Zaandam alaska sept 18 - not a review

[Himself]

If you do go again to Alaska do it in June or July.

[Himself]

I was just thinking about this whole fiasco. I have been on HAL ships since November of 1996. I have had a few cruises in rough seas. I have seen outside decks closed. I have been in Gale force winds a couple of times. In late May of 1991 I was on the gulf of Alaska coming out of Sitka in quite rough seas. However, the cruise line cannot control the weather. I was on the AMSTERDAM in July. I heard from some crew that the previous cruise was rough. We had beautiful weather for two weeks.

 

When I hear that some wanted to stiff the crew over the weather I think it is crazy. I am sorry some had a bad experience but that does happen. I have seen real bad weather on about five voyages. However, the rest have been very nice. I have had well over thirty voyages. So, there you have it. I am glad you were more understanding than some.

With the exception of 2003, I have been to Alaska every year since 1997.

[DFD!]

Thanks, Startwin. Good report. I like your attitude. Your writing style is also fun to read. We did this cruise same week two years ago and had magnificent weather. You just never know. Weather in Alaska has a mind of its own.

 

The Brits should not have had the tips removed because of the weather. Sounds like an excuse to me. Europeans don't quite like our uniquely American tipping traditions.

 

Thanks again for your report.

 

IMO

[startwin]

I don't want to sound like I'm Brit-bashing (I am also a Brit now living in Canada), as there were other nationals also complaining loud and long. But there was a very large group from the UK onboard so we heard lots of comments from them. There were also some long-time cruisers from the US who felt that the captain was overly-cautious and they felt cheated too. I was just happy to be safe, and still being pampered:) and yes I would still cruise to Alaska in September - on previous cruises at that time we have enjoyed great weather. It's a crap-shoot no matter what month you go.

[tcook052]

umm bad travel agent?:mad:

 

Please don't continue the scapegoating by trying to blame a TA.

[Frankie Sue]

My sister and I were on the Zuiderdam from Sept. 17 to Sept. 24. We also experienced really, really heavy seas; so much so that there was lots of broken plates, dishes, etc... in Lido, bars, and even some display cabinets in the shop area got broken. It was quite scary but we were later told by our captain that of all the ships in the area, we were the only one to make all our ports. Maybe our timing was just right. At any rate, the bad weather did not dilute the beauty of Alaska, nor our enjoyment at all we did and saw. We would return to Alaska in a heartbeat.

[mlprahl]

So sorry to hear about the weather. My friends were with you - they mentioned receiving 25% cash back from this cruise and 50% off a future HAL cruise. Hopefully you got some form of compensation! Your attitude about the whole situation was so much better than what my friends had told me about other passengers aboard.

[IRL_Joanie]

......

 

UPDATENo Ketchikan.... too dangerous to dock. Foul weather out there. No idea what is happening with our stranded pax who were to join us in Ketchikan, but I am sure HAL will take good care of them. Darn, really should have completed my shopping in Skagway, LOL. I think they should print t-shirts with I SURVIVED ALASKA SEPT 18-25

 

I am reading your Non Review with avid interest!!

 

I am so sorry that you had to forgo so many places. At least you got to get into Tracy Arms part way. We did not go into it at all last week since we lost so much time on Saturday because of the storms. Luckily for hubby and I we were able to get into it the 1st week, but only to the Huge Waterfalls.

 

I have one question about your passengers.... Were a VAST majority of them British and Australians?? Both weeks of ours the passengers were 1700+ British and Australians on a 4 week vacation tours, 3 weeks land vacation across Canada with 1 week of cruising. And many of them were HEAVY smokers and drinkers who could care less for their fellow passengers:( The Canadians and Americans were decent and respectful. But those few (and I do mean very few) Brits and Aussies gave a bad rep for the rest:(

 

I want one of those T'shirts!!!!!!!!!

 

OK, time to go and read some more:)

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

Too bad that the group "stiffed" the crew who probably did lots of extra work since everyone was penned up inside. If anything they deserved extra. But then some people will use any excuse to save some money. A trip from H*** is when the ship sinks!!!

