Hopefully "Live" Zuiderdam Panama Canal 2015

[Mtn2Sea]

Today, we boarded a Holland America Ship for the last time . . . . as Three Star Mariners. Next cruise means free laundry! When we completed our last cruise in November, we saw where we needed only 7 more days to move up in our Mariner status, so of course I started plotting our next cruise. Since we haven't done a Panama Canal cruise, the Zuiderdam seemed to just call our names. We booked our 11 day cruise a little over a week ago. We've been to some of the ports, but three will be brand new for us. Here's our route.

 

 

We arrived at Port Everglades between 11 and 11:30 this morning, which is a little later than we normally do. I think that caused our embarkation to be a little slower than most of our prior cruises. When we got to the cabin, I started watching for our luggage, but of course I didn't see it until it arrived to the cabin.

 

 

Although we didn't get to our cabin until after 1:00, we were able to go to the Mariner's luncheon since it was open until 1:30. I didn't get any food pictures because I was too hungry to think about preserving memories of our first meal aboard the ship.

 

The muster drill was at 3:00. We've learned that if we follow directions for the life boat drill, we get to stand up front instead of being packed among the other passengers. We don't head for the outside promenade deck until they actually make an announcement, which is the third of three announcements, that passengers are to proceed to their station. Apparently, most people don't want to be late, so they get to the station early. I was thrilled to see the ship's personnel with little gizmos scanning passengers' cabin keys. At our station, they only had to shout out one name. I heard this was only the second time the Zuiderdam has used the scanners. The process went so much faster! For the first time, our lifeboat is actually one of the tenders. Here's a photo of our station commander:

 

 

We got a quick lesson on how to put on a life jacket:

 

 

Here's some photos of our cabin:

 

 

Until later.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Have a great trip!!! Congrates on becoming 4 STAR😄

We will be doing our B2B Carribean Cruise in 3 weeks out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Nieuw Amsterdam and we also will be 4 STARS!

Enjoyed your writing!

Happy Cruising

[SilvertoGold]

Great start. And great photos.

 

Looking forward to hearing more!

[POA1]

Have a great trip!

[Vict0riann]

Enjoy your cruise, and post lots!

[PathfinderEss]

Congratulations on making it to 4 stars. Love live reports and yours seems to be no exception. Wonderful photo's to go along with it, what more can any of us ask. Wishing you a wonderful cruise.

[Lizzie68]

Looking forward to all your reports - always very enjoyable.:) And I am so glad to hear HAL is finally using electronic check-in for the muster drill. Finally!

[erewhon]

Thanks for your "live" thread.

Am pleased to learn that HAL is using scanners at the Passenger Safety Drill.

 

Have a fabulous cruise.

[Mtn2Sea]

Our sail away this afternoon was pretty uneventful. We were scheduled to depart at 4:00, but was 15 minutes late. We had the drink of the day in our hands, so no problem! As we were going out the channel, we had a land based cheering section:

 

 

Here's a look north along Fort Lauderdale's beach as we were leaving.

 

 

Final sail away pic is the pilot boat getting ready to come along side our ship.

 

 

While I was out on the aft deck, some people on the balcony below us asked if I could find someone to let them into their cabin. Somehow, they had locked themselves out. After telling them I hoped they enjoyed their cruise out on the balcony. I promised I would find someone who could help get them back inside.

 

Until later.

[Mtn2Sea]

For those interested in seeing the daily program, here's the first one for the cruise.

 

 

 

 

Being the first night, the dress code for tonight was smart casual. In the past, I've found the service in the dining room on the first day to be less than optimal. Well, I can't say that anymore. We are in open seating and were able to get a table for two without any problem. Once we sat down, the service provided by the dining stewards was as good as it gets! Hopefully, I'm not putting a jinx on them. They were very efficient without appearing to be rushed. For dinner tonight, we both got chicken, which was very good. I got the chilled banana soup as well as the banana crisp for dessert. DW got the soup as well. She capped off her meal with key lime pie.

