cruise review - Mighty Zuidy - March 6-13

Cruise Review

Holland America m.s. Zuiderdam March 6-13, 2004 Eastern Caribbean

A little background on my cruising experience. This was my ninth
cruise, second on HAL, having sailed on NCL, RCI, CCL, HAL, Celebrity,
Princess, Windjammer and Glacier Bay Cruiseline previously.

This was my first cruise going solo, but hopefully won't be my last.
As a reward for making it through another winter, I always treat
myself to a vacation in the tropics, in mid-March. In the past, I've
travelled with my husband, sister, niece, friends or combinations of
above, but this time, I decided to go it alone, and I'm glad I did!!!

I booked my cruise with buycruises.com (Dawn) and I have nothing but
great things to say about them. They found me a great single cruise
price and followed up with super customer service. I wouldn't hesitate
to use them again. They're my first call, when the cruise bug strikes
again.

Well, the trip started out kind of rocky. I planned to fly down to FLL
the night before. I booked a pre-cruise hotel with priceline (got the
Wyndham). Well, due to various delays (flight attendants getting sick
and in car accidents, fog shutting down the airport) my flight was
cancelled until the next day. I was leaving from a very small airport
with little air traffic, and, not having my car with me, I was kind of
stuck. Flight the next day didn't leave until very late - about 12:30
pm. And, for some reason, the flight was about 30-40 minutes longer
than it usually is. Long story short, I landed at 4:05 got my bags,
handed a cabbie a $20 and said "step on it". Pulled up to the ship at
4:27. The place was deserted (ship was due to depart at 5:00).
Fortunately, there was an HAL rep near the entrance that told the
stevedores to take my bags (they had told me, "too late"). She let me
enter the cavernous (and empty) check-in area where I was processed -
and off to the ship I went...whew! Of course, by that time, I had
missed the welcome aboard photo (not that I wanted one anyway) and
muster.

What I learned - always, always, always by trip insurance. I did have
it, so at least I knew I would either a) get my money back or b) catch
up with the cruise at the first port. Always, always, always fly down
to the port at least one day before the ship leaves, and if you fly
down the day before, make it early in the day. Oh, and, if you have a
choice, pick an airport that has more than a few flights a day, so you
can maybe get on an earlier one.

So, I was shown to my cabin, and what a great cabin it was. I had
booked a Cat. G partially obstructed outside guarantee. The week
before the cruise, I got my cabin assignment...a Cat. D outside on
Main deck. Well, as I was panicking in the airport and on the phone
with buycruises, begging them to tell HAL to hold the ship, I found
out I had been upgraded to a Cat. A verandah on Navigation deck!
Yippee! Not sure how I lucked out with such a great upgrade -
combination of being in the Mariner Society (only one previous HAL
cruise - big deal) and buycruises doing big volume with HAL. Whatever
the reason, I was thrilled with the cabin. It was a little too far
forward for my tastes (too much motion for this seasick-sensitive
gal), but it worked out just great.

Cabin: It was #8013 on Navigation Deck, just a few doors back from the
bridge. There was lots of officer traffic in my hallway. The cabin was
decorated in muted tones with lots of wood. The main color (rug and
bedspread) was kind of a milky dark salmon color. There were three
closets. One was for full-length hanging, one had the option of
hanging or fold-down shelving and the third was all shelving, with the
safe on the middle shelf. Plenty of room for me, but with the absence
of any other drawers in the cabin, save for the tiny ones in the
nightstands, it may have been tight had there been two of us in the
cabin. I'll tell ya, it was great to spread it all out, and claim
every nook and cranny as my own.

As you enter the cabin, the closets were on left, bathroom on the
right. Then you reach the bed (head aft, foot forward), then you reach
the seating area and vanity. There was a loveseat, armchair and oval
table in the seating area, and a desk/vanity with a hassock/stool.
Vanity had a stocked (pricey) minibar, the various passenger service
guides, ice bucket and a hair dryer tucked into a tiny cabinet along
the side. Lighting by the vanity was awful. Fortunately, I don't wear
much makeup, but if I did, I'd find this area to be a real challenge.
Also, the hairdryer was awful - the cord was short and tightly coiled,
so you almost have to stoop down to use it - forget about using it
standing. And, you have to hold your finger on the button to keep the
power on...next time I'll bring my own.

Ahhh...the verandah. Spent lots of time out here. The furniture was
synthetic wicker. There was a cushioned armchair, another smaller
chair and a large hassock/stool/table. There was also a small round
table.

Bathroom had a tub but I felt inadequate counter space. I was able to
stash all my stuff in the small medicine chest, but a little more
space around the sink would have been nice. HAL provides lotion,
conditioning shampoo, large bars of soap, shower cap.

