PHOTO REVIEW! Zuiderdam's Baltic Adventure

Thanks for the compliments my dear.

Ya know, silly me didn't take a photo of the view!! Such a dunce I was haha. Basically it is a floor to ceiling view straight out to the sea. However, if one stood directly at the window and looked down, one could see the metal bits that attached the lifeboats to the side of the ship. They were not visible when standing further back though nor when sitting on the bed and looking out.

So, a bit of a tunnel vision view but still good?

If you could book this cabin or a regular outside for the same price, which would you book? And why. Points for details!

So, a bit of a tunnel vision view but still good?

If you could book this cabin or a regular outside for the same price, which would you book? And why. Points for details!

For the same price I would definitely book this cabin over a standard outside on the lower decks. In fact, it is a category D so should be the same price as the other cat. D cabins anyways [i think these are the highest category of oceanviews on the Vista ships?]. My mother and her friend had the category D outside on Deck 1 and it was nice but the floor-to-ceiling window made ours feel bigger. Also, the placement of the bed against the wall rather than up to the window is preferable to me. The kicker is, there are only two of these cabins on each Vista ship. 4121 and the corresponding cabin on the port side. Also, our sofa was a bit smaller than the one in my mom's stateroom due to the layout of the the bed and such [more like a loveseat size] but that was okay for us.

Thanks for sharing your review and extra nice pics. I did this cruise in 2013 on the Ryndam and it is one of my personal best as well.

Thanks so much for doing this review. I really enjoyed reading your daily accounts and it brought back so many memories. We did this on the sister company. We went to Tivoli on our first night and sat and listened to an orchestra drinking a wonderful white wine in the park. We chatted to a Danish couple and exchanged "country" tidbits. Such a civilized way to enjoy a lovely summer evening! The only city we only found so-so was Berlin. We were not overjoyed and as you said, it was such a long journey. After reading what you did, that sounds wonderful. Thank you for bringing back some great memories!

What a great review, thank you, and for sharing your super photos.

Thanks so much for doing this review. I really enjoyed reading your daily accounts and it brought back so many memories. We did this on the sister company. We went to Tivoli on our first night and sat and listened to an orchestra drinking a wonderful white wine in the park. We chatted to a Danish couple and exchanged "country" tidbits. Such a civilized way to enjoy a lovely summer evening! The only city we only found so-so was Berlin. We were not overjoyed and as you said, it was such a long journey. After reading what you did, that sounds wonderful. Thank you for bringing back some great memories!

Thanks for reading. I'm so happy you enjoyed the review. Your evening in Tivoli sounds wonderful.

You've confirmed what I expected about Berlin. I would love to visit the city but I feel it warrants a land trip or perhaps a few days there pre or post cruise.

What a great review, thank you, and for sharing your super photos.

You are most welcome. Thanks for reading!!

Thanks for sharing your review and extra nice pics. I did this cruise in 2013 on the Ryndam and it is one of my personal best as well.

Thanks for reading!!

Lucky that you got to do this itinerary on Ryndam!! I would have actually preferred a smaller ship like that. I've sailed her sister Veendam and she remains my fave of the HAL ships I've sailed. Still, this itinerary is all about the ports.

Loved your reviews and photos! Am considering this trip next summer as the ports look wonderful. I'm wondering if you got visas for Russia or did Alla tours get them for you? I was told if you booked HAL excursions, you didn't need them. I would rather book private tours. Thanks!

Loved your reviews and photos! Am considering this trip next summer as the ports look wonderful. I'm wondering if you got visas for Russia or did Alla tours get them for you? I was told if you booked HAL excursions, you didn't need them. I would rather book private tours. Thanks!

Thanks for reading and I'm glad you found it helpful!

Alla took care of everything for us. We did not need to get Russian visas; we just presented our tour ticket with our passports each day [different ticket for each day that Alla emailed us in advance] to the immigration people. The first day, our passports were stamped going into Russia and again when "leaving" Russia back for the ship; we were also given an immigration card to carry with us to be handed back to them when we returned to the ship. The second day, they just looked at the passport and the ticket without stamping anything.

We disembarked the Z on May 29th after a 40 cruise. We visited all the same ports as you did but went to Berlin (which was well worth the drive). Your pictures and descriptions certainly brought back wonderful memories. You had the heat while we had the cold and snow (what a difference 2 weeks makes). We were very impressed with the Captain, officers and crew of the Z. Thanks for your wonderful review and happy cruising in the future.

We disembarked the Z on May 29th after a 40 cruise. We visited all the same ports as you did but went to Berlin (which was well worth the drive). Your pictures and descriptions certainly brought back wonderful memories. You had the heat while we had the cold and snow (what a difference 2 weeks makes). We were very impressed with the Captain, officers and crew of the Z. Thanks for your wonderful review and happy cruising in the future.

Thank you for reading and I'm glad I could help you relieve some good memories. The crew was indeed fantastic on the Z. Happy future cruising to you as well.

Thank you so much for the review and the photos (especially photos of pastries)! I can't wait to go on this cruise... someday. Question for you, don't most people go from Kiel to Hamburg? Any reason you chose not to?

Thanks!

Thank you so much for the review and the photos (especially photos of pastries)! I can't wait to go on this cruise... someday. Question for you, don't most people go from Kiel to Hamburg? Any reason you chose not to?

 

Thanks!

You are very welcome! Thank you for reading. I hope you get to take this cruise soon; the itinerary is absolutely amazing.

In regards to Kiel, I would say [at least among the people I spoke with] that more people went to Lubeck than to Hamburg. A good number did go to Hamburg though and those I spoke with enjoyed it. I spoke to a few people who stayed in Kiel as well and they were not as thrilled with their choice unless their only goal was to have a change of pace and eat dinner ashore. We called on a Sunday and the city was basically a ghost town before noon and after 5 [we were in Lubeck during the middle of the day so I can't comment but I know many shops are closed on Sundays in general]. There were some restaurants and pubs open but it seems like a rather boring city [though I did like getting to see Ernst Barlach's cool Geistkämpfer sculpture outside St. Nicholas Church].

The main reason we chose Lubeck over Hamburg was that we felt it could be better explored in a short day. Hamburg is a little further and it's a huge city [2nd biggest in Germany I believe] so would be more difficult to really get a proper taste of it. Also, Hamburg is a pretty big hub so the chances that I'll make it there at some other point in my life are greater than those of making it to Lubeck again. Secondly, this trip was already scheduled to be VERY busy so we thought a small town would be a nice way to start before all the large, busy cities to come. Lastly, I knew about the Niederegger marzipan shop in Lubeck in advance of our trip and I LOVE marzipan!! HAHA.

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks! Looking forward to your Konigsdam photo review!

Hi, I saved this post so I could refer back, but most of the photos aren't showing up! Do you have a link to them in a different place? Thank you!