Back from Inside Passage on Zuiderdam, June 13th departure

[papergypsy]

Just a quick report on our Inside Passage cruise on the Zuiderdam last week. It was our first cruise ever, and so we had no lofty pre-conceived ideas of what to expect – maybe that is why we had such a good time. I would like to start off by saying that if one buys into the urban legend that a cruise is a luxurious, First Class experience with divine food and attentive, personalized service at every turn – well, you are setting yourself up to be sorely disappointed. And yes, I did meet some of those people on this cruise. Some had never cruised before and had been sold a bill of goods by friends and/or their travel agent, and they thought they would be getting something far different than what they did get. Others were older couples who had last cruised 15 or more years ago, when I believe the industry (and the world in general) was very different. I feel very badly for everyone who did not experience what they were expecting.

Because my husband and I have each flown way too many miles on international business trips for the last 15 years, we figured a cruise would be the most relaxing way to see the beauty of Alaska. Because there would be 3 of us (hubby, 17 year old daughter and myself) who would need to endure a week of close quarters with one another, we booked a Superior Veranda Suite as we had heard from a friend that the sofa bed would not be a bad night’s sleep for our daughter.

VANCOUVER

We cashed in frequent flyer miles to fly to Vancouver on Friday, where we also cashed in miles to stay at the Marriott Pinnacle. This is an excellent hotel, within easy walking distance (10 minutes) of Canada Place. The concierge level provides light snacks, drinks and desserts. We had a wonderful light dinner at Café Artigiano on Pender Street, on the back side of the hotel. The hotel is well placed if you want to pick up water or other last minute necessities. It is a 1 block walk to Urban Fare, similar to Whole Foods here in the U.S., and a 2 block walk to Shopper’s Drug Mart. We picked up two cases of 12 – 1 litre bottles of drinking water for $1.97 per case. This ended up being a much better deal than the bottled drinking water onboard the ship.

EMBARKATION

Saturday morning began with a quick and delicious breakfast at Moonpennie’s on Pender, then a quick trip back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head off to Canada Place. Luggage tags were available outside with the porters. We left the hotel at 11:00, and were on the ship with our carryon bags by 12:00. The lines were long, but everyone was moved along quite quickly. I was truly impressed with the way that the cruise ship industry can move that many people in such a short amount of time. The airlines have a lot to learn!

They do hand out the shopping coupon book free of charge as you are boarding, just before you get to the ship’s photographer that takes your group departure photo.

We got to our cabin by 2:00, and our luggage was delivered by 2:30.

We were to have left port at 5:00, but only got underway at 5:48. A passenger became ill and had to disembark, and so we had to wait for an ambulance to pick them up.

THE ZUIDERDAM

OK, I have read reviews of the ship that state she borders on everything from Las Vegas kitsch to Motel 6 bare bones. Brian and I felt that she reminded us of many of the European business class hotels that we have stayed in. The colors were a bit garish at times, but the art was amazing. The art deco and etched glass doors on the elevators were beautiful, and the fresh flower arrangements were a wonderful touch. There was always someone polishing the brass, vacuuming the carpets, dusting the statues or chipping paint on the deck. There is a lot of care taken with this ship, and the love shows.

There were large numbers of British and Australian passengers onboard, and they provided most of our entertainment. We met and talked to some very fascinating people. We also met some who did nothing but complain about Americans and America. Overall, the passengers appeared to be older. There were very few small children and maybe a few dozen teenagers onboard. Our daughter had hoped to meet up with the daughter of our meet and greet organizer, but we missed the meet and greet due to illness and had no way of later contacting the organizer.

OUR DIGS

Because we booked our SS so late, we received cabin 8052, below the Lido pool. After reading CC, I asked our TA to see about getting us another location, and 3 weeks before leaving we were offered an upgrade to an aft SC. Neither hubby nor I were too excited about this location, and so we turned it down and eventually received cabin 8072. This is just aft of the midship elevators, and under the Lido Restaurant. It was a great location for us, as it was quiet and afforded a smooth ride. Being only 1 floor below the Lido Restaurant, it was an easy jaunt for coffee, tea, lemonade, juice, cookies and snacks at any time of the day. Our daughter found it easy to zip up the stairs to pick up pizza and pasta any time she was hungry and not hanging out in the Crow’s Nest.

