Zuiderdam Alaska Cruise Chronicle and Review -- Long

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thank you for your detailed and often funny review. I enjoyed it, and learned that kayaking is not in my future, either. And I'm only 5 feet 4 inches tall.

 

Mrs M

 

Don't write it off completely. In warm waters, they don't "skirt" you in. They use completely diffferent kayaks. If you're ever in St Thomas and looking for a nice water excursion, check out the virgin islands eco-tours. That's good kayaking,

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thanks so much for your detailed and entertaining review. We are doing the same itinerary on the same ship, but in the suite on the opposite corner (4180) in September. We will have a group of 6 helping us celebrate our retirement.

 

How did you get to Vancouver? I know you were there for a couple of days....did you fly in? Take the train from Seattle? We are scheduled to take the train from Seattle, so I'm curious.....

 

I am thrilled to hear that you had such a great time. I am with you on the kayaking.....not fun! Just don't like being "skirted' into something that is not all that stable in the water. Makes me REALLY claustrophobic just thinking about it.

 

You make the thermal spa sound fabulous.....I am SO tempted! Again, thanks for the review.

 

Which sailing are you on? We're on the last one, and continuing on to San Francisco.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I had wanted to try Alaskan Brewing Company's Smoked Porter for years. It is not the first smoked beer I'd tried, though. I tried rauch beer, a style of smoked beer from Bamburg, Germany a number of years ago. I've been wanting to compare the two styles for a long time.

 

Alaskan Smoked Porter is smoked in the same smokehouse that they smoke salmon, using the same kind of wood, alder. As a result, some people think it sort of tastes like salmon. I did not find that to be my experience, however. Some also think it tastes like bacon. I would more agree with that assessment.

 

The smoke sort of makes it a little phenolic. It is also a little harsh, though not as harsh as rauch beer. The taste was sort of like coffee, and chocolate, in addition to the smoke.

 

I have to admit, it kind of wrecked my palate. When I tried any beer after I drank that one, all I tasted was smoke.

 

I am glad I tried it. I'm not sure, however, if I could drink a whole pint.

 

Thanks for the beer info. We're taking a tour that includes the brewery. Beer that tastes like bacon! Wow, two good tastes in one!!!!

[SweetpeaOne]

Very nice review. Thanks for sharing.

[larsenbiz]

Great review, hon. I wish we were back on the balcony sipping coffee. This was one of the best trips we've had !

[J & G]

Which sailing are you on? We're on the last one, and continuing on to San Francisco.

 

We are on the one right before you. We will be getting off as you are getting on.....can we stow away in your luggage and make it a B2B? :o

[3rdGenCunarder]

We are on the one right before you. We will be getting off as you are getting on.....can we stow away in your luggage and make it a B2B? :o

 

Wish I could, but the way I pack, there isn't room for a mouse to hide, much less two people!

 

Let's hope Alaska has a beautiful September!

[J & G]

Wish I could, but the way I pack, there isn't room for a mouse to hide, much less two people!

 

Let's hope Alaska has a beautiful September!

 

Darn! Well, it was a thought!

 

Yes, let's keep our fingers crossed for beautiful weather in September. Texas will be sweltering, so any place cool will be looking good.....

[IRL_Joanie]

What an awesome review!!! I am so looking forward to this same cruise in September 2011.

 

You've answered many of the questions hubby and I both had regarding the scenery for the Inside Passage:)

 

Only question I have now is do you have any photos that I can use for the HAL Stateroom/Cabins Pages??

 

Joanie

[hunahpu]

What an awesome review!!! I am so looking forward to this same cruise in September 2011.

 

You've answered many of the questions hubby and I both had regarding the scenery for the Inside Passage:)

 

Only question I have now is do you have any photos that I can use for the HAL Stateroom/Cabins Pages??

 

Joanie

 

Sorry, we took no photos of the stateroom for this trip. We should have taken some, but we realized that we did not get any when we got back and went through our pics.

[Sailkeywest]

No photos? Ack! Ah well, thanks for making a beautiful and detailed review.

 

I do have another question, regarding this statement:

 

"Day two was a sea day. We traveled up the Inside Passage. Unlike some of our previous cruises down south, which overlooked endless sea, we were very close to land most of the way on this trip. We were so close, in fact, that it almost looked like you could jump in and swim to shore. We spent a lot of time this day on our balcony watching the scenery go by."

 

I am assuming from that statement that you were on the Port side? Do you think that you had a preference for one side of the boat rather than the other? Thanks again

[hunahpu]

No photos? Ack! Ah well, thanks for making a beautiful and detailed review.

 

I do have another question, regarding this statement:

 

"Day two was a sea day. We traveled up the Inside Passage. Unlike some of our previous cruises down south, which overlooked endless sea, we were very close to land most of the way on this trip. We were so close, in fact, that it almost looked like you could jump in and swim to shore. We spent a lot of time this day on our balcony watching the scenery go by."

 

I am assuming from that statement that you were on the Port side? Do you think that you had a preference for one side of the boat rather than the other? Thanks again

 

We were actually on the starboard side, in an aft corner suite. Land was pretty close on both sides of the ship through the Inside Passage and Tracy Arm, so there was no preference there. When we were in Glacier Bay, though, we always approached the glaciers from the port side, so we could not see them until they peeked around the back of the ship. We would drift near the glaciers in kind of a circle, so eventually both sides got a good view.

