Sept. 27-Oct. 2 Zuiderdam Cruise

[Golfgrl1911]

DAY 1.....After 2 days of twists and turns, Lisa and I were finally able to fly to Miami to catch our long awaited for cruise aboard the Zuiderdam. Origionally due to leave Port of Everglades on Sept. 25, Jeanne threw a monkey wrench in those plans. Continental Airlines was more than accomodating to us as we switched flights about 4 times before deciding that our departure date was not going to be any sooner than Monday morning, the 27th, day of embarkation. Our flight arrived on schedule and we had a car awaiting our arrival at the Miami airport to whisk us to Ft. Lauderdale. The sight of the Zuiderdam from the car was undiscribable. She is a massive beauty!!
From the moment that we left the car to stepping on the gangplank probably took 15 minutes. (we arrived at about 2:00p.m.) Once aboard we were taken to our cabin #5071. Knowing that we had $300.00 each to spend in 5 days we went to ships services to inquire as to what an upgrade would run us. Cindy at ships services took us to cabin 8059 SS suite for a peek. SOLD!! For $150.00 pp we were upgraded!! The SS suites are fabulous! More than half as big as the BA we origionally purchased and the balcony was twice as big as well. The twin sinks and extra shower stall were worth it alone! Our ship was not to depart until 8:00 p.m. so we ran about the ship for several hours before we were due to have dinner in the Pinnacle at 8:00. It was rumored that about 800 people had cancelled this trip so the ship never did seem crowded at all. I don't remember how, but we found some friends that I had been corresponding with on the CC roll call thread and had our Bon Voyage champagne with them on our spacious balcony, then proceeded to the Lido pool for the Sail-away. I don't believe that I have ever seen so many smiling faces!! The ship is absolutly beautiful!! I did not find it to be too garish at all. Dinner at the Pinnacle was very elegant, I would reccomend it to everyone for the experience alone.....the chocolate volcano cake was outstanding!! A must! After splashing A-1 sauce all over my white blazer I decided to call it a night!! More later, Nancy

[doone]

Thank you for sharing your story of the Zuiderdam. My TA was supposed to be on that sailing, was wondering if she ever made it. I have been afraid to call her, but she's the type that goes with the flow and I am sure if they made it aboard, she had a wonderful time like did yourself. Looking forward to more of your experience on the Zuiderdam as I am scheduled to sail her in March.

We want to eat at the Pinnacle also, glad you had a wonderful experience, and that chocolate volcano cake, is that incredible or what!!!!!!

[ekerr19]

Nancy-

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! Can't wait to hear more about it. :)

[Golfgrl1911]

DAY 2....We were awakened to the sound of tapping at the door.....Our breakfast had arrived...right on time and piping hot. The ship had already anchored and we were to tender into Key West. What an experience! Although the seas seemed calm there were times that the poor little life boat was rockin and rollin!! The weather was very humid so I felt right at home (I grew up in Fla.) Strolled around the town, visited some friends who live there and we were back on board by 2:00. Time to visit the Lido buffet!! There was a plethera of food in every area. My favorite was the Italian buffet! Although I must admit that I sampled a bit of everything and found all to be outstanding! Afterwards we had a frozen cocktail and headed up to the Oak Room for the CC meeting. We all found each other and had a blast! It was nice to put faces with names and we were quite a silly group! I departed a bit early to head down to the casino...won a little ...lost a little...but had fun and met even more people that we will keep in touch with!! I found that all of the people that I met were extremely friendly and I never heard any complaining at all...except for George who couldn't seem to get a straight flush in 3 card poker!! Closed the casino and went to the room where we ordered a club sandwich and smoked salmon on a bagel from room service. It was delivered in about 15 minutes. What a great day! More later, Nancy

[Orcrone]

Nancy,

Enjoyed reading the first two installments. I'll be looking for the rest.