 

Our room stewards (Frans and Ari) were friendly and efficient. The room was always made up by the time we got back from breakfast, complete with a new towel animal every day. The fruit bowl and ice bucket were always filled and our flowers were always fresh. Megan told Frans how much she liked the monkey hanging on the coat hanger, so she had a new monkey hanging above her bed every day while I got the scorpion, crab, puppy, etc. on my bed.

Contrary to other reviews I have read, there were no problems with cleanliness, sanitation, wobbly floors or stained carpeting or furniture. Our cabin was spotless when we arrived and the staff kept it that way all week.

 

MEALS

We had fixed dining and were assigned to a table for 8 in Main Upper Dining. We did not feel that we were compatible with our group, and so asked for a smaller table. We ended up with the 3 of us at a table for 4, which was fine because I no longer had to explain to anyone why I was not wearing my jewelry (I was, I only wear my engagement and wedding rings) and why we were not putting away a mixed drink and a few glasses of wine at dinner (we choose to not drink).

If you get to eat at table 81 in the Upper Vista Dining Room, you will have the honor of being served by Ali and his assistant, Fery. They were really amazing. They were professional and yet personable at the same time – remembering that my husband was lactose intolerant and making meal suggestions accordingly. They also remembered to bring rice milk for his coffee every evening (they ran out of soy milk after the 3rd day). We were always greeted by name whenever we saw them on the ship or on land.

For the most part, the food was OK, with a few outstanding meals in the MDR. I did enjoy the prime rib and the roast lamb, found the King Crab to be over-rated and spongy. But that was to be expected as it is not King Crab season and what I was served was previously frozen. We are spoiled with fresh-off-the-boat Dungeness crab here in San Francisco, so it is hard to find any other crab to be equal. The French onion soup was amazing; as good as any I have eaten in Paris. Did I consider any of the meals to be worthy of the First Class Cuisine moniker? No, but then I did not expect the meals to be that great – if I am looking for a first class meal then I will book a reservation at a first class restaurant on shore. There is no way that any facility that cooks thousands of meals a day can provide that quality of meal.

We chose to take most of our meals in the Lido Restaurant because of the variety offered. Now I know that many of you consider the Lido restaurant to be the equivalent of cafeteria food, but it was not all that bad for what it is – a buffet. Yes, there were trays. And the lines moved quickly except for the omelet station at breakfast. We got to meet Okie-Dokie, who asked our names the first day and remembered it for the entire trip. One day he greeted someone in line behind us by name, and that couple later told us that they had met Okie-Dokie 3 years before. We were all amazed that he remembered them by name.

We also used the hamburger/taco bar station by the Lido Pool and room service for snacks. We did not attend any of the nightly (10:30) international snack buffets, except to take pictures of the dessert extravaganza.

ALASKA

We chose this ship and itinerary because it visited Glacier Bay. My husband and I talked about visiting the Alaskan Glaciers before we married 20 years ago. With fares being so good, we decided it was now the time to go. My husband was laid off from his job just a few weeks before we left, but we decided to not cancel even though we had full coverage “cancel for any reason” insurance. We are very glad that we decided to go, as Alaska was amazing.

We sailed up Tracy Arm before heading to Juneau. We did not get to Sawyer Glacier because of all the ice in the water, but the views from our veranda were breathtaking. Once we got to Juneau we visited Mendenhall Glacier and the Glacier Gardens, and both were gorgeous. The gardens were in full bloom, and it boggles the mind that they can pull this off despite the cool temperatures and rain.

We did not plan any excursions out of Skagway, as we were split on what we wanted to do. But I did find a great yarn store (Changing Threads) and quilt shop (Russian Tailor), so I left there a very happy camper. Skagway is a fun little town to walk around in, and lots of photo opportunities with totem poles, etc. The Museum was extremely interesting and was money well spent.

Glacier Bay was the high point of the trip. We were able to see a large calving and some seals. There was large brown bear sighted on the shore, and we must have spent at least 10 minutes watching him walk around and forage for berries. It was exciting to watch the Park Rangers disembark the ship onto their boat, and then we watched a huge pod of whales from our veranda for 15 minutes as we headed out to open water.

Ketchikan was another fun place to walk around. We made a point of avoiding the tourist-y shopping places. But we did find a good deal on a suitcase for our daughter at Tongass Traders. Her rolling duffel was destroyed during our plane trip and was falling apart at the seams as we boarded the Zuiderdam. The question was – new luggage or Duck Tape? The new luggage won out.

