Review of Zuiderdam Panama Canal Cruise, Feb. 5-15

We had a great time on the Zuiderdam. Our cruise started on Super Bowl Sunday and endedthe day after Valentine’s. This cruise was our fifth on Holland America. Ourprevious HAL ships were the Maasdam, Veendam, and Westerdam. We sail more onPrincess than other cruise lines, but have sailed also on Carnival, Celebrity,Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian.

We flew down one day before the cruise and rented a car from Enterprise since our hotel, theBonaventure Spa and Resort in Weston, was so far away from the port. This wasour first time renting a car in Fort Lauderdale. We drove first to the Publixand Total Wine on 17th Street, since we are familiar with that area.Lunch in the little Italian restaurant was good. The diner where we have eatenmany times was already closed. We picked up things for a light dinner at Publixsince we had eaten lunch so late.

The drive to Weston was not bad traffic wise since it was a Saturday afternoon. We had notrouble finding the hotel. It’s an interesting property. From the looks of manyof the buildings, it’s a 1950s era motel, with the rooms accessed from exteriorbalconies. We were in Building 3. The interior of our room was updated—clean andcomfortable and stylish. We enjoyed a bit of time swimming in the main poolbefore eating our light dinner and going to bed.

We checked out a little after 9 to start heading to the port. We stopped at a good dineralong the way. It was on 84 in a little shopping center. Afterwards, wereturned our rental car at the airport and caught a cab to the port. Accordingto the attendant who checked us in, they no longer offer free shuttles to theport, ever since they made room for Alamo. We made it to the port around 10:30and breezed through security and check-in. We received Group 4 boarding groupcards. We waited about 45 minutes before they began boarding the ship a littleafter 11:30. They started with suite passengers and 4- and 5-star Mariners thenthe groups in order. We were on the ship before noon.

Even at 15 years old, the Zuiderdam still wows. Our cabin was an ocean view on Deck 1. Weenjoyed the spaciousness of the cabin after our last tiny Princess cabin on theCaribbean Princess in December. (That one, though, was an anomaly.) Thebathroom was larger and of course there was a small bathtub with shower insteadof the tiny shower that Princess ships have in regular cabins. The bed wascomfortable. I asked our cabin steward for an extra pillow, and he brought itright away. I think Princess has a better closet area, but that is one of thereasons the cabins feel smaller.

Our luggage was delivered before the muster drill. We unpacked, called our mothers, andwaited for the drill. I like that HAL now scans passengers’ cruise cards todetermine who’s present. On one of our previous cruises, the person in chargeyelled out names and cabin numbers. I prefer Princess’s method of musteringinside instead of standing on the deck. Fortunately it wasn’t too hot and wewere in the shade.

They threw a big party for the Super Bowl, with food stations set up for viewing it in theVista Lounge (theater), Sports Bar, and Northern Lights. We watched in thetheater. The first section of the theater was reserved for people who had paidextra to have waiters serve them unlimited food and drinks. There were onlythree tables occupied. We had fun watching the food and beverage folks runningoff others who tried to encroach on these seats. The servers were a littledisorganized. They were supposed to give each person who bought a drink araffle ticket for prizes. But they did not realize this until the secondquarter. We weren’t drinking and did not get a ticket. We left at halftime for our late traditional dinner.

Dining

The food throughout the cruise was wonderful, much better than I remember from our cruises four years ago on the Veendam and Westerdam. We had a table for eight with wonderful servers. Unfortunately, there was only one other person at our table the first night. We chalked it up to others watching the Super Bowl. But then on the second and third nights, there were just the three of us at the tableas well. We told the dining room manager that we’d like to have more people. We met a couple of women traveling together at lunch and invited them to join our table after hearing them complain about the wait for anytime dining. They talked to the manager and joined us the fourth night along with another couple he had found to assign to our table. We had a great time with the seven of us at our little table for eight the remaining nights. The only little hiccup occurred the last night when another couple showed up at “their” assigned table. I covered that here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2458305

