Back from the Zuiderdam (5/27 - 6/3)

[risa00]

I just came back from the Zuiderdam and had an amazing time!!! I post all about the ports on the Alaska forum but also wanted to write about the ship on this one. This was my first HAL cruise and I will definitely be sailing again. I've been on Carnival and RCI before so this ship was more mature than what I've been on before. The embarkation process was extremely smooth and quick. What I didn't understand though was I got my picture taken and then when I got on the ship, my picture was of me at a side, so I had to go to the main desk to retake my picture. Why couldn't the lady who took it and noticed it when she did it? The person in front of me in the line at the main desk had the same issue that I did. It only took a minute to fix it so it wasn't a problem, but I didn't understand that.

 

We were in 5110 and enjoyed the room. I loved the fresh fruit everyday. I never did understand why there wasn't clocks in the room so you would know what time it was. One complaint I did have was that our rooms would be cleaned very late in the day. It would be 3 pm and they still wouldn't have been cleaned. Or he would wait until I was in the shower or bathroom when he decided to come in.

 

When we first got on the ship, we went to the Lido for lunch. My dad had on a UT shirt and of course the one and only Hunky Dorie saw him and started singing the 'Eyes of Texas'. So Hunky then learned all 6 of our names, how we were related, and where we were from. He is quite the character. Every day that we saw him he would also yell across the room 'Hi firstname'. What was nice is he would tell us when and where he saw the rest of my family so I might be able to catch up with them at lunch. :) I was told that he memorizes about 700-800 names each week. As the week went on though it took him about 3 seconds to recall what ours names were since he had alot more stored in his brain then. He said he's on the Zuiderdam until December and then will take a break until April. If you want to meet him, go to the Lido during lunch on the starboard side at the bistro bar (by the salad bar).

 

 

Dinner was good. The 8:15 pm seating was actually the best time. Sunset doesn't go down until really late in Alaska so you could still see everything at dinner. I was not impressed at all with the Baked Alaskan. When I was on RCI, I remember ordering 2 of it because it was sooo good. Here, I only had like 2 bites and that was it. The volcano cake on the last day was to die for though. We did go to the Pinnacle Grill on Thursday (Baked Alaskan Parade day :() and wish we hadn't. The food wasn't all that and the service was HORRIBLE! We sat there forever trying to order our wine. We were done with dinner and almost just got up and left because we literally sat for 15-20 minutes before we ever saw our waitress again. I gave very low scores on the review pamplet for them. Wouldn't recommend them. I did like that there was food everyday at midnight. :) We ordered room service for breakfast a couple of times. The belgian waffles in the Lido with pecans and syrup was amazing! The ice cream was another good dessert at lunch. There's always food so you won't go hungry!

 

The HAL dancers were quite boring. We would skip out of the nightly shows if they were the only performers. The vintriloquist (sp) was hysterical!!! The other comedian and the magician were great too.

 

Kerry, let's play Bingo! Ok, so we played twice a day almost every day. My sister won twice and I never did but we had so much fun. Kerry was the funniest crew member on the ship and he always made fun of Ronin. Kerry and Ronin were both getting off of the ship when we did and were taking a break before going on another assignment so I'm sorry to say none of you will be able to enjoy their entertainment. They really made the entire cruise entertaining. They had an American Idol singing contest which sounded horrible when I walked by. I caught part of the recap on the tv and was cracking up. I heard Kerry had to drink alcohol before being the judge of it because the singing was so bad. So on tv there he was taking off his shirt flexing his muscles. I had to call my sister to get her to tune in because he was just being so funny.

 

I went to the Disco Dance room every night or should I say I walked through it every night. There was never anyone in there... not until the last night. They had karaoke and the room was quite packed. We had fun singing and afterwards it was dancing. I ended up getting everyone on the dance floor. Once the older crowd left, DJ Tyrone played modern hip hop music and that was the time that I discovered that there were 5 other people on the ship my age (27-32). They said they were in there every night around 11 pm until close, but I never saw them. Even Steve Gayda (Cruise Director) was in there dancing. That cracked me up because even though Steve is my age, he acts very proper for the mature crowd and didn't seem like he would by the type to have fun and get down. :)

 

My mom did the slot machine tournament and ended up winning $500 from it. She also put in $40 and got out $400 later in the week so definitely try out the slot machines. My husband and I did the face up blackjack and we do not recommend it. If we stayed we lost and if we hit we lost. $40 went by in less than 5 minutes.

 

On the last day we did the miniature golf game in the danceroom. You got 1 DAM dollar for participating. One thing to know is you can collect these DAM dollars for the sporting events and trade them in the last day. We didn't have a clue. So we showed up later that evening with our $2 and the lady let us trade it in for a $5 mousepad. She didn't care, she was just trying to get rid of her stuff. So go participate to get free stuff.

 

I feel for all of the pictures.. I must have spent over $100 in just pictures but they were all so good.

 

A hint regarding the spa. At the first art auction, they will do a bid for a facial. Whatever the highest bid is ($75 at ours) they will offer it to everyone who wants to purchase it at $75. It normally is $120 so it was a great deal! Also, as the week goes on, the prices go down. You'll get a neck and back massage for only $30 on the last day or so. And if you get a spa package you'll get a free 30 minute facial, so don't book anything until you get it. I want to say we got the free facial in our mailbox on Wednesday. I had already booked a facial so I never used it.

