Zuiderdam

[Bostonjetset]

Good evening HAL friends!

We are days away from booking on Zuiderdam's 12-night Baltic Adventure this June and I had a couple of questions. We are 95% decided on this trip already so these questions are just mere curiosities and won't really influence any decisions. All the same, I'd love to know the answers if anyone has them. Thanks in advance! XO

 

1. Does this ship still have the DVD players in the staterooms? Whilst not a HUGE deal, it is something DH and I enjoy on HAL as we like to catch up on old faves before we fall asleep in the evenings. On the Westerdam last September they were still in place but we were told all ships will be removing them during their next dry-dock. If they have switched to the new on-demand system, how is the movie selection? I assume it's nowhere near the library available in DVD format.

 

2. There have been rumours on CC that the Indonesian and Filipino crew shows have been eliminated. Is this true? Is it on all ships? I really enjoyed the Indonesian show on the Veendam and I was hoping to catch the Filipino show one of these days.

 

3. There was also a rumor of the Royal Dutch Tea being sacked as well. Any truth to this? Whilst I think afternoon tea on HAL is generally far behind Cunard [and even Princess], we truly enjoy the Royal Dutch one. Those sausage rolls!!!! :D

 

4. Specifically for the Baltic itinerary, has anyone done an HAL tour in St. Petersburg? They are not THAT much more expensive than private tours I've researched and it may just be easier to book through the ship [the extra charges will give us a good bump in Mariner days as well]. It's likely the only city on this trip in which we would book an organized tour anyway. One can still forego getting a Russian visa if on a scheduled tour, right?

[57redbird]

2. There have been rumours on CC that the Indonesian and Filipino crew shows have been eliminated. Is this true? Is it on all ships? I really enjoyed the Indonesian show on the Veendam and I was hoping to catch the Filipino show one of these days.

 

This is the only one I can address based on our cruise on the Z in December - the Indonesian & Filipino crew shows were still done....late at night, as usual.

[CruiserBruce]

Any ship or private or ships tour in St Petersburg comes with visa coverage from the tour provider.

[Aurora95]

We had the opportunity through HAL to go to the Hermitage on a private tour. The museum was closed to the public and open only to us that night. A MUST see!

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

We have cruised to Russia on both Princess and HAL several times.

 

We did the ships excursions -- saved us from worrying about getting our own visas and making we also experienced a couple of places closed to all but the cruise ships.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We were in St Petersburg on Cunard's Caronia 14 (?) years ago. We took all ship's tours, and the best was "The Russian Revolution," which was fantastic. We got to see both Lenin's and Stalin's apartments. The guides were funny. They had been trained in the 'old days' when they had to stick to a script. Now they were allowed to have a little fun. When we drove by a building that had been offices of the KGB, one said, "They say if you look in the windows, you can see Siberia."

[cruisinwmom]

We are booked on a Baltic cruise leaving may 29 on the Zuiderdam. We ended up booking a 5 city tour through TJ Tours. We do not have to get a visa since we are on a tour. For me it seemed a better value but I also prefer smaller groups to the large buses that it seems you end up on with a ships tour. We did sign up for a tour in Copenhagen that ends up dropping off at the airport on final day through the ship.

[summersigh]

In Dec the Zuiderdam had a late night Filipino show.

They also had tea in the afternoon in the Ocean Bar. Get there early as, at least on our sailing, all the seats were gone by the time it was scheduled to begin.

[RuthC]

4. Specifically for the Baltic itinerary, has anyone done an HAL tour in St. Petersburg? They are not THAT much more expensive than private tours I've researched and it may just be easier to book through the ship [the extra charges will give us a good bump in Mariner days as well]. It's likely the only city on this trip in which we would book an organized tour anyway. One can still forego getting a Russian visa if on a scheduled tour, right?

On my first trip to St. Petersburg I did the Red October 2-day tour. It took me to almost every place that all the HAL tours put together went to. Obviously, there was no way to take all the HAL tours, so I thought there was great value in how I did it.

