SEMI LIVE FROM ZUIDERDAM - May 2013

[Crew News]

As one of two in-transit passengers carried over from the previous week on the Zuiderdam, I am writing this semi-live report to commence on board the ship.

 

The weather was cloudy and a chill met you whenever you stepped on to your verandah. Fortunately, the day transitioned from drizzle to sunshine with fluffy white clouds as we departed Vancouver.

 

With an assigned time of 10:00 AM to be at the Atrium Bar, Joanie and I made our way to the appointed location with a few minutes to spare.

 

Concerned about getting her scooter over the hump leading to the Deck 3 Safety Briefing, Joanie stopped someone from Security to ask where she could get some help. While starting to ask her question, she paused and inquired if the person to whom she was speaking was indeed from Security. The bearded individual, dressed in slacks and a dark sweater, replied that not only was he not Security but rather the ship's Captain headed to a conference in Seattle. After Joanie's profuse apologies, Captain Turner insisted on listening to her concerns with the scooter's ability to get over the bump and making the briefing on time. Turning to a representative of the Front Desk just a few feet away, he instructed her to provide whatever assistance that Joanie needed. I applaud his desire to make every guest comfortable.

 

At 10:05 AM, a Front Desk representative escorted us off the ship and dropped us at Canadian Customs. Since our Customs forms were collected two days before the docking, only a scan of our passports was needed and we were on our way to a waiting area. Five minutes later we were instructed to follow the "In Transit" signs to the ship's gangway. Fifteen minutes had elapsed since leaving the ship and to my amazement, we were at the entrance to the gangway. My amazement faded as we were held by Port Security for an additional 15 minutes so that crew members could depart.

 

As is my normal activity, I spent the next 45 minutes taking photographs of the ghostly ship. The first wave of new passengers began to fill the elevators and hallways a little after 11:30 AM.

 

The Mariner's Lunch had no more than 50 people when I left the Dining Room after 1:00 PM which indicates that most of the passengers were tour members.

 

I remain very impressed watching just how efficient and quick the cabins can be prepared for a new wave of guests. The ice buckets in each cabin were filled from a giant tub of Ice cubes rolled down each hallway. Bags of complete linen sets were dropped off in each cabin. Carts with recycle bags were moved from room to room to collect all waste. Carts with alcoholic beverages followed the waste collectors. The next activity was the distribution of all of that important literature to each mail box and cabin desk. From my wandering around the ship, it appeared that all of the rooms were ready and luggage had been delivered to the staterooms before 2:00 PM. So another successful cruise began for the Zuiderdam.

 

Our dinner decision for Embarkation Day was made by HAL with unexpected complementary Pinnacle Grill dinners. This added a nice touch to being Collectors. The steak Diane was superb.

 

Embarkation Day closed with three bags of popcorn, rescued from the Screening Room, being consumed as I prepared this first installment of "Semi-Live from the Zuiderdam"

[Crew News]

I photographed a few hundred eagles swooping down to grab the fish being tossed from the Aleutian Ballad on my Ketchikan Crab Fishing Excursion. This was the best eagle sighting opportunity in Alaska.

 

All of the MDR menus, On Location daily bulletins, new Canaletto menu, new Room Service Breakfast menu, and the Embarkation menu have been scanned and will be posted to my website before the end of May.

 

Formal nights are Sunday and Wednesday.

 

Cooking class is on the Juneau port day rather than on a sea day.

 

Windows 8 classes are packed with people sometimes sitting on the floor and require an early arrival to be seated at a computer.

[erewhon]

Thanks for your comments.

As an in-transit passenger you really appreciate how hard the crew work to get the staterooms ready for the incoming passengers.

[JamesEM]

Looking forward to more Semi Live reports from the Zuiderdam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for starting a review.

Looking forward to more.

[solocanadian]

Thanks for the posting Roger. All I got from the Zuidedam last week was a bad chest cold. Probably got it walking to Annabelle's in Ketchikan. It was great to finally meet you and Joanie. Will be sending a personal email to your home later in the week. Hope you have more sunshine on this weeks cruise. I'm contemplating a late Sept. cruise if the price is right. Right now they are still too high for a solo cruiser. Typhoons don't worry me. Going to check with a few TA's to see if they have anything on the Zuiderdam or Statendam.:)

[Keith1010]

Thanks so very much for posting.

 

Keith

[cruz chic]

Thx for your thread. It contains just enough detail. When people go on too long it's just too much.

[sapete]

Roger and Joanie,

 

Have fun on round Two! Being your "downstairs" neighbors was a treat!

Fair winds and following seas and don't get blown away in Skagway!

 

Lynn & Pete

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[startwin]

Thx for your thread. It contains just enough detail. When people go on too long it's just too much.

 

Nooooo.:o I like every single detail!

[Seago2]

Glad to know everything is going well! Check in when you can-

[madera1]

Thanks for the review. I appreciated hearing how the turnaround embarkation process went.

[Crew News]

The first cruise sea day began on a misty Sunday morning that later turned to bright sunshine. The temperature in the early morning was in the 40’s but later warmed to the low 50’s. Those who carried their Lido Restaurant lunches to the aft deck were fooled by the sunshine and soon retreated to the warmth of the Lido Restaurant. The ship's television showed 33 MPH headwinds that brought quite a chill to the verandah folks.

 

Room Service breakfast was a test to see if waffles were available as a write-in. Specifying mixed berries as a topping resulted in two plain waffles, two small portions of syrup, and a bowl of freshly cut berries. Perhaps the words “berry sauce” would have been appropriate. I will try that later this week.

The CC Meet & Greet in the morning was attended by 13 Cruise Critic member and six ship’s officers, led by the new Hotel Manager.

