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#1
October 26th, 2009, 04:00 PM
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Rt hawaii on z-dam ship
We arrived in San Diego after a rather eventful drive from Phoenix. If there was ever any doubt, that thorough search proved we are neither drug dealers, transporters or illegal alien smugglers.
We stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn on the Bay which is directly across the street from the terminal. The room was very nice with a bay view so were up and watching the ship pull in very early in the morning. While out on our patio we met a lovely couple from London who were also going on the cruise. We talked for a while and Steve and Lisa helped make our cruise a memorable one. Sometime around 10am we pulled our luggage across the street. We were immediately let into the terminal to wait for about half an hour before being allowed in to the ticketing area. We were the first ones inside and didn't require the 4 star priority line as there was no waiting. We got our sail cards and at that time were notifed our 4 star status gave us priority boarding number 1. Cool. We were on the ship and at the Lido by 11:30. The Zaandam is in great shape and we noticed how clean and elegant she looked as we boarded. We did not go to the MDR and check out the mariner luncheon there. We were given a nice upgrade to an OV cabin on the Lower Prom deck. 3300. We were all the way forward and like that as we enjoy some motion to our ocean. The daily program has an entirely new format. To be honest I didn't care for it. It made it very hard to tell what was going on compared to the old format, it didn't contain as much information either. We will scan a copy in for everyone to see. We visited with some old friends from previous cruises and took a walk around the ship. Our cabin was ready by 1:30. Our luggage was delivered by 3pm and we were all unpacked and squared away in time for dinner. We opted for dinner in the Lido and it was very enjoyable. We encounted no problems with the lack of trays, didn't bother us a bit. The line went quite a bit faster too. The first show was the Zaandam singers and dancers in "Let Us Entertain You". One singer in particular Christopher Zenner we had seen before and he is still fantastic. We called it an early night after a little action in the Casino. I must say we really like the key card idea for the slots. You can put cash in the machines but when you check out you use your key card. You have the options of getting cash from the bank ( where your winnings, if any go), taking credit which will appear on your final bill with no extra charges, you just take your key card to the cashiers cage and get your winnings in cash if you so desire. We just used the bank on the card and found it very easy to use. Next up, the meet and greet in the CN on our first sea day.
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  Click here for Photos & e-mail on our web page  Happiness is a moving floor 04-2002 Statendam 15 Hawaii 10-2002 Statendam 10 Mexican Riviera 01-2003 Statendam 16 Hawaii 01-2003 Statendam 10 Mexican Riviera/Sea of Cortez 10-2003 Veendam 18 Panama Canal 03-2004 Statendam 10 Mexico Riviera/Sea of Cortez 03-2004 Statendam 15 Hawaii 10-2004 Statendam 16 Hawaii 02-2005 Oosterdam 7 Mexican Riviera 09-2005 Veendam 30 Panama Canal/Amazon River 10-2005 Veendam 14 Southern Caribbean 01-2006 Amsterdam 30 Hawaii/Tahiti 11-2006 Zaandam 15 Hawaii 11-2006 Zaandam 10 Mexican Riviera 03-2007 Veendam 7 Western Caribbean 03-2007 Veendam 14 Southern Caribbean 10-2007 Ryndam 10 Mexican Riviera/Sea of Cortez 01-2008 Ryndam 30 Hawaii/Tahiti 09-2008 Statendam 32 Hawaii/Tahiti 10-2009 Zaandam 15 Hawaii = 324 days at sea on HAL 33 day Hawaii/Tahiti  = 357 days at sea 
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#2
October 26th, 2009, 04:06 PM
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Thanks so much for posting your first day. I'm glad to hear that the Zaandam is in great shape. The key card in the casino sounds most intersting and easy. I can't wait for the review to continue.
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Voyage of the Macadamia Nuts 3/11/2010 Maasdam February 11, 2011 05/09/2011 Crystal Symphony to Alaska
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#4
October 27th, 2009, 03:08 AM
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Thanks for posting. Looking forward to the rest of your review.
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M Last edited by luvcruisn'; October 27th, 2009 at 03:09 AM.
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#5
October 28th, 2009, 01:01 AM
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Awesome! I've been looking forward to your reviews. Thanks for sharing!
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.-'*~*'-..-'*~*'-..-'*~*'-..-'*~*'-. Ready for our second cruise! 15-days circling Hawaii!
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#7
October 28th, 2009, 02:16 AM
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Glad to hear Zaandam is nice and clean and ready for us in February.
