Eastern Zuiderdam

[Tak8]

I am wondering if there has been any stability in the port itinerary. I'm thinking of sailing on the Z. again. I loved the ship and the food, but the shortened port times from the brochure schedule annoyed me. I know from some of the summer posts that St. Thomas and Tortola days were switched a lot and the time in St. Thomas had been shortened. So for recent Eastern Z. passengers that weren't affected due to tropical/hurricane trouble, what has the Z. itinerart been? The brochure lists St. Thomas 8-11, then Tortola 7-6. Has the Z. been keeping this schedule?

[justhere]

we were on the Z a couple of weeks ago and loved every minute of it. Our itinerary was changed from the brochure. We stopped at Tortola first and then St. Thomas. I believe port times on both days were 0700 to 1800. I believe (but I'm not 100% sure) that the change was made due to the number of ships that would have been in St. Thomas on the original itinerary. As best as I could figure it out, we would have been ship #5 in St. Thomas. As it turned out with the change we were the one and only ship in Tortola and St. Thomas so it was great. The only thing you miss out on is a few hours of night life in St. Thomas. So unless that is more important to you than trying to fight with a few thousand other cruisers, I would say the change was for the better.

I hope you don't mind if I add a few of my own thoughts here in your post but I've just got to say what a great time we had. Can't understand where all the negative comments have come from regarding this ship. From the moment we arrived at the terminal to the moment we got our ride back to the airport we had nothing but great service, great food and a great time. There were 11 of us and none of us had one single negative comment about anything on the whole cruise. I would sail on the Zuiderdam or any other HAL ship in a heartbeat based on the experience we had.

And one last quick note: in all the posts, especially the ones about "secrets" on the ship, how come no-one told me about the chocolate covered strawberries in the Explorer's lounge after dinner????......;) We had late seating so we could partake before and after (and during if someone made an Explorer's lounge run).......absolutely awesome......:)

Have a great time, whatever cruise you decide on.

[dakrewser]

And one last quick note: in all the posts, especially the ones about "secrets" on the ship, how come no-one told me about the chocolate covered strawberries in the Explorer's lounge after dinner????......;) We had late seating so we could partake before and after (and during if someone made an Explorer's lounge run).......absolutely awesome......:)

Some things you just have to learn about for yourself. It makes the experience that much sweeter. :)

[estj]

I am wondering if there has been any stability in the port itinerary. I'm thinking of sailing on the Z. again. I loved the ship and the food, but the shortened port times from the brochure schedule annoyed me. I know from some of the summer posts that St. Thomas and Tortola days were switched a lot and the time in St. Thomas had been shortened. So for recent Eastern Z. passengers that weren't affected due to tropical/hurricane trouble, what has the Z. itinerart been? The brochure lists St. Thomas 8-11, then Tortola 7-6. Has the Z. been keeping this schedule?
was on the Z in April...(pre-hurricane season)...and yes, they switched Tortola and St. Thomas days. as "justhere" posted...days were switched due to the number of ships in St. Thomas. If you read some of the boards, St. Thomas has become so crowded that many cruisers don't even want to stop there any more! (and also...it's such a common stop that those who have cruised several times find that once you see St. Thomas...you've seen St. Thomas! We get off the ship long enough to purchase liquor and have lunch). So having the cruise line decide to switch days so that it isn't as crowded...to me...appears that HAL is looking out for the passengers' best interest. No surprise! That's the HAL way. You will have plenty of time on each island to do what you wish. Relax...it will be an adventure and a wonderful vacation. Enjoy!!!
Cass

[drk]

I know that this was covered many months ago, however the main reason that some of us prefer the original itinerary is that the extra late time in St. Thomas allows you to spend a nice day over on St. Johns without being rushed. That's why we chose the Zuiderdam for our 12/11 cruise. Hopefully they will stick to the stated itinerary unless something unforeseen like weather causes a change.

[Tak8]

The late night time I could do without, but knowing which island on which days is important if you want to do your own excursions. I try to do at least one island on my own rather than ship excursions due to money saved and being able to do what I want. I appreciate HAL doing what's best for the pasengers, but most cruiselines have their 05 itineraries set. If HAL knows there are too many ships in St. Thomas on Tuesday and want to switch that day with Tortola, great. I just wish they would do it now rather than once on the ship. It helps in plannning. I realize weather can come up at any time, but if it is a decision that can be made in advance, please let us know would be my response. That's why I'm trying to get a handle on what has been happening on the recent Eastern sailings.

[MandyGirl]

Tak8 -

This is the email response I received from HAL on July 21 regarding our Nov 20 Zuiderdam Eastern Caribbean:

St. Thomas and Tortola's days in port were indeed swapped around for Eastern Caribbean itineraries from the July 3 sailing through the October 23 sailing. For these sailings only, this change was to provide what we felt
was a more enhanced visit to St. Thomas; the reason being, the change of day allows us to berth at the cruiseship terminal, as opposed to the cargo dock.
Since Tortola and St. Thomas are virtually in the same area, it is still
necessary to depart St. Thomas at 6 p.m. (the same time the departure hour
was from Tortola before the swap) to stay oncourse for the return to Fort
Lauderdale.

For Zuiderdam cruises (such as yours) operating from October 30 through
December 11, St. Thomas remains the port on Tuesday followed by Tortola on
Wednesday. The port hours for St. Thomas are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.I'm one of those who booked the itinerary for the extra long day at St Thomas so that we could fully enjoy St John (where we married) and not be rushed making it back to the ship (I doubt we spend any time on St Thomas other than getting to the ferry dock). I am certainly hoping the Zui schedule is still as I booked it - which was reconfirmed by a supervisor at HAL (above) in July. (Unless of course weather or mechanical problems cause unforeseen itinerary changes)

[carabou1]

Just spoke to HAL. For the Oct. 30th cruise St. Thomas is on Tuesday the 2nd and Tortola is on Wednesday the 3rd.

[MandyGirl]

Thanks for sharing, carabou! It's good to see the itinerary is still what I was planning, and that the phone reps are consistent with the email I received when all the switcharoos started happening this summer. :) St Thomas followed by Tortola the next day.