PrincessMelody
October 4th, 2004, 05:13 PM
Holland America Ms Zuiderdam
Western Caribbean Cruise - September18th to September 27th 2004
Scott and Melody
Day 1 Ft. Lauderdale: Casual
Day 2 Key West: Formal-Captain’s Gala
Day 3 Cozumel: Tropical/Casual-Dutch Night
Day 4 Costa Maya: Casual
Day 5 At sea: Formal-Farewell Dinner-Lobster and Baked Alaska Parade, and Dessert Extravaganza
Day 6 At sea: Informal
Day 7 At sea: Casual
Day 8 At sea: Casual
Day 9 At sea: Casual
Day 10 Ft. Lauderdale
Ports missed: HMC and Grand Cayman
Cruise extended to Monday 09/27 due to Hurricane Jeanne
The Captain made the announcement Friday night 9/25 at 6:30pm.
Embarkation: Smooth as silk. Got there at 11:30 and by noon we were relaxing in the Neptune Lounge.
Cabin: We were in Suite 7133, at the stern of the ship. Talk about a hike!!:eek: The cabin was lovely. Perfectly clean, and very spacious, yet it is quite a bit smaller than the side suites. The balcony was HUGE!! It had a dining table and 4 chairs, 2 chaise lounges with a small table, and 2 nice chairs with ottomans on the side wrap-around part of the balcony. The entire balcony is uncovered and exposed to the cabins above and to the lido deck, with the exception of the side part, which is completely covered.
The bathroom is nice and has a whirlpool tub with removable shower head, plus a separate shower stall. It has the nice dressing room area too, and I really like the lighted magnified mirror that you can move. There is plenty of storage and closet space as well. The towels were bigger and fluffier than on the Maasdam. The bed was heaven! The new mattress and comforter and pillows were wonderful! I loved cranking up the AC at night and snuggling under all that fluffy white bedding. Bliss!! I wish the TV was bigger though…(only 19”)
Cabin Steward: Yudi was wonderful, kept the cabin nice and clean, and made sure we had plenty of towels, (I use tons of towels and washcloths), ice, glasses, etc. We needed an extra long extension cord for my water pick and stuff, (I have braces) and he took care of us. He folded the clothes we left laying around, and even neatly arranged the makeup and stuff on the vanity that I left out. We took full advantage of the free laundry and dry cleaning, and left stuff out for Yudi daily. We always got it back the same day or next day. What a wonderful perk. At the end of the week, Scott gave Yudi the “handshake”(extra 40), and Yudi was very pleased.
Neptune: Love it. We enjoyed cappuccinos and juices every morning, along with my mandatory chocolate croissant…yum! I also enjoyed snacks throughout the day and before dinner, including chocolate dipped strawberries, which they had every single day! Access requires a card key, which was not the case on the Maasdam.
Concierge: Wilma and Ester were very nice and extremely efficient. They had their hands full too, with people trying to make phones calls to loved ones, and trying to re-schedule flights.
Dining Room: We enjoyed every meal we had there. Service was spotty at times, but overall-no major complaints. Our waiter was Pepep, and he was awesome. He was always smiling, and quite efficient. One evening I couldn’t decide between 3 desserts, and when I finally decided on one…Pepep brought me a sampling of all 3! How sweet. Scott gave him the cash handshake too at the end of the week, as we saw many others doing, and told him not to share it. Everyone says if it not in an envelope, it does not have to be turned in or shared…hence all the “loaded handshakes” We sat at a table for 2, (we originally had a table for 6 but changed). The choices were good, and we had no problems ordering two appetizers or entrees or desserts if we wished. We didn’t have Bami Goreng on Dutch night, but had Nasi Goreng instead. Similar, but over rice instead of the noodles. They did serve Bami Goreng later in the week at the lido, however. I also missed the Barneveld Pasteitje, which is the chicken and mushroom in pastry shell. That was not offered on Dutch night either. The beef was very good on this cruise, and well prepared. The seafood was quite good too. I am a picky eater, and I was well pleased. The lobster was tender and juicy, not at all overdone. I had 2 tails, plus a filet…no problem. I also tried pecan crusted salmon one evening, and it was yummy. Fresh fruit was abundant, and offered every night. Delicious. I enjoyed the chilled fruit soups too. I usually ordered two, because the bowls are small, and less than half full. The after dinner HAL Espresso Martini was fantastic, and offered every night. It had little coffee beans floating in it…how cool. The desserts were good, with plenty of variety, but the Flambes are no longer offered in the dining room, but in the Explorers Lounge after dinner. I have all the lunch, dinner, and dessert menus, if anyone wants more info.