ENTERTAINMENT

We were not big on attending the nightly shows, but did attend the movies a couple of nights. Finally got to see Benjamin Button (yawn!). Did not go to the Casino, disco or the bars.

 

I did do the Microsoft Techspert classes, and totally enjoyed them. The software we worked with is easier to use than Adobe Photoshop, and has a lot of great capabilities. The instructor was easy to understand and very patient with those who were not computer savvy.

We also did a couple of the onboard tours and a session with the Party Planner. The library has some great books. Also those in Superior and Deluxe Veranda Suites get free DVD rentals from the DVD library – helped to soothe over a couple of hours of “I’m bored” time for daughter.

 

REALITY STRIKES (AKA DISEMBARK)

Because we were not leaving Vancouver the same day, we received a 9:40 disembark time. It was very convenient, as we were able to get up early to take pictures and eat breakfast, then went back to sleep for a couple of hours. Getting through customs was very fast, then we went back to the Marriott Pinnacle, arriving by 11:00 – along with lots of other cruise people. They must work very fast to get rooms ready, as we had a room at 11:00, even though check in is only 4:00.

 

VANCOUVER, AGAIN

Our niece lives in Vancouver North, so we took the Sea Bus across the bay to visit her after we dropped our luggage at the hotel. Sea Bus runs every 15 minutes and only cost us $2.75 per person (one way) on the week-end. We spent the afternoon with her and her family at Lonsdale Quay on the north shore, visiting shops, the farmer’s market and eating. It is a nice side trip for any visitor to Vancouver – the Sea Bus depot is just a few blocks from Canada Place.

We returned to Moneypennie’s for breakfast on Sunday morning, before heading off to the airport. It was very busy, but we were assured that our order would be out in 20 minutes. Still no food after 45 minutes, and we were running late for the airport, so we left without eating. Please make sure you leave plenty of time if you go on a Sunday morning, apparently it is VERY popular then.

Vancouver airport was an unbelievable zoo! We arrived at the United check in 2 ½ hours before our flight, then stood in very long lines for customs and security. We got to our gate just as they were calling our section for boarding. In all, it took 2 ¼ hours from taxi to plane.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. On our last cruise DH, also, spent a lot of time watching DVD's in our suite. He enjoyed the fantastic view of the ocean and just having a relaxing vacation.

[jeniferlyn]

Thanks for the wonderful review. I just changed my booking from the Seattle r/t on the Oosterdam to the Zuiderdam leaving from Vancouver. We are going next June. This will be our fifth cruise and I don't expect 5 star dining either on the ship. My thought is, I am not cooking or cleaning up the mess, so what's not to like??!! Did you notice if they had any spa specials during the week? We have never cruised on HAL or been to Alaska so I am looking forward to the beautiful scenery.

[jmps]

This is a wonderful review. Thanks for posting it. Glad to hear you also had a good time. Your take on just about everything was the same as ours.

 

Gosh, we probably were at Moneypennie's right around the same time on Saturday. We liked the feel of the place even if service was not speedy. We had breakfast there twice. I was trying to spot your family at the hotel.

 

I am really disappointed that front desk dropped the ball when you tried to contact us. This is the one service problem I have heard of. I really would have liked to meet you and your family. I do agree the worst part of the trip was the airport wait. I would for sure do US Direct from the pier if it is available.

 

Given this good first cruies experience would you consider another cruise to somewhere else?

[diathoney]

Thanks for the review! We're sailing on the Zuiderdam August 15th. Glad to hear you had a good cruise.

[Soundsgreat6]

yes, just a note for those travling back to U.S. From yvr make sure you have at least 3 hours before your plane departs. I used to travel to Florida from yvr on a regular basis. 2 times I missed my flight after arriving 2 hours before departure. The line up through customs is very long all the time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home.

Thank you for your review.

[papergypsy]

Thanks for the wonderful review. I just changed my booking from the Seattle r/t on the Oosterdam to the Zuiderdam leaving from Vancouver. We are going next June. This will be our fifth cruise and I don't expect 5 star dining either on the ship. My thought is, I am not cooking or cleaning up the mess, so what's not to like??!! Did you notice if they had any spa specials during the week? We have never cruised on HAL or been to Alaska so I am looking forward to the beautiful scenery.

 

I think you will enjoy the Zuiderdam, especially if you do not have any preconceived notions about the food - agree that there is a lot to like if you are not cooking and cleaning up the mess!

