cruisingrob21

Regardless of what's going on today, she's going to need to be moved sometime today/tonight. Tomorrow is a 3 ship turn-around day in Vancouver.

If she is bunkering fuel she must be preparing to head to either Esquimalt Graving Drydock (Victoria) or Vigor in Portland, OR. Either way, it could be at least a week or two there if its a full drydock. Or a wetdock with technical staff coming aboard. Without knowing the issue, its hard to tell how much work will be needed.

In the past, it was (for the most part) well signed. Generally at canada place you will go to the lower level to drop luggage and go through security, then up to be processed for check in. Do not fret - there are always lots of folks that can help direct you. There will always be people who show up as early as they can to get on board - even if their boarding time is at 1pm - for a variety of reasons. Generally, the earlier you show up, the longer you may have to wait after check in to actually board, even if your time is 11:30 (but you should have priority over folks with 1pm boarding times). If it works for you, consider showing up later as the lines may die down. I'm on the same voyage on deck 5 and have a 1:30 boarding time, which is the same time as the notice says we should all be at the terminal. So to answer your question, if you want to follow the directions you were sent, show up at 11:30.

Both ships are great for very different reasons. If you want newer with lots of entertainment venues and are okay with more people - the Kdam is a good choice. While the Z-dam is older, and shows its age in some spots, its still very well taken care of. She definitely is representative of a different era of cruising - one with wide promenade decks, lots of outdoor viewing, and a large yacht feel. In Alaska, I personally really enjoyed when we sailed on the ms Amsterdam, which is a very near sister to the Zaandam. We were fortunate and got a random 7 day voyage in mid summer when she was mainly only doing 14 day Alaska voyages. We all had a great time - there are so many more places to see the scenery and just embrace the environment that Alaska offers. If that sort of a trip entices you, then the Z-dam is your ship. I recall we only had 1 line the entire time we were on board, that was to get off the ship in Juneau as we had just docked. It cleared in less than 5 minutes. I still remember sitting on the aft decks of the Amsterdam with a bottle of wine reading some Jack London stories as we sailed through the Lynn canal. I still keep this phot as the background on my phone because its calming for me - wide open promenades with plenty of loungers and beautiful scenery. You will have plenty of spots like this on both ships, but more of then on the Z-dam, and fewer people also.

Good point - you need to be more limber with your luggage to use Skytrain given the escalators and slightly further walking distance.

sky train - probably as fast or faster than a car, less expensive, and leaves from only a block away from canada to place to across the drive at the Airport. It runs very frequently so you are never late for a train, just early for the next. VERY EASY. Since the station near the cruise terminal is the start of the line, you will basically have your pick of seats. Just move towards either end of a car with your luggage.

I'm appreciative of this thread - after doing some research, we changed a voyage due to a group listed on our cruise and one of the group's guest speakers who has a controversial public reputation. I have no idea how big the group is but given the speaker's reputation, I worry it would be big enough to restrict use of some of the larger venues on board (such as the crows nest).

I've walked between several in town breweries - all have their own style and tasting rooms (need to check hours as some are only open certain days or times). I don't think there is need to do a tour if you've got a grasp on searching for breweries on a smart phone.

We had rough weather on the Eurodam 2 summers ago in Alaska. We were the 2nd cabin from the front on deck 5 and felt every wave. Only a few cabins back would have been much better. We also sailed the cape horn route on the old Star Princess (2002) back in 2012. We had "Lake Drake" which still was a bit choppy but not bad. The captain mentioned it could be much worse. We were in a cabin on the 11th deck near the aft elevators and hardly noticed it. We actually had worse weather in the straight of magellan and were told by the captain to sleep in and avoid the worst of the swells. If you are concerned about it and medications work well for you, take them proactively and enjoy your cruise. If medications don't work well, consider something further back.

You will get more responses in the West Coast departures forum

You're welcome and that's a good tip. I think she goes to drydock later this year and the tumor is that it will be extensive - it's also showing as longer than typical for a vista class ship. At a minimum, it seems like the northern lights night club will be turned into the gallery bar as has happened on the other vistas and signature vessels. Perhaps more?

I almost booked one of these cabins on the Noordam. I can only speculate that while you'll get more light, it will be windier. Not as windy as forward facing cabin due to the lifeboats nearby, but not as wind free as a "normal" verandah cabin. Not sure how else to characterize it.

It used to be a smoking/cigar lounge. Now its just a closed off room thats presumably quiet most of the time. It may be hosted for occasional functions or meetings I imagine it may get repurposed during the next drydock to increase the crows nest area. Some photos: https://halfacts.com/vista-class/noordam-observation-deck/ I'm heading out on the Noordam later this month if you want more photos.

Thats a good question. Satellite images show nothing there but this article says it just received its first ship this January. https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/01/port-of-cabo-rojo-welcomes-its-first-ship/#google_vignette

HAL won't let you, so not likely a fine has been paid. I've read that if the ships allow this to happen they can be barred from entering that port or nation again. Waivers have been granted for extenuating circumstances (during COVID) or localized emergencies (weather, health problem), but this is not something that anyone can just "pay the fine" to get around. The ship operator can get in trouble also.