Iowa-Cruiser

We recently ended a voyage on the Zuiderdam, and wanted to throw out a few comments on some observations. Some may have been discussed here and several may be well known to those who have an entire galaxy of stars over their Mariner symbol, but here they are anyway.

1) Even after the dry dock, you can still find some rust and peeling paint if you want to look. She is not a spiffy new ship, but the Zuiderdam is a "dam" fine ship (or is that a fine dam ship).

2) The kids working the ship work their butts off and should be treated kindly. During the lunch on embarkation day they had problems keeping up with silverware and several passengers were getting rather growly with the staff - hey lighten up, it wasn't their fault.

3) At least once during the cruise everyone needs to try a suncicle.

4) On smart casual nights they will turn people away from the dining room if they are wearing shorts. It happened to my teen sons.

5) The beverage package is not a separate card now, it is tied to the room/ID card - provided the computer system on the ship has been upgraded.

6) Living in close quarters with teen boys allows understanding as to why some creatures eat their young.

7) It is rather cool being on a HAL ship greeting another one in passing as you leave a port. I am sure we proved that our horn was bigger than the Niew Amsterdam's horn.

8) The aft pool can be quite chilly.

9) Being on one of these big boats when it does a pirouette in the middle of a port is always fascinating.

10) Having a night light is a good thing - the bathroom is rather dark at night.

11) The Neptune Suite veranda is approximately 6x16 ft.

12) Flowering plants a quarter of the way around the world from home can play havoc with your sinuses.

13) Semi-formal is now smart casual, and formal is now gala.

14) The retreat cabanas are on deck 11 above the area between the Crow's Nest and the Lido pool (yes I know the pool is on 9 and the Crows Nest is on 10 - work with me here). There are 8 of them, 6 smaller and 2 larger ones.

15) No one on a cruise has a right to complain about anything until after they have asked the appropriate folk to take care of it and it wasn't resolved.

I'd like to see Holland America raked over the coals for this, but HAL cheerleaders can take pride in this quote:

 

"Attorneys for the cruise line claim Holland America couldn’t have known of Pujayasa’s propensity for sexual misconduct. Acting on the cruise line’s behalf, they denied wrongdoing and have asked that the lawsuit be dismissed." http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Attorney-Holland-America-failed-woman-raped-6293239.php#page-2

There are statements that defense lawyers make as part of the routine in EVERY civil suit against a corporation. This is one of them. It rarely if ever works and the motion is just as routinely dismissed by the judge.

So why should HAL be "raked over the coals" for this? What did the CORPORATION do that was evil? It is not like they intentionally hired someone they knew would assault a passenger. As a service and entertainment company I am sure this is not sitting well with them and they are actively working on ways to prevent it for happening again. But the reality is that people are a difficult variable and can not be controlled. Corporations can and should be held accountable for the actions of their employees, but not vilified for them unless the actions are often repeated.

That is most definitely a photo of the Prinsendam listed for sale.

The same photo is here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/cruise-ships/14772/Prinsendam-review.html in an article on the Prinsendam

A nice thing about room service is no request seems too small to be bothered with. When we were on the Zuiderdam on our honeymoon, we ordered a room service breakfast one day. My wife wanted her eggs over hard, but that option was not on the list - so she wrote it in and that is how the eggs came.

Another time we bought some nuts from a dockside vendor. When we got to our room to nibble on them we noticed they were unsalted. So we called room service and, yes indeed, they brought up a salt shaker.

I just booked with Best of Ephesus tours for our trip in June. They have some prepackaged tours and one where you pick what you want out of 6 or 7 options. This includes the an option of stopping at Sirince where you can have lunch and shop in a small village rather than the port-side bazaar. The prices are very reasonable at 40-60 Euros per person depending on number in tour.

Taxi fares increase tomorrow September 1.

Oranjestad to Eagle Beach $10

Oranjestad to Palm Beach $11

Taxi tour by the hour $45

 

All fares are NOT per person, but by fare. Addtional $3 charge on Sundays and holidays.

Are the fares on this chart quoted in US Dollar or Aruban Guilder?

All of the posts seem to be using the $ sign, but the chart has no currency listed.

I am always in awe of people who can

do what you can do. I'm still trying to figure

out how to get a time clack or something on

my replies. And the CC-er who has the "Never

underestimate the..." responses with the

hysterical photographs and captions???:eek: Way

out of my league.

margretha

For a countdown clock - go to the top of the page, just under the Cruise Critic logo. There is a link titled "countdown clocks". Click on it. Pick a photo, choose a ship from the drop-down list, ad any message you want, and select your sail date. When done - click "create countdown" at bottom of page.

I see others with a different countdown clock that looks better, I am not sure where they get those.