[cruiserkathi]

Enjoyed your review. We'll be sailing to Alaska next week on the Zuiderdam -- our first time with HAL. Tell me more about the thermal suite in the spa. Can you book ahead of time or do you need to wait until you're on-board? Sounds wonderful.

[hunahpu]

Enjoyed your review. We'll be sailing to Alaska next week on the Zuiderdam -- our first time with HAL. Tell me more about the thermal suite in the spa. Can you book ahead of time or do you need to wait until you're on-board? Sounds wonderful.

 

I am not sure that you can book the thermal suit before the cruise. The way we did it is we took the spa tour the day we boarded. During the tour, you can check out the thermal suite and hydrotherapy pool. They offered specials for the whole week if you signed up that day. However, I think you can do it for just a day if you do not want it for the whole week. Don't quote me on that, though.

 

The way it works is this: When you want to use it, you drop off your room key at the front desk. They then give you a key card to the thermal suite and hydrotherapy pool, along with a key to one of the lockers in the changing room.

 

After changing into a swimsuit, robe, and slippers, you go to the thermal suite and see if a chair is available. Every time we went, there was no wait. There is a sign up that says that the time limit is 20 minutes during peak times.

 

As I said in my review, there are six heated tile mosaic chairs curved like a human spine facing a large window looking out starboard on the ship. In the center of the room are four basins trickling water to add white noise. That is mixed with soft spa music.

 

Basically, you lounge on one of the chairs feeling the heat radiate up through the chair, watching water go by. It is very relaxing.

 

Near back of the room there are doors to a steam room and sauna. There is also a shelf with towels, along with a place to put them when you are done.

 

The hydrotherapy pool is down the hall. That consists of a pool with two water spouts on either side of the pool, jetting high pressure water. In the center, between the spouts, there is a bubble chamber that is like a hot tub. A button on the side of the pool turns on the bubbles. On one end of the pool there is a lounge area in the water, with bubbles coming up from the bottom. Above the pool is a large skylight. I should point out that the water in the pool is chlorinated, unlike other pools in the ship.

 

This room also has a shelf with towels. There are also shower stalls to rinse off when you are done.

 

When you are done, you drop off the key card and key, and get your room key back. That is all there is to it.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Day passes are available to the thermal suites - $20.00 per day. I'd recommend doing it by the day rather than a weekly pass - particularly for Alaska. You are so busy in ports during the day, then getting back on board to go to dinner, there isn't any time to use the suites. If you get a day pass on a sea day or on a short port time afternoon, you'll be fine. We had two friends on our Amsterdam 14 day Alaska cruise on May 31st who both got the two week pass, and ended up only using it two or three times throughout the whole cruise - certainly didn't get their money's worth!

[IRL_Joanie]

[quote name='hunahpu']I am not sure that you can book the thermal suit before the cruise. The way we did it is we took the spa tour the day we boarded. During the tour, you can check out the thermal suite and hydrotherapy pool. They offered specials for the whole week if you signed up that day. However, I think you can do it for just a day if you do not want it for the whole week. Don't quote me on that, though.

The way it works is this: When you want to use it, you drop off your room key at the front desk. [U][FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=3][COLOR=Black][B] (JOANIE'S NOTE: I think you mean the Spa Front Desk, not the Main Ship Front Desk)[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/U]They then give you a key card to the thermal suite and hydrotherapy pool, along with a key to one of the lockers in the changing room.

After changing into a swimsuit, robe, and slippers, you go to the thermal suite and see if a chair is available. Every time we went, there was no wait. There is a sign up that says that the time limit is 20 minutes during peak times.

As I said in my review, there are six heated tile mosaic chairs curved like a human spine facing a large window looking out starboard on the ship. In the center of the room are four basins trickling water to add white noise. That is mixed with soft spa music.

Basically, you lounge on one of the chairs feeling the heat radiate up through the chair, watching water go by. It is very relaxing.

Near back of the room there are doors to a steam room and sauna. There is also a shelf with towels, along with a place to put them when you are done.

The hydrotherapy pool is down the hall. That consists of a pool with two water spouts on either side of the pool, jetting high pressure water. In the center, between the spouts, there is a bubble chamber that is like a hot tub. A button on the side of the pool turns on the bubbles. On one end of the pool there is a lounge area in the water, with bubbles coming up from the bottom. Above the pool is a large skylight. I should point out that the water in the pool is chlorinated, unlike other pools in the ship.

This room also has a shelf with towels. There are also shower stalls to rinse off when you are done.

When you are done, you drop off the key card and key, and get your room key back. That is all there is to it.[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2][COLOR=Blue][B]Photos of the Thermal Suite with the loungers and also the Hydro Therapy Pool are located here: [URL]http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/Zuiderdam/index.html[/URL]

Joanie[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[hunahpu]

[quote name='IRL_Joanie'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=2][COLOR=Blue][B]Photos of the Thermal Suite with the loungers and also the Hydro Therapy Pool are located here: [URL]http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/Zuiderdam/index.html[/URL]

Joanie[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

Yes, I meant that you drop off your stateroom key at the [I]spa's front desk[/I] (not the ship's front desk) and pick up the key card to the thermal suite and hydrotherapy pool, and the key to your locker. Sorry for the confusion.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.