 

At the Hermitage, HAL groups were so large that at exhibits the people in the back couldn't even see the exhibit until the guide was explaining the next one. I was in a small group, and the guide was right there to hear and answer questions.

 

Now, all of this was exhausting, and when I had more energy than I do now. Don't know that I could do it today!

I recommend taking a good look at what the private tours offer before deciding on taking HAL tours in this port.

[Bostonjetset]

2. There have been rumours on CC that the Indonesian and Filipino crew shows have been eliminated. Is this true? Is it on all ships? I really enjoyed the Indonesian show on the Veendam and I was hoping to catch the Filipino show one of these days.

 

 

 

This is the only one I can address based on our cruise on the Z in December - the Indonesian & Filipino crew shows were still done....late at night, as usual.

 

 

Great to know!! Thanks for responding. Any chance you noticed if there was a DVD player?

 

Any ship or private or ships tour in St Petersburg comes with visa coverage from the tour provider.

 

 

 

We had the opportunity through HAL to go to the Hermitage on a private tour. The museum was closed to the public and open only to us that night. A MUST see!

 

 

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We have cruised to Russia on both Princess and HAL several times.

 

 

 

We did the ships excursions -- saved us from worrying about getting our own visas and making we also experienced a couple of places closed to all but the cruise ships.

 

 

Thank you all for the responses!!

 

We were in St Petersburg on Cunard's Caronia 14 (?) years ago. We took all ship's tours, and the best was "The Russian Revolution," which was fantastic. We got to see both Lenin's and Stalin's apartments. The guides were funny. They had been trained in the 'old days' when they had to stick to a script. Now they were allowed to have a little fun. When we drove by a building that had been offices of the KGB, one said, "They say if you look in the windows, you can see Siberia."

 

 

That sounds like a fabulous experience!!

 

 

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[Bostonjetset]

We are booked on a Baltic cruise leaving may 29 on the Zuiderdam. We ended up booking a 5 city tour through TJ Tours. We do not have to get a visa since we are on a tour. For me it seemed a better value but I also prefer smaller groups to the large buses that it seems you end up on with a ships tour. We did sign up for a tour in Copenhagen that ends up dropping off at the airport on final day through the ship.

 

 

Oh you are on the sailing right before us!! Thanks for the info on the tour. I will check out that company. I looked at other private tours and the prices per city got progressively better for each additional city one booked. However we usually really enjoy touring on our own but in St. Petersburg there is just an overwhelming amount to see and the visa process is a pain so we decided to book a tour there. For just STP the private tour prices I found were not much less than through HAL. I'll have to research some more.

 

In Dec the Zuiderdam had a late night Filipino show.

They also had tea in the afternoon in the Ocean Bar. Get there early as, at least on our sailing, all the seats were gone by the time it was scheduled to begin.

 

Great to hear!! Was it the royal Dutch tea in the ocean bar?? That's the only one that really impressed us on HAL.

 

On my first trip to St. Petersburg I did the Red October 2-day tour. It took me to almost every place that all the HAL tours put together went to. Obviously, there was no way to take all the HAL tours, so I thought there was great value in how I did it.

 

 

 

At the Hermitage, HAL groups were so large that at exhibits the people in the back couldn't even see the exhibit until the guide was explaining the next one. I was in a small group, and the guide was right there to hear and answer questions.

 

 

 

Now, all of this was exhausting, and when I had more energy than I do now. Don't know that I could do it today!

 

I recommend taking a good look at what the private tours offer before deciding on taking HAL tours in this port.

 

 

Thanks for the tips Ruth! I need to research some more. I know most people the smaller groups and the HAL tours are more crowded but convenience may win out in the end. We shall see.