 

Susan

 

Susan, I agree 100% with you!! To me on the Zuiderdam it was definitely time to make Lemonade and I did!!

 

Great to hear so many others did the same:)

 

H*** did not happen and all I can say is that if people love Roller Coaster rides as much as I do, then try and book the last week of September, you may get as lucky as I did:D IT WAS A BLAST!!!

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

My sister and I were on the Zuiderdam from Sept. 17 to Sept. 24. We also experienced really, really heavy seas; so much so that there was lots of broken plates, dishes, etc... in Lido, bars, and even some display cabinets in the shop area got broken. It was quite scary but we were later told by our captain that of all the ships in the area, we were the only one to make all our ports. Maybe our timing was just right. At any rate, the bad weather did not dilute the beauty of Alaska, nor our enjoyment at all we did and saw. We would return to Alaska in a heartbeat.

Was it not fun?? I loved every second of it on Zuiderdam!!

 

Did you see the Lido Display case they had to tie down on the Aft Lido area because of the weather??

 

I am with Annette and you and many others who would do it again in a heartbeat!! What a vacation:D:D

 

What an experience we have to tell for the rest of our lives:D

 

We survived September Alaska 2011!!

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

So sorry to hear about the weather. My friends were with you - they mentioned receiving 25% cash back from this cruise and 50% off a future HAL cruise. Hopefully you got some form of compensation! Your attitude about the whole situation was so much better than what my friends had told me about other passengers aboard.

Compensation for what???? Having an experience of a lifetime?? Sorry but for me, I never once thought of compensation. Heck I thought I should be paying more for the extraordinary memories:)

 

Just hearing hubby's words over and over in my head after the first storm on Sunday, when the weather calmed down of, "I was ready to grab my cell phone and call May Day!! May Day!!" was absolutely priceless to me:D

 

Joanie

[Copper10-8]

................. While waiting to disembark this morning one member of the Brit group told me they had their tips removed from their onboard account, and are lobbying for their money back.

 

 

Some conflicting opinions on missing Tracy Arm and Ketchikan. Quite a few people felt the captain "wimped out" in not going further into Tracy Arm to the glaciers, and also in not docking at Ketchikan. However, we did hear reports that the NCI Pearl tried to dock there and did mega-bucks of damage. Will take a look at their forum and see if there's anything about it there.

 

...................

 

Thanks for taking the time and effort to write a report, very interesting read!

So the ZADM captain, a highly respected individual with 21 years experience at sea with HAL, "wimped out" according to those rocket scientists! Of course if their ship had sustained damage in Tracy Arm or at the Ketchikan dock with all kinds of negative consequences, they'd really be crying! Brilliant!:rolleyes:

Btw, Zaandam is due for drydock at Esquimalt, BC on Vancouver island from 09-23 April 2012 for standard maintenance and upkeep

[startwin]

So sorry to hear about the weather. My friends were with you - they mentioned receiving 25% cash back from this cruise and 50% off a future HAL cruise. Hopefully you got some form of compensation! Your attitude about the whole situation was so much better than what my friends had told me about other passengers aboard.

 

I am not looking for compensation, and I have to wonder for what reason anyone got compensated, other than the pax that were left in Skagway. But if some people are getting it why not everyone????

 

BTW, you haven't lived until you've been on a treadmill at the very front and on the top deck of the ship during a hurricane!!!

[startwin]

I am reading your Non Review with avid interest!!

 

I am so sorry that you had to forgo so many places. At least you got to get into Tracy Arms part way. We did not go into it at all last week since we lost so much time on Saturday because of the storms. Luckily for hubby and I we were able to get into it the 1st week, but only to the Huge Waterfalls.

 

I have one question about your passengers.... Were a VAST majority of them British and Australians?? Both weeks of ours the passengers were 1700+ British and Australians on a 4 week vacation tours, 3 weeks land vacation across Canada with 1 week of cruising. And many of them were HEAVY smokers and drinkers who could care less for their fellow passengers:( The Canadians and Americans were decent and respectful. But those few (and I do mean very few) Brits and Aussies gave a bad rep for the rest:(

 

I want one of those T'shirts!!!!!!!!!