[Golfgrl1911]

DAY 3.....This morning I was awakened by the sunlight peering in the window by the bed........No it wasn't a dream!! I was actually sailing on a cruise ship!! I found the video camera and caught the Yucatan coastline as we sailed south to Cozumel. There was no hurry to do anything this morning as we weren't to dock until 10ish and were able to leave the ship at 11:00 a.m. Went up to the Lido buffet for breakfast and then perused the ship. Lisa wanted to get a book from the library so we headed there. A little FYI...if you check out a book your room account will be charged a $50.00 refundable deposit, so remember to return! We had purchased a beach party excursion the day before ($27.00 for day at the beach open bar included) so we headed to the taxi stands. I think the taxi ran $14.00 for the 2 of us. The beach was beautiful! We were given an umbrella for shade and floats for the water. The Ocean water was warm as bath water and beautiful!! This place had a very nice swimming pool as well but you need to get there early to get a spot near it. Lisa did the wave runner and had a ball!! This place has a huge buffet as well for an additional $10.00 pp. The food was very mediocre and I would not choose to buy it again. As a chef I am very much aware of conditions that can cause food poisoning and found that this buffet was a prime target!(HOT FOOD HOT-COLD FOOD COLD) NOT!! At 4:30 we decided to head back to the ship to shower and get ready for dinner. The shops around the port area are very nice. I bought a bottle of Tanqueray Gin for a friend at an unbelievable price! Another FYI..if you buy anything make sure you have your receipt ready to show for proof of purchase....my sales guy forgot to give me mine for the gin and Lisa had to run all the way back to get it!! She got to have ice cream that night for her efforts. :D
Once back on the ship we ran into some folks that we 'd met the day before(Ray & Kathy) and decided to go back to the Lido Pool for the all you can drink Pina Colada's served in a pineapple. They were $11.95..good value and were the best that I'd ever had!! Almost like a milkshake!! Then it was time for the BBQ by the pool!! This was a highlight!! Mixican steaks, Mexican ribs, Mexican fish, oh, and the Mixican chicken was the best!! The staff was very funny when serving all this Mexican food!! The ship brought on an authentic Mariachi band as well!! At this point after all the great food and drink I couldn't take any more and went to my cabin where I slept until 7:30 a.m........10 hours!!:eek: More later, Nancy

[BLStokes23]

Nancy - what a great use of your onboard credit for the SS suite! I'm reliving our cruise with your review. Keep it coming! Glad you had a great time.

[Golfgrl1911]

DAY 4....After sleeping for so many hours I was up just in time to catch the sunrise along the coastline. The full moon was still showing as the sun came up in the east. Two other ships were trailing us as we approached Costa Maya. I'd never heard of this port so when I found out that our eastern itinerary had been changed, (due to Jeanne) and I had an extra 2 days until our embarkation, I did a little research via my trusty computer. This is apparently a relativly new port along the Yucatan Coast so there wasn't much info to gather, but what I did find was helpful. I would imagine that in the next 5-10 years this will be another Cozumel as there is construction going on and room for much more construction. I am actually entertaining the idea of purchasing some land here and just sitting on it. Anyhow I did purchase a beach party excursion sight unseen....$25.00 for beach and open bar. This was a mistake for us as we are not big drinkers and after a taxi ride...$3.00 pp and a bit of a hike in the 90 degree weather we came to a little hut type bar at the end of the main road........was this it??? YUP!! A little bar, 5 chaise lounges and 1 table with 4 chairs........The beach space for this excursion was about 40 feet......along with the $25.00pp we pre-purchased lunch...lobtser platter for Lisa($15.00) and a mexican platter consisting of quesadillas and chips w/ guacamole for me($5.00). The people who run the excursion speak NO english whatsoever, and I speak NO spanish. So when we arrived there were no available lounge chairs...well Lisa had a bit of a fit and said that for $70.00 she wanted lounge chairs!! Somehow she got her point across and the owner chased off two non pre-paying customers. I purchased a wonderful neck/back massage from a local for $25.00 for 1/2 hour. It was very relaxing!! At about 1:30 we had had enough and took our taxi back to the port area, again $3.00 pp. Had we known we would not have bothered with the "Beach Party" excursion here, but would have just stayed at the port area where there was a huge pool, plenty of chairs and a swim up bar. Not to mention locals peddling their wares. FYI.. don't waste your money on this excursion found at www.costamayaexcursions.com (http://www.costamayaexcursions.com). Stick with the main pool and you'll have plenty of fun. Back on the ship had a light dinner and played some bingo, met with onboard friends, sang karaoke, I won the slot tournament (tied w/ another cruiser and split the pot) Lisa won $1000.00 on a slot!! Anothr great day at sea!! More later, Nancy

