, same length, and a $350 per-person difference for the privilege of cruising over New Year's. Cruise Timetables, which samples Holland America's own fares and warns they may not be current, shows inside cabins at $449 on Dec 5 and $899 on Dec 26. The numbers differ from the retailer's, but the holiday sailing costs more either way. (For the record, the Dec 19 seven-night, which does Amber Cove, Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Key West, is listed by Cruiseweb from $684 per person. That's a different route, so it isn't a fair comparison with the Dec 26 sailing, but it does show the holiday weeks costing more than the early-December ones.) The late-November sailings sit in shoulder season, which usually means quieter ships and lower fares. Prices move daily, so treat these as a snapshot.

Which length suits whom

Seven nights suits first-timers and anyone testing Holland America's quieter, older-crowd reputation. Ten nights is for people who want the ABC islands without the 17-night commitment; one retailer lists the Nov 11 sailing from $999 per person. Fourteen and seventeen nights suit retirees and anyone who can work remotely (yes, the Wi-Fi-and-a-balcony life). On those, cabin size matters far more than it does on a long weekend.

What to pack

Pack light layers, swimwear, reef-safe sunscreen and a packable rain jacket for the passing showers. Add a sweater or light jacket for evenings on deck and in the air-conditioned dining rooms, which are kept at roughly "polar expedition" by some people's standards. Bring comfortable walking shoes for Old San Juan's cobbles.

Cleanliness check

Zuiderdam's latest CDC Vessel Sanitation Program score is 90 out of 100, from the July 17, 2026 inspection. You can dig into the details with our CDC inspection lookup, or see more about the ship on her ship page.