 

OK, time to go and read some more:)

 

Joanie

 

Yes the passengers were mostly Australian and Brit - that's usual for the last Alaska cruise of the season, because the Zaandam then goes goes south and they stay on.

 

As for the smoking, the biggest culprits turned out to be Americans - sorry - and one guy in particular who smoked those very strong American cigarettes that are like thin cigars, on the promenade deck constantly... and threw his butts overboard. Most of the smoking Brits and Aussies congregated in the Sports Lounge. However, apart from the complainers, most of them were a lot of fun.

[riz]

Final report unless anyone has any questions....

 

We got some good weather at last yesterday, sailing down the inside passage, and the rise in temp was very noticable when going to the outside decks. Some were calling it the cruise from hell, but I still had a good time:D While waiting to disembark this morning one member of the Brit group told me they had their tips removed from their onboard account, and are lobbying for their money back.

 

I never intended on doing a "live from...." account, but the way things unfolded I knew you guys would be interested.

 

Some conflicting opinions on missing Tracy Arm and Ketchikan. Quite a few people felt the captain "wimped out" in not going further into Tracy Arm to the glaciers, and also in not docking at Ketchikan. However, we did hear reports that the NCI Pearl tried to dock there and did mega-bucks of damage. Will take a look at their forum and see if there's anything about it there.

 

I don't think we will do Alaska again, but only because we've done it enough times. But if we did, I'd still pick the same week.... the weather this time was very unusual.

 

Oh, and to finish things off, today was probably the busiest day of the year at the Port of Vancouver, 3 ships at Canada Place and 3 over at Ballantyne.

 

By the way.... did I mention the crew??? Fabulous, and I think the happiest crew of all the HAL ships I have been on.

 

We were on the Pearl this past week - we saw both the Zaandam and Princess follow us to Ketchikan but then leave. We were able to make it into Ketchikan with no problems - the weather really settled once we were coser to the port - so no mega bucks of damage or any incident to report.

 

Certainly an interesting week to say the least. We only missed our last stop of Victoria - but also left passengers stranded in Skagway and picked them up from the ranger station the next day after Glacier Bay.

[startwin]

We were on the Pearl this past week - we saw both the Zaandam and Princess follow us to Ketchikan but then leave. We were able to make it into Ketchikan with no problems - the weather really settled once we were coser to the port - so no mega bucks of damage or any incident to report.

 

Certainly an interesting week to say the least. We only missed our last stop of Victoria - but also left passengers stranded in Skagway and picked them up from the ranger station the next day after Glacier Bay.

 

Your comment about the Pearl going into Ketchikan is very interesting, as our cruise director made the announcement about the Pearl doing mega damage on trying to dock there. Some people we were at the show with said they didn't believe it, and that the captain and CD were trying to justify us missing the port after much complaining from the pax. When I got home I tried googling and got absolutely no reports on such an event.

 

Also of interest today, a report from someone on the Zuiderdam that they were told they were the only ship able to keep to their itinerary.... and we were also told the same thing - prior to Ketchikan. It seems every ship was the "only one" able to make all ports, LOL.

[riz]

Your comment about the Pearl going into Ketchikan is very interesting, as our cruise director made the announcement about the Pearl doing mega damage on trying to dock there. Some people we were at the show with said they didn't believe it, and that the captain and CD were trying to justify us missing the port after much complaining from the pax. When I got home I tried googling and got absolutely no reports on such an event.

 

Also of interest today, a report from someone on the Zuiderdam that they were told they were the only ship able to keep to their itinerary.... and we were also told the same thing - prior to Ketchikan. It seems every ship was the "only one" able to make all ports, LOL.

