hues of blue

Crab legs?

I just read online that crab legs are sometimes served in the evenings at the buffet? Is that true and if so how would I know when? I would be happy to skip the MDR to have crab legs:D

We will be on the Zuiderdam in 5 days.

Thank you

Sherri

Just came off the Zuiderdam last Sunday (Quebec City-Ft. Lauderdale). Spoke extensively with the crew and attended the 1-hour "captain's talk" in the Vista, whereupon when asked. he detailed all the renos (e.g. new carpet everywhere except the Vista (entertainment at bow), new 42" LCD TVs VOD in all cabins, elimination of "Northern Lights" disco, expansion in Crow's Nest Explorers Cafe, etc.).

 

 

 

Dry dock is in Freeport, Bahamas with a 12-day schedule. All along our cruise from Quebec City, materials/supplies were loaded, huge rolls of carpet somewhere along the Atlantic Coast; most notably major supplies were loaded all day in Port Canaveral (they closed the port-side of Deck 9 aft to stage materials our final overnight), and finally Ft. Lauderdale while disembarking.

 

Work began in replacing carpets in the stern elevator lobbies & stairs sometime around Halifax-1 floor at a time, nightly during our 12-night cruise. Many (probably ~100) workers embarked in Port Canaveral, so they had little/no impact on passenger convenience.

 

A small number of crew were leaving, most of the remainder (i,e. MDR/cabin staff) were being re-assigned to trash removal, or other duties. Most construction workers would be boarding in FLL and staying onboard. Since they wrapped all the MDR chairs/tables in plastic, I assume they'll be fed in the Lido Buffet. Because of extended work schedules, apparently food will be available in unusual hours. They completely emptied all mini-bars in every room (no booze for the construction workers, LOL). Our wine steward told us he was being assigned to trash removal.

 

I've uploaded two images ... the first is a floor below us with the old carpets ...

 

 

 

... and the new on Deck 7 ... (love it! Much brighter, airy!)

 

Thank you so much for the information,I hope your cruise was still great even with the work being done. I'm going with my normal positive attitude that all will be good when we board.

Sherri

Good things come to those that wait (so they say...) ;p

We went from a VF guarantee to VB,a room on deck 10 at the very front. I went online and saw that an aft extended balcony room on deck 5 was available and also a VB. A quick call to our TA and we now have a sweet room at the back of the ship:D:D

10 more days to go!!:cool::cool:

Sherri

SO - will you do a gty again sometime? :)

Nope! I'm happy with the upgrade but the waiting has been torture . I think I'm good with paying a little more and picking the cabin I want.:)

Sherri

WooHoo, went from a VF guarantee on the Zuiderdam to a VB:) so very happy and a room aft even:)

Let the rest of the count down commence:cool::cool:11 days to go!!

Sherri

Happy October 25th Hues of Blue - I just check the HAL pages and I got my cabin assignment sometime in the last 3 hours. Was at a balcony guarantee and managed to score a VB category!. Happy, happy, happy dance.....

Congrats!! where did you find it ? I'm still waiting,I checked about an hour ago and nothing yet. I will keep you posted:)

Sherri

Hi Sherri!

 

 

On Cruise Critic, we have an article entitled What to Expect: Cruising Before or After a Dry Dock. Hope it helps!

 

~Brittany Chrusciel, Associate Editor, Cruise Critic

Thank you!!!

It depends upon the ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We are on the Zuiderdam next month- does that ship have the safe with a code?

Thanks

Sherri

4-digit key code, that you program.

Thank you Carole:)

Sherri

Room safes- are they a key pad that we set our own code or one that uses a card with a magnetic strip?

Thank you

Sherri

I’ll be on the z 12/6 2nd cruise after dry dock. Will most of the kinks be ironed out?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We sail on Nov 5th, first cruise after dry dock and hoping for very few kinks :)

Sherri

5 times in a guaranteed cabin on HAL in the last 4 years... we have never been disappointed yet. Such a savings and so worth it in our opinion. Yes, the waiting is the hardest part. Hint, if you go on Travelocity and search room categories it shows the availability in different cabins that are not always shown on HAL website. This sleuthing has never let us down...

;-)

 

I've already scoped out the rooms showing available and marked them on copies

of the deck plans . Not that it really matters in the long run but makes me feel better;)

 

Sherri

SORT of like the excitement of building up to Christmas Eve..... you know that you WILL get a present, but the question is of what's IN the package..... and I have my suitcase out and starting to put odds and ends into it..... I will pack and repack about 5 times..... it's part of the ritual :D:D:D:D as we are both after balcony guarantees, wonder who will "win" the competition....ha ha

I think I've come to the conclusion that guarantee rooms are not for me........this waiting is making me a bit crazy:o. And have probably at least a week wait yet since the cruise is still 16 days away.