I’m an eclectic eater. I’ve observed Meatless Mondays for the past few years. Our waiter was great at bringing me the next night’s menus at the end of dinner on Sunday so I could see if I liked the vegetarian options. I did the first Monday but ordered a couple of special appetizer dishes the second one—the vegetarian spring rolls and Asian noodle soup. Both were excellent. The vegetarian main courses I enjoyed were the Florentine couscous and mushroom ravioli. I ate beef once and it was cooked perfectly rare as ordered. One of our tablemates had a piece of prime rib one night that was decidedly closer to well done than the medium rare she had ordered. DH learned to order his beef a shade under what he really likes—medium rare instead of medium—in order to have it right. I ordered the seafood entrees most evenings. The standout was a wonderful snapper one night. The Alaskan king salmon at the Pinnacle Grill for lunch was also great.The only disappointment was a grouper that looked more like tilapia—a very thin fillet. Another favorite meal was the special menu designed by Chef RudiSodamin for Valentine’s Day. I covered that here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2458300

We ate breakfast in the dining room every day. I liked the variety of the menu. I ordered fruit, a variety of egg dishes (including the spinach and mushroom eggs benedict three times), smoked salmon, Swedish pancakes, banana French toast, etc. The only one that wasn’t as good as I hoped was a southwest egg skillet dish. Service was generally good, although sometimes disjointed. Lunch in the dining room was also very good the six days it was open for us (first day, four full sea days, and day we arrived in Aruba in the afternoon). I do miss having it available everyday, but that was many years ago. Food in the Lido was pretty good. I enjoyed having the salad bar option and the pasta station. I tried the Dive Bar once for my Meatless Monday lunch, enjoying the Portobello mushroom “burger.” We also liked the sushi.

One thing we miss about Princess is the early evening cocktail hour for Platinum, Elite, and suite guests. But HAL had a nice sampling of cheese and fruit plates available that we enjoyed several evenings in the Lido to tide us over until late seating. Many times I noticed that the menu items available in the Lido were the same as would be available later in the dining room. A couple we met were enjoying lobster tails on the second formal night as an appetizer. They said they’d have more in the dining room later.

We enjoyed afternoon tea once in the Ocean Bar. I hate that they did not do a formal tea in the dining room like we’ve enjoyed on our previous HAL cruises. I don’t know if this is something that has been discontinued fleetwide or just not done on this cruise or this ship. Other things we missed were the little touches that HAL waiters used to do, such as crumbing the table before dessert and offering freshly ground pepper.

Ports

Our main attraction to the Zuiderdam’s itinerary was the Panama Canal. We visited it onthe Island Princess five years ago. This cruise stopped also in Half Moon Cay, Aruba, Curacao, and Puerto Limón, Costa Rica. Half Moon Cay is our favorite private island. We made the first tender to the island—not really planning to do so, but just lucked out getting on it since many people had stayed up late afterthe Super Bowl the night before. I was the first one in the water. It was alittle chilly, but still nice. I love the white sand beach and gentle waves of clear blue water. We went back to the ship for lunch since I do not like being in the sun for too long. Tendering back was not crowded at all at that time. I never heard anyone complain about the tendering process, so it must have been orderly the whole day—because if someone wants to complain, they usually find me.

We had been to Aruba and Curacao on a Princess cruise in December. In Aruba, we decided to take an excursion to some of the island’s highlights. We picked up an excursion bus outside the gate. Our tour in an air-conditioned bus was $25. Our guide was very good, giving lots of information about the island. We stopped at the rock formation, aloe factory, and lighthouse. We had the option of being dropped off at one of the beaches if we wanted. None of the people did. Some got off at the port, and the rest of us got dropped off in the downtown area for shopping.

In Curacao, we walked around the downtown area a bit and went to the church/museum in the old fort. It was interesting and somewhere we had not toured on a previous visit.

We stayed on the ship in the Panama Canal. They opened the front deck areas on the middle decks. On Deck 4, where we were, they served coffee, orange juice, and Panama buns. They also had set up some tents and large umbrellas, which came in handy during a few light showers. Many people had gotten to the deck very early. We were there a little after 6, which was plenty of time to see us sail by the breakwater and new bridge that’s under construction. We followed the Coral Princess into the locks. I’m still fascinated by the process. Coming out of Gatún Lake after lunch was better than the morning transit, with gorgeous sunny weather and an interesting container ship going the opposite way. We also got to wave to the people watching us from the viewing platform. The aft area of the Promenade Deck was closed off to passengers, but we watched crew members touching the walls of the locks—and we were able to do so as well. It was also neat to see the wall of the lock from our cabin, but probably not so if you’re claustrophobic.