 

 

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[BSinPNS]

Not sure what convenience you are talking about. The private tours are in small 12-15 passenger vans with a guide and driver. Driver drops all of you (and the guide) off right at the entrance. Driver magically appears just after guide calls him and picks every one up. We found it humorous that while HAL advertised front of the line access, we walked right by all the waiting HAL and Celebrity tours right into the Hermitage. We had our own mini-tour with our guide (whose mom worked there and she visited all the time). Visas are part of the email package the tour company provides. We were with Alla tours, but heard good things about others. We picked the two day tour we wanted and booked it with Alla. She then matched us up with others from our ship for the tour. ENJOY!

[HELENPSL]

We did the Baltics in June 2015. We booked a 5 city tour plan thru SPB tours and they were fabulous. The most expensive of the 5 tours was the one in St. Petersburg which was 2 days. The other 4 excursions were very reasonable. If memory serves me right the 5 city package was about $600 with $300 of that amount for St. Petersburg. They also put together a group that was just from our ship. We had a van of about 15 people and it was great.

 

Helen

[MaxThrusters]

I was on Zuiderdam last month, in a signature suite.

 

Yes, we had a DVD player in our stateroom. We actually picked up a 4-movie DVD to bring with us so as not to have to bother with the onboard dvd service.

 

While I didn't go myself, the Indonesian crew show was held as per usual, but it was at 11pm which was a bit late for me.

 

They do still have tea every day. I went once, but not in MDR: I had it in the Ocean Bar. I expect it still goes on in MDR too, but I don't know for sure.

 

I've not yet done any baltic itineraries, so no help there.

 

Cheers

[summersigh]

Great to hear!! Was it the royal Dutch tea in the ocean bar?? That's the only one that really impressed us on HAL.

 

Daily tea in the Ocean Bar.

Tables for tea were nicely table-clothed and set The servers were the MDR staff .

 

You had your choice of tea bags from a large selection.

Food was in 3 courses:

Small tea sandwiches

Small fancy pastries

Scones with jam and whipped cream

[3rdGenCunarder]

Daily tea in the Ocean Bar.

Tables for tea were nicely table-clothed and set The servers were the MDR staff .

 

You had your choice of tea bags from a large selection.

Food was in 3 courses:

Small tea sandwiches

Small fancy pastries

Scones with jam and whipped cream

 

How long has this been going on??? How did I miss this on previous trips??? I am definitely going to make up for that omssion on our next trip!!!

[Chase's Dad]

Let me second the opinions of others who endorse the private tours. We were very happy with the number of sites visited, ranging from Peterhof to the Yusupov palace where assassins awaited Rasputin.

 

Alla was quite efficient, and I suspect the smaller vans allowed us to spend more time at each stop, as opposed to tours with big buses that do not fill, or refill, with similar speed. The sites are so wonderful that you will savor every extra minute. As others mentioned, the coordination of the guide and driver was excellent, which helped keep us reasonably dry during a rainstorm!

[Bostonjetset]

Not sure what convenience you are talking about. The private tours are in small 12-15 passenger vans with a guide and driver. Driver drops all of you (and the guide) off right at the entrance. Driver magically appears just after guide calls him and picks every one up. We found it humorous that while HAL advertised front of the line access, we walked right by all the waiting HAL and Celebrity tours right into the Hermitage. We had our own mini-tour with our guide (whose mom worked there and she visited all the time). Visas are part of the email package the tour company provides. We were with Alla tours, but heard good things about others. We picked the two day tour we wanted and booked it with Alla. She then matched us up with others from our ship for the tour. ENJOY!

 

I have looked at Alla and they have some wonderful options for decent prices. Their Grand Tour is only about $20pp less than the similar HAL tour though and their add-on ballet tour for the evening is actually $10 more than HAL so it's really somewhat of a wash. As far as convenience, I've always noticed the ship tours on any line are usually the first to debark so that is one aspect. Also, they can be booked and paid in advance which is a plus for us.

