Jinty684

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

We booked ours with a casino offer a few months ago.  Interesting difference is the cost to upgrade yourself to a higher category.  Three months agp we received a free Oceanview and upgraded to Neptune to $1599.  This time we received a free Verandah and the cost to upgrade to a Neptune ranged from $1599 to $2499.  Does not make sense IMO.

 

We received a free verandah and were told it would be $1249 to upgrade to a Signature Suite....we passed. 🙂

just booked an Alaskan cruise through this casino offer - very excited to finally get to Alaska!

1 hour ago, Brodysmum said:

I have had two emails, from Holland America, saying I have missing information on my check in page. It asks for my address while in the states. I looked and I have filled it in and my check in is complete. Anyone else had this problem??

I've had that twice and called into HAL to ask about it. Both times was told not to worry about it as my information is complete. 

1 hour ago, DaveOKC said:

Club Orange can be a good value if you are interested in upgrading your cabin (within your Mega category such as Veranda) and if you are on a Pinnacle class ship where you have separate dining area for breakfast and dinner.

I just did that yesterday. We're on the Nieuw Statendam in two weeks on a free casino offer. We paid the upgrade to a verandah so had a VH guarantee. Wanted to move out of those obstructed view verandahs so booked Club Orange for the cabin upgrade. Looking forward to the other dining options too.

That looks like the fantastic Carlos and Ashley as lead singers in the BB Kings band - love, love those two!

I have been on three sailings with Erlickman - he was our MDR server on the Eurodam in 2018.  We were so excited to see him again on the Zuiderdam in 2019 and again in 2020.  He is a lot of fun and just a joy to be around.  We also really enjoyed a married couple we met on the Zuiderdam this year - April was our wine steward in the MDR and her husband was a drink server in BB Kings and the Seaview Bar (and he led the Zuiderdam bar hop which was a LOT of fun!).  Can't wait until we're back on the Zuiderdam in 2021!

I was on the Zuiderdam from Jan 25 until Feb 8.  We had spectacular weather with only a bumpy ride on the last sea day, a bit of early rain in Falmouth (but it was hot), and a breezy day the second time we stopped at HMC.  In fact, the shoreside staff could not make it to HMC that day, but the ship's food and beverage team managed to get food and drink over to the island and I understand most of the bars and the BBQ went ahead.  Unfortunately, all excursions had to be cancelled. The morning was windy and cool but the the afternoon was much better that day.   

This is my second cruise on her, and I love this ship.  The crew are so friendly and helpful, loved the food (I'm pretty easy to please though!) and the ports.  Wasn't really overly thrilled with the main stage entertainment - three different comedians and a magician over the two weeks plus the One Step productions.  BB Kings and Billboard on Board were outstanding.  Casino was mean to me 🙂 but that didn't stop me from spending time there.  I've already booked a cruise on the Zuiderdam for next February (only 368 days until departure, but who's counting!) as I like the ship that much.

If anyone has any specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

On last year's cruise (partial Panama), I mentioned to our server in the MDR how much I missed the chilled soups and he got them for me after that.  🙂  I hope the same thing happens this year (leaving in 8 days!  yahoo - can't wait!)

16 minutes ago, penaddict said:

What type of booking was this? I'm trying to wrap my head around the inside or outside of cancellation fees.
I feel this is becoming an algebraic equation (if this, then that).

Thank you!

Booked with our FCD, final payment not due until November.  After final payment, it's really hit and miss as to what you might get.  For our cruise this year, we got a cheap upgrade to a signature suite and two $100 beverage cards.  Other years we've been given OBC or room upgrades.

I'm booked on a January 14 day cruise on the Zuiderdam.  Two weeks ago I noticed a significant price drop so my TA called Holland and although we had to give up pre-paid gratuities, our cruise went down almost $400 pp and we got an additional $150 OBC each.  It was an easy decision to switch.  This morning, my TA called about the 3 day sale, and they added an additional $150 OBC to each of us.  Now we have $450 OBC each and a reduced fare...I'm very happy!