We did not make any plans for Costa Rica, and it turned out to be a rainy day, perfect for staying on the ship and relaxing. I like that the main swimming pool has the cover over it that could be closed during inclement weather.

Activities and Entertainment

HAL has slipped in these areas a lot since our first cruise on the Maasdam over a decade ago. The three primary staff members who do activities were very good—but they’re not able to do as much as I would like. It’s a good thing we like trivia and food demonstrations, because they’re what sustained us for 10 days. Christina, the culinary host, was contagiously enthusiastic. We went to most ofher activities, especially the food trivias (and won all of them). A nice touch is the “Sip & Savor” events in the late afternoon, hosted by Christina along with the head wine guy. They sold small glasses of wine for $4, chosen by the wine guy to pair with whatever Christina was serving. It was the perfect size serving for me.

We were not as successful in the regular team trivias but did win several of them with our teammates. The travel host conducted a couple of these. We were chosen to be contestants in the BBC Earth gameshow one afternoon against two other teams. We did not win but had fun participating and commiserating with the other losing team.

The other two staff members doing activities primarily were the cruise director (Saul) and showhost (Joey). Both are young and energetic. Saul, at 24, is the youngest cruise director we’ve ever seen. But once again, youth and energy are not enough to make up for lack of staff.

We enjoyed the galley tour, and DH said the backstage tour was the best he’s ever done. Other activity options during the day included computer classes, spa and fitness center events, shopping opportunities, movies, bar activities, and art auctions. In the evening, we enjoyed the Adagio violin/piano duo, but their music definitely wasn’t “sophisticated classical music.” It was more light classics and popular show tunes. We never made it to hear the B.B. King’s All Stars, but several of our buddies on board said their shows were great. We also missed going to the piano bar.

The main entertainment lineup in the Vista Lounge (theater) was disappointing. We did enjoy the production cast’s performances. All three featured singers were good, as were the dancers. On our Veendam cruise, there were not any male dancers.They had five on the Zuiderdam. The first production, “One World,” was my favorite, really integrating the dancing, singing, and effects. “Musicology” featured just the dancers. Dancing to canned vocals is not as entertaining to me. The third show featured more singing than dance—“Off the Charts.”

Buzz Sutherland, a comedian, was my favorite guest entertainer. I’d give second place to the Lionel Ritchie tribute performer, Derek Floyd. We did not go to the steel drumming group’s night-time performance, but I did hear their afternoon performance. I’m sorry to say that I don’t see a steel drumming groupas headlining entertainment. We did not enjoy Patrick Murray’s ventriloquism act and left halfway through it. That’s the end of the main stage productions. The other three nights were taken up with the Super Bowl (understandable) and two movie presentations. One was about the Panama Canal, but it was scheduled in conflict with our dining time (and also repeated several times during the cruise, both in the screening room and on the television). The other was a BBCproduction (Frozen Planet Live) with supposedly “live” musical accompaniment that DH said included a sweetener track.

Am enjoying reading your detailed review, thank you.

[. Other things we missed were the little touches that HAL waiters used to do, such as crumbing the table before dessert and offering freshly ground pepper.

As a mother, I'm touched by the fact that you both called your Moms to tell them you boarded safely. :cool:

We were just on the Eurodam in January and although the waiters didn't come around offering freshly ground pepper, there were pepper grinders on the table along with salt and pepper shakers. Maybe it's one less thing for them to do when they have 8 or 9 tables to serve. We also noticed if we asked them to take care of the crumbs (DH usually makes a mess with his dinner rolls), they brought out the crumber and cleaned it up.

It sounds like you had a lovely time; thanks for your review.

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Ship Shape

The crew were constantly cleaning and refurbishing areas of the ship. I sometimes wonder how often they really have to do the varnishing of the handrails around theship. They were sanding and varnishing a section on the Promenade Deck that looked fine to me beforehand. When I got up early in the morning, crew memberswould be washing the decks and vacuuming the carpets in the public areas. A couple of times they closed the Promenade Deck due to high winds, but we never had really rough seas, just gentle rocking and rolling.

