Live (Not So Much) from the Zuiderdam, Canada - Fort Lauderdale Cruise

[firegal2539]

I stepped on the Zuiderdam on Friday, September 30 in Quebec City. My first stop was my cabin. I am in a Signature Suite right at the front of the ship on deck five. It is an accessible cabin and it is beautiful. It has a balcony door and a huge picture window looking from the front of the ship. My scooter and everything fits with lots of room left over. I love it.

 

The ship holds between 1900 and 2000 passengers. Right now there are 1852 passengers on board. It is the perfect size for me. 11 decks with lots to do. Starting at 8 AM until 12 Midnight, you can stay busy. It has the Rolling Stones lounge, and Billboard Onboard. Fantastic music, great drinks, and great passengers to talk to. Every day they have new art classes, teaching you to color, paint, do origami, etc. I have eaten all three evening meals in the main dining room and it has been excellent. I have also eaten breakfast in the main dining room, and it has been amazing too.

 

Our first day was at sea with so much to do. Second day was Charlottetown and it was beautiful. Even though I use a scooter I was able to get off the ship and ride all over the port. The third day we are now in Sydney and it is an idyllic port. Great for people that love to take pictures. Absolutely beautiful.

 

I have been in the casino all three nights and doing OK. Winning a little not losing. I went to the comedian show last night and he was excellent. I went to the dance show on the first night and it was all right. It’s not my favorite show. Tonight is another dance show.

 

If you have any questions that I might be able to answer. I will be glad to try. This is only my first Holland America Cruise, but I will try to be helpful if I can. I am putting a few pictures I took of my room, the ship and both ports

 

Later, Candie

[cunnorl]

 Thank you for your report. We will on the Zuiderdam for the VOV next summer. We also have an accessible cabin on deck 6. Glad to hear things are going well so far.

  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[POA1]

Thanks for your report!

[fox02554]

not on her until 10/29/2024 but interested in her accessibility , we were not able to get a Handicap cabin, but as a below the knee amuptee I get around OK and use a Peg-leg ( i-walk ) at night so don't need the extra room, but it would of been nice to have grab bars and an accessible shower. HAL will provide a shower seat and I'm going to bring suction grab bars so it's all good 😄

[MisterMatthew]

May i ask, who is your waiter (evenings) at the MDR?  

 

I have sailed on her before, and loved it.

 

When i sailed, the ship was at roughly 60% capacity.

 

-----MisterMatthew

[lovedove17]

Hi Candie!  Do they have trivia 3 times a day on sea days at 10:00am, 4:30pm and 8:30pm?

[firegal2539]

Questions first, yes trivia is 3 times a day and crowded. The Music Trivia is in the Boardwalk. 
My waiter is Made but there are 2 of them.

The handicapped cabins go fast. I try to book as soon as the cruise opens.

 

Yesterday was Halifax, another beautiful city. At this time all fall colors are in glorious display. I scootered around the port area, visited some shops and boarded the ship. Last night a dancing show that was excellent, thoroughly enjoyed. Dinner was lobster which you had to pay for, $20. Also a Dressy night.
 

Today is Portland Maine. Did a tour of Freeport. Again a wonderful tour. 
 

I wanted to talk about the ship. It is clean, bright, shiny. I don’t see any areas that need painting or shiny up. 
 

The passengers are all so nice and the Canadians are just so kind.

 

Tomorrow is Boston.

Candie

[C 2 C]

1 hour ago, firegal2539 said:

Questions first, yes trivia is 3 times a day and crowded. The Music Trivia is in the Boardwalk. 

 

Your experience is different than our B2B which ended when you boarded.

There was one general trivia at 4:00 pm and music trivia at 6:30.

Trivia was never crowded perhaps because it included topics such as True/False, give the date, plants, drinks, landmarks.  To us it was the worst trivia experience in over 20 years of cruising and many people just stopped coming.  The trivia master even allowed a team of 8 to win despite stating at the outset that there was a limit of 6 per team.

We loved the food though.  Every meal was excellent.

[Haljo1935]

Welcome @firegal2539 to HAL!! I hope you continue to enjoy your cruise and come back for another.. and another...

Thanks for bringing us along!

[firegal2539]

Actually I have booked 3 more HAL cruises for 2024. 

[firegal2539]

Today we are in Boston. Able to get off at 8:15. No sun, a little foggy, about 70 degrees. Very easy disembark. Did a Holland shore excursion, Accessible Boston. Pretty bad. The bus driver’s first tour and didn’t know anything about Boston so the tour guide had to tell her where to turn and what streets. The guide had about 20 sheets of paper and just read from them. Downtown Boston has 2 lane streets. 1 lane for turning and 1 for straight. All tall buildings and the guide would say “look between the two grey buildings and there is a statue of George Washington. Behind the church on the corner you can see the roof of the library. You couldn’t see anything. That was the whole tour, peeking between buildings. For $90 it should have been a lot better.

 

Back on the ship I ate fried chicken at the Lido. The chicken is crunchy, crispy and tastes great. The rest of the food, not so much.

 

At night I watch all of the On Demand movies, it helps me fall asleep. They are free and some new ones to watch. 
 

Will try to post later, Candie 

[firegal2539]

We had a day at sea and I played in the casino. Had a great dinner, all the table was happy. We did a stop in Port Canaveral. About half the ship didn’t get off. I spent time in the Crows Nest. Beautiful views from there and there wasn’t an empty chair. Breakfast in the dining room. Another fabulous dinner in the dining room. 
 

I did want mention I had my Specialty Dinner at the Pinnacle. It was an amazing dinner. I had the Candied Bacon, so different but fabulous. I also had the Lettuce Wedge, the Filet Mignon and Crème Brûlée. It was better than any restaurant I have eaten at. 
 

Today was disembarkation. Easy peazy. Now I am home. I wanted to stay and do another 10 days but they wouldn’t let me.

 

Thanks everyone, Candie 

[canadianbear]

@firegal2539

Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise since you booked more!   We like cruises that are at least 10 days (and more).  Seems on anything shorter you’re just getting into the routine and have to pack to go home. 
 

Welcome home!
 

 

[mawvkysc]

Thanks for the review. I’ll be on my first HAL cruise on Zuiderdam in the spring. Did they have a trio that played music in the Ocean Bar? 

[firegal2539]

No there was a duo.

[madera1]

Just read your posts and as we too were on the cruise I agree it was wonderful. The ship was in great shape, service was very good as usual. We found that some of the trivia sessions were very packed but especially enjoyed music trivia. Both comedians were good. We also enjoyed The CD, Ian’s special talks about pirates and haunted areas of New England. Our Meet and Greet was well attended although it was held in just a roped off area in the Crows Nest.