I was on her in January for  the 11 day cruise...loved the ship and the crew.  Have booked two cruises on her in 2020 🙂

1 minute ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

That was Capt Chris Turner (the one retiring off Volie) - Did you meat Capt. Vaartjes' young son? He has his own captain's uniform

I didn't see him in his uniform, but did see him around the ship......one of the other officers had his daughter with him too.  

Just now, Copper10-8 said:

 

Kinda doubt it, Besides, "non-sissy toet" Capt Wouter is on vac

We were on the Jan 16th sailing and Captain Vaartjes quite enjoyed blowing the horns.  We were at Half Moon Cay with the Volendam and it was that Captain's last day before retirining.  Captain Vaartjes announced that we were going to give him a proper send off - when we left there was quite the toot off between ships!  

1 hour ago, Arrowinc said:

We are on this cruise departing on 2/27, and sure hope that it fulfills our expectations.  I have always wanted to see the Canal, and we loved the Zuiderdam when on board for the New England/Canada trip back in the fall.  

We were on the Jan 16th sailing and it was probably my favourite cruise yet.....you will love it!  I'm pretty jealous watching this sailaway.... :)

I’m on the Zuidy now. We were late leaving as the shipment of bacon was late - all passengers were on board- glad we waited because life isn’t worth living if there’s no bacon!:)

Last night we diverted to Freeport due to a medical emergency. A passenger was taken off by boat. So we’re an hour late to Half Moon Cay. 

Thanks POA1 for your marvelous review/info on your cruise.  I'm boarding the Zuiderdam in one week for an 11 day cruise and you've provided so much valuable info.  This will be my first cruise on this ship so all your photos are very much appreciated.  I'm hoping that the current lead singers with BB Kings will still be on board given your reviews 🙂  My cousin and I generally end each evening at the BB King Club.  

Janette

ps I would love to cruise with you and your lovely wife one day - you two seem to be a hoot!!

I have really enjoyed reading your thread!  We are on the Zuiderdam three weeks from today and the excitement is building here!  I'm very happy to hear that the BB Kings are great as we are big fans.  We'll likely finish each day listening to them.  I hope the same lead singers are still on board.

I checked on my Zuiderdam Jan 2018 cruise - price is exactly the same as when I booked in January this year but no OBC (have $250 now) and they want payment in full.....are they crazy??

One thing happened that I thought was interesting/strange and I may need Copper John to confirm my suspicions. We were hanging over our balcony as all aboard time was approaching in St. Maarten watching people hurry back to the ship. All aboard was I think, 3:30. Just before 3:30 a police van came up the pier and parked by the gangway. Various golf carts with on shore staff came too and we could see shore staff coming and going, as well as 2 or 3 HAL security officers coming off the ship, speaking with the police and then returning. About 10 minutes after we should have left, one of the police officers got out of the van and went up the gangway. A minute later, he returned with a man and a woman pulling their luggage behind them. There was a conversation between this couple (the man was doing most of the talking judging by his arm movements) and security staff as well the shore staff. After 5 minutes or so, the couple turned and walked down the pier with their luggage.

Our theory is that they were put off the ship for some reason because if they were leaving due to a family emergency, then why wait until everyone had embarked (therefore no guests in the area) and why were police involved? I also believe that HAL would have at least provided a shuttle for them to the taxi stand rather than have them do it on foot.....

Any theories anyone? Copper John?

I just finished back to back cruises on the Eurodam and had a fantastic time. I’ll give some overall comments and then comment specifically on each week as they were quite different – but both were excellent. Be forewarned, this is a long review :)

The first week was the cruise that we won in bingo last year on the Oosterdam. We decided to add the second week as the Eurodam was doing two different itineraries with only Half Moon Cay being on both. First week was Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Maarten and HMC. The second week was HMC, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Key West. Overall the weather was cooler and more overcast that in previous years but much nicer than the minus 25 degrees C that we left behind in Toronto!

The first week was just my cousin and I – this is our fourth cruise together and we travel very well together (so much so, that’s she’s just moved in with me permanently!) We have a lot of common interests and it’s very easy to travel with her. We were joined the second week by my best friend and her husband, plus a mutual friend of my cousin and I. We had a verandah guarantee for the first week and assigned room the second week (because there were three of us in the room).

