Zuiderdam 7/31

[Cruising5]

I first want to thank all of you posters for the great information I have gotten this past couple of weeks while reading this board. We set sail on Saturday, and reading all of your tips and reviews has added to my excitement.

I am a little worried about our cabins, not that there is much to be done about it now. My husband and I are going with our three teenage boys. We have a verandah so will be fine, however, the boys are in an interior "I" stateroom. How much of a nightmare is this going to be? They have one with a sofa bed. Is it really uncomfortable? I'm thinking I might have to have them alternate nights to be fair.

Does anyone know exactly how much the unlimitted laundry option is per room for this ship? I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to read about this. It's worth almost anything to me, but I would like to know exactly what to expect.

It has been such fun reading all of your reviews about the food, drinks, and shows. I'm a little worried that my clothes won't fit by the end of the seven nights. There is a running track on board, right? This might help. Does anyone know how many times around makes a mile? My sons also had some questions about like activities. They'd like to know about the basketball and volleyball courts. I read that the ship has these, but I haven't seen them on any of the deck plans. The boys would like to know if there are basketball and volleyball ship coordinated activities.

The thread about dress code for kids was very helpful. We decided to go the sportcoat/slack/tie option for formal nights for them, and I am relieved to see that this should be ok.

Does anyone have advice on fun excursions that the kids would enjoy?

I know, a lot of questions ... just a few more ... what is the wait time for getting on? We took a Carnival a few years back, and it took forever to get on. What's the best time to get there if you don't want to have to wait, or is this a problem? Also, what can we expect for disembarkation? We might have blown it on our return flight. We leave at 11:20 AM. I went ahead and booked a limo to take us from ship to airport as I thought this might be the fastest way to go. Should I be biting down my nails, or is there hope we'll make our flight?

Finally, anyone out there going along in a few days? It would be fun to touch base before.

Thanks in advance for all of your wisdom!

[Kylie]

Welcome! Several of us that are also going on the Zuiderdam July 31 have been visiting the last couple of months on the roll call board and we are meeting after the muster drill on the blue side of the Ocean Bar. Join us if you'd like. There are some other families with kids. One family has already left and my husband & I are going to Omaha, NE tomorrow to catch our flight out early Friday AM.
We are anxious and ready to go!
Hope to see you there!

[Cruising5]

Thank you, Kylie. We'll definitely try to make it to the Ocean Bar. We leave on Friday as well from Sacramento, CA. However, I am nowhere near ready! Working through laundry right now, but haven't yet begun to pack. I am bound to forget something, but oh well. I look forward to meeting you on Saturday.

[Mrs B]

I will try to answer as many of your questions as I can. We were on the 7/17 sailing as well as Christmas 2003.

I haven't had an inside cabin but I am guessing your sons will be fine. My son said that the sleeper sofa was not comfortable but you can request a matress topper from your room steward.

Not sure about the unlimited laundry - I would check at the front desk as soon as you board.

The promenade deck is a good place for walking - three times around is a mile. Not sure about running. They have excellent fitness facilities and many treadmills so you should be fine.

I recommend Club Hal for your sons and they do have many organized activities including basketball. There is a half basketball court on the top deck. Club Hal is a great way for the kids to meet new people. They will receive a CD case with the schedule when they board. My son really enjoyed the activities.

We didn't do any excursions as this was our 15th cruise. We always take a cab to the beach on our own. My son did the parasailing at Half Moon and enjoyed it. I recommend renting a clamshell there as the sun is very strong and the clamshell is only $9.00 for the day. Do this as soon as you board through shore excursions. Also, rent a few floating mats at $6.00 each. These sell out really fast as well.

Embarkation begins at 11:30 when they open the doors. I think ours took about a half hour. Get there earlier because the line is very long at 11:30.

Disembarkation: Make sure when you complete the form on the ship so that they know you have a very early flight. We just took a cab which was quicker than the limo that we used in December. I think the entire process of disembakcation, getting luggage and cab to the airport took about 45 minutes. We had plenty of time to make our 12:10 flight.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[Cruising5]

Thanks for the great info! I'm making a list of things I must do the first day ... mattress topper, clamshells, floating mats, and laundry. Tips like this help so much.