Since I boarded so late, I had missed the buffet. So, one of my first
stops on a cruise is usually the spa, to try to get my preferred times
for various luxuries. I was given a tour of the facility - quite large
compared to other cruise spas. I easily got turned around in there.
Having been through hell during the past 24 hours, I decided to book a
reflexology massage for that evening, before dinner - to see if I
couldn't let go of any residual stress. I also booked a hot stone
massage for the next day and a facial for later in the week. This
week, I decided to just go all out and spoil myself...

Ran aft to the Lido and grabbed a couple of pizza slices to tide me
over ‘til dinner then returned to the cabin to unpack and get ready
for dinner. Spa was directly above my cabin - very convenient, so ran
up there for my reflexology, which was really nice.

Feeling a little more relaxed, I slowly made my way to the dining room
and was shown to my table - a table for 8. Already seated were a
mother (75 years old) and her daughter. They were travelling with
another daughter/sister who skipped the first dinner. Mom and one
daughter also left their spouses at home. Also at the table was a
single solo travelling woman (as opposed to me, a married solo
travelling woman), one of the ship's nurses and her boyfriend, and a
single solo travelling gentleman. All in all, it was a very congenial
table. We all really enjoyed each other's company.

Service in the dining room, throughout the week, was really awful. I
thought my first HAL cruise was a fluke, but now I'm not so sure. I
like a relaxed meal, but I don't like getting out of the dining room
after the show has started, and when the rest of the dining room has
cleared out. We often waited 15 or more minutes between courses and
were usually 2 courses behind the rest of the dining room. Our
assistant waiter was MIA pretty much the whole time. Other waiters
brought out large trays filled with a full table's course. Our waiter
brought the courses out 2 or 3 plates at a time, so even at the table,
some of us would be done with our appetizer when others would just be
receiving theirs. We talked to the head waiter (hate to get someone in
trouble, but it was becoming ridiculous) who spent the last two nights
basically overseeing our table, clearing dishes, filling water
glasses, etc.

Hit the opening night show which was okay (the magician was a hoot -
looked forward to his show later in the week). Then, made a donation
at the blackjack tables. Called it a night.

(Lee) wrote in message . com...

Forgot to mention...thisispart 1. More to come.

Lee
Cruise Review

Holland America m.s. Zuiderdam March 6-13, 2004 Eastern Caribbean

A little background on my cruising experience. This was my ninth
cruise, second on HAL, having sailed on NCL, RCI, CCL, HAL, Celebrity,
Princess, Windjammer and Glacier Bay Cruiseline previously.

This was my first cruise going solo, but hopefully won't be my last.
As a reward for making it through another winter, I always treat
myself to a vacation in the tropics, in mid-March. In the past, I've
travelled with my husband, sister, niece, friends or combinations of
above, but this time, I decided to go it alone, and I'm glad I did!!!

I booked my cruise with buycruises.com (Dawn) and I have nothing but
great things to say about them. They found me a great single cruise
price and followed up with super customer service. I wouldn't hesitate
to use them again. They're my first call, when the cruise bug strikes
again.

Well, the trip started out kind of rocky. I planned to fly down to FLL
the night before. I booked a pre-cruise hotel with priceline (got the
Wyndham). Well, due to various delays (flight attendants getting sick
and in car accidents, fog shutting down the airport) my flight was
cancelled until the next day. I was leaving from a very small airport
with little air traffic, and, not having my car with me, I was kind of
stuck. Flight the next day didn't leave until very late - about 12:30
pm. And, for some reason, the flight was about 30-40 minutes longer
than it usually is. Long story short, I landed at 4:05 got my bags,
handed a cabbie a $20 and said "step on it". Pulled up to the ship at
4:27. The place was deserted (ship was due to depart at 5:00).
Fortunately, there was an HAL rep near the entrance that told the
stevedores to take my bags (they had told me, "too late"). She let me
enter the cavernous (and empty) check-in area where I was processed -
and off to the ship I went...whew! Of course, by that time, I had
missed the welcome aboard photo (not that I wanted one anyway) and
muster.

What I learned - always, always, always by trip insurance. I did have
it, so at least I knew I would either a) get my money back or b) catch
up with the cruise at the first port. Always, always, always fly down
to the port at least one day before the ship leaves, and if you fly
down the day before, make it early in the day. Oh, and, if you have a
choice, pick an airport that has more than a few flights a day, so you
can maybe get on an earlier one.

