Aegis1984

I'll take plenty of photos and fill you in on what you're in for. I'll be on the Z twice this year, and doing the Panama Canal in April.

When I was on the Zuiderdam this past September, I noticed a couple broken windows. First, through the gym to the 'hidden' balcony, one of the exterior glass panels had a nice good crack through it.

The other one unfortunately was caused by some idiot in between the pub crawl and the final 'at sea' day. Whomever it was must have either headbutted or punched the glass window looking into the Hydro Pool on the Lido deck.

Not sure how the first would happen but as for the smashed panel, I know myself and my fellow cruisers were all disappointed that someone had such little regard for the ship and her crew. I suppose the only saving grace is it was a laminated panel so there weren't shards all over the place.

I see someone has already mentioned this name, but being a Canadian with Dutch heritage, I have heard a couple suggestions from my Dutch born father.

One that I would like to see the most is this:

Madurodam

Madurodam is a miniature park and tourist attraction in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, Netherlands, home to a range of perfect 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch castles, public buildings, and large industrial projects as found at various locations in the country. The park was opened in 1952 and has been visited by tens of millions of visitors since that date. In 2012 Madurodam celebrated its 60th anniversary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurodam

That would be the one! His family emigrated from the Netherlands to Australia aboard it, if I'm not mistaken. I'll have to ask him which vessel transported him from Australia to Canada.

My father would tell you the first cruise ship he was on was the SS Waterman in 1955 (?).

As for me, my first cruise ship was the ms Zuiderdam this past September. I couldn't tell you which boat belonging to BC Ferries was the first vessel I was on.

I see you got on the ship as I got off!:)

I guess so! I'm back on the boat in April and I'm hoping I'll see some familiar faces. I made a point of going to Rommel's bar whenever I could, and took the mixology course with him. The Culinary Arts host Shannon aka MJ (She looked like Kristen Dunst's character Mary-Jane from the Spiderman movies) was a pretty cool gal, though I haven't seen her name on more recent programs. Makes me curious if she's still with HAL.

Friday, September 13th, 2013

Thursday September 12th, 2013

Wednesday September 11th, 2013

Tuesday September 10th, 2013

Monday September 9th, 2013

Sunday, September 8th, 2013

Saturday September 7th, 2013

I have mine here at my desk. If you'll give me a bit of time, I will see about scanning them and uploading them to the 'net.

I just read a review. I have put posted the link. This reviewer states that no matter what you order from room service they charge you $11.50. I thought room service was free. Am I wrong?

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=245579

The reviewer is mistaken. The $11.50 fee is your daily gratuity aboard the ship. This covers the serving staff in the restaurants, the maintenance staff, bartenders, cabin stewards, etc. You can adjust it up or down to your preference at the front desk.

We will be on the Statendam in Alaska this summer. We are thinking of skipping formal night(s) because we don't want to pack all that extra clothing. If we don't bring formal attire, what are our dining options? The Lido & specialty restaurants?

There is a dress code for the Pinnacle Grill, so it looks like your options will be the Lido. If you want to bring a dress shirt and slacks, you may be fine for the Canaletto, but the MDR would be out.

When I moved to Whitehorse in 2007, my company had me staying in the Westmark for two weeks while I found a place to live. It was nice enough, though it looked extremely dated in my opinion. It was well maintained, but you could tell it was an old building. The floors upstairs weren't exactly level, and creaked in the odd spot. You could tell there was history in the building.

The bar downstairs was fine for my own experience. Fish and chips were good, and Yukon Gold was the beer of choice, if I'm not mistaken. It is pretty centrally located, though the downtown area of Whitehorse isn't that big to begin with. It is only about two or three blocks away from Main St. And Whitehorse blocks aren't huge like in a major city either.

Piece of advice... Stay away from any bar that has a number for the name. Again, we're talking 7 years ago but the 98 and the 202 were not the best places to find yourself in during the evening hours, and truth be told, I've felt safer walking down East Hastings in Vancouver than being around those bars at night.

First time HAL cruiser here. Planning to go to Alaska in May.

 

Overall, how did you like the food?

 

And are there any tips you can provide related to Zuiderdam?

 

Enjoyed your report. Thanks!

I did this cruise this past September and I loved it. On the day in Glacier Bay, they'll open up the bow of the ship so there are plenty of photo opportunities. I was up around 5:00 and we had orcas breaching all around us. My 70-200mm f2.8 lens didn't have enough reach so this year I will bring either a 2x teleconverter or if Canon releases the version 2 of the 100-400mm lens in time, that one.

If you want a drink that will knock you down, ask for a Wang-Wang. One was more than enough and I kind of regret getting a second on the night of the pub crawl.

Don't bother with the port shopping excursion lectures. They simply promote their buddies and you can find some real gems just exploring on your own. In Ketchikan, I found a wonderful little store full of first nations carvings that were done in the style I have always loved.

We did not really experience the MDR until the latter part of our cruise, and dined at the Lido for breakfast every day. You will have no shortage of dining options and you will probably gain weight by the time the voyage is finished. The food is delicious and in the Lido, it varied from Indian to Thai, to Chinese, basic sushi rolls, plus pizza, pasta, generic western staples, you name it. The main dining room was delicious as well. The Pinnacle was good, except when I ordered a porterhouse med-rare, they sent it to me half med rare and half blue or less. Sadly I had to send it back but they sent out a new one that was mostly fat and needed some skilled knifework to eat.

