Zuiderdam - a very pleasant surprise

[bobalink]

I just returned from the 4-day Pacific Coastal cruise, May 8-12 San Diego to Vancouver. My friend and I did a “girls get-away” and 6 of our travel buddies joined us.

 

We took the train from Orange County down to San Diego. That was a great, and economical way to get there. The train station is so close to the pier, an easy walk.

 

 

IMG_0182 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

 

Embarkation:

We spent about an hour just going through the long line. Once we got on the ship, we headed for the Lido for lunch.

 

The ship:

The Zuiderdam is a beautiful ship. I had heard that she is “showing her age” but, I really didn’t see anything that looked old or worn out.

 

 

 

IMG_0183 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

 

IMG_0189 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

 

The crew:

I thought the crew and staff members were attentive, helpful and polite. Truly some of the hardest working people with amazing patience. Everywhere you look, someone is cleaning, polishing, sweeping, mopping, etc.

 

Our stateroom:

We were in Deck 6 – Upper Verandah stateroom 6156. Our room was large and comfortable, the balcony was nice. I had requested twin bed configuration for our room, but when we arrived it was set up with a queen. We told our steward, Naryo, and he converted it into the twin bed configuration.

BEST OF ALL: The toilet flushed every time! Our A/C worked great.

 

Our steward: Naryo was great, helpful and quick. We thought he was terrific.

 

Dining:

All venues, from the Lido, to the poolside options, the food was delicious and plentiful. The variety was excellent, and there were more choices than I had room for on my plate or in my tummy!

 

In the Main Dining Room, we had a table for 8 at 5:30pm. Our servers were very polite, and worked so hard. We all thought the food was very good, and the portions were just right. Service was good, but a bit slow.

 

Pinnacle Grill: We went to the PG on Thursday evening. We really thought it was worth the extra cost. The quality of food, attentive service and overall ambiance was very nice.

I ordered:

French Onion Soup (just okay, too salty)

Crab cakes (tiny, and delicious)

Filet Steak Diane (excellent)

Asparagus

Baked Potato

Chocolate Volcano Cake (decadent!)

 

 

Meet and Greet:

I went to the M&G on Wednesday morning in The Crow’s Nest. It was good to put a name and a face together, and I enjoyed meeting some of the “famous” HAL Board posters: sapper1, startwin, roz, canadianbear, laffnvegas and others that I can’t remember their names. What a fine bunch of people who have a common hobby!

 

A very small part of our conversation at the M&G was about how ugly and mean spirited some of the posts on CC had become over the plumbing and A/C issues on board the Zuiderdam. What a shame that a few posters questioned the integrity of the reports.

 

Crow’s Nest:

I love Happy Hour in the Crow’s Nest. Such comfortable chairs and wonderful views.

 

Library:

Great library, and lovely reading chairs and lighting.

 

To be continued...

[bobalink]

The Green House Spa:

We purchased the Thermal Spa package for $60 each. That gave us access to the wonderful mineral pool and warming beds. Heavenly.

 

IMG_0208 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

IMG_0210 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

Massage: I splurged on the Thai Poultice Massage. Happy Mother’s Day to me!

That had to be one of the best massages I have ever had (and I have them often). I actually fell asleep and woke myself up when I snored!

 

 

Entertainment:

First night, went to see the Comedian (can’t think of his name) and he was hilarious.

The Zuiderdam Singers were excellent, although their song selections were for the older folks. I barely recognized some of the songs.

 

More to come...

 

[bobalink]

Rough Seas and missed port:

We did have some rough sea days, and I feared that I may get sick. The captain announced that we could get seasick medicine at the front desk, so I did. It worked great and thankfully I did fine. (I was actually glad that my DH couldn’t join me on this sailing because he has trouble with vertigo, and this was a bumpy ride!)

One night the creaking and moaning on the ship was really something! Our stateroom was way aft, so perhaps that is why it was so loud. I usually get mid-ship staterooms.

 

We missed Port Angeles, but I really didn’t mind. Another sea day, oh boy!