 

On the first day, get there early and go to the shows because they were giving away so many prizes. We had gotten there around 3 pm on the ship so we missed it all but I saw it on tv. They were giving away free spa packages, art, pictures, etc.

 

On the Glacier Bay day, they were giving out split pea soup and hot chocolate. On the Tracy Arm day, they were giving out raisin buns and hot chocolate on the observation deck (4). I thought the Crow's Nest everyone knew about but my family didn't discover it until the last day. It was always crowded in there anyways, so we never go a good leather black seat.

 

Trivia occurs in the library every day. There are 20 questions to answer on different topics and they post the winner at 3 pm. My dad won one day and my husband another. You don't win much besides a key chain or a luggage band, but it's fun playing.

 

Disembarkation was the best I'ver ever seen. You can actually stay in your stateroom until it's time to leave. I've never seen that before. We actually woke up 3 minutes before they called our number. Just walked off the ship and that was it. Super easy but sad to leave. That's all I can think of for now. If you have questions, let me know.

 

Forgot to mention that it seems like the Zuiderdam has priority docking at the ports because we had the best spot out of all of the other ships in port. I was impressed!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the review - glad you had a good time.

 

Great picture of Hunky Dory.

[lkmamom]

Thanks so much for your review. We are also sailing with HAL for the first time and so it is great to have your ideas from that point of view.

 

I do have a question. What time did you embark, or do you suggest a particular time? We will be staying in VanCouver so it should not be a problem. We cannot decide whether or not to spend some extra time walking around VanCouver a while or just getting on the ship.

 

Thanks again, great review and I cannot wait to meet Hunky Dory!

Linda

[HALOnlyCruiser]

Hi Risa,

Thank you for the good review! Sounds like you had a super time, and I'm glad!

Question about them taking your picture and the side view, etc.: Do they take your picture like a driver's license for photo ID, so that you don't have to haul out a photo ID when you reboard the ship? Sounds like an idea they should have thought of a long time ago!

Ikmamom: You should walk around Vancouver before you embark if you have the time. Gas Town is not far from Canada Place, and just a couple of blocks away from the pier is the area with shopping and historic buildings. There is a Visitor's Center across from the Pan Pacific with maps, etc. Also, under the Pan Pacific (down escalator near the front door) is an underground "mall" with restaurants and shops. Try Humpty Dumpty Ketchup potato chips! They are not available in the States, and I stock up on every trip! If HAL booked your hotel, they will take you on a bus tour of the city before dropping you off at the pier (even if your hotel is at the pier!) Enjoy your cruise!

[waterbug1]

Thank you for your enthusiastic reviews both here and on the Alaska board! They were full of great tips and fun to read. My cousin will be taking this same cruise on the same ship in September. It will be her first HAL cruise and I am going to forward your reviews to her. She was reading the HAL board for a while but stopped because she thought that it was too cliquish and some of the threads were getting too intense and nasty. She was afraid that all the negativity was going to sour her on HAL. I told her that I thought that while yes, it is true that there seems to be quite a clique happening here, that nevertheless, the people were really very knowledgeable. I think that the folks here are eager to share their experiences and really want to be helpful. I have gotten some great tips from reading these boards and I think that most of the posters are very friendly. Your posts have great energy, are upbeat and are well balanced. I am hoping that when she reads them, she will venture back. Thanks for posting!:D

[cruisequeen10]

First things first. Number one priority - get on the ship early. I am planning on arriving at the pier at 11:00 a.m. (July 8). It might be a bit early, but I want to have lunch on the ship. I live real close (walking distance if not raining and taxi/newphew driving if raining).

[trixiee]

Thanks for the great review! Wow just 23 more days 'til we're there! Hoo Ha!

 

When you say, "On the first day, get there early and go to the shows because they were giving away so many prizes. We had gotten there around 3 pm on the ship so we missed it all but I saw it on tv. They were giving away free spa packages, art, pictures, etc." Which room are you talking about? The main theatre? I sure would love to win a free spa package!!

[risa00]

Definitely tour around Vancouver as the city has lots to see. I'm not sure what time the free give away show starts but it was in the Vista Lounge at the front of the ship. It was funny because they were replaying it on tv and my mom didn't realize that and was walking around the ship trying to find out where the give aways were happening at. :) I did hear him say that they would be allowed to go to their staterooms later so this was before the rooms were ready. When we arrived at 3 pm, we were able to go straight to the rooms. Anyways, for the free stuff he was having them provide items to win the prizes, such as the first person to show George Washington or a picture of their pets gets it. I'm wanting to say he also threw something in the audience and whoever caught it won a prize. So go to the 2nd floor and go down the stairs to the front of the stage.

 

As for the picture id, yes it is for the ship to visually see that you are the right person coming on board. You do need to bring with you a picture ID in case people off of the ship ask for it. I had the main desk copy my passport so I brought that with me when I left the ship so I didn't have to bring my passport. There's a safe in your closet so you can lock all of that stuff up for the entire trip.

[cruisequeen10]

Risa00

 

I enjoyed your review. 30 more days to go before we board the ship. One question, where does the ship dock in Skagway. Is it right beside the train tracks (WP&Y) or is it aways away.

[Atomica]

Thanks for the great review!

 

Now if I can only wait 106 more days...lol!

[risa00]

My picture is not working.. Let me try again.

 

[trixiee]

Great Pic!