There is an area on the ship at the bow, right in front of the gym where you can get some great views. Walk through the spa on the starboard (Right) side of the ship until you find it. You will be right above the bridge and you'll have a great view for anything coming your way.

If you are looking for an Alaskan Ulu, there is a shop in Juneau that sold me a great quality one. It is inside the waterfront building, and they added some extras in for cruise ship passengers. The ship staff did not question or confiscate the 4 Ulus I purchased, nor did they blink an eye.

There's also the Alaskan Fudge Company in Juneau who have some amazing stuff. They'll vacuum seal it for you, in order to get back into Canada.

If you are looking for souvenirs on ship, wait until the later days of the cruise. Perhaps they won't even have sales in the early part of the year but in mid-September, it was Wed/Thurs/Fri the shops had things on sale. I'll know this in the coming year as I've wanted to pick up a couple more jade carvings that will be substantially reduced in price, especially given the timeline of my cruise.

I'll be in the interior Main deck as well. I just realized that above the Main Deck is the casino. Can you comment on the noise?

 

Thanks everyone for the comments. I plan to go ahead with this cruise and lower my expectations. :)

When I did the Alaska Inside Passage this past September, we were in cabin 1025 on the main deck, which is DIRECTLY below the casino. We were not bothered once. That being said, I was sharing the cabin with my mother and father who are getting on in years and snore like chainsaws, so my earplugs were in. However, the time we spent awake in the cabin, I did not hear a peep from the casino.

It was actually even more convenient as we were that much closer to the Vista lounge.

If you're not adverse to rapid transit and walking a block or two, there's plenty more hotels downtown too. Personally, I go with the Sandman on West Georgia. It's a block away from the Stadium Skytrain station and the best part? The terminus station of that route takes me within spitting distance of the cruise terminal.

She was the first ship I sailed on, and I am sailing twice more with her this year. Despite the almost garish colour scheme, she gets the job done and in great comfort.

The only complaint I have was the fold out bed from the couch was disturbingly uncomfortable. I had a Swedish massage on the first full day up to Alaska and although it was so-so, the bed had me crying to get another one out of necessity by the end of the trip. And this is coming from someone in his late 20s with no history of back problems!

Knock on wood, no plumbing or A/C issues in the cabin I was in, though it was an inside cabin on the main deck. Surprisingly enough, I'm booked in the exact same cabin for the Panama Canal, but there is no way I'm sleeping on that couch again!

Whenever I am in Vancouver, I try to stick near the Skytrain. I find it to be much more cost effective. Generally, I'll stay at the Sandman on West Georgia, and because of corporate discounts, I can get a room with 2 queens for $86 a night in low season and $120 a night in peak season. It is a block down Beatty St. from the Stadium Skytrain station and hopping on the Skytrain will take me right to the waterfront, where I'll get to street level right at Canada Place.

If you're a gambler and are willing to spend between $160-250 per night for a room, there is always the River Rock casino/hotel. It is right on the Skytrain line from the airport, and it is a single zone fare to get you to the Waterfront.

I can't stress enough how much I recommend the Skytrain over cab. At the airport, yes, you pay a $5 airport improvement fee, but when you factor that in with the $2.75 or whatever for the ticket, you're saving money compared to a taxi and you get taken within a stones throw of the terminal.

Not sure if this was asked/answered before (long post :) -- but the one time we departed from Canada Place (there were 3 ships in port so it was a zoo) we had to enter the hotel, take an elevator just to get into the cruise terminal (we were there in the morning, so all the people debarking were bumping into the new people wanted to board). We're sailing out of there again later this year and wondered if there is another way to enter the terminal (other than going into the hotel and taking an elevator)? We saw the parking lot entrance, but couldn't see a pedestrian walkway? Is there one?

There is a sidewalk next to the car ramp going down. It is on the left side, though it gets narrow at some points with the cement support pillars.

If you're going from the waterfront to the airport, and you're able to hoof it for a couple blocks, don't wait for a taxi.

Head out of the terminal, up the ramp to street level. Turn left and follow the sidewalk. You'll see a stairway/escalator down below street level marked "Skytrain". Follow it down, purchase a 2 zone ticket and proceed through the platform. The platform will say King George/VCC Clark, and that is the train you do not want to take. Keep going across the platform to the other side where there'll be an escalator and set of stairs up.

Once you get to the top, you'll be at a T-junction. Turning left will take you on the Sea Bus across the water. Turn Right and you will be in a hall where there's a Subway restaurant, A&W, newsstand, etc. You will see on the right a staircase/elevator down. Take that to the bottom and follow the corridor.

The skytrain at the bottom goes to two locations. Richmond Brighouse and YVR Airport. You can take either one but if you are on the Richmond Brighouse train, you will have to switch trains at Bridgeport station (River rock casino).

It will take you right to the airport for a fraction of the cost. It will take about half an hour or so, and no waiting in line for a taxi.

If you want to add photos of various parts of the ships, just say the word. I'll be on the Zuiderdam in just under two months, hopefully with a new wide-angle lens by then, and I'll be glad to snap whatever I can to help.