Week 1 -

We flew into Fort Lauderdale the day before the cruise and stayed at the Extended Stay hotel – great location, clean rooms but not fancy. We were very close to the port,Walgreens, Total Wine etc. :) The next morning we took their shuttle ($4 per person) to the port and checked in. There was some sort of delay in embarkation,but we were on and in our cabin by shortly after noon. We met our room stewards (Frank and I can’t remember his partner’s name) and they were great. We never wanted for anything and rooms were made up early every day. Great stewards….

Sailing out of Fort Lauderdale was windy and bumpy. Captain Timmers said that we would be bumpy for 2 or 3 hours but he lied :) We actually had quite rough seas for the entire next day, which was a sea day. This is my 7th cruise and I have to say that this was the longest, roughest I’ve experienced.

We had early fixed seating and had the great pleasure of eating with 3 couples that sail together each year…two couples from Virginia and one from Illinois. We had such fun with them every day….I hope to see them on a future cruise again. Our dining room steward was Roy and his assistant Bagas – they, like all HA crew, were fantastic. Loved meeting for dinner each night with this group. I loved the food (I’m not terribly picky – don’t do seafood or spicy though) at all the meals.

We didn’t plan to do much at any of the stops this week, as this was to be our R & R week. We sat on the beach at Grand Turk, wandered around old San Juan, didn’t leave the pier at St. Maarten, but visited the shops there and had some beach time at HMC. As an aside, the weather at HMC started out sunny, but after a couple of hours rain set in and then it got sunny again towards the end of our visit. We bailed when we saw the dark skies and made it back to the ship just as the skies opened.

We only went to one show in the main theatre (wanted to wait and see the shows with our friends the following week) and it was terrible –Fantastic Patrick, who was anything but….. We spent a lot of time in BB Kings. This band was new to us and in fact, we spoke with the female leadsinger and this was her first contract. They were superb musicians and singers, but they seemed somewhat stiff and didn’t interact with the audience much the first week. I really missed seeing Carlos and Ashley sing– they are still my favourite BB Kings singers and I hope to see them again….but having said that, the band we saw was very good and the place was packed most nights. The Billboard piano players were also very good and played to standing room only most nights. I didn’t go to the Lincoln Centre but I was told by my dinner mates that they were excellent. Our cruise director was Nick and his assistant was Joup(?) – enjoyed both of them – very pleasant and friendly.

My cousin and I like the casino and bingo – the first week, both venues were half empty – I’m not sure if that was due to the movement of the ship keeping people away, or if there weren’t many gamblers that week. That certainly changed in week 2 – both were well attended all week.

So, we were well rested when we returned to FLL to await our friends to join us.

Week 2 –

We had to change rooms but HAL made it very easy forus. We moved from 7090 to 7027 – aft portside to forward starboard side…….I made the wrong turn from the elevator for days after the move! :) We just had to pack up our loose stuff and the stewards moved everything from the closets plus our bags to the new room. We were told we needed to be off the ship from 9:30 until about 11 so we hopped a cab and went shopping. Bought some wine and some birthday supplies as my best friend would be celebrating her birthday onboard. We walked back to the hotel we had stayed at the previous weekend and asked if we could use their shuttle again, and they said yes :) So $4 each later we were brought back to our ship. Friends arrived at about 12:15 and were basically able to check in and board immediately.

Our room stewards this week were (believe it or not) Andi and Handi….and again, couldn’t have asked for any better. They had to deal with three in our room and they always had it looking great. I’m not sure that I’ll ever want to sail with three in a room again, but we did have plenty of storage and sleeping space. But when the sofa bed is made up, the room is full of beds.

We had a table for 6 in the dining room (early fixed again) and our steward was Adlip and his assistant was the wonderful Erhlickman. Erhlickman was such a character and had us in stitches every night. I purchased one of the wine packages this week for our table and Alex, our wine steward was so very helpful and knowledgeable. Donna’s birthday was celebrated with champagne and a whole birthday cake from the kitchen….plus she was serenaded by the stewards. I think she enjoyed it! Again, loved the foodand so did my friends. They had escargot as an appetizer one night and on the second last night we asked Adlip if Mike and Donna could get it again on the last night….he said he’d check and lo and behold, a plate of escargot appeared before each of them on the final night.