Every table in the Lido Restaurant was occupied for lunch with a good number of folks just holding two plates of food and no place to sit. Trying to stake out a table with my small salad plate for nearly 15 minutes proved futile. Lunch was moved to my stateroom.

Accessing the internet during the day was not a simple task and the connection speed was quite slow.

The MDR on formal night served from the “B” menu which varied slightly from the previous week’s bill of fare.

Cruise day 2 closed with posting this report and an early bedtime.

[San Diego bound]

Hope you have a great week and take some beautiful pictures. Such a treat to meet you and Joanie last week. Hope to see you on another cruise.

 

Arleen

[Crew News]

Daylight, with a bright sun and white fluffy clouds, greeted the passengers of the Zuiderdam on the third day at sea as we proceeded to Juneau. The ships TV reported temperatures in the low 40’s with 15 MPH winds and calm seas.

 

While standing in Lido Restaurant line to request a glass of orange juice at 9:00 AM, the Lido Restaurant Manager unhooked the dividing rope and declared “self-service” was in effect. I noted that the Code Orange Condition had been cancelled a few hours earlier than the 48-hour norm.

 

The folks headed for Tracy Arm were picked up sped away for some deeper sightseeing.

 

There was an 8:00 AM Lido Deck sale of Alaska t-shirts and warm clothing. A new item was a blanket that folded into an attached pocket.

According to the Front Desk, the Behind the Scenes Tours are now divided into two days with the Engineering Room and Bridge times being on port days with the rest of the tour on days at sea.

 

Laundry turned in at 7:30 PM arrived back at 9:00 AM. With so many tours on board, their lack of laundry usage enabled the rest of us to have swift service.

 

A pool-side buffet served various Alaskan fish items, sausages with sauerkraut, Caesar salad, and berry cobbler for lunch. There were no lines for the buffet with most of the passengers crowded in the Lido Restaurant.

 

The ship tied up at the furthest dock from downtown Juneau (about 1.5 mile walk) and a number of hardy folks started their stroll to downtown Juneau as soon as the gangway was in place. Buses were parked at the pier with a $3 all-day pass to downtown.

My tour bus to the Taku Glacier Flight and Feast shore excursion filled quickly at the pier and then proceeded to downtown Juneau to pick up a few more passengers. We were divided into groups of 10 so that each person would have a window on the Otter aircraft. As we approached the airport, we were told that winds would preclude taking off on the water and flights would take off from the runway. One block from the airport, we were told that high winds at the mountain lodge would preclude landing and the tour was canceled. A few grumbles were heard and then a voice saying, “I would hate to be stuck such a long way from the port,” brought all to the realization that the right action was taken. The bus dropped off passengers downtown and then one passenger was dropped back at the Zuiderdam (me). The bus driver asked why I didn’t remain downtown and I told them that had been there just seven days ago.

 

Word came to the ship that all of the whale-watching tours out of Auk Bay were cancelled due to eight-foot waves. Most passengers remained in downtown Juneau.

For the rest of the afternoon, the ship was nearly deserted but I did run into the Culinary Operations Manager I knew from the CC Meet & Greet and thanked him for the chocolate purses we had with dinner on Sunday evening. Pictures will be posted when we return home.

 

The MDR at the 5:30 PM seating was only half filled, as is normal when port times run past the normal dinner times and the dinner was completed in 50 minutes (single diner) as opposed to the normal 65 minutes when the MDR is filled. It must be noted that these times were significantly less than the times on the Westerdam last December.

 

August, one of the MDR Assistant Managers, printed me the “B” version of the Saturday Embarkation Day dinner menu that completed my two weeks of menus for the Zuiderdam in Alaska season.

 

Sunset was at nearly 10:00 PM with some late-arriving tours delaying the Zuideram’s departure for an additional 30 minutes.

 

As we departed Juneau, this report was posted to Cruise Critic.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry that your tour was cancelled.

That has happened to us several times as well.

Guess we seasoned cruisers get used to this but do know that we still are disappointed.

[erewhon]

Thanks for your reports.

Hope Joanie is enjoying the cruise.

[RuthC]

What a shame that your tour to Taku Glacier Lodge had to be canceled! :( It is such a beautiful flight. The meal's not bad, either.

I think the most fun on land there was watching the black bear on the tree limb hanging over us to watch the grilling. He was clearly waiting his turn to come down and eat what was left on the grill.

Maybe next time.

[OVgirl]

Roger, thanks for the "Semi Live From" and hope you and Joanie are enjoying your cruise.

[Typhoon1]

Looking forward to future installments.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks Crew News for your report, sounds like the weather for your second week was no better then the week before, infact maybe a little worse.

It was a pleasure to finally meet you both and we really enjoyed your aft cabin for the Seattle sail away. Thanks to you both.

[sapete]

Hope the Skagway winds weren't as bad as they were last week. Say hi to Joanie for us.

[Vict0riann]

When we did the Taku Glacier tour, the bear did come down during the barbecuing, and the "chef" had to wave a can of bear spray at her. She immediately backed off, but as soon as we all went in to eat, and the BBQ was left open, she come down and did a thorough job of cleaning the grill! Later we saw her with her cubs - had to be very careful not to come between them. Quite an outing. That was in the days before digital cameras, so the pictures are in my memory, but no where else.

[In Toronto]

Enjoying this report. Thank you.

 

Ellen

[startwin]

I was at Canada Place on Saturday, taking photos of the Zuiderdam. Unfortunately, your aft cabin was on the starboard side so couldn't get any photos of that. It was nice that the rain stopped and it was sunny and warm by the time you sailed away.