Lido: I love the way the Lido is layed out, with the various stations serving different types of food. We had breakfast here most days, and enjoyed the made to order omelets, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The staff were all very cordial and helpful. Oh how I had missed the bread pudding!! It was “hunky dory”…Which reminds me of Imam, aka Hunky Dory!! He was so sweet, and said “Aloha to me every day. (I always wore a flower in my hair). He even gave me a recipe for the bread pudding and vanilla sauce. We really liked the burgers at the lido grill, too. Late night snacks were good too, with a different theme every night, such as Tex-mex, Oriental, Italian, etc. beginning at 11:15pm. Love the waffle cones!!
Pools: They were pretty nice, and there was a calypso band playing by the lido pool every day between 1:30-2:15, and 2:30-6pm.
Room Service: Very good. We ordered coffee and pastries and fruit every day, as Scott calls it “Our pre-breakfast”. Accurate and on-time every time. We tipped the room service gentleman a buck or two each morning when he dropped off our tray.
We also ordered hot and cold hors d’oeuvres in our suite before dinner each night, and were very pleased. They would include: spring rolls, fried shrimp, little quiches, spinakopata, meatballs, or jalapeno poppers, etc. All very good. We also had high tea in the suite a couple of times. Silver trays would come with various teas, pastries, and sweet goodies. Very nice and elegant. BTW, we had a cocktail party for 6 on our balcony, and wanted to order hot and cold appetizers for 6. We were told by the concierge that Vista class ships limit the appetizers to service for 4, with a surcharge of 15.00 for each additional person. This was not the case on the Maasdam, although we were told that it will be implemented on S and R class ship as well in the near future.
Public Areas: The lounges were all very nice and intimate, and each offered a different atmosphere and music. They now offer a “Cocktail of the Day” which is 3.75, and a “Mocktail of the Day” for 2.75. All featured fresh fruit juice, and were fantastic! If anyone wants details of the daily offerings…let me know. I also have details of the beverage packages offered, if anyone wants info on that.
There is a Windstar Café’ instead of the Java Café we experienced on the Maasdam. The difference is that the Windstar charges for ALL coffee drinks. Didn’t like that much... Just headed for the Neptune when the urge for java struck.
The glass elevators are really neat, too.
Entertainment: The Elton John impersonator was very good. We didn’t go to any other shows, but heard a lot of mixed reviews and some negative comments.
CONTINUED...
Western Caribbean Cruise - September18th to September 27th 2004
Scott and Melody
Day 1 Ft. Lauderdale: Casual
Day 2 Key West: Formal-Captain’s Gala
Day 3 Cozumel: Tropical/Casual-Dutch Night
Day 4 Costa Maya: Casual
Day 5 At sea: Formal-Farewell Dinner-Lobster and Baked Alaska Parade, and Dessert Extravaganza
Day 6 At sea: Informal
Day 7 At sea: Casual
Day 8 At sea: Casual
Day 9 At sea: Casual
Day 10 Ft. Lauderdale
Ports missed: HMC and Grand Cayman
Cruise extended to Monday 09/27 due to Hurricane Jeanne
The Captain made the announcement Friday night 9/25 at 6:30pm.
Embarkation: Smooth as silk. Got there at 11:30 and by noon we were relaxing in the Neptune Lounge.
Cabin: We were in Suite 7133, at the stern of the ship. Talk about a hike!!:eek: The cabin was lovely. Perfectly clean, and very spacious, yet it is quite a bit smaller than the side suites. The balcony was HUGE!! It had a dining table and 4 chairs, 2 chaise lounges with a small table, and 2 nice chairs with ottomans on the side wrap-around part of the balcony. The entire balcony is uncovered and exposed to the cabins above and to the lido deck, with the exception of the side part, which is completely covered.
The bathroom is nice and has a whirlpool tub with removable shower head, plus a separate shower stall. It has the nice dressing room area too, and I really like the lighted magnified mirror that you can move. There is plenty of storage and closet space as well. The towels were bigger and fluffier than on the Maasdam. The bed was heaven! The new mattress and comforter and pillows were wonderful! I loved cranking up the AC at night and snuggling under all that fluffy white bedding. Bliss!! I wish the TV was bigger though…(only 19”)
Cabin Steward: Yudi was wonderful, kept the cabin nice and clean, and made sure we had plenty of towels, (I use tons of towels and washcloths), ice, glasses, etc. We needed an extra long extension cord for my water pick and stuff, (I have braces) and he took care of us. He folded the clothes we left laying around, and even neatly arranged the makeup and stuff on the vanity that I left out. We took full advantage of the free laundry and dry cleaning, and left stuff out for Yudi daily. We always got it back the same day or next day. What a wonderful perk. At the end of the week, Scott gave Yudi the “handshake”(extra 40), and Yudi was very pleased.
