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A Quick-Trip for us, Bill & Mary Ann - Hawaii/Mexico for 21 days on the Zaandam

WCB

By WCB,
in Holland America Line

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 1 We begin the Journey Saturday October 27, 2012

 

 

Greetings to All,

 

Well, here we go, once again, waiting at the SFO airport for a short flight to San Diego. If all goes well, the Zaandam should be waiting for us there for the first leg of our journey.....San Diego to Hawaii for fourteen days and back again. Then round trip from San Diego to Mexico for a seven day voyage. So far, it has been the usual routine with an early morning (6am) drop-off at the airport, compliments of our fine son, who said three suitcases???? For three weeks? Yes, we consider that traveling lightly! The airport was busier than expected, with folks traveling for the weekend with their young families in tow. Giving credit where credit is due, United has pain-free check-ins and security procedures. All seemed to flow smoothly today.

 

This will be our first sailing on the Zaandam, even though we are long-time customers of HAL. Frankly, we think we own at least one of their ships by now! However, we have been a bit concerned about some of the reports we have read recently about the ship having some serious problems. They range from retrofitting "wear and tear" items (carpets, upholstery, etc) to plumbing projects, as well as the main dining room issues. Until proven otherwise, we tend to take this news with a grain of salt. But we will remain vigilant if these projects are ongoing, and will report the progress (or not) as we see it happening.

 

So we have over four seas days to reach Hilo, Honolulu, Kauai, and Maui. Then more days at sea to tender to Ensenada for a brief few hours. Believe it or not, we have never been there, and probably still will not see it, since we drop anchor at 8pm, which is dinnertime for us. Then it's back to San Diego to make the seven day run to Mexico and back.

 

Keeping our fingers crossed for smooth seas and fine Hawaiian weather! The rest is just frosting on the cake!

 

We have arrived to San Diego at 10:30am, right on schedule on a short and sweet flight. What a surprise to find that the local temperature was 80 degrees and climbing. (Tip to ourselves.......hand-pack shorts next time). By the time we reached the baggage carousel, our three pieces of luggage were going for a ride all alone on the turnstile. We did not know it then, but one of our bags had been searched for possible dangerous items back in San Francisco. Nothing was missing, since we usually don't pack those things.

 

For a change, we did not pre-purchase transfers through HAL to the pier. There was only a three mile ride to get there, so we found our way to the taxi line. Just as promised by our travel agent, there were dozens of cabs lined up curbside, and we were pierside in minutes. An HAL agent took our luggage, and we were directed to the terminal building for check-in. Again, it was a quick and pain-free process with no waiting. Passports were checked (not kept), embarkation info exchanged, photos taken (probably bad ones), and credit card registered (of course). They informed us that we would have to wait until closer to noontime to board. So we cooled our heels sitting with a group of 4 star Mariners we assume. A much larger group, 3 star and under, was being held in another area of the building.

 

By 12:15pm, we boarded the vessel and proceeded right to our waiting cabin. Now as a test, we had sent a small email request to ship services for some necessary items to be in our room upon embarkation. These things included a refrigerator, fan, extra towels, hangars, and lotions. Much to our delight, all the items were there. It worked! And even a nicer surprise, was finding our room to have been recently renovated...new carpeting, drapes, upholstery, mattress, and bedding. Four new couch pillows have been added to the mix, two square ones and two tubular ones. It was like coming home, only better. After all, it has only been 5 months since we left the Amsterdam and the world cruise.

 

Lunch sounded like a great idea by now, so we left the ship to hike through downtown towards Horton Plaza and many restaurants. The best bet was the Hard Rock Cafe and two haystack chicken salads. From there, we found the Rite Aid pharmacy to purchase some supplies and snacks for the cruise. Many other guests had the same idea, as we saw water bottles and wine flying off of the shelves. Lucky for us, the walk back was very short.

 

We made it back to the ship in time for the much anticipated mandatory passenger emergency drill. Well, not exactly our favorite activity, but important for obvious reasons. This muster turned out to be torture, taking over 30 minutes. Standing that long in the hot and humid heat is not the best idea for most folks. As it turned out, one person fainted, causing part of the delay. And four cabins did not respond to the rollcall, no-shows, despite the fact that it had been announced that those who did not attend would not be allowed to sail. Wonder if that threat is ever enforced?

 

Sailaway was nice from the aft pool deck. Few umbrella drinks were served, and no hors d'oeuvres were offered. Remember, we are in a 48 hour serving period to help stop any possible virus to take hold with the passengers and crew. This is a good thing in our opinion.

 

Luggage arrived in our room before dinnertime, giving us a chance to put it all away, more or less. A refreshing drink in our room sounded great, but all of the ice had melted. Oh well, it had been a very long day, so the drinks can wait until tomorrow.