[dakrewser]

Keep it coming, Nancy, it's a joy to read about the fun you were having!

[Golfgrl1911]

Sorry folks I made a mistake in the web address for the Costa Maya excursion It's www.costamayacruiseexcursions.com (http://www.costamayacruiseexcursions.com) Sorry for the mistake. Nancy

[Golfgrl1911]

DAY 5.....Our only day at sea began as every other morning with coffee being promptly delivered to our cabin at the specified time. Keep in mind that there is a half hour open window for delivery, but since we tipped a couple of dollars above the included tip charge each and every time we were never dissapointed. Another trip to the Lido Buffet for breakfast (my clothes were already fitting a little snug at this point) and those famous chocolate croissant & fresh squeezed OJ!! After a rousing game of Bingo (where I won a gift package for finding Mr. Zuiderdam) It was off to the pool area to finally catch up on reading......NOT!!:D ......ran into some fellow cruisers who were heading to the casino for the black jack tournament.......Lisa won the $500.00 prize......how lucky she was this trip!! Then off to dinner at the Vista Dining Room as you'll note we only ate there twice but with very good service each time.......I'm still trying to understand how some other cruisers have had such shoddy treatment in past cruises as this one was wonderful service wise. Perhaps it was the fact that the ship wasn't full. Anyhow the last day went the quickest, bags were packed and outside the door by 8:00p.m. Last minute shopping was done.....gotta spend those credits!! And we purchased some pictures and the DVD as well. One last walk through the ship and it was off to bed.
More Later, Nancy:)

[doone]

Nancy, I am loving your view of this cruise, even short as it was. Can hardly wait for the next segment. You have a wonderful way with words to make each and every segment of your review like I was sailing with you. Write more soon........we're all patiently waiting.....

[Golfgrl1911]

DAY 6....Disembarkation day:(. We rose to find that we were already docked in the Port of Everglades, you could hear the tow motors busily transporting the food, beverages, etc. for the afternoons next voyage. I sadly took down my plastic blow-up Goodyear Blimp that I had hanging from the balcony and packed the rest of my belongings. The Lido Buffet at breakfast was a little more somber than it had been previously.......5 nights just wasn't long enough. We all seemed to just be getting our sea legs when it was time to leave. We waited in our room until our number was called to leave the ship. Total time for disembarkation....another 15 minutes. Taxi's were waiting outside to whisk us to the airport. As I was sitting in the airport I could see her two stacks standing proudly in the horizon, meanwhile I was pondering when my next voyage on the Zuiderdam would be!!


This was undoubtably the best vacation ever!!
The service was impecable.
The rooms were clean and well taken care of.
Muster drill was quick and organized.
Surf & Turf night was to die for!
Dessert Extravaganza was sickeningly sweet!!:D
Entering and Exiting the ship was speedy and organized.
Staff was helpful, courtious and very personable. They made our vacation the wonderful experience that it was!! I can't thank them enough!!
Itinerary was well put together for such a quick changing cruise.
Wish it never had to end!!
Thanks for letting me share my wonderful dam vacation with you all!! Sincerely,Nancy
Oh and one more thing....thanks to everyone here for all the valuable information you gave!! Happy sails to you ...until we sail again!!