So, I was shown to my cabin, and what a great cabin it was. I had
booked a Cat. G partially obstructed outside guarantee. The week
before the cruise, I got my cabin assignment...a Cat. D outside on
Main deck. Well, as I was panicking in the airport and on the phone
with buycruises, begging them to tell HAL to hold the ship, I found
out I had been upgraded to a Cat. A verandah on Navigation deck!
Yippee! Not sure how I lucked out with such a great upgrade -
combination of being in the Mariner Society (only one previous HAL
cruise - big deal) and buycruises doing big volume with HAL. Whatever
the reason, I was thrilled with the cabin. It was a little too far
forward for my tastes (too much motion for this seasick-sensitive
gal), but it worked out just great.

Cabin: It was #8013 on Navigation Deck, just a few doors back from the
bridge. There was lots of officer traffic in my hallway. The cabin was
decorated in muted tones with lots of wood. The main color (rug and
bedspread) was kind of a milky dark salmon color. There were three
closets. One was for full-length hanging, one had the option of
hanging or fold-down shelving and the third was all shelving, with the
safe on the middle shelf. Plenty of room for me, but with the absence
of any other drawers in the cabin, save for the tiny ones in the
nightstands, it may have been tight had there been two of us in the
cabin. I'll tell ya, it was great to spread it all out, and claim
every nook and cranny as my own.

As you enter the cabin, the closets were on left, bathroom on the
right. Then you reach the bed (head aft, foot forward), then you reach
the seating area and vanity. There was a loveseat, armchair and oval
table in the seating area, and a desk/vanity with a hassock/stool.
Vanity had a stocked (pricey) minibar, the various passenger service
guides, ice bucket and a hair dryer tucked into a tiny cabinet along
the side. Lighting by the vanity was awful. Fortunately, I don't wear
much makeup, but if I did, I'd find this area to be a real challenge.
Also, the hairdryer was awful - the cord was short and tightly coiled,
so you almost have to stoop down to use it - forget about using it
standing. And, you have to hold your finger on the button to keep the
power on...next time I'll bring my own.

Ahhh...the verandah. Spent lots of time out here. The furniture was
synthetic wicker. There was a cushioned armchair, another smaller
chair and a large hassock/stool/table. There was also a small round
table.

Bathroom had a tub but I felt inadequate counter space. I was able to
stash all my stuff in the small medicine chest, but a little more
space around the sink would have been nice. HAL provides lotion,
conditioning shampoo, large bars of soap, shower cap.

Since I boarded so late, I had missed the buffet. So, one of my first
stops on a cruise is usually the spa, to try to get my preferred times
for various luxuries. I was given a tour of the facility - quite large
compared to other cruise spas. I easily got turned around in there.
Having been through hell during the past 24 hours, I decided to book a
reflexology massage for that evening, before dinner - to see if I
couldn't let go of any residual stress. I also booked a hot stone
massage for the next day and a facial for later in the week. This
week, I decided to just go all out and spoil myself...

Ran aft to the Lido and grabbed a couple of pizza slices to tide me
over ?til dinner then returned to the cabin to unpack and get ready
for dinner. Spa was directly above my cabin - very convenient, so ran
up there for my reflexology, which was really nice.

Feeling a little more relaxed, I slowly made my way to the dining room
and was shown to my table - a table for 8. Already seated were a
mother (75 years old) and her daughter. They were travelling with
another daughter/sister who skipped the first dinner. Mom and one
daughter also left their spouses at home. Also at the table was a
single solo travelling woman (as opposed to me, a married solo
travelling woman), one of the ship's nurses and her boyfriend, and a
single solo travelling gentleman. All in all, it was a very congenial
table. We all really enjoyed each other's company.

Service in the dining room, throughout the week, was really awful. I
thought my first HAL cruise was a fluke, but now I'm not so sure. I
like a relaxed meal, but I don't like getting out of the dining room
after the show has started, and when the rest of the dining room has
cleared out. We often waited 15 or more minutes between courses and
were usually 2 courses behind the rest of the dining room. Our
assistant waiter was MIA pretty much the whole time. Other waiters
brought out large trays filled with a full table's course. Our waiter
brought the courses out 2 or 3 plates at a time, so even at the table,
some of us would be done with our appetizer when others would just be
receiving theirs. We talked to the head waiter (hate to get someone in
trouble, but it was becoming ridiculous) who spent the last two nights
basically overseeing our table, clearing dishes, filling water
glasses, etc.

Hit the opening night show which was okay (the magician was a hoot -
looked forward to his show later in the week). Then, made a donation
at the blackjack tables. Called it a night.

Thanks,
Kind of figured this was part 1. Waiting for more as my anticipation
grows for my April trip.
Steve Hayes
(Lee) wrote in message . com...
(Lee) wrote in message . com...

Forgot to mention...thisispart 1. More to come.

snipped...................