I enjoyed getting up early for a little time on the treadmill and to walk around the upper deck to watch the sunrise. The pools seemed to be well maintained. They were never crowded. We tend to go late in the afternoon. We did not buy a pass to the thermal suite. I was disappointed that the free sauna for men was not hot enough. I reported it to one of the spa staff members. She told me it was not something they took care of, but she took a look anyway. She said she would report it to the maintenance folks, but it never improved. I asked if they were offering a special on the thermal suite on our port day in Costa Rica. The spa staff member I asked said she’d check with her manager. She took my cabin number and promised to call. I missed her call while I was in the shower (heard the phone ring but couldn’t dry off and get to it in time), but she did not leave a message. When I asked later, another girl told me they never do that.

The casino was too smoky for me most of the time. I did play a slot machine for a few minutes on our last afternoon at sea, but the machines all seemed tight and I did not stay very long.

During our 10 nights on board, we had four time changes—moving our clocks forward an hour the second night, back an hour the sixth and seventh nights, and then forward again the eighth night. It was hard for our bodies to adjust to so any time changes, and since we were not getting off the ship in Panama or Costa Rica, having the ship’s time agree with local time did not matter to us. I rememberthat on our Princess cruise, the time did not change for Costa Rica and the ship was an hour ahead of local time. As far as I know, no one missed the ship.

The Culinary Arts Center is my favorite place. The demonstrations were all very good. The small lounges around the ship are just that—small. As mentioned earlier, we enjoyed the Adagio duo and Sip & Savor events in the Explorer’s Lounge. We did not go to the Northern Lights disco except for a music trivia, so I don’t know how things were in it during the night. DH watched a college basketball game in the sports bar. He said reception there was not any better than it wason our cabin TV—just part of the vagaries of satellite reception. I guess we’re lucky that the Super Bowl had great reception.

I signed onto the internet twice in the Explorations Café area. Speed is still not greatand the cost is more than I like paying. I did it the first time by the minute, signing on just quick enough to send my brother a message and check to see if Ihad received any urgent messages from him—three minutes. On our last full day, I signed on to check in for our Southwest flight. I purchased the 15-minute special only offered on the last day. There was also a 30-minute special offered for slightly more. The speed was fast enough to get us in the A group ofour flight. The cruise director explained why the internet cost so much—that demand would overwhelm capacity if the price were less. I miss the free internetminutes we get on Princess for our past passenger status.

Captain Bart Vaartjes was great. We saw him around the ship frequently talking with passengers. He gave an interesting afternoon presentation one day, during which he also answered questions from the passengers. One Dutch passenger was not happy with his answer about having English the official language for announcements. Everyone else in the audience, though, seemed to enjoy his presentation.

I’d guess the average age of passengers on the ship was over 70. I was one of the few passengers under 60. The comedian joked that there were three children on board—two 28-year-olds and a 24-year-old. In reality there really were three children—ages 3, 5, and 8 according to the youth counselor.

Disembarkation was a breeze for us. We had expedited disembarkation, carrying our luggage off the ship instead of packing our large bags the night before and having them waiting for us off the ship. Leaving early allowed us not to have to wait very long in the Customs line. There were plenty of taxis waiting after we left the ship. We were at the airport by 8:30 and waiting at our gate by 9. We had an early flight for us—10:40. I generally don’t like to book a flight from FLL that early, but the price was great and it was a direct flight. I knew we could change it with Southwest up to an hour before departure if necessary.

P.S. I brought home all of the daily navigator schedules and will keep them a week or so if anyone has particular questions.

Thanks for the detailed review!

Thanks for your review, geoherb! We are looking forward to our first Panama Canal cruise next year on Caribbean Princess, so I am reading any reviews I can find about the canal. I can't wait to see it in person! :D

Thank you for the informative review. Nice to know how your cabin compared to your previous Princess cabin.

Thanks for the review.

Dining

 

We enjoyed afternoon tea once in the Ocean Bar. I hate that they did not do a formal tea in the dining room like we’ve enjoyed on our previous HAL cruises. I don’t know if this is something that has been discontinued fleetwide or just not done on this cruise or this ship. Other things we missed were the little touches that HAL waiters used to do, such as crumbing the table before dessert and offering freshly ground pepper.

I was on the same cruise, in fact, our MDR table was just a few steps away from the OP's but with different waiters. Our table was "crumbed" every night! And yes, I also attended the afternoon tea in the Ocean Bar and found it to be one of the best. But I was disappointed that there was no Indonesian Tea on this cruise (unless I missed it).