[Spot]

YEAH Nancy!!!! You did a great job of describing the cruise I was meant to be on and wasn't.
I'm thrilled you had such an awesome time on the abbreviated cruise and I hope there will be a time when we can cruise together.

[Golfgrl1911]

Hey Deb!! We missed you!! Hope you had a great time on your "plan B" vacation! Lisa asked me Sunday morning when we're going on another!! I'd love to do the "Z" again just on the eastern itinerary the next time.....really wanted to see St. Thomas & HMC. Let us know when your next one is and perhaps we can hook up on that one!! Everyone from the board was very nice!! It was great meeting them! Wish things had worked out differently for you all but glad you had a good time! Nancy

[Ziggy7]

Thanks Nancy for sharing your cruise with us, DH and I were reliving our exact cruise as well, we loved it and had a wonderful time! I too found Ms. Zuiderdam (you found Mr.) and got a bag full of DAM stuff hehehehe. Who did you get to meet as cc'ers goes ??? We met TylerRose and her family.
We were on the Zuiderdam and did both western & eastern b2b. You must see HMC and the eastern caribbean, its wonderful! Again thanks for sharing!
:)

[HDBoy]

Nancy,
What a wonderful commentary!!!. Hope we all cruise again along with Deb . I even had a blast watching you play some weird poker game..:D .
My wife already started asking me to plan for a vacation during December (to escape from snow). Too bad, most likely we may go around April (Eastern or Panama Canal).

Have a good Day.

HDBoy

[since1982]

FYI..if you buy anything make sure you have your receipt ready to show for proof of purchase....my sales guy forgot to give me mine for the gin and Lisa had to run all the way back to get it!!


Why do you need the receipt?

For the ship?

Were you able to bring it to your cabin?

Thanks,

[olsalt]

OLSALT here,

For all of you that missed this cruise, you missed a great cruise. The only thing bad about it was that it was too short. Remember, I ain't afraid no storm! I can't remember seeing a cloud until we were ready to return to home port. Looking forward to the next crusie.:)

[Spot]

Ezhil
Make sure you let me know when and where those plans will take y'all, we would love to plan another cruise (as long as it isn't during hurricane season).

[Roboat]

Nancy thanks you so much for your delightful and thorough review. I'm glad you had a great time and the gambling gods treated you well. ;)

We head out on the Zuiderdam on Oct 16, and your review is VERY helpful to us. Thanks again.

Now, how do I recognize Mr. Zuiderdam? :)

[HDBoy]

Hello Deb,
I'm planning to do a cruise around April. Like to go for a 10 days cruise. OLSALT family and my family will go together. Since I'm fascinated by the Panama Canal, I like to see it. If not, I like to do some Eastern or South carribean. Had enought of Western Carribean.I cruised in the RCL's Voyager of the sea last year. I thought over all HAL is better.I may reserve the cruise around December. No more hurricane season cruises. Deb, hope you can join our two family..

Regards,
Ezhil

[CINCY40]

Nancy, it was so much fun reading about your cruise. We've been on the Zuiderdam twice and enjoyed it so much. Service and crew always so nice.

Thanks again for sharing.....
Nancy D

[Golfgrl1911]

In reply to your question reguarding reciepts...I think it was the customs guy there in Cozumel who wanted to see the reciept. He was standing at the gate on the dock that led back to the ship. Nancy

[HDBoy]

Golfgrl,
I want to buy a hat like the one you had (blink, blink one). Where can I buy it. Was searching for one, and couldn't find anywhere.

Thanks,
Ezhil.