 

 

 

I had decaf tea with my dessert. As mentioned on CC, they're using a different type of tea on HAL. I'll give my opinion on the tea in a future post.

 

 

Until later.

[rafinmd]

Have a wonderful cruise. I share with you the joy of knowing that on my next HAL cruise 4* will come.

 

Roy

[Mr and Mrs CIQ]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review.

[Folk Singer]

Great start. And great photos.

 

Looking forward to hearing more!

 

Great start and thank you.

[boards]

The next time we cruise will be on the Zuiderman in Oct. as 4-star mariners. Thank for this review.

[snonomo]

OMG! This is our first cruise. It looks like it will take me a week just to read and comprehend the daily program before we actually get to do anything on it!

[6travelers]

Thank you so very much for this extensive live report! Look forward to your future posts with great anticipation. Have a beautiful cruise and thank you again!

[Mtn2Sea]

I'm running a little behind, but hopefully will get caught up shortly. Last night I ran out of steam before I posted last night's wrap up. First, I did get a copy of our first night's menu:

 

 

After dinner, we returned to the cabin for a short time and then went to the Vista Showroom for our first evening's program. Because I was working on my review while we were in the cabin, we got to the showroom with less than 10 minutes to spare. We ended up on the back row on the upper level. I'm hoping that, since they only have one show on the first night, instead of the normal two, we'll be able to get better seats in the future. As we've seen on the last several cruises, the first program simply showcases the various performers around the ship. As I read on another thread, we no longer have the HAL Cats. They are now called The Band and they will be the performers in the Ocean Bar.

 

Until later.

[Panger]

Lovely cabin!!! Splendid photos!! - have a great time :):)

[Mtn2Sea]

This morning the Zuiderdam was anchored by 8:00 AM just off the beautiful island of Half Moon Cay, which is also known as Little San Salvador. We are approximately 100 miles southeast of Nassau. Holland America Line purchased the island in December 1996 for $6 million. It has since developed 50 acres of the 2,400-acre island. The two double decker tenders based at HMC were able to shuttle the large number of passengers to the island fairly quickly, although if you have the luck of being one of the first aboard, you'll wait a while before the tender moves. We had a leisurely breakfast in the Lido prior to boarding the tender around 9:30. While on the trip to the island, we could see people who had chosen the excursion that involved riding a horse along the beach.

 

 

Later, I heard someone comment that she had thoroughly enjoyed this excursion. When we arrived at the island, we took the path behind the beach to the spot we found last year where we were able to stay in the shade of some trees while viewing all the beach activity. I had hoped to reserve a clamshell, but they were wait listed by the time we booked the cruise. We relaxed on the loungers for several hours before getting lunch at the island barbecue.

 

Here are various photos portraying our day at HMC.

 

 

[Mtn2Sea]

The last tender to the ship was at 2:00, which is entirely too early. In my last photo for the day, I think DW was thinking the same thing!

 

 

Until later.

[SilvertoGold]

Outstanding photos!

Thanks so much for taking the time: this is fun!

 

Hope you have enough time to have fun yourself!!

[Mtn2Sea]

Apparently, I'm still getting into the swing of things with this review. I just realized I haven't posted today's program. Here it is.

 

 

Just about time for dinner. Tonight's dress code is smart casual, which is nice after a beach day

 

Until later.

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

Question? I see lounge chairs along the beach. Can anyone lounge there or are those reserved. We will be on the Nieuw in 2 1/2 weeks on a 14 day. Tried to order clamshells almost a year ago and we're wait listed still.

Thanks to anyone who can answer.

PS love the photos!

[Gardendog]

We booked a clam shell, but they are not at all necessary to enjoy the beach. They are bolted to the ground, and many are between the cabanas. The lounges can be moved to wherever you decide.

[jimbri]

Great photos!!