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We are looking forward to these cruises! Hawaii Zaandam 3/10 C/NE Eurodam 9/10 Panama Canal Infinity 4/11 Past Cruises Equinox 11/09 Westerdam 5/09 Oosterdam 2/09 Millennium 9/08 Ryndam 2/08 Ryndam 7/07 Ryndam 7/07 Oosterdam 1/07 Oosterdam 2/07 Summit 9/06 Summit 4/9/06 Veendam11/26/05 Constellation 9/10/05, Oosterdam 4/30/05, Ryndam 3/6/05, Infiniity 12/5/04, Westerdam 9/25/04, Mercury 5/04, Infinity 11/03 B2B, Ryndam 10/03, Summit 3/03 B2B, Zaandam 11/02, Statendam 4/02, Grand Princess 8/01, Nowegian Majesty 7/00, Independence 8/98, Royal Majesty 6/96, Fair Princess 7/95, Constitution 8/93, Norway 6/92, Dawn Princess 4/91, Viking Serenade 7/90, Viking Serenade 1/90, Independence 8/89, Sovereign of the Seas 8/88, Song of Norway 3/87, Independence 8/86 My web page Older web page Email me
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#8
October 28th, 2009, 02:24 AM
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Hi Rita... looks like you had fun! we've got the same cruise booked for next fall on the Z....
I see you're going to Tahiti again!! that's another one I'd love to do again. Mike
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MJR
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#9
October 28th, 2009, 12:11 PM
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Quote:
Mike Hi, good to see you here again. This is Trisha, you may have missed it but my good friend Rita passed away very unexpectedly in July. She was sorely missed on the cruise.
__________________
Click here for Photos & e-mail on our web page Happiness is a moving floor 04-2002 Statendam 15 Hawaii 10-2002 Statendam 10 Mexican Riviera 01-2003 Statendam 16 Hawaii 01-2003 Statendam 10 Mexican Riviera/Sea of Cortez 10-2003 Veendam 18 Panama Canal 03-2004 Statendam 10 Mexico Riviera/Sea of Cortez 03-2004 Statendam 15 Hawaii 10-2004 Statendam 16 Hawaii 02-2005 Oosterdam 7 Mexican Riviera 09-2005 Veendam 30 Panama Canal/Amazon River 10-2005 Veendam 14 Southern Caribbean 01-2006 Amsterdam 30 Hawaii/Tahiti 11-2006 Zaandam 15 Hawaii 11-2006 Zaandam 10 Mexican Riviera 03-2007 Veendam 7 Western Caribbean 03-2007 Veendam 14 Southern Caribbean 10-2007 Ryndam 10 Mexican Riviera/Sea of Cortez 01-2008 Ryndam 30 Hawaii/Tahiti 09-2008 Statendam 32 Hawaii/Tahiti 10-2009 Zaandam 15 Hawaii = 324 days at sea on HAL 33 day Hawaii/Tahiti = 357 days at sea
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#10
October 28th, 2009, 12:58 PM
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Quote:
wow, that is terrible news about Rita. I did not know. we were able to spend some time with her on a couple of excursions in Tahiti... she was a very nice lady. I'm sure you guys will miss her. Mike
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MJR
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#11
October 28th, 2009, 01:16 PM
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I'm glad to find your review. The Zaandam is the ship we did our Hawaii trip on a couple years ago. Loved every bit of her. And loved the itinerary too.
In another thread I saw your scan of the daily program. I sure don't like it either. I hope they change it back before our HAL cruise next May. Looking forward to more of your review...
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 NM Lady, and my Joe  NCL Jewel - 2008 Transatlantic/British Isles Celebrity Century - 2007 British Isles Oceania Regatta - 2007 Transatlantic HAL Zaandam - 2006 Hawaii NCL Sun - 2006 Panama Canal NCL - 2005 Belize/Roatan Radisson [Regent] Diamond - 2005 Around the Boot of Italy Oceania Insignia - 2005 Transatlan tic RCI Empress of the Seas - 2004 Caribbean ports Celebrity Milennium - 2004 Transatlantic Carnival Imagination - 2003 Cayman & Jamaica NCL - 2001 Mexican Riviera Carnival Ecstasy - 2000 Bahamas RCI Nordic Empress (before remodel to Empress of the Seas - 1999 Caribbean
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#12
October 28th, 2009, 02:14 PM
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The next part is up and posted on the main page. Thanks for reading it
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Click here for Photos & e-mail on our web page Happiness is a moving floor 04-2002 Statendam 15 Hawaii 10-2002 Statendam 10 Mexican Riviera 01-2003 Statendam 16 Hawaii 01-2003 Statendam 10 Mexican Riviera/Sea of Cortez 10-2003 Veendam 18 Panama Canal 03-2004 Statendam 10 Mexico Riviera/Sea of Cortez 03-2004 Statendam 15 Hawaii 10-2004 Statendam 16 Hawaii 02-2005 Oosterdam 7 Mexican Riviera 09-2005 Veendam 30 Panama Canal/Amazon River 10-2005 Veendam 14 Southern Caribbean 01-2006 Amsterdam 30 Hawaii/Tahiti 11-2006 Zaandam 15 Hawaii 11-2006 Zaandam 10 Mexican Riviera 03-2007 Veendam 7 Western Caribbean 03-2007 Veendam 14 Southern Caribbean 10-2007 Ryndam 10 Mexican Riviera/Sea of Cortez 01-2008 Ryndam 30 Hawaii/Tahiti 09-2008 Statendam 32 Hawaii/Tahiti 10-2009 Zaandam 15 Hawaii = 324 days at sea on HAL 33 day Hawaii/Tahiti = 357 days at sea
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