Hello everyone.

I'm taking my wife on the Zuiderdams Oct 8th, West Car Cruise for her 40th Birthday. She's always wanted to cruise, and I've resisted until now; I couldn't see myself lasting a week with the small rooms. We have a category SS Superior Verandah Suite on the Navigation Deck -- I hope that is a good choice... I think it's SS8082.

I must say I was a bit skeptical of my choice (being our first cruise), until I read your reviews... Thanks! I will post an honest review following our trip. Following our trip, we're scheduled for a week at the Disney Beach Club resort, so if the cruise doesn't work out - hopefully Disney will make up for it...

I requested a table for two at the 8:00 hour - After reading the review by Steve, I wonder if I should double check our table location?

Three questions:
Anyone else traveling on the Zuiderdam on Oct 8th?
Have they upgraded the bedding in the rooms yet?

Thanks in advance for your advice,

Dennis

I guess I picked the wrong topics to write about.. Lots of Views, no Replies.

I sent HAL the same questions and here are their answers:


Questions:
Q: Could I request a table for two at the 8:00 hour.
A: "At this time, you are on the waitlist for the main dining, upper level. In addition, the tables are not actually assigned until the first day of the cruise. We do have a limited number of tables for two available. However, we do have your request for a table for two on file."

Q: Have they upgraded the bedding in the rooms yet?
A: "The new bedding is supposed to be on board in the Fall of 2005. We do not have a "specific" date. You are welcome to call Ship Services to see if they know if this will be completed before your cruise. The telephone number you should call is 1-800-541-1576."

-Dennis

I forgot one:

Q: I am planning to bring a bottle of my wife’s favorite wine and champagne; is this okay?

A: "If you would like to consume your own wine or champagne at dinner, a $15 per bottle corkage fee will be charged to your onboard account. Corkscrews are not provided in passenger staterooms. You will need to contact your cabin steward for assistance and glasses."

Dennis

First time out....

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I have no experience with wine or champagne but they ignored my plastic bags filled with bottles of diet coke. I always bring large plastic glasses when we travel because I don't like the dinky ones supplied by cruise ships and hotels.

They said you couldn't consume your own wine or champagne at dinner, operative word is "dinner". They didn't say anything about consuming it in your room or on your balcony. You have to think like a teenager.

What's the worst they can do if they see wine in your checked bags? Spank your hand? Take it away until the end of the cruise? I'm stuck on the corkscrew though. Maybe you could purchase it at the first port and throw it away before your flight home.

A few thoughts,

I have sailed the Zuiderdam Twice and I would suggest the following:

If you are interested in various small passenger participation shows take the earlier seating as the there are several 7:45 shows that are fun to either participate in or watch. For example, the newlywed and not so newlywed show along with game show mania. Also, the Karioke(sp) starts as dinner ends on another night.

I brought on board several 6 packs of 20oz. bottles of soda. I also brought on two bottles of wine which I consumed in the room. Getting a cork screw remover was easy. Beer however is not allowed on board. They take it and return it to you on Friday.

The late night comedy show with Julie Barr is terrific. Dont miss it.

In the Lido, get your table first, especially on "at sea" days before you get the food.

The showroom is not well designed as there are polls you will have to look around so get there as early as possible to get too seats.

Enjoy your cruise as my wife and I enjoy this ship a great deal.

Hi Denbo,

We're going to be on the same cruise as you guys. It will be myself (39), my husband (47 as of cruise time) and 4 teenagers ranging from 17-19 (two ours, the other two friends of our kids). We Have been looking forward to the trip, doing a little shopping and a lot of reading of reviews, things to do, etc.

We are not hard core cruisers (only have taken one 3 day trip in the past) and the kids have never been. This is a last big blow out for the family before they get too grown and involved in life outside of parents. However, saying this, looking forward to some nice fun time without kids as they will be involved in their own activities.

We too are going to be taking some wine on board, so hoping it won't be confiscated.

Here's hoping for a fantastic trip. And who knows, maybe we'll get to say Hi!

Deborah and Trace

Thanks for the note Deborah.

