LIVE - Zaandam Asia Explorer February 5-19

[rafinmd]

I would normally wait for Carol's Bon Voyage to start this thread but I have printed my boarding pass and am leaving home today. I will be at an airport tonight and tomorrow will be a difficult day.

 

I leave BWI at 7AM for Toronto, Tokyo, and Singapore. I have 22:20 airborne and another 6 1/ hours in YYZ and NRT, and will cross 11 time zones and the international dateline. My reports will be pretty much the same format I used last summer on the Rotterdam and Prinsendam, Most of the pictures I post will be on the companion blog at http://zaandamasia.wordpress.com. Good news, I think. I was offered and accepted an upsell to Executive class on AC1 Toronto to Tokyo. Not cheap but that's a very long flight in sardine class. For Tokyo-Singapore and Hong Kong-Chicago-BWI I am in United's Premium Economy section.

 

I will make a request here. There has been quite a bit of talk about the recent change in HAL smoking policy and also about the age and condition of the Zaandam. I'd like to keep this thread related to the voyage experience and would like to keep the smoking/condition issues on another thread. Questions relating to other matters are absolutely welcome here.

 

This will be the first time I sail a HAL ship twice. My previous time on the Zaandam was Skagway to Vancouver in 2002 and my memory of the ship itself from that brief trip are now a bit cloudy. My most vivid memory is a beautiful sighting of a bear at glacier bay.

 

I originally looked at a segment of Crystal Serenity’s world cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong. It was 16 nights and included overnights in Hong Kong and Hanoi, with different Vietnam stops but skipping Ko Samui. It was a very attractive offering but I switched to the Zaandam for 2 reasons.

 

I had originally wanted to combine the cruise with another long time goal, the Orient Express train from Bangkok. When I booked the cruise Orient Express told me they would have a trip February 1-3. After I had authorized my deposit I heard nothing for a long time and much later found out that they had moved the trip to a later date. I will not get to do that trip but after they changed the date without notifying me I am no longer so eager to do it. My second and still valid reason for switching was cost:

 

Some Crystal world cruise segments tend to be expensive. For the price of this 16 day world cruise segment I get:

 

14 nights on the Zaandam

 

A 14-day fall transatlantic cruise on the Crystal Symphony, similar to the westbound half of Maasdam's Voyage of the Vikings, via Ireland, 2 ports in Iceland and Halifax.

 

A crossing on QM2 to connect with the above Crystal Symphony voyage.

 

A 7-day round trip Montreal on the Symphony with visits to Sept Isles. Isle de La Madelaine, and St. Pierre.

 

To me, 21 nights on Crystal plus 21 nights on HAL/Cunard for the price of 16 on Crystal can only be described as a win-win.

Soon the adventure begins. This post comes to you live from my residence.

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

Bon Voyage!!

Hope you have safe flights and all goes well.

Enjoy your cruise.

[keep on cruising]

Bon Voyage.

 

You will love the Zaandam. Yes it is a little tired and needs some TLC but the wonderful crew more than makes up for it. We were on it for 39 days at the end of the year and enjoyed it immensely. The crew was the friendliest I've ever encountered. And the food, under the direction of Chef Jock, was great.

[RuthC]

Have a wonderful time! This is such a pretty, and exotic, part of the world. how fortunate to be able to experience it. And get all those other cruises free!

It will be a long "day", so when you get to the end of it, relax---then relax some more.

[rafinmd]

Thank you Krazy Kruizers, keep on cruising, and RuthC.

 

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 1997. I found out last week that while I have never had any symptoms my lab test indicated a need to resume treatments, this time with a new set of drugs. My previous therapy was a shot every 90 days. The new therapy calls for monthly shots but there is about a week's leeway in either direction while the previous schedule was rigid. I have reviewed my calendar and can accommodate the new therapy with just 1 minor alteration to my travel plans. My first hormone shot was Monday. The therapy has few side effects but the first dose was big and left the injection site tender for a few days. The remaining side effects expected will be hot flashes, tolerable but an unfortunate coincidence with travel to Southeast Asia. I am staying overnight in a hotel at BWI ready for my early flight to Toronto, Tokyo, and Singapore. I would normally leave my car home and use transit to get to the airport. In my delicate condition I cheated and drove to the hotel with my bags, dropped the car home and returned on the bus. I am now settled into the hotel ready for an early morning start.

 

This is my second visit to the region. In 2010 I embarked on Queen Victoria in Bangkok and cruised to Dubai, duplicating the ports of Ko Samui and Singapore. After I leave Bangkok the rest of the itinerary will be totally new to me.