Ports – unfortunately, we were not able to stop at HMC as the swells were too high. This was very disappointing to my friends that hadn’t cruised before. We ended up with two sea days to start and as in the first cruise, they were a little bumpy. The weather was overcast in Grand Cayman, but warm enough. We did two tours with Captain Marvins – Hell/TurtleFarm followed by a one stop snorkel/Stingray City tour. The water was very warm and this was enjoyed by all. In Cozumel we also did a private tour – had a jeep plus our own tour guide, Pancho, who seemed to know everyone on the island. Only four of us took the tour, so we fit in one jeep and visited a tequila factory, chocolate factory, Mayan ruins, lighthouse and finished with dinner in a beachside restaurant. Weather was on the cooler side and very windy, but a nice day was had by all. In Key West, Mike and Donna took a HAL tour kayaking in the mangroves that they enjoyed and the rest of us did the hop on hop off trolley. Skies were cloudy and cooler than normal, but pleasant.

We saw several shows in the main theatre – two with the Eurodam singers and dancers and they were very good. One guest performer, Live Wire I think theywere called very excellent (Irish family band – really good musicians and singers) and there was a magician that people seemed to enjoy. BB Kings were still excellent and were standing room only (and seemed to be loosening up a bit by the end of the week) as were the other performers on the ship.

Of my three friends, I think my best friend and her husband will cruise again – once they got their bearings, they took advantage of much of what was going on onboard and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I don’t think my other friend will cruise again :)

Disembarkation was pretty painless. We did the self embarkation and were off and through customs very quickly. The government was shut down and I don’t know if that had anything to do with them only having 3 agents on duty, but I expect those coming after us were faced with long lines and delays.

So, once again, we had a fantastic trip and have already booked for next year. As always, we find the crew on board to be one of our highlights on these cruises, and this one was no exception. In addition to the staff I mentioned earlier, I want to give a shout out to Lorne, waffle maker extraordinaire in the Lido. Always cheerful, laughing and chatty and made killer crepes and waffles! Also want to mention that Nick the cruise director left the ship after the first week and was replaced by a woman, Kelly - she was very nice and we enjoyed her too.

Made it BB Kings many times. Musicians were excellent.

 

The band on the 11/19-11/26/17 cruise disembarked on 11/26. The new band will be on the ship 4 months. Male singer very good, female singer is good but has high voice. I don't think their names were Carlos and Ashley.

 

Talked with several of the musician and surprised that the band is put together by BB King Inc and do not stay together like regular band.

Thanks! I had heard that Carlos and Ashley were on the Eurodam so I'm guessing they left on the 26th. I'm sure we'll enjoy whatever group is there now.....we spend most evenings at BB Kings on our cruises... :)

Hey Redneck Bob - I'm sailing on the Eurodam in 34 days (not that I'm counting ;) ) for two weeks. Did you get to the BB Kings at all and if so, did you note the names of the lead singers? My cousin and I are big fans of Carlos and Ashley and have been lucky enough to have them on the last two cruises I've taken and I'm hoping that we get lucky three years in a row.....

I'm glad to hear the food is as good as always.....I'm so looking forward to eating my way around the Caribbean!

We have listened to numerous BB King groups and think that Carlos & Ashley are among the best. They are currently on board Eurodam but I believe their contract is over in November some time. I doubt they will still be on board in January but one never knows...

I'll keep me fingers crossed....I spoke with Carlos and he loves being on the HAL ships, so maybe, possibly, they'll gt offered a new contract back on the Eurodam :) I've heard them on the Eurodam and on the Oosterdam.

We've seen the same BB Kings band on two different ships and they did one night of all requests towards the end of each of the cruises. We love the BB Kings and listen to at least one set each night they're playing. And if anyone knows where Carlos and Ashley are playing, I'd love to know. I'm hoping to hear them again on the Eurodam in January.

I'm on the Eurodam in January for back to back 7 day cruises and I love the BB Kings....did you happen to note who the lead singers were on the Eurodam? I've been fortunate on my last two cruises (Eurodam in 2016 and Oosterdam this past February) to have had Ashley and Carlos as the two leads. They are outstanding and I would love to make it three in a row!