 

Since we missed our port, I decided to do a different kind of “excursion” on the ship. We did the Art Tour using iPods and head phones. I spoke with the Librarian and reserved them for the next day. (24 hour notice is required.) She said that the iPods are getting old and having difficulty holding the charge, but they worked great for us. What a fun way to explore the ship and appreciate the art work! It took about 45 minutes and it was great exercise, going up and down the stair cases looking at the beautiful Stephen Card artwork and the interesting weather vanes.

 

 

Some of the art that I really found interesting:

Bip

IMG_0198 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

Weather vanes

IMG_0219 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

The elevator doors

IMG_0196 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

 

[canadianbear]

Was great meeting you (if only briefly) at the M&G. So glad you had no issues in your cabin.

 

What fun having 8 of you! I had 6 cousins on board and had dinner with them twice which was a lot of fun too.

 

Love your photos! Warming beds-to die for:)

 

Waiting for more from you!

[bobalink]

Art Tour continued

 

Art work by Stephen Card

IMG_0225 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

IMG_0204 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

Special things that make HAL unique:

Candy man – loved the ginger candy, dates and mints, offered after dinner.

Dinner chimes – sounds lovely

 

 

Disembark at Vancouver:

In a word: Smooth! We did the Expedited self-disembarkation and our designated time was 7:35am – 7:45am. We were off the ship very quickly and on our way out of Canada Place.

 

IMG_0233 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

Canada Line Sky Train to YVR was a snap. Purchased ticket at kiosk for 2.50 and in 30 minutes we arrived at the airport.

 

WestJet Airlines: Our direct flight from YVR to SNA was on schedule at 11:15am. I arrived home by 2:45pm. Easy cheesy.

 

 

A few observations comparing my only other HAL cruise:

DH and I sailed on the Noordam in 2010. We loved the ship, the dining, the library and the captain. We had always heard about the amazing crew on HAL ships. We just didn’t think the Noordam crew was anything special. They barely made eye contact and seldom greeted us.

 

This week, the Zuiderdam crew were extremely polite, jovial and friendly. Seemed like every time I passed by, someone would greet me.

 

Other passengers:

We met many people who had been on the 18-day Panama Canal cruise, and most of them were very happy with the cruise, but many of them did say they had experienced plumbing and A/C issues.

 

The group of friends who joined me on this cruise are “die hard” Princess fans. I am happy that they got to get a “taste of HAL” on this short coastal cruise. They were all very pleased.

 

Personally, I had a fabulous time and really enjoyed the Zuiderdam!

[erewhon]

Thank you for the review of your cruise and the great photos......so pleased to see the photos of the paintings by Stephen Card.

 

I too have been saddened by some the comments about the plumbing and air conditioning issues that have been made here on Cruise Critic.

[Copper10-8]

Great pics Bobalink!:) Thanks for posting them as well as your review!

[startwin]

Great photos! And it was a pleasure to meet you. So glad you didn't have any of the problems experienced by so many others. But even with those, we had a great time:D You are so right about the crew of the Zuiderdam... they were fantastic. I even grew to like some of the front office staff:rolleyes:

[irisheileen]

Glad you and your friends enjoyed the cruise.

I haven't been on HAL for a number of years but those tiled warming beds have been calling my name for a long time! They are often pictured on HAL brochures mailed out. Sounds like there is a separate charge. What did the $60 entitle you to? I am assuming that the Veendam will be similar?

Thanks,

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

Glad you had a wonderful cruise and didn't have any problems.

Love you pictures.

[kazu]

Wow - what can I say - beautiful pictures with a well done review. Brings back fond memories of this ship. Thank you so much for taking the time to post and share with us:):)

[Blue12]

Thanks for posting such great pics! We did the partial Panama Canal cruise in March and we loved the Zuiderdam. The crew was fantastic and the food was great. We also enjoyed little touches like the after dinner mints from the Candy Man. Every time I walked up the stairs to my cabin on Deck 6, I knew when I passed the shuffleboard painting, I was almost there. Thanks for the memories.... :)

[jimbri]

Wonderful review. I especially liked the photos - makes me feel like I am there :)

[portofrome]

Thanks for the photos and review.