 

As I type this it is 9:45PM and Air Canada flight status shows that my plane has landed and is sitting for the night at the gate. It is a mild, clear night; perfect conditions to fly in the morning.

 

I will head to bed soon, but as my first parting shot I am thinking of my night here almost exactly a year ago, pondering a flight to Papeete on the one snowy night all last winter in Baltimore. Despite the stress of leaving home under stressful conditions I went on to a wonderful voyage. I am expecting at least as much this time.

 

This post comes to you live from LaQuinta Inn, BWI airport.

 

Roy

[erewhon]

I will be following your reports with great interest.

Really enjoyed following your last "live from" thread.

Wishing you safe flights, and no side effects from your treatment.

 

Bon Voyage.

[ScottishMaid]

You may remember we were originally booked on your cruise then canceled to take a different one. So I will be reading your reports with great interest as we intend to cruise in Asia soon.

 

Hope all your flights go smoothly and that the CC group have a great time!

Jill

[rafinmd]

Thank you erewhon. Jill, wish you were here.

 

This is both a long and short day. I am writing from Toronto about 10:15am. My flight leaves at noon and when I land again it will be Thursday, after having crossed the International Dateline. For February 1 it has not been very wintery. It is mild with drizzle both in Baltimore and Toronto. My first flight was on a Dash 8, a 37-passenger turboprop. The early morning flight had just over a dozen passengers leaving me plenty of room. I have occasionally gotten views of Niagara Falls from this flight but today’s weather did not permit.

 

I had a short cruise on the Jewel of the Seas in early January. Since I expected my passport to be away for visa processing I secured a NEXUS card as an alternate ID. HAL arranged all my port clearances so I didn’t need it then but today’s entry to Canada was a new experience. I walked up to a kiosk where I selected a language, let a camera photograph my irises, and walked through Customs without any physical documentation. Canada also has a trusted traveler program for airport security and the NEXUS card allowed me access to that. Security was not busy, and I think my Executive boarding pass also sent me to the priority security lane, and security was a breeze. I have a little time in the terminal before the LONG flight, boarding starts in about 30 minutes.

 

Au revoir North America.

 

This post comes to you live from the Lester B. Pierson International Airport.

 

Roy

[hpf]

Bon Voyage Roy and have a terriffic Holliday. I will be watching the board for your updates, love reading them. Take care of your health and enjoy life to the fullest.

Helen

[rafinmd]

Thank you, Helen

 

Happy Groundhog day. As I write this it is 4:30PM Tokyo time and 2:30AM Eastern time.

 

For me, no flight is pleasant, especially one 13 hours in length, but Executive Class makes it a little more bearable. Boarding started about 11:20 and we pushed back about 12:15. The seats are on a diagonal in little oval cubicles with the foodrest on the aisle side and the chair inside the footrest of the person a row back. The partitions between seats are high enough so the strange position is not awkward.

 

The trip got very compressed for meal purposes with dinner served an hour into the flight and breakfast 2 hours before landing, roughly 11PM Toronto time and 1PM Tokyo time. I'm sure without the upsell I'd have gotten traditional airline tray meals but dinner came in courses with real silverware, table cloth, and cloth napkin.

 

Our route took us over Hudson Bay, the northern coast of North America, and a little bit of Russia.

 

The seat folds down into a bed but not a comfortable one. Timing was not really right for sleeping but I think I caught at least a little nap. Breakfast came at 11PM Toronto time and 1PM Tokyo time, mostly an omlet. I’m sure this is totally unrelated to Costa Concordia but it did catch my attention. As we approached Narita, the Flight Attendant announced “For flights longer than 4 hours we are required to remind you of the location of the emergency exits. I’ve never heard that before and don’t know if it’s unique to Canada or a new requirement. I’ll see if United does the same thing approaching Singapore.

 

We landed a bit early. We were required to go through a new security screening (about 30 minutes) bud did not have to visit Japan customs or immigration.

 

Today’s parting shot. Air travel is often miserable but it does get one there faster. My previous time in the region (Queen Victoria) I had a long flight but not nearly as long as I crossed the Pacific on the Crystal Symphony to Sydney. LA-Bangkok via Sydney is not very efficient but was much more pleasant than today. Of course I’ll likely never again be as lucky as when I had the Rotterdam to get me to the Prinsendam and QM2 to get back home.

 

This post comes to you live from Narita International Airport,

Tokyo.

 

Roy

[erewhon]

Thank you for your reports.