 

Lol...it's like the cruse lines don't realize we all "talk" :D

 

Ketchikan - once away from the open water where we left the two other ships was quite calm but very rainy and did get a bit choppy off and on throughout the day (nothing compared to the rest of the cruise) - we actually got a much longer port stop and the harbor master was out on the pier most of the day to shake hands and wish us all well as he was saying this was the last cruise stop of the season.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Your comment about the Pearl going into Ketchikan is very interesting, as our cruise director made the announcement about the Pearl doing mega damage on trying to dock there. Some people we were at the show with said they didn't believe it, and that the captain and CD were trying to justify us missing the port after much complaining from the pax. When I got home I tried googling and got absolutely no reports on such an event.

 

Also of interest today, a report from someone on the Zuiderdam that they were told they were the only ship able to keep to their itinerary.... and we were also told the same thing - prior to Ketchikan. It seems every ship was the "only one" able to make all ports, LOL.

 

Sounds about right. Tell the customer what they want to hear.

[jayteeaitch]

Yes the passengers were mostly Australian and Brit - that's usual for the last Alaska cruise of the season, because the Zaandam then goes goes south and they stay on.

 

As for the smoking, the biggest culprits turned out to be Americans - sorry - and one guy in particular who smoked those very strong American cigarettes that are like thin cigars, on the promenade deck constantly... and threw his butts overboard. Most of the smoking Brits and Aussies congregated in the Sports Lounge. However, apart from the complainers, most of them were a lot of fun.

 

I think you just avoided WWIII - in the Pacific - :eek::eek:

 

Thanks for what review you got the chance to do - she makes her first trip to Australia and NZ in Dec. - and we are looking forward to it in our dotage.

[ScottishMaid]

Btw, Zaandam is due for drydock at Esquimalt, BC on Vancouver island from 09-23 April 2012 for standard maintenance and upkeep

 

???? Hal is advertizing a 22 day cruise April 15, 2012 Kobe to Vancouver and there is a CC roll call for it. That's after a private charter April 1, 2012

[Copper10-8]

???? Hal is advertizing a 22 day cruise April 15, 2012 Kobe to Vancouver and there is a CC roll call for it. That's after a private charter April 1, 2012

 

You're correct, thanks! Looks like her drydock got moved to OCT, after next year's Alaska season

[startwin]

I think you just avoided WWIII - in the Pacific - :eek::eek:

 

Thanks for what review you got the chance to do - she makes her first trip to Australia and NZ in Dec. - and we are looking forward to it in our dotage.

 

Thanks.... I try to be diplomatic:D

 

It wasn't meant to be a review at all, just responses to comments recently made, and then it just kind of grew due to the weather issues.

 

Overall though, great ship, fantastic crew - the happiest crew of all the HAL ships I've been on - and definitely some refurbishing needed, but nothing that detracts from the enjoyment.

 

And I should have mentioned David in the Piano Bar - a great entertainer and he had the place packed every night.

[startwin]

So sorry to hear about the weather. My friends were with you - they mentioned receiving 25% cash back from this cruise and 50% off a future HAL cruise. Hopefully you got some form of compensation! Your attitude about the whole situation was so much better than what my friends had told me about other passengers aboard.

 

I did enquire through my TA, and was told no one on the Zaandam received any compensation, but that passengers on the Statendam did because they missed every port. Which ship were your friends on?

[Hap]

My sister and I were on the Zuiderdam from Sept. 17 to Sept. 24. We also experienced really, really heavy seas; so much so that there was lots of broken plates, dishes, etc... in Lido, bars, and even some display cabinets in the shop area got broken. It was quite scary but we were later told by our captain that of all the ships in the area, we were the only one to make all our ports. Maybe our timing was just right. At any rate, the bad weather did not dilute the beauty of Alaska, nor our enjoyment at all we did and saw. We would return to Alaska in a heartbeat.

 

That's not true. We were on Celebrity Infinity Sept. 16 to 26 during this storm and we made all our ports including going all the way to the glacier in Tracy Arms Fjord.

[vbmom87]

That's not true. We were on Celebrity Infinity Sept. 16 to 26 during this storm and we made all our ports including going all the way to the glacier in Tracy Arms Fjord.

 

What are you saying is not true?