Day 2 -- sailing to Alaska on the Zuiderdam -- June 1, 2014

[bumperoo]

Woke up for our first day at sea. The boat was rocking pretty good so we put on our sea bands and as a precaution, I took a Dramamine. The view from our aft balcony was of beautiful rolling white caps. I loved sitting out there in my own private oasis. It was nice and cozy in the robe provided by HAL. The sound of the sea was calming and the whir of the wake very relaxing. I could look down on the balconies below and view our neighbors but our balcony was completely covered and was great in the rain and afforded lots of privacy. Our neighbors below did smoke on occasion but I never smelled it and they were really careful with their ashes and butts.

 

We dressed casually for enjoying the decks and headed out to breakfast. Our cabin steward came and introduced himself to us. His name is Diding and he was observed the rest of the cruise always working hard but always pleasant. He worked around our times out of the cabin and kept our room in tip top shape. Small tasks were completed in timely fashion -- he made sure our refrigerator got emptied and brought fruit for our bowl. I particularly liked that our mail was always brought into the cabin for us. I asked for two On location bulletins that he always remembered to leave for us.

 

We went to the MDR for our first dining experience there. The room is really pretty and as a people watcher, there was plenty to watch! I found myself humming "Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test." Coffee cups were filled to the left, juice delivered to the right. Cakes and Danish, sweets galore passed in front of me. I tried the Spanish omelet and Lou went for eggs and bacon and sausage. The thing that I really enjoyed was the sounds of song birds chirping that was piped in. It was a nice way to wake up.

 

After breakfast, we went to check that everything was running smooth with our ship board account. Our expected $100 per person credit was there for our use. We were able to use the funds to cover our daily service charge which amounted to $11.50 per person per day. In one of his talks, Hamish explained that 35% goes to the cabin stewards, 35% goes to dining staff and the other 30% to all those working behind the scenes such as laundry, and kitchen personnel.

 

The way they worked the Signature Beverage Package was that they credited each card $735 to begin with which would cover fifteen $7.00 drinks each day for our seven day cruise. Every time we had a drink, the date, place drink was ordered and cost of drink was noted. They kept a running total for each card. We never exceeded fifteen drinks in a day. We did use the card for specialty coffee, bottles of water from the bar, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The only problem we had was deciding what to order. There were plenty of bar staff members happy to get you a drink and although we tipped along the way, it is not expected as the card value includes a 15 percent gratuity. We were able to order drinks for each other -- two cards equals two drinks. We were always given a receipt when our card was returned to us. My husband was able to ask for beers that were unopened to carry back to the room and put them in the refrigerator.

 

Our first activity of the day was a cooking demonstration. One of the chefs, Mani, cooked Papardelle with Shrimp, cedar Planked Halibut with Shrimp Scampi which just so happened to be what I ordered the night before in the Pinnacle, and Creme Brûlée. It was fun watching Mani work his magic. The food and beverage events coordinator, Meredith, narrated and answered questions. We even got to taste the Creme brûlée and we were given recipe cards to take home. There were place settings set up for each dining room and the setting for LeCirque too. It was great entertainment and the Culinary Arts room is state of the arts and sponsored by Food and Wine magazine.

 

All that cooking, made us hungry and we headed to the Lido for lunch. People seemed to be using the hand sanitizers before entering all the dining areas. I tried the Asian station and enjoyed a noodle bowl with shrimp, chicken and beef and a bowl of Miso soup. Lou had them construct a hoagie at the deli. There was water and lemonade and coffee and tea available and servers walking around for bar drinks.

 

We headed to the Crow's Nest to meet Colin and Dawn from our roll call. It was great to enjoy a drink with them and share a few stories and laughs. We would bump into each other throughout the cruise and it was quite nice to chat with them and compare notes.

 

We returned to our cabin for a power nap. We were still feeling the effects of the time change and we were keeping so busy. After our nap, the relaxing continued in the movie theatre where they were screening "Gravity". I was glad we arrived early as every seat was taken. We brought drinks in with us and sat in big comfy stadium style seats. There was even freshly popped popcorn in individual bags. Lots if people stopped in to grab popcorn to go.

 

After the movie, it was time to get ready for dinner. It was the first of two formal nights. Walking about everyone looked so pretty all gussied up. There were lines of people getting photos taken and chatter of happy cruisers filled the corridors.

 

We stopped in the Explorer's Lounge to listen to the beautiful music of Adagio. The piano and violin duo performed sophisticated classical music. They were very serious but the music was comforting. I noticed a few people were sleeping in comfy seats throughout the room.

 

We had "As you wish Dining", so we arrived at 7:15 and because we wanted a table for two, we waited a short ten minutes. People were dressed for the occasion and it was very festive. There were a few tuxedos, lots of suits and ties, and very few men with just dress shirts. The dining room was transformed with chair covers and beautiful flowers throughout. The escargot were scrumptious, and Alaskan crab legs were offered as an appetizer. Every course, the wait staff asked if you wanted more of a certain item. We both had the Beef Wellington. The beef was perfect but the pastry was a little soggy but we still licked our platters clean. We had tried the Proseco that was offered and it was just fine for our tastes. We finished dinner with Bailey's Irish Cream and coffee and headed to the Crow's Nest. Our dinners in the main dining room were never rushed. There was ample time in between courses and no rush to move you out after dinner was served. Our average time all week was about 90 minutes.

We did always finish with desert and coffee and replayed the day together.

 

We missed Captain Turner's Welcome Toast because we were enjoying our dinner at that time. We were able to view it on our stateroom TV the next morning when we were relaxing. I liked that you could play catchup by tuning in to the HAL Information channels.

 

One thing about Alaska cruises is you have plenty of daylight. We listened to Mary on the guitar and watched the world go by. The scenery from the Crow's Nest is the next best thing to being outside. The windows are floor to ceiling and the seating is super comfy. There are flowers on every table and a very attentive wait staff to fetch drinks for you.

 

I wished I could have created a clone for this trip. It is impossible to do everything on the program. So we tried hard to not be on a schedule but we carried our perforated On Location activities agenda with us. We would look at it through the day to see if there were any don't miss things coming up. The sunset time listed was 10:19 -- we had to miss it if we wanted to see the show.

 

The show "In Concert" featured the Zuiderdam Singers and Dancers. The talented young people were able to bring number one hits to life on the stage. When we entered the Vista Lounge each guest was offered a glass of champagne. Captain Turner wasn't there, but we still enjoyed toasting each other.

 

The shows averaged about an hour in length. When the show was done we had time to visit the piano bar and listen to Jeremy's last set. It was approaching midnight and I was afraid I might turn into a pumpkin so we decided to stroll the decks on the way back to our room. We went out to the balcony and said good night to the moon. The clock went back one hour tonight. We were happy to get an extra hour of sleep. It will help to be well-rested for our first port day in Juneau!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful

Glad you had a fun day while at sea.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Crew News]

Thanks for your latest review and glad your cruise is meeting all of your expectations.

 

After watching "Hell's Kitchen" and Chef Ramsey yelling about Beef Wellington being cold, glad yours met the doneness test.

[bumperoo]

[quote

After watching "Hell's Kitchen" and Chef Ramsey yelling about Beef Wellington being cold, glad yours met the doneness test.[/quote

 

LOL. -- my husband actually referenced Chef Ramsey while we were dining!

[PathfinderEss]

Day 2, thanks for continuing on with your great reporting.:)

[erewhon]

Thanks for day 2 of your report.