'Twas the Cruise During Christmas - Zuiderdam 2018

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review and photos.

[jdsl1998]

Help, just booked this cruise last night due to Christmas illness creating change in plans.  We are NEVER this spontaneous...old age, I guess.  Heading from The Villages and never been to Ft Lauderdale.  Where do we park?  What pier are we located?  Any hints would be much appreciated.  Thanks.

[vms]

I'm in charge of planning the shore excursions for my parent's 50th anniversary cruise, for which Grand Turk is one of the ports. If it was just me, I'd be fine on a beach lounger with some cocktails, but needing to find something fun for a group ranging from 11-mid 70's in age, I'm feeling some pressure. I'd love to hear more about the tour when you get a chance, even if it was only 45 minutes worth of tour.

 

Loving your review so far!

 

[POA1]

Day 3 - MDR Dinner

 

 

Michelle started with the Bruschetta.

 

Her father had the Chicken Noodle Soup - once again with Hot! Soup! Action!

 

 

I had the Caribbean Seafood Fritters.

 

 

Michelle then had the Mixed Green Salad with Apples and a Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

 

 

For mains, DW had the Yankee Pot Roast

 

 

I had the Crab Cakes

 

 

Her dad had the Liver. He didn't press the camera button hard enough, so there's no photo. I know the world needs more liver pix, so we'll have a digital camera training session before tonight's dinner.

 

Michelle had the Mango Cream Horn for dessert. It was a waiter recommendation, but was not a fan favorite.

 

 

Her father had the Blueberry Mango Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream. It was his first fruit crisp of the cruise. We were deeply concerned, because he's a fruit crisp lovin' man and he hadn't ordered one on Day 1 or 2.

 

 

I had the Cheese Plate (with Date, not Prune!)   Starting at 12 o'clock and moving clockwise, we have Brie de Nage, Dutch Hallow Dulcet, Reypeaner and Maytag Blue.

 

 

Shots! Shots! Shots!  I had the After Eight on the left. Michelle had the B-52 on the right.

 

 

I have no idea whether or not we can keep the glasses on the EBP. I didn't ask, because we're kind of well-stocked on the old style ones. We do like the new series though.

 

And finally... Poohby Joe. All dressed up with no place to go.

 

[POA1]

26 minutes ago, jdsl1998 said:

Help, just booked this cruise last night due to Christmas illness creating change in plans.  We are NEVER this spontaneous...old age, I guess.  Heading from The Villages and never been to Ft Lauderdale.  Where do we park?  What pier are we located?  Any hints would be much appreciated.  Thanks.

 

HAL uses a few piers, both are located by the midport garage. I believe Holland America uses Terminals 19, 21 & 26. (If I'm wrong here, I'm sure that someone who watches sail aways on the webcam can help me out.)  You'll want to take I-595 straight into the port. Have the photo IDs of everyone in the vehicle ready.  There will be a lighted sign board with all the ship assignments as you pass the security checkpoint.

[POA1]

Greetings from picturesque Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic!  A new port. How exciting! It’s always nice to go somewhere new, especially if it’s magically scenic.  We don’t have anything specific planned. We’ll probably just stroll around to familiarize ourselves with the port. (Didn’t you just say, and I quote: “We usually like to explore a little bit.” In your Grand Turk intro post? If you’re going to lie to these good people on CruiseCritic, I’m not sure I can continue to work with you. – Ed.)

It took us more than a half dozen trips to Grand Turk to venture out of the Cruise Center area, so you can’t really expect us to go traipsing off to Puerto Plata the first time we set foot here.

[POA1]

Amber Cove is one of Carnival’s specially created Caribbean ports, much like the Grand TurkCruiseCenter, only more Carnivalicious. There is a massive swimming pool with water slides and a swim up bar.  They’ve also go zip lines and all the other amenities your average HAL cruiser could want. (Pulls tongue out of cheek and continues….) In all seriousness, it would be an excellent port for families……….

We'll know more shortly.

 

[kazu]

37 minutes ago, POA1 said:

I have no idea whether or not we can keep the glasses on the EBP. I didn't ask, because we're kind of well-stocked on the old style ones. We do like the new series though.

 

You should be able to keep them.  The couple next to us on the P'dam had the SBP package and had quite the stock of those glasses 😉 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I asked this before about the blue covers on the laundry when it comes back.

 

Are the covers reusable?  Or do you just throw them out?

 

The covers are definitely re-usable, KK.

 

Brian gave a very good explantion.

 

 

[POA1]

27 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

You should be able to keep them.  The couple next to us on the P'dam had the SBP package and had quite the stock of those glasses 😉 

 

Maybe we should try to get a set. We can give them as welcome gifts to CC members coming to picturesque Fort Lauderdale. 

[Vict0riann]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

I should add that we left the sleeve on our bed with the basket that the folded items came in and our room stewards took it away. 

That’s what we did, too, on Nieuw Statendam.  Sob - we’re at the airport now.

[JENXYZ1234]

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

 

Maybe we should try to get a set. We can give them as welcome gifts to CC members coming to picturesque Fort Lauderdale. 