[sail7seas]

What a wonderful review and great photos.

I'm so happy you and your friends had such a great time.

Your review is so enthusiastic and sounds 'happy'. It was fun reading it and certainly enjoyable seeing your terrific photos.

 

Thanks so much for sharing with us. :)

[bobalink]

A few more photos of the Zuiderdam art:

 

Waterford Crystal - this weighs 3 tons!

 

IMG_0192 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

A beautiful Salt Keeper:

 

IMG_0194 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

The Doge's:

 

IMG_0223 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

IMG_0205 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

[sail7seas]

Fabulous photos.

Thanks so much for sharing them. :)

 

How much zoom does your camera have?

We are looking to buy DH a new one for Alaska and we're wondering how much zoom we want.

 

[bobalink]

More views from The Green House Spa

 

IMG_0209 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

The view from the warming beds looking out. Amazing view, not such a good photo.

 

IMG_0215 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

Another view of warming beds:

 

IMG_0213 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

[bobalink]

Love the art of Stephen Card!

 

IMG_0227 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

IMG_0226 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

 

IMG_0224 by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

[SwissMyst]

Looks like you are your camera had a love affair with the Zuiderdam. Thanks for bringing back memories of our very nice time on that ship too. Lovely. And we thought we would not like the decor from the HAL website photos, but found the darker, deeper reds, burgundies and purples was quite elegant after all.

[bobalink]

Fabulous photos.

Thanks so much for sharing them. :)

 

How much zoom does your camera have?

We are looking to buy DH a new one for Alaska and we're wondering how much zoom we want.

 

 

Hi Sail,

Thanks for your nice comments. I am a beginner with a camera!

 

DH took all of our photos for years, and finally he got tired of me saying, "did you get this, did you get that?"

 

Before our trip to Italy I purchased a Canon Powershot S90. A local camera store had a sale, so I got a very good price, and by purchasing it there, a free class was offered.

 

The salesman and the instructor at the camera store said that my point and shoot camera is the one that a photographer would take if they didn't want to lug around all of their lenses, etc.

 

The camera has more features than I have yet figured out how to use. I use the video feature occasionally and the museum setting is great when no flash is allowed.

 

Here is a link for Canon:

http://usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras/powershot_g_series/powershot_s90

 

I hope you enjoy your trip to Alaska. There will be wonderful photo opportunities for your DH.

[canadianbear]

Your camera took a lot better ones than my older Canon-I might just have to look into a new one! I tried taking the photo of "the beautiful salt keeper" but just couldn't get it. The walking tour sounds like a great idea.

[monina01]

Dinner chimes?

Very curious, what's this?

[bobalink]

Dinner chimes?

Very curious, what's this?

 

This cruise was the first time I had ever seen / heard the chimes. I did not have my camera with me.

 

Below is a photo I found on Google images:

 

Holland America Dinner Chimes by BobalinkToo, on Flickr

[bobalink]

Glad you and your friends enjoyed the cruise.

I haven't been on HAL for a number of years but those tiled warming beds have been calling my name for a long time! They are often pictured on HAL brochures mailed out. Sounds like there is a separate charge. What did the $60 entitle you to? I am assuming that the Veendam will be similar?

Thanks,

 

When we boarded the ship, I went to book my massage. The girls at the Spa suggested the Thermal Suites Package. Normally $85 per person, "on sale" for $75 per person. When I told her that my friend would want to book it, too, she said, "If are you in the same stateroom you can pay $60 each."

 

We were able to book our massages for a 20% discount, and use the warming beds, mineral water pool and steam rooms. More may have been included, but that was enough to convince me!

 

I noticed that when we were experiencing rough seas, it was not even noticeable while I was in the mineral pool. Lots of powerful water jets.

 

I don't know what may be available on the Veendam, perhaps you can call HAL.

 

Enjoy!