Thank you for the detailed review...we're on this very itinerary in just four weeks and reading yours has only increased the excitement!

Activities and Entertainment

 

HAL has slipped in these areas a lot since our first cruise on the Maasdam over a decade ago.

 

The main entertainment lineup in the Vista Lounge (theater) was disappointing.

 

Buzz Sutherland, a comedian, was my favorite guest entertainer. I’d give second place to the Lionel Ritchie tribute performer, Derek Floyd. We did not go to the steel drumming group’s night-time performance, but I did hear their afternoon performance. I’m sorry to say that I don’t see a steel drumming groupas headlining entertainment. We did not enjoy Patrick Murray’s ventriloquism act and left halfway through it. That’s the end of the main stage productions. The other three nights were taken up with the Super Bowl (understandable) and two movie presentations. One was about the Panama Canal, but it was scheduled in conflict with our dining time (and also repeated several times during the cruise, both in the screening room and on the television). The other was a BBCproduction (Frozen Planet Live) with supposedly “live” musical accompaniment that DH said included a sweetener track.

Chiming in again as I was on the same cruise. I couldn't agree more with the OP about the lack of main stage entertainment. Considering that we were sailing in the Caribbean in February, there have to be hundreds of main stage quality entertainers jumping from ship to ship all over the Caribbean. I would even have preferred a second show with the comedian (new material of course). They did this on the Veendam in Canada this past summer and it was very successful. IMO,steel drums and a movie were poor substitutes for a live act. BTW, the steel drum player (different from this group) who played around the pools was very good. Also, the BB King Blues Group was excellent, and deserved a night on the main stage. The Queens Lounge was standing room only for most of their performances.

Another thought about the entertainment: We never had a problem finding a seat in the Vista Lounge at the 10:00 show. The people we ran into throughout the cruise who tried to go to the early shows, however, said it was always packed. There was also a late (11:00) Indonesian crew show one night. It's a fun tradition on HAL.

Thank you for your review! We're doing the 11-day version next week, and you've made me eager to go. We have one of the huge deck 5 aft wraps. The fact that I might be able to reach out and touch the canal wall is exciting! Our previous transcanals were on QE2 and I did watch through the porthole as we "disappeared" into the canal at one lock. But seeing it up close with no glass in the way will be even better! My plan is to get up early to see the entry and first lock from the bow, and then spend the rest of the time on our balcony.

The shows you describe are all new, at least to us. We were on Zuiderdam last fall and the shows were different. The "Stage and Screen" show with the Bob Mackie costumes was getting long in the tooth (I think we'd seen it 3 or 4 times on various ships), so I'm not surprised it's gone. But the other shows last fall were more to our taste than what you describe as the new ones. I don't like the idea of a dance show performed to canned music. Funny, Cunard finally dumped a dance-based show they had that was done to canned music. All their shows now have live music, a great improvement. I thought that was a trend around the industry, but I guess it isn't on HAL. Ohhhh no--just had a thought--please tell me HAL didn't buy "Apassionata" from Cunard! :eek:

Question about the canal day--what time did the ship get to Colon? We are doing an excursion to see the new locks, and I'm curious about how long we'll have to wait for the ship. I know it can vary depending on the schedule.

Just wonder if the ship has any live band in the Ocean Bar. I know BB King blue is always in the Queen's Lounge. Any one dancing in the ocean bar?

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OP: thanks very much for taking the time to do this review. It's particularly of interest to me now for two reasons. First, we have our first HAL cruise booked on the Zuiderdam next year (Viking Passage), and so I'm happy to read positives about this ship. Second, we recently returned from a full transit of the Canal (on the NCL Jewel), and I am very interested in other's experiences.

Glad you enjoyed your trip, and thanks again for this thread.

Thanks for your review, geoherb! We are looking forward to our first Panama Canal cruise next year on Caribbean Princess, so I am reading any reviews I can find about the canal. I can't wait to see it in person! :D

We've recently returned from a full transit of the Canal (on the NCL Jewel) -- it was incredible! -- and I've just posted my thoughts and a number of photos (including of the Island Princess, which we followed through the locks) here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2456255

Your post and review is perfect timing-I just booked this cruise for March 19-29th with my

daughter (would prefer not being spring break but she is a teacher).