[Golfgrl1911]

Recognizing Mr. or Mrs. Zuiderdam is a keen way for you to talk to and meet people!! There is no clear cut sign just simply asking people "are you Mr. or Mrs Z?" I thought that they were going to be a couple and actually asked Mr. Z's wife if she was Mrs. Z, she said no and I failed to ask her husband!! It wasn't until after Bingo one afternoon that they said Mrs. had been found but no one had spotted Mr. Z saying that he was in the audience. I looked at the first man I saw, asked him and lo and behold he was the one!! Clue: They are 2 seperate people...not a couple!! Good Luck!! Nancy:D

[Golfgrl1911]

Ezhil!!! My Man!! I got my little blinking flag hat at a Kohl's department store!! It was right after the 4th of July so I doubt that there are any left!! No you cannot have mine!!:p Nancy

[Golfgrl1911]

Ziggy.......thanks!! Let's see.....I met lynn49, oldbrat, HDboy, Chilipepa........shoot I don't remember any one else right now!! There were about 8-10 of us at the CC gathering! We had a blast too telling our stories of either being in Ft. Lauderdale during the hurricane or trying to get there.

[HDBoy]

Glfgrl-Nancy,
I was thinking of offering few dollars for the Hat, and got too many drinks to cloud the brain. Nancy, when is your next cruise?. I'm glad that linda end up in having lot of money for the next vacation. Also, it was nice to see u only once in the dinner table..:D :cool: .

[since1982]

Nancy, Thank You for all the information.

[Lakesidedreamer]

We are booked on a 5 night cruise in December. Can you tell me how many formal nights there were on your cruise? I'm assuming that there is only one but wanted to verify that.

Thanks!!!

[Golfgrl1911]

We are booked on a 5 night cruise in December. Can you tell me how many formal nights there were on your cruise? I'm assuming that there is only one but wanted to verify that.

Thanks!!!

I believe there was only one on this cruise but many people dressed up in formal looking attire more than one night. Everyone looked very nice!!

[Thatsright]

Finding Mr. and Ms. Zuiderdam? What is this?????


Lisa

[dakrewser]

Finding Mr. and Ms. Zuiderdam? What is this?????


Lisa
On every HAL cruise a lady and a gentleman are secretly chosen to be Mrs. <ship name> and Mr. <ship name>. Other PAX compete to try to be first to guess their "secret identity", typically by walking up to complete strangers and asking "Are you Mr. Zooey-DER-dam?" (It's much easier on, say, the Westerdam:) ). There are prizes for the winners.

[ekerr19]

Nancy-

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us! I'm so glad it turned out nicely for you! What luck in the casinos - Wow :eek:

[mattR]

Do they give you clues everyday to try to figure out who they are?

[RuthC]

Do they give you clues everyday to try to figure out who they are?Nope. No clues. The game is an icebreaker---a way for people to start talking with strangers.

On the very first night of my very first cruise the CD started the evening show by advising "on this ship there are no strangers, there are not even acquaintences. There are only friends." The Mr/Ms -dam game is an example of that philosophy.

[Cruising Jake]

Thanks for the review. I am getting excited for my 11/27 cruise on the Zuiderdam. Heck, I am getting excited thinking about getting my cruise documents even sooner.

[Golfgrl1911]

Thank you everyone for your compliments reguarding my cruise commentary. I realize that I may have strayed a bit off the typical path as far as describing the ship and leaned more towards my actual experience , but I felt compelled to give you all my birds eye view of my first cruise. It certainly is one that I will NEVER forget! I will be 45 in a few weeks and am so glad that I waited until my mid life to take this adventure!! It brought out the kid in me again!! And it is so nice to know that I have many more adventures to look forward to in the years to come!! Thank you again!! Chef Nancy

[dakrewser]

Thank you everyone for your compliments reguarding my cruise commentary. I realize that I may have strayed a bit off the typical path as far as describing the ship and leaned more towards my actual experience , but I felt compelled to give you all my birds eye view of my first cruise. It certainly is one that I will NEVER forget! I will be 45 in a few weeks and am so glad that I waited until my mid life to take this adventure!! It brought out the kid in me again!! And it is so nice to know that I have many more adventures to look forward to in the years to come!! Thank you again!! Chef NancyWhat's this "mid life" crap, you youngster! :rolleyes:

I think subjective reviews and commentaries are much more enjoyable than those that concentrate on what color the wood paneling actually is in the Explorer's Lounge! Thanks very much for sharing so much of your experience with us.