 

We managed to keep awake for our 8pm fixed seating dinnertime in the upper dining room. We're at table 65, set for eight. Maybe because it was the first evening, the attendance was low. We only had one couple, Teddy and Colin, join us. They are nice people from the Vancouver area and have been onboard for the last four days. This particular cruise began in Canada for either a 4 day or 18 day cruise. Much to our surprise, Teddy told us that at least 1000 guests debarked today, and that many new ones came on. Perhaps tomorrow, our table will fill up. By the way, we both ordered the traditional meal of delicious prime rib and baked potatoes for dinner.

 

Too beat for the after dinner show of the Entertainment Team in the showlounge, we headed to our room. Needless to say, we were asleep before our heads it the pillow. It had been one heck of a long day, but a good one.

 

More news about the ship tomorrow.

 

Again Aloha,

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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Esri

Esri

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Looking forward to your reports as a warm-up to your blog from the World Cruise starting in January. I've been following them for a couple of years and have gone back and read the ones you wrote before I found Cruise Critic. In 2014 I'll be on board the Amsterdam for the World Cruise and I'm already almost at the "can't wait" stage. :)

 

I hope you enjoy the cruise and Hawaii.

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ROWSE

ROWSE

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Thank you for doing this "live" thread. My friend and I will be joining

you on the Mexican Riviera part of this cruise.

 

This will be so fun to read while I am eagerly waiting for the next few days to pass.

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PathfinderEss

PathfinderEss

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Thanks WCB, really enjoy live reports. Being I will be on the Zaandam in a month or so, am more then interested in your report. We had such a bad report serveral weeks ago, will be interesting what your prespective is of the ship. Again thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

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boards Holiday Sharing Rare

boards

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I also want to thank you for writing another "Live" cruise report. I have enjoyed reading them the past and will be looking forward to this one and your "Live" World Cruise beginning in Jan. of 2013.

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canadianbear

canadianbear

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Enjoying reading your report so far. You will love the Zaandam with it's fresh new beautiful carpets!! Yes, we were on the Oct 9-23 cruise when they replaced them and we still had a wonderful time. Crew was great. We didn't have set dining time but had no problems in the lower dining area at all. Food was delicious.

 

Enjoy your "quick trip"!!!

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 2 Day at Sea # 1 Sunday October 28, 2012

 

Today was a sharp contrast to the marathon day we experienced yesterday. On one hand, it was pure pleasure to sleep a bit later than usual with a stress-free day ahead of us while enroute to Hawaii. On the other hand, the weather changed from warm to downright chilly, overcast, windy, and rough. This is not unusual in these waters off the coast of North America. There are very strong currents here which cause some swells, deep enough to cause seasickness among the passengers. Some unlucky folks are more prone to the illness, but knock on wood, we are fine.

 

This was probably the reason that the main dining room had a line backed up to the stairwell for breakfast this morning. And it was already 9am. Listening to the conversations around us, we gathered that the Lido on deck 8 was too unstable for packing food to the tables. Of course, the higher up you go, the more exaggerated the motion becomes. As always, the dining room breakfast food and service was excellent. We noticed that the pastries have shrunk in size. The muffins are mini-size, which is fine with us.

 

Have we mentioned that most of the main dining room carpets and perhaps the drapes have been replaced? Actually, everywhere we have walked through looks new. Guess we need to thank the previous guests for enduring these changes while enroute. So it is understandable why there were some grumpy people that reported the mess of the projects. We have "been there, done that" too as recently as 2010 while sailing on the Prinsendam.

 

A few more improvements we saw today were in the Lido pool area. Terrycloth slip covers have been used on half of the chaise lounge cushions, and the Lido Bar seating has been re-covered with orange leather. Brightly-striped umbrellas with matching pillows made the area look like you are in Morocco. Sure would have been nice if the pool was filled, but it must have overflowed and had to be drained.

 

At 10:30am, we joined a Cruise Critic meeting held in the Crow's Nest. There was a good number of members seated there enjoying the coffee and cookies set up for us. Captain Andre and Cruise Director Michael attended the meeting, each giving a short welcome speech. They both visited with each clutch of 6 to 8 guests getting to us last. This worked out well, because the Captain lingered a bit longer, happily answering our questions. Younger than most of the current captains, Andre worked his way up working with the best. One of those was Captain Halle Thon Gunderson, longtime captain of the Prinsendam, formerlly the Seabourn Sun. Anyway, it was a pleasant meeting, but our only one for this entire cruise. We heard that Facebook also has a group onboard with similar meetings planned as well. First we ever heard of that.

 

Our biggest job today was picking an internet plan long enough to cover 21 days. There was no problem getting online, but service is spotty out here in this part of the world. There are many such spots like this, and a good reason to explain the slowness of the internet.

 

It was a ghost ship walking the promenade deck today. How appropriate for the Halloween season. It was rather wet from the ocean spray, and we are hoping the Captain was right when he promised that tomorrow, the weather will be better...warmer. Today the guests sitting outside had to cover up with blankets. We still had on shorts, but light jackets.

