St Pete Cruiser

Probably just the size makes it a slow operation.

Hi everyone. Florida is back to spring like weather today; sunny and 80 degrees here and about the same in Ft Lauderdale. Cooler next week which is fine by me. We have LOTS of warm days ahead.

Nice camera work, but no toots. Who is the captain??? Dear Holland America; I was watching the N Statendam leave Ft Lauderdale today and the captain refused to toot goodbye to us! LOL.

Here she comes. Expecting three long toots.

Much better!

One early toot.

Looking at the Ascent, I still find the bow and profile NOT to my liking. I need to read more about the design and if it can handle the heavy seas that most Holland America ships encounter sooner or later.

Well, so much for princess today. Who is next?

Caribbean Princess video cut out just as she was approaching tooting zone.

Thanks for posting your experiences on board the Z's! I really grew to like the Zaandam after being back onboard over the holidays. If you had to choose, which ship would be your preference?

Perfect answer! Yes, Zaandam does have the elevators that open facing each other in an alcove like area. With 12 elevators ( 3 banks, forward, mid ship, and aft), you rarely wait for an elevator unlike on the larger ships. Our room was 1912, and my only complaint was that it still had the old tub rather than the new shower. Some rooms on the Zaandam were redone and we were told in 2025 that the remainder will be also.

On our Christmas/New Years cruise aboard the Zaandam, we enjoyed sharing breakfast in the MDR with a couple from the US who would leave a $2 bill next to their plate upon finishing their breakfast. Apparently, that was their custom as the gentleman had a roll of them.

Good evening all. I'm late to the party today. After a quick workout at the gym and an injection of "lubricant " in my knee at the Dr's office, we went to the MLK parade. Our parade, one of the larger ones, attracts marching bands from Florida and parts of the Southeast. The bands range from good to excellent. They not only have to play their instruments, today they have to dance and put on a show for us! The uniforms, the hair, the hats and the music puts many cruise ships to shame. Thanks for sharing and caring posters and readers.

It is 20C in Ft Lauderdale. The cruisers from Canada will be in shorts and tank tops and the Floridians will be in ski parkas and knit caps!

Checking in from sunny St Petersburg where it is just 60F. It has been cool and cloudy all morning, but the blue skies have returned. I see Rotterdam backing up.

That is great to hear. Our guest service manager on the Zaandam told us that now that the ships are sailing full and that the fares have increased, expect to see more of the little things that were cut after covid return.

Yes, Barbara Haney was a jewel. We invited her to have dinner with us on the Volendam as her career came to a close and she was still delightful.

Zaandam, with new carpet and chairs, is still the same layout, too.

I certainly enjoyed Napier last March. There was an elderly man there with his 1938 Buick. He was very excited to talk with me as my mother's sister and brother-in-law all worked for Buick in Flint, Michigan where his car was built.

The rules included no OBC.

Rolling Stone, almost the same music.

Well, I heard the NA'S toots and the Love Boat once before the screen froze.

Nice to see the Nieuw Amsterdam, close up and all. It is sunny and 75 here after a nice hard rain this morning. NA should have a better cruise than 2 weeks ago.

Ocho Rios was pretty good last Monday. I thought the drivers and vendors were at least trying to be polite. We have never been to Falmouth.

I'm sure that would have been an enjoyable cruise! I just debarked the Zaandam with Captain Michiel Willems. He was an easily approachable officer. Just as trim as ever. We had to back into pier 26 past the new Silver Nova. When I spoke to him upon leaving about the Nova, he said he sure would like to have that ship in our fleet under his control. About the same size as Zaandam, powered by LG and fuel cells with battery back up.