 

What did the new security screening involve?

[JCruisepal]

Hi

hope you have a good cruise.

 

I look forward to reading your inputs as my friend and I are going on the same cruise 18 March so any insights to what we can expect, what to see etc etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

Have fun

[RuthC]

Cruising this area of the world has attracted my attention since my little taste of it last year.

I'm looking forward to your reports from the ship, as well as enjoying your reports of the trip over.

[bcnvcanada]

Love your post, this will be an inteesting cruise. As for upgrading, your right, it is so much better in ex class for first for the long flight. By now you should be near Singapore. Will be interesting to hear how you react to the time change. Thanks for taking us along.

[buckirj1]

I'm late to the party as usual, but Bon Voyage, Roy! Wishing you a wonderful journey. Can't wait to read the rest of your reports. I'll hold down the fort in Ho Co until you return.

Rita (your "neighbor" in Dorsey's Search)

[kazu]

Roy - so happy you got your flight upgraded - it can make a big difference. Have a safe trip and Bon Voyage:):):)

[rafinmd]

Thank you for your reports.

 

What did the new security screening involve?

 

I couldn't really see much difference in the procedure from my vantage. Perhaps the metal detectors are set to a little higher tolerance. To get the NEXUS card I had to go to a border station (Niagara Falls for me) for an interview with both US and Canadian immigration officers. It took about 6 weeks for the background checks from the time of my application until I was allowed to schedule the interviews. I also waited a long time for the interview since I live in Maryland and waited until my High School reunion in upstate New York to do it. After that it was very quick. I had the interviews a Friday morning and had the card in Tuesday's mail.

 

butlerana, I wish you were with us as well as Jill. Thank you RuthC, Rita, bcnvcanada, and Jacqui for your comments.

 

Sorry I took so long to post. Despite my penchant for Crystal, I'm a bit of a cheapskate. I haven't been able to find cheap wifi here and the Fairmont charges as much for a day's access as I pay for 2 months at home. I waited until 24 hours before I leave the hotel to buy a day. It's even slower than on the ship.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

My 7-hour final segment was on a United 747, and was lightly booked. I was on the inner aisle of 3-4-3 seating and the 2 seats to my right were both empty, typical of the rest of the plane. When we took off about 6PM there was no daylight left. I did not really sleep but did nap some during the flight. We pulled into the gate about 12:15 Singapore time without the reminder about emergency exits. Apparently it is a specifically Canadian requirement.

 

Immigration, baggage claim, and money exchange took about 45 minutes and I was in a taxi to my hotel. I was in bed about 1:30, quite exhausted.

 

I woke about 7 and spent most of the morning in the hotel. I did visit the HAL hospitality desk and arrange a transfer to the ship, which will be about 10AM Sunday. My window looks out on Marina Bay Sands complex. I am right across one street from the Raffles Hotel and another from the Japan War memorial. In the afternoon I rode the hopon busses. There are 3 loops, a cultural loop, a sentosa loop, and a city loop, a total of about 3 hours. I was quite satisfied today to stay on the bus, still pretty tired from yesterday.

 

As today's parting shot this is my second visit to Singapore. Close to the Equator, it is warm to hot year around. Since it rained in the morning the heat was not bad for the first day. For a mid-winter getaway it fits me perfectly as "a nice place to visit but I really wouldn't want to live there".

 

This post comes to you live from the Fairmont Singapore.

 

Roy

[RuthC]

Thanks for checking in, Roy. You will get over that long flight. You will! And you will forget how exhausting it was, how exhausted you are, when you board the ship, unpack, and settle in.

I can't imagine flying that far and needing to change planes. :eek:

[ScottishMaid]

Glad to hear from you and that you made it safely. I've been thinking of you on the long flights.

Please keep giving us a rain and temperature report.

Jill

[lagunaman]

I too which you Bon Voyage and feel sure that you will enjoy the ports here in Asia

 

I recently sailed 30 days on the Zaandam that included Xmas and had the best assistant Maitre of the many HAL ships I have sailed !