 

Dinnertime was formal this evening. Two more ladies, Patty and Nancy, joined us tonight. They have also been here since Vancouver, but had eaten in the Cannaletto Restaurant last night. To our surprise, there is a $10. charge to dine there now. Patty reported that they were the only ones eating there, and were disappointed with their entrees, since they came warm, not hot. Guess we'll have to try it someday and judge for ourselves. Tablemates Coln and Teddy are dining there tomorrow, but may not be looking forward to it after that report from the girls.

 

The good news of the day is the clocks go back one hour tonight, very much appreciated by all.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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nana51

nana51

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I'm enjoying your report also as I will be on her in March. We are also taking my niece, (she's 52)and this will be her first cruise so I'm hoping it will be wonderful. Sounds like the ship is looking good.

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WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

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Report # 3 Day at Sea # 2 October 29, 2012

 

We woke up to overcast skies, but with the hope that the temperature may be a bit more tropical today. Usually the current temperature is posted on the HAL navigation channel, but for some reason, it has not been working. That goes for the sea depth that has remained at 0 feet, 0 meters. Wrong. We'd have to wait until after breakfast to find out how warm it was outside.

 

The dining room breakfast was a repeat of yesterday............a long line from the entrance to the stairway at 9am. OK, yesterday was understandable, but two days in a row? The only conclusion we could come up with is that they are short-staffed. There were only two waiters escorting the people to the tables, and rather slowly at that. Once seated, the pace was fine and our food very good. We asked one of the head waiters if this was like this every day and he said yes. There would be a change on port days, when most guests eat early, then leave on tours. We find it interesting how the absence of a few waiters can make a noticable difference, but it does. Also, to be fair, perhaps this particular crowd likes to sleep in late, who knows?

 

Ready for our hour walk, we braced ourselves when we walked out the promenade doors, expecting that chilly wind. But it was gone. It still was not sunny, but the temperature had climbed to a much more comfortable number, whatever that may be. Gone were the two photographers, who set up their tripods all day yesterday in hopes of spotting some sealife we assume. It's always a hit or miss scenario with the dolphins or whales, and they are seldom spotted in open waters like here. Go look for them without the camera or binoculars, and they will be there, performing like you have never seen before!

 

With the sensational news with Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, it has kept us rivited to the TV. Hard to believe the flooding on the streets we hiked just last year on another trip. On the West Coast, British Columbia experienced an earthquake yesterday, causing a tsunami warning all the way down to Hawaii. Captain Andre announced that we would not be in any danger out at sea. However, we did get an email from our eldest son and girlfriend, who are currently vacationing in Maui. Their tsunami warning signal went off around 8pm last night, and they were advised to get up high in their seaside hotel. A seven foot surge was predicted, but only a 2 foot wave hit. That was added excitement they never expected. The thrill of a helicopter ride they took to see Maui's massive waterfalls would have been quite thrill enough for us.

 

Shipboard life carried on with numerous activities, mostly all occurring inside the vessel. The wellbeing program offers exercise and dance classes from 8am to 5pm. Techspert Evan works with the computer folks zeroing in on the new systems that just came out. Today there were two wine tastings and also a beer sampling ($12.50 perperson). Explorations speaker, Dr. George Losey, a marine biologist, spoke about everything you need to know about coral reefs. And with Hilo coming up in a few days, the travel guide presented things to see and do there.

 

Our job of the day was to request delivery of the NY Times at the front desk. No problem. We were told it would begin tomorrow. Looking at the printout of our shipboard account, all the credits had been posted, as well as the daily service charges ($11.50 per person).

 

Passing by the Pinnacle Grill Restaurant, we lingered to see if we could detect a bad aroma as reported on the previous cruise. Since there was none, we assume the problem has been fixed, thank goodness. In the past, we have encountered this problem in different areas of a ship, and it is very unpleasant to say the least.

 

The Captain had slowed the speed of the ship, so relaxing at the aft pool was actually do-able. No, the sun was not out, but it also was not cold. Several other hopeful folks had the same idea, although no one was brave enough to test out the pool. In fact, the Lido pool has remained empty, with only the spas filled for use.

 

We were pleasantly surprised with dinner tonight. Checking out the menu earlier, we came to the conclusion there was not much that appealed to us. One of our tricks is to check out the entrees on display in the Lido at 5:30pm. The sweet and tangy pork really looked the best. So one of us ordered that, while the other chose the alternate steak. They both turned out to be excellent choices. But the best was the dessert of calypso pie, or mud pie. The four of us ordered it (Teddy and Colin had gone to Canalletto for dinner). We did have a long wait for dessert, because they had run out and got us fresh slices straight from the deep freeze. Well worth the wait.

 

We didn't go to the show, which was an entertainer by the name of Finis. If any of our tablemates went, we will report tomorrow.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

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