Can you believe it's only 20 days until we cruise!!!! We are pumped.

We're flying from the Seattle area, and plan to hit Costco for wine before we cruise. I know this sounds like I'm a tight-wad, but I can't see paying $40+ for a bottle of wine when I can get it at Costco for $12.

We have two boys ourselves; 12 & 16. They are meeting us directly following the cruise for a week at Disney where I’m speaking at a conference.

I hope we hook up, if only for a cup of coffee.

-Dennis

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Costco and Target are my best friends when it comes to wine. They allow us to try so many more varieties and the price kicks a@@. We have 5 bottles already bought this last Saturday which we're hoping to take on board.

I have read various blurbs on bringing on the alcohol, but the worst case is: they take it and give it back to us at the end of the cruise and if that's the case> Wine tasting party back home!!

20 days and counting down! How long have you guys had reservations? We have only had them about 3 weeks now. As per our sign in name, we had previous reservations with Carnival, but our ship was one of the ones commandeered for evacuees in New Orleans. Alas, we scrambled for another and BAM here we are! This cruise sounds really so much better and is 7 days instead of 5. 4 ports instead of 2, so no complaints.

Take care,

Deborah

I agree with the wine-gig, if it doesn't work out no worries...

As for your change in plans, I bet you'll be happy with HAL. From what I've read, I think it's a better bet.

We've had reservations for since May. I have quite the tale on getting discount tickets; If anyone's interested...

We should plan a cruise-chat coffee time?

Dennis

We returned from the Zuiderdam on Sept 3 and had a wonderful time. We had the main dining (which on HAL main is 8:00 pm), the food was great and the sevice was even better. We ate in the dining room every night except one and they had a Caribbean party on the Lido deck aft pool around 9:00 pm, it was pretty good, the one perk was "All you could drink Pina Coladas for 11.95/pp. They were served in a Pineapple and the waiters and waitresses kept refilling them for you until 11:00 that night. They were also serving jello shots... A tip for you all: if you find a bar waiter or waitress that you really connect to, give them a tip early on (around $10.00 or more if you feel like it) and they will hunt you up and wait on you. When they were serving the Pina Coladas my husband told one of the waiters that took care of us that the drinks seemed a little weak, well low and behold he came back a little while later with a special pina colada that you could actually tell there was liquer in it. In fact, we had 2 waiters Renaldo and Ghandi from the Ocean bar and Shirley from the Windstar Cafe who also worked in the lounges in the evening...look them up they will take special care of you..also Chris at the Sea View bar at the aft pool. This is not to say that you wont get exceptional service from all the servers, but these were special to us.

As far as the wine issue, they allow you to bring on wine, but do not attempt to bring on beer as it will be confiscated. My husband had a 6 pack of dark beer (which they don't even serve on the ship) and it was confiscated at the port. I, however, brought on 6 bottles of wine and they passed it straight through. I think I had 4 in my carry-on and 2 in my check in luggage. When we arrived in our cabin, we looked in the lower cabinet beside the vanity area and there were wine glasses in there, however no corkscrew..we packed one in our check in luggage, no problem.

You will have a great time, the ship is beautiful. There were a few kids on the ship, but nothing like you would find on CCL or RCCL. The majority of the age on this sailing was around 40 and up. I talked with a few single people around upper 20's early 30's and they seemed to have a good time, but there were not a lot of activities around the pool like you would find on the mainstream lines. All the lounges closed around 1:00 am and the buffets close at 1:00 am, so if you want a late night snack, room service is the way to go and the food is really good.

We were in an inside guarantee cabin (the first ever for us)purchased an I inside and was upgraded to an M on upper promenade deck, and we were definetly pleased with the size and layout of the cabin. The cabins are around 185 sq ft with plenty of closet and shelve space. The bathroom was larger than on most ships I have been on, of course on the inside they only have a shower, but oceanviews do have bathtubs. We only took the inside because it was a last minute deal we couldnt refuse ( we purchased 10 days before sailing) so we said why not..after experiencing the inside I would not hesitate to go again in one, since you really dont spend that much time in there. I was afraid that I would get closterphobic...but it didnt happen, in fact they have curtains on the wall to give an illusion that there is a window there.