 

Raymond--- when you have a moment, please send him my very best wishes and tell him "Sawadee" (he also lives in Thailand ) from John in Phuket and give him my sincerest thanks for helping to make dining such a great pleasure for me and all my table mates

 

I read your Prinsendam reports--I am going on her for 16 days on April 6/12 from Istanbul (a real fav city of mine) to Rome--sailed her 4 years ago around the Black sea--hoping it will be just as pleasant an experience as it was back then

 

Look forward to reading your reports and really appreciate the effort people such as yourself make to keep us CC'ers happy :)

 

 

 

quote=rafinmd;32274195]I couldn't really see much difference in the procedure from my vantage. Perhaps the metal detectors are set to a little higher tolerance. To get the NEXUS card I had to go to a border station (Niagara Falls for me) for an interview with both US and Canadian immigration officers. It took about 6 weeks for the background checks from the time of my application until I was allowed to schedule the interviews. I also waited a long time for the interview since I live in Maryland and waited until my High School reunion in upstate New York to do it. After that it was very quick. I had the interviews a Friday morning and had the card in Tuesday's mail.

 

butlerana, I wish you were with us as well as Jill. Thank you RuthC, Rita, bcnvcanada, and Jacqui for your comments.

 

Sorry I took so long to post. Despite my penchant for Crystal, I'm a bit of a cheapskate. I haven't been able to find cheap wifi here and the Fairmont charges as much for a day's access as I pay for 2 months at home. I waited until 24 hours before I leave the hotel to buy a day. It's even slower than on the ship.

 

Roy

[KirkNC]

Looking forward to your journey.

[rafinmd]

Glad to hear from you and that you made it safely. I've been thinking of you on the long flights.

Please keep giving us a rain and temperature report.

Jill

 

The day was for me near the upper limit of warm but not hot, with temperatures in the low 80's(F) or upper 20's©. There was apparently quite a heavy rain shower while I was on the subway to the Harbor.

 

Thank you Kirk. lagunaman, I'll look for Raymond.

 

I was in bed about 9 Friday and woke up about 5 this morning. I again spent most of the morning in the hotel, but got more ambitious in the afternoon. Sentosa Island, I believe directly across the river from the cruise terminal, has become something of a theme park with an eclectic variety of attractions including a casino and Universal Studios.I walked along the waterfront past the Lion Statue and eventually cut inland to Chinatown, catching the subway out to the Harborfront station. From there it was about a mile to and across the causeway to Sentosa. Not really spending a lot of time there, I did visit the Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium. This exhibit deals mostly with the Silk Route and the water routes and cultures involved in the Silk Trade. The centerpiece of the museum is the dhow Jewel of Muscat. This ship was built as a joint project of Singapore and Oman using ancient plans and construction methods and sailed to Singapore in 1910. I returned on the Subway to Clarke Quay and walked back to the hotel. The museum was not great but between it and the walk it was a pleasant afternoon.

 

It's now time to start getting my stuff together for the move to the Zaandam Sunday morning. We are due to leave the hotel at 10AM, which I hope is a predictor of timely embarkation.

 

As a parting shot today, I've been surprised at how exhausting air travel can be. I got up this morning feeling pretty rested, but it didn't last. I took a rest after dinner, fell asleep, and had difficulty getting going again. At least tomorrow if that recurs, I'll be settled for the next 2 weeks.

 

This post comes to you live from the Fairmont Singapore.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

I am aboard and will cover the day's activities in a separate post but will cover some extra things here.Embarkation was a bit chaotic with almost an hour and a half standing in line. I was aboard about 12:15 and enjoyed the Mariners luncheon.

 

One change in the muster drill I did not expect: we were told to assemble at our muster stations BEFORE the announced time of 4:15, rather than proceeding as the alarm was sounded. Once at the station a supervisor checked our names against a master list. At 4:15 they started calling cabin numbers, calling the last numbers several times. At the conclusion of the drill, a list of 4 cabins was read of people who refused to attend the drill. They were given the options of a makeup drill or leaving the ship. As of 4:50 it appeared 3 of those parties had complied with the makeup drill and 1 was given a final warning to comply or leave. At the drill it was announced there was no smoking in cabins, although the canned safety video still says “be careful when smoking, especially in your cabin”. I have not yet experienced whether that has resulted in increased smoking in common areas but I'll keep my eyes open.

 

Key personnel on board:

Captain: Andre von Schoonhoven

CD: Michael

Travel Guide: Spencer Brown

Piano Bar Guitar: Larry

Piano Bar Pianist: James

DJ: Colin

Shorex: Nyron

Party Planner: Elizabeth

Techspert:Kristen

Lifestylist:Meagan

Internet Manager:Jacques

Cabin stewards:Ketut & Triyanto

 

Finally, live from the MS Zaandam.

 

Roy

[kura]

Enjoying this....we board the Zaandam in Hong Kong on March 4th and do the itinerary in reverse!

 

Do you know the surname of Michael the CD?

 

Will be following this with great interest!