Neptune: Love it. We enjoyed cappuccinos and juices every morning, along with my mandatory chocolate croissant…yum! I also enjoyed snacks throughout the day and before dinner, including chocolate dipped strawberries, which they had every single day! Access requires a card key, which was not the case on the Maasdam.
Concierge: Wilma and Ester were very nice and extremely efficient. They had their hands full too, with people trying to make phones calls to loved ones, and trying to re-schedule flights.
Dining Room: We enjoyed every meal we had there. Service was spotty at times, but overall-no major complaints. Our waiter was Pepep, and he was awesome. He was always smiling, and quite efficient. One evening I couldn’t decide between 3 desserts, and when I finally decided on one…Pepep brought me a sampling of all 3! How sweet. Scott gave him the cash handshake too at the end of the week, as we saw many others doing, and told him not to share it. Everyone says if it not in an envelope, it does not have to be turned in or shared…hence all the “loaded handshakes” We sat at a table for 2, (we originally had a table for 6 but changed). The choices were good, and we had no problems ordering two appetizers or entrees or desserts if we wished. We didn’t have Bami Goreng on Dutch night, but had Nasi Goreng instead. Similar, but over rice instead of the noodles. They did serve Bami Goreng later in the week at the lido, however. I also missed the Barneveld Pasteitje, which is the chicken and mushroom in pastry shell. That was not offered on Dutch night either. The beef was very good on this cruise, and well prepared. The seafood was quite good too. I am a picky eater, and I was well pleased. The lobster was tender and juicy, not at all overdone. I had 2 tails, plus a filet…no problem. I also tried pecan crusted salmon one evening, and it was yummy. Fresh fruit was abundant, and offered every night. Delicious. I enjoyed the chilled fruit soups too. I usually ordered two, because the bowls are small, and less than half full. The after dinner HAL Espresso Martini was fantastic, and offered every night. It had little coffee beans floating in it…how cool. The desserts were good, with plenty of variety, but the Flambes are no longer offered in the dining room, but in the Explorers Lounge after dinner. I have all the lunch, dinner, and dessert menus, if anyone wants more info.
Lido: I love the way the Lido is layed out, with the various stations serving different types of food. We had breakfast here most days, and enjoyed the made to order omelets, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The staff were all very cordial and helpful. Oh how I had missed the bread pudding!! It was “hunky dory”…Which reminds me of Imam, aka Hunky Dory!! He was so sweet, and said “Aloha to me every day. (I always wore a flower in my hair). He even gave me a recipe for the bread pudding and vanilla sauce. We really liked the burgers at the lido grill, too. Late night snacks were good too, with a different theme every night, such as Tex-mex, Oriental, Italian, etc. beginning at 11:15pm. Love the waffle cones!!
Pools: They were pretty nice, and there was a calypso band playing by the lido pool every day between 1:30-2:15, and 2:30-6pm.
Room Service: Very good. We ordered coffee and pastries and fruit every day, as Scott calls it “Our pre-breakfast”. Accurate and on-time every time. We tipped the room service gentleman a buck or two each morning when he dropped off our tray.
We also ordered hot and cold hors d’oeuvres in our suite before dinner each night, and were very pleased. They would include: spring rolls, fried shrimp, little quiches, spinakopata, meatballs, or jalapeno poppers, etc. All very good. We also had high tea in the suite a couple of times. Silver trays would come with various teas, pastries, and sweet goodies. Very nice and elegant. BTW, we had a cocktail party for 6 on our balcony, and wanted to order hot and cold appetizers for 6. We were told by the concierge that Vista class ships limit the appetizers to service for 4, with a surcharge of 15.00 for each additional person. This was not the case on the Maasdam, although we were told that it will be implemented on S and R class ship as well in the near future.
Public Areas: The lounges were all very nice and intimate, and each offered a different atmosphere and music. They now offer a “Cocktail of the Day” which is 3.75, and a “Mocktail of the Day” for 2.75. All featured fresh fruit juice, and were fantastic! If anyone wants details of the daily offerings…let me know. I also have details of the beverage packages offered, if anyone wants info on that.
There is a Windstar Café’ instead of the Java Café we experienced on the Maasdam. The difference is that the Windstar charges for ALL coffee drinks. Didn’t like that much... Just headed for the Neptune when the urge for java struck.
The glass elevators are really neat, too.
Entertainment: The Elton John impersonator was very good. We didn’t go to any other shows, but heard a lot of mixed reviews and some negative comments.
CONTINUED...