All in all the cruise was great...great service, great food, and a wonderful relaxing time..by the way the reason we decided to do this last minute it was our 34th anniversary and we had planned on driving down coast of SC, GA and FL and just stopping where ever for about a week, but found that this was a whole lot cheaper and a better experience, after all the Captain could be my designated driver and I got to go to some great ports.

If you have any specific questions, just ask away.

DENBO,
Tell us your tale of getting discount tickets, please!

Yes, would love to hear your tale. Anything to pass the time away til I am soaking in the sun with a drink in hand!

Thanks for all the info Carol. I hope the kiddo's aren't too bored on board. Luckily they come with built in entertainment (they each are bringing their best friend) so hopefully that will help.

Hmmm, good to know about the wine. Do you really have to pay $15 to have your wine corked at dinner? That is more than my wine costs!! And it is a one-time charge for the week or for every bottle?? Our wine might just have to be an in-room pleasure. We are bringing a small corkscrew, so no worries.

Dennis, we would love to meet for coffee or a drink. I have no idea where or when, so you have any ideas?

Oh-And happy Anniversary Carol. 30 years! Congrats!

Sounds great!

As for hooking up: How about a Cruise- Chat Cocktail hour? Let's shoot for early in the cruise -- say the first night, Oct 8th about 5:00?

Nothing formal, just a quick drink to compare “cruise tips”. This would be a great time to share/leverage our notes on what to do, how to get the most of our cruise dollar ;-0 and quite possibly save each other from making a mistake on a shore excursion…

I'll leave it to someone that knows the ship to suggest a location.

Thoughts?

D

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Tickets....

Well, I started with the Internet (I'm in the computer field) and found what I thought was the best price for a SS cat room on the Z for the Oct 8th date. Side bar: we needed to sail on the 8th, so we could return by the 15th for I'm a paid speaker at a conferance in Orlando, and our boys are joining us for a week of Disney.

So, the Z Western Carb was a perfect fit. As I noted above, I found a SS Deluxe room on the Internet, and called Costco to see if they could meet-or-beat the price; they did. I was able to book the SS room for $899 per person.

That night, I couldn't help but "surf" the web to make sure I wasn't paying too much; only to find that Expedia had the same cruise offered for $799 per person. I thought, this must be wrong, but when I called and they were able to book the same room category as Costco at this price, and the room was assigned, I thought what do I have to loose... I booked it, then canceled the Costco rez.

In the end I felt that it was a fair price to pay.



D

Cruise-Chat Cocktail hour:

I understand that the place to be is the Crows Nest for a sail away party.

D

Good evening,

The Crow's Nest sounds like a perfect place for a meet and greet. Is what I would have suggested (not that I knew anything about it, but there is another group meeting at 5:30 on Saturday eve as well. I don't want to break PC rules here, but come over to cruise-critic.com HAL Roll Call as well if you get a chance)and we'll be heading that direction as well.

As for excursions, we already have 2 booked via the internet with local companies at the stops. Prices better than given on the ship and they both seem to be a little smaller groups and more personal. Can only hope we made good choices on both, but they did come recommended from those who had done them before.

Back to work tomorrow but only two work weeks to go til we push off!

Deborah

Well, nevermind! See you have already found it! Cool beans!

Deb

I am going with my brother in law it will be my first cruise.He has been before with his wife and they really liked it so I hope I have a nice relaxing time.They say its not a party ship but you have lots to do. see you there

Hi Liverpool,

Welcome aboard! So you guys will be heading out with us. The more the merrier! It does seems to be a slightly quieter cruiseline, but a party is what you make it , and we plan on having a fun fun time! If you want to meet up with all the folks who are online message-boarding, there are 3 planned get togethers. 2 Saturday and 1 Sunday, so let me know if you want times.

Less than a week to go!

Deborah (and Trace)

Please let me know times and places to fit it in my hopefully busy schedule Met with brother in law and wife last night and had a good talk over what we will be doing I know we are going to book the resturant the first night itis only $10 and suppose to be a real experience.