 

Great Spa specials during the week, especially the $99 special for in port days - I think it was an upper body massage, scalp massage, foot massage and mini facial. Every day we got a flyer noting the spa specials for the next day. There is spa tour and raffle on boarding day - they give away $500 in various spa treatments, including detox, metabolic analysis, massages, etc. I did not win anything that day, but they did call me on day 5 to say that they had a second drawing and that I had won 50% off any salon service and 25% off any "body" service (massage, etc.) I understand that this was done because there was not as much activity in the spa area as expected. If I had remembered to pack my bathing suit, I would have booked the hydrotherapy pool for the week. Expensive, but I think it would have been the height of luxury for me.

 

6 of the salon staff were from South Africa, so it was fun to speak with them throughout the week and find out the current situation back home. Although the level of personal violence has risen, they all agree that they will go back home when their contract is over. Made me miss the country a lot - I am ready to go back with them!

 

I am sure that you will love Alaska and the Inside Passage, and truly believe HAL is the best way to see it!

[papergypsy]

This is a wonderful review. Thanks for posting it. Glad to hear you also had a good time. Your take on just about everything was the same as ours.

 

Gosh, we probably were at Moneypennie's right around the same time on Saturday. We liked the feel of the place even if service was not speedy. We had breakfast there twice. I was trying to spot your family at the hotel.

 

I am really disappointed that front desk dropped the ball when you tried to contact us. This is the one service problem I have heard of. I really would have liked to meet you and your family. I do agree the worst part of the trip was the airport wait. I would for sure do US Direct from the pier if it is available.

 

Given this good first cruies experience would you consider another cruise to somewhere else?

 

Drat it all, John! I can't believe that we nearly made contact at Moneypennies! We really should have tried to connect our families at the hotel since we were both there at the same time. Yes, the front desk of the Z dropping the ball is the only major complaint from our side. We live and we learn.

 

I think we both had the same feelings about the cruise because it was honestly a good time. We went to see Alaska and the glaciers, not to have a cruise ship experience - and HAL delivered in spades! We chose HAL because it was highly recommended by friends, and we trust their opinions.

 

Brian wants to think about the Caribbean, but we know nothing about the various options (Western, Southern, Eastern). I would consider another trip to Alaska, maybe the 14 day round trip or one of the north or south bound cruises that includes Danali. We talked about Hawaii, but the ships spend too much time at sea and not enough in port for our liking. Plus I used to live on Honolulu and so we tend to spend our vacations in Hawaii in the smaller, non-touristy towns. This ship was not the destination for us, but a mode of transportation that afforded us the chance to see lots without having to pack and unpack every day.

 

So the short answer is yes, we would consider another cruise, and yes, it would need to be with HAL. And no, we would probably not take our daughter unless she brought a friend.

[papergypsy]

Thanks for the review! We're sailing on the Zuiderdam August 15th. Glad to hear you had a good cruise.

 

I hope you have a great time on the Zuiderdam. She is a fine ship with a great crew.

[hairbflo]

we are assigned room 8052 on the july 11 cruise. what is wrong with the room, I have not heard anything.

[papergypsy]

we are assigned room 8052 on the july 11 cruise. what is wrong with the room, I have not heard anything.

 

hairbflo - There is nothing "wrong" with the room that I am aware of. But reading posts here on CC, I read several comments that there is a possibility that you can hear the movement of tables and chairs early in the morning if you are in any room located under the Lido Pool. Since I am a light sleeper, we chose to see if there was another SS available after we turned down the SC.

 

8052 is close enough to the midship elevators without being so close that you will hear them making any noise. And you are relatively close to the stairs, should you need to make frequent snack raids at the Lido Restaurant.

 

If you think that there may be a problem, you can always check on the HAL site or ask your TA to see if there are any other SS cabins available. If not, I can tell you that you will be in for a wonderful cruise on the port side. It is the side where the Canandian and American Pilots embark and disembark, and it is really awe-inspiring to watch. They push the nose of their boat up against the Zuiderdam, and both vessels are moving at quite a clip. The pilots transfer between vessels by jumping onto rope ladders. It is scary to watch, especially the transfers late at night. And this will be happenning just underneath and a bit behind your veranda. You will also have a great views from this side when you dock.

[hairbflo]

ok thanks for clearing that up. feel much better now. cant wait to experience the wonders of Alaska

[Candy]

I hope you have a great time on the Zuiderdam. She is a fine ship with a great crew.

She is the BEST SHIP with the BEST CREW!

 

Candy