Could you tell me which nights were gala nights? Also, never having been to any of these ports-in Half Moon Cay, is there shady areas to sit? The cruise/air/hotel is expensive so I prefer not to rent a clam shell. Also, if you happen to know, is there snorkel equipment we

can rent there?

That's odd having afternoon tea in the Ocean Bar-is this something new?

You have made me more excited now to do this cruise! Such a detailed report and it is appreciated. When you mentioned you did the expedited disembarkation and it went well that calmed my nerves somewhat. We are booked for a return flight at noon and I was worried about it so will try to calm myself somewhat now!:)

Thanks for the heads up about the internet as well as we will have to do the same as everyone else I guess on the last day to check in for our flight.

Thanks again for your review!

Your post and review is perfect timing-I just booked this cruise for March 19-29th with my

daughter (would prefer not being spring break but she is a teacher).

 

Could you tell me which nights were gala nights? Also, never having been to any of these ports-in Half Moon Cay, is there shady areas to sit? The cruise/air/hotel is expensive so I prefer not to rent a clam shell. Also, if you happen to know, is there snorkel equipment we

can rent there?

 

That's odd having afternoon tea in the Ocean Bar-is this something new?

 

You have made me more excited now to do this cruise! Such a detailed report and it is appreciated. When you mentioned you did the expedited disembarkation and it went well that calmed my nerves somewhat. We are booked for a return flight at noon and I was worried about it so will try to calm myself somewhat now!:)

 

Thanks for the heads up about the internet as well as we will have to do the same as everyone else I guess on the last day to check in for our flight.

 

Thanks again for your review!

Not the OP, but I want to give you some valuable info since I was also on the cruise.

I WAS going to say that there's no need for you to do expedited disembarkation if you have a 12 noon flight. But then I saw your screen name and where you live. We had an 11 a.m. flight and chose 8:30 a.m. disembarkation. Surprisingly, or not, the Customs line for NON-U.S. CITIZENS was at least 2 - 3 times as long as the line for U.S. citizens. I don't know how long it took for those people on the non-citizen line, but as U.S. citizens, we disembarked, spent about 5 -10 minutes looking for our luggage, and then no more than another 5 -10 minutes to get through the line. Then there's the TSA line at the airport to get through. With it all, it still took us just about an hour to go from our cabin to get to the United Lounge at the airport. I'm sure it would take at least another half hour if we were on the other line. And then the TSA line gets longer too as the day goes on.

There will be people who will respond that they routinely make much earlier flights. But this is what happened on this cruise's disembarkation. Its up to you.

Question about the canal day--what time did the ship get to Colon? We are doing an excursion to see the new locks, and I'm curious about how long we'll have to wait for the ship. I know it can vary depending on the schedule.

Not the OP, but I want to give you some valuable info since I was also on the cruise.

 

I WAS going to say that there's no need for you to do expedited disembarkation if you have a 12 noon flight. But then I saw your screen name and where you live. We had an 11 a.m. flight and chose 8:30 a.m. disembarkation. Surprisingly, or not, the Customs line for NON-U.S. CITIZENS was at least 2 - 3 times as long as the line for U.S. citizens. I don't know how long it took for those people on the non-citizen line, but as U.S. citizens, we disembarked, spent about 5 -10 minutes looking for our luggage, and then no more than another 5 -10 minutes to get through the line. Then there's the TSA line at the airport to get through. With it all, it still took us just about an hour to go from our cabin to get to the United Lounge at the airport. I'm sure it would take at least another half hour if we were on the other line. And then the TSA line gets longer too as the day goes on.

 

There will be people who will respond that they routinely make much earlier flights. But this is what happened on this cruise's disembarkation. Its up to you.

Oh gosh, now I'm nervous all over again! It was either the noon flight or stay overnight again and our dollar is so bad it's costing a small fortune for our 2 nights per-cruise. (We've only done Ft Lauderdale cruise once before & airline lost my luggage but found in time for cruise. I learned through posts on CC to arrive a couple days ahead just in case so was lucky).

I'll hope for the best and see how it goes. My husband & I have a cruise later this year from Ft Lauderdale and we haven't booked air yet. Will see how this one goes getting a noon flight and then will know for the next one if it's too stressful).

Appreciate your input, thank you.

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Just wonder if the ship has any live band in the Ocean Bar. I know BB King blue is always in the Queen's Lounge. Any one dancing in the ocean bar?