Newbie Questions

[MnFrozen2]

 

We are going on our first cruise (Zuiderdam) on 3/19/05.

 

I hope you all can bear with me as I blast a bunch of newbie questions at you.

 

1. How warm is the water that time of year?

2. How chilly does it get on board in the evenings?

3. On formal nights, what percentage of men wear tuxes opposed to wearing suits?

4. What exactly does the word "Tender" mean? I've seen it used different ways here.

5. How well does HAL stick to the times posted on the itineraries for getting in and out of the ports?

6. Has anyone ever been late getting back from an excursion and missed the ship?

7. When your cruise is 10 weeks away how can you possibly pass the time without going nuts!

Thanks in advance!!

[Darrell6t]

A tender is a small boat, one of the life boats really, that is used to ferry passegers from the ship to the port in places where the ship is unable to dock. Instead it anchors out from the port and the tender takes you into shore.

 

MOST of the time, the ship sticks pretty close to the times published in the brochure. But all too often, something will cause some chages in the schedule. But whatever the daily schedule that you get in your cabin each day says is usually followed. It is rare for a ship to leave late, unless one of their sponsored tours is late getting back.

[localady]

First and foremost, welcome!!:)

 

My family and I leave on the same day on the Zaandam from Cape Canaveral! I am sure you will love it.:D

 

1. The water will be in the high 70's to low 80's approximately depending upon where in the Caribe you are.

2. I don't think I'd call it chilly, but there can be a breeze, especially on deck when the ship is sailing at 19 knots.

3. This is an Easter week cruise. The dynamics might be a bit different, it may be more casual but a Tux is very "smart" looking! Depends on the mood you want to create for you and your party.

4. A Tender is a bigger lifeboat that will double as a ferry to get people to and from shore when not docked at a pier. Half Moon Cay, HAL's island requires a tender. (And the ride is well worth it!)

5. HAL generally will stick to their schedules, but sometimes changes are caused by port authorities, hurricanes etc.

6. Yes people have gotten back late, and yes the Ship will leave unless you are on a ship sponsored tour. The ship will never leave before it's posted departure (check that day) but people have gotten stuck and had to provide their own transportation to the next port. In each port there is also a port agent, so if it does happen, they can help, or so I am told.

7. To keep from going nuts I come here to share my excitement with my cruise addicted friends and to share knowledge with newbies!:cool:

 

Hope you have a fabulous cruise!