We all got complete sets (6) on the Eurodam at Christmas last year. They will even wash them for you! And get you the box they come in for storage. We make cordials at home when we miss the ship. 

 

We leave Sunday on the Nieuw Amsterdam, have to decide if we go for additional sets! 

[POA1]

59 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

That’s what we did, too, on Nieuw Statendam.  Sob - we’re at the airport now.

Have a safe flight. 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

That’s what we did, too, on Nieuw Statendam.  Sob - we’re at the airport now.

 

Safe travels, Ann & Pat.  

 

[shrimpboat123]

3 hours ago, POA1 said:

 

Maybe we should try to get a set. We can give them as welcome gifts to CC members coming to picturesque Fort Lauderdale. 

 

I remembered the topic came up back a couple of years ago regarding the new shot glasses and the different logos on them. Here is the link to the discussion in case anyone would like to refresh their memory.

 

And thanks for the honourable mention a few posts back in Gand Turk. I remember that day well.

[POA1]

11 minutes ago, shrimpboat123 said:

And thanks for the honourable mention a few posts back in Gand Turk. I remember that day well.

 

We were just talking about you yesterday. I'll post some pics of the cabana options at Amber Cove. They've got poolside, hillside and over the water cabanas. 

[POA1]

2 hours ago, JENXYZ1234 said:

We leave Sunday on the Nieuw Amsterdam, have to decide if we go for additional sets! 

 

We're interested in collecting them. We were on a cruise when they were phasing then in. The ship only had one design at the time. I don't remember which one it was. They're in a cabinet above our wine glasses. The wine glasses see regular use. The cordial glasses not so much. 

[POA1]

 

We opted for Dive-In Burgers for lunch. We had The Cannonball. It's a cheeseburger add grilled onions, bacon, lettuce, tomato and Dive-In sauce. We each had our own fries. DW ordered a handmade chocolate shake. I think it's covered by under the EBP. If not, it was $4. The shakes are comparable in quality from the ones at the Shake Shack.

Edited December 19, 2018 by POA1
Forgot the photo. Geez.

[Copper10-8]

3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

We opted for Dive-In Burgers for lunch. We had The Cannonball. It's a cheeseburger add grilled onions, bacon, lettuce, tomato and Dive-In sauce. We each had our own fries. DW ordered a handmade chocolate shake. I think it's covered by under the EBP. If not, it was $4. The shakes are comparable in quality from the ones at the Shake Shack.

 

See any wild assess/donkeys (africanus asinus) on Grand Turk?

[POA1]

13 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

See any wild assess/donkeys (africanus asinus) on Grand Turk?

 

Yes. There were quite a few. Saw some up close and personal at the lighthouse. A woman from another tour wound up on the wrong side of a kick. 

[POA1]

It's a blustery day up in Retreat area. The man's working on his 2018 Guide to Cabana Living

 

 

The HAL brochure talks about robes, an Evian mister, and a battery operated fan. None of them are here. On the plus side, only nine of the sixteen cabanas are rented for the whole cruise. Only 4 other cabanas have people in them today. There are two cabana attendants, resulting in service beyond compare. 

 

However, the lack of robes has RUINED our vacation. (Just kidding.) 

 

[Petunia1950]

I know you are on holiday ... I mean doing valuable research.  And I hate to interrupt that, but since you seem to know more about the CC website than most, I have a question.  In the old days, there was a way to go to "last unread" entry in a particular thread.  But I haven't been able to find that option on the new website.  I'm really enjoying your cruise notes, but it would be really fabulous if I could go directly to the last unread entry rather than scrolling through everything again.  Is there a way to do that without trying to remember the number of the last post you read?  And now that I've said that, I think there used to be a way to go directly to a post if you knew its number -- is that doable now?

[POA1]

1 minute ago, Petunia1950 said:

I know you are on holiday ... I mean doing valuable research.  And I hate to interrupt that, but since you seem to know more about the CC website than most, I have a question.  In the old days, there was a way to go to "last unread" entry in a particular thread.  But I haven't been able to find that option on the new website.  I'm really enjoying your cruise notes, but it would be really fabulous if I could go directly to the last unread entry rather than scrolling through everything again.  Is there a way to do that without trying to remember the number of the last post you read?  And now that I've said that, I think there used to be a way to go directly to a post if you knew its number -- is that doable now?

 

When you are looking at a thread, you'll see a blue dot/circle or a blue star. That will take you to the first unread post in a thread. Stars mean that you posted in that thread. Dots meant that you did not. Just be careful not to click on the thread title. That takes you to the start of the thread. 

[POA1]

6 minutes ago, Petunia1950 said:

  And now that I've said that, I think there used to be a way to go directly to a post if you knew its number -- is that doable now?

 

Not exactly. Direct links look like this. I don't know of any way to reference something like comment #26 in a thread. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2614573-twas-the-cruise-during-christmas-zuiderdam-2018/?do=findComment&comment=56378852

 

[Petunia1950]

Thanks for both responses -- it's been driving me nuts.   You're the best!