Sherri

hues of blu,

Will you report back to us after your cruise. We will sail on Zuiderdam November 26th and would love to hear about the changes.

We sailed on another line, the first cruise out of dry dock, and seeing all the new furniture and flooring was fun. There were a few unfinished areas the first day and touchups to do, but everything was quite fresh and new.

Will do! The excitement is building with less then 3 week's to go:D

Sherri

Great information.......Thank you...................fingers crossed that we have major issues since this will also be our first time cruising with HAL

 

Sherri

 

 

 

Oops " have No major issues"

I worked four dry docks at HAL.

All four ships were behind schedule and were not completely ready when the first new passengers boarded.

 

Where to the staff go during drydock?

They work on the ship, hauling construction debris, feeding the thousands of drydock workers, and cleaning up after them.

Where do the dry dock construction workers stay?

In the passenger cabins, where they make every effort to damage them and dirty them as much as possible.

 

When the dry dock is running late, the construction workers are instructed to work as late as possible on the day you embark. This means they do not have time to move out of your cabin until the very last minute.

This delays your stateroom steward in getting the cabin clean and ready for you.

The highest number of cabin complaints occur on the first few days after a dry dock. There just isn't enough time to properly prepare and clean them before you arrive.

Great information.......Thank you...................fingers crossed that we have major issues since this will also be our first time cruising with HAL

Sherri

What can we expect on the first sailing after a dry dock? We will be on the Zuiderdam on Nov 5th and fresh out of dry dock. Where do the staff go during that time? Since no one is getting off that day then there shouldn't be any wait to go to our staterooms right?

Sherri

I just checked online to see what rooms are still available and the prices have tripled since yesterday with many suites and higher level balcony rooms available. With 21 days to go the excitement of where we will end up is building.....maybe I need to get the suitcases out to distract myself;)

Sherri

Ditto to Lizzie's post.

 

Your TA should have provided all itinerary details to you, etc.

 

To book specialty dining, excursions, etc., just log in to the Hollandamerica.com (if you haven't logged in before you can set up an account), go to my reservations and then purchase and you can select any specialty dining, shore excursions, beverages/cards, etc. Just about anything can be pre-ordered if you are so inclined.

 

hope this helps.

Yes the TA sent us our confirmation,I was just curious why none of it shows in our online account. We can't print the luggage tags yet,maybe because we don't have a room assigned to us yet since we did a guarantee room?

Thanks for the help....so anxious to try HAL for the first time:)

Sherri

Website question-we just booked a HAL cruise for the first time and leave in just 3 weeks. We booked with a online TA and everything is paid in full with it being so close. My question is about their website-I can access my reservation,filled out the online check in,but can't see any information of price paid,dining time,etc. All I can find is the date we sail and that we are a VF guarantee, and our names.

Sherri

For what it's worth, we booked with a TA and received the "Change in Booking" email form HAL 14 days prior to departure. Booked a FF and were assigned a D, a good location. Our cruise has segments so maybe that's why the assignments came out early. I hadn't started checking yet, it was quite anearly surprise. Hope it holds! m--

It seems that many have had good luck with the guarantee rooms- here's hoping we are as lucky:D

Sherri

Same here (but spending night in FLL).... I was panicking that if you were right my plane would arrive after the ship sailed....or you may would have an unexpected surprise if you showed up a day early. I'm in a verandah guarantee, so will be interesting to see what happens..... hope to see you on board... (I'll be the one at the aft pool doing Suduko puzzles and sipping mocktails hoping for some relaxation....).;p

Oh good grief,we are staying in Ft Lauderdale too..........guess I have vacation brain already :o

Sherri

Are you sure it's the 4th and not the 5th?

You are correct, the cruise leaves on the 5th but we are flying down on the 4th and spending the night in Miami:cool:

Sherri

Good luck with your guarantee assignment! It's one of my favorite parts of cruising - the anticipation of receiving that email from HAL which notifies you of a stateroom assignment.

So they will email us when we have our Room assignment? Me guess is that must come at the same time it shows online so checking often really is not any better if they will email us anyway. Thanks for the info:)

Sherri

You booked a guarantee in category VF, so you are a guaranteed a VF cat. or better, that you will see when cabin assignments are made. I understand the frustration of waiting to know your stateroom number, just be patient and you will be rewarded. Enjoy the cruise.

One added reminder, hold off in printing your boarding passes and luggage tags until after you get your stateroom number.

Thank you for the advice. I'm not really frustrated yet,more like anxious and excited:D

Sherri