 

Speaking of ballet, has anyone done the evening ballet through HAL? If so, what theatre do they take you to? Hermitage? I know most major ballet and opera companies take the summer off so I'm prepared for 2nd tier dancers but I'd still love to be in a beautiful old theatre and not just some boring concert hall that is only opened to tourists. DH did his graduate studies in Moscow so has seen wonderful Russian ballets already but it would be a first for me and who knows when I'll be back.

 

We did the Baltics in June 2015. We booked a 5 city tour plan thru SPB tours and they were fabulous. The most expensive of the 5 tours was the one in St. Petersburg which was 2 days. The other 4 excursions were very reasonable. If memory serves me right the 5 city package was about $600 with $300 of that amount for St. Petersburg. They also put together a group that was just from our ship. We had a van of about 15 people and it was great.

 

 

 

Helen

 

Thanks for the reply!! I noticed many companies offer packages with various ports which make the prices much less when devised per port. However we will likely only do an organized tour in STP.

 

I was on Zuiderdam last month, in a signature suite.

 

 

 

Yes, we had a DVD player in our stateroom. We actually picked up a 4-movie DVD to bring with us so as not to have to bother with the onboard dvd service.

 

 

 

While I didn't go myself, the Indonesian crew show was held as per usual, but it was at 11pm which was a bit late for me.

 

 

 

They do still have tea every day. I went once, but not in MDR: I had it in the Ocean Bar. I expect it still goes on in MDR too, but I don't know for sure.

 

 

 

I've not yet done any baltic itineraries, so no help there.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Thank you!! DH will be most excited to know the DVD players remain for the time being haha.

 

Daily tea in the Ocean Bar.

Tables for tea were nicely table-clothed and set The servers were the MDR staff .

 

You had your choice of tea bags from a large selection.

Food was in 3 courses:

Small tea sandwiches

Small fancy pastries

Scones with jam and whipped cream

 

 

This sounds like a more intimate experience than the mdr which is nice. My last trip was on Cunard so I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to afternoon tea but if the new ocean bar setup has the delicious sausage rolls I'll be a happy guy hahaha.

 

Let me second the opinions of others who endorse the private tours. We were very happy with the number of sites visited' date=' ranging from Peterhof to the Yusupov palace where assassins awaited Rasputin.

 

 

 

Alla was quite efficient, and I suspect the smaller vans allowed us to spend more time at each stop, as opposed to tours with big buses that do not fill, or refill, with similar speed. The sites are so wonderful that you will savor every extra minute. As others mentioned, the coordination of the guide and driver was excellent, which helped keep us reasonably dry during a rainstorm![/quote']

 

 

Thanks for the reply. Of all the companies I've looked at, Alla had the most intriguing combo of price and itinerary. We will likely go with them if we don't do an HAL tour. I didn't find any itineraries that included the Pushkin museum much to DH's dismay but I guess we can't see everything in such a short time.

 

It seems like there is a pretty even split on the board on HAL vs private when it comes to tours. Whichever we chose it sounds as if the experience will be wonderful.

 

 

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[3rdGenCunarder]

We were in St Petersburg with Cunard and did the ship's evening excursion to the ballet. I don't remember which theater we went to. I don't think anyone famous was dancing, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to appreciate the difference. We saw Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky in Russia? Just the experience we were looking for! I even bought a lovely little Odette Christmas ornament as a souvenir. I think of that evening and smile every year when I put her on the Christmas tree.

 

The only bad part was that it was very warm that evening and the theater was not air conditioned.

[Bostonjetset]

We were in St Petersburg with Cunard and did the ship's evening excursion to the ballet. I don't remember which theater we went to. I don't think anyone famous was dancing, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to appreciate the difference. We saw Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky in Russia? Just the experience we were looking for! I even bought a lovely little Odette Christmas ornament as a souvenir. I think of that evening and smile every year when I put her on the Christmas tree.

 

The only bad part was that it was very warm that evening and the theater was not air conditioned.

 

What a lovely memory you have in that ornament!!

Thanks for the tip on the air-con. I hadn't really considered that and since I HATE being hot, I will be sure to dress appropriately for a non-air-con venue.