Review of Zuiderdam Panama Canal cruise 11/23-12/3

[FoxyTerrier]

We arrived in FLL around 12:30 the day before the cruise after flying JetBlue for the first time. What a great airline. We picked up a car from Budget and headed over to Total Wine and picked up wine to bring on the ship. The Total Wine is near the port and next to a Publix and ran in Publix to pick up a few other misc. items we didn't want to pack. We had booked a room at the Hilton Marina, when we checked in they offered us an upgrade in the tower for an extra $25. We were feeling sporty so we said YES. We arrived at our room on the 8th floor and had the most fabulous view. We had a corner room which also had a wrap around balcony. We got cleaned up as we were meeting old friends from FSU for dinner. I wasn't planning on washing my hair but did want to shower. I got the shock of my life when I turned on the shower and got totally soaked as it had a ceiling rainfall shower head. Had a great time catching up with old friends and were in bed by 10 and very anxious for next day to arrive.

We dropped our car at the Budget rental office in Quay Plaza near the port - they provide a complementary shuttle service to the port. We later learned the Car Rental shuttle at FLL also does a drop off at Port Everglades. Embarkation was a breeze and we were on the gangway at exactly noon. We dropped our stuff at the Neptune Lounge and had a wonder lunch in the Vista Dinning room. After lunch we poked around the ship a bit and then headed back to the NL where we were told our room was ready (this was before the general announcements). 7142 was just as remembered it from being in that room on the Noordam. Over all we felt the Zuiderdam was in great shape - I don't recall when she was last in dry dock. On the entire ship I only saw 2 issues both in our room. The first was the makeup mirror's light was burned out or so I thought. I reported it the second day and very quickly someone came with a new bulb - fantastic I could now see in the dressing room. Soon after the repairman left I got ready for dinner and then found I could not turn the light off as the issue was with the switch and which caused the bulbs to burn out. I ran into the cabin steward on our way to dinner and told him I didn't leave the light on and that the switch was broken. So we had a new night light until the next day. I got up at 7:45 to do my daily walking and as I was leaving the room a new repairman was about to knock (a bit early in my book but that's OK). He had every size light bulb possible, but I told him that wasn't the issue. He didn't understand English too well so I showed him the light. He took the mirror apart and then said "work room", taped up the loose wires and left. Later in the day he returned with a totally fixed mirror and I was back in business. The other issue was loose tiles and no grouting on the tiles near our stall shower. We decided to just deal with it and try our best to keep it from getting worse. (I reported in our survey not as a complaint but as a maintenance issue)

I thought the food on the ship was outstanding. We ate breakfast in our stateroom most mornings and never once did they get the order wrong. The food was normally delivered at the beginning time of the time block we selected. We also ate most lunches in the Vista if we could, as I dislike eating in the Lido and searching for a table. We had late dinning - 7:45 - at table 234. This was a table for 8 with server Adlin, busboy Harry and wine steward Gina. While DH and I found the food to be quite good and actually better than on some other cruises one of our tables mates hated the food and routinely sent back something including his ice water (not enough ice) and one evening sent back 3 entrees including the Thanksgiving turkey dinner. He felt the food on RCCL was much better - we have never cruised them so I had nothing to compare it too. Before we sailed I had read that the Thanksgiving turkey dinner was not very good so I ordered a nontraditional dinner that night. Sending all this food backed caused the rest of the table to wait for coffee and dessert. DH and I skipped out of dessert several night so we could get to evening activities. The last formal night I had the Surf and Turf and it was the best lobster tail I had ever had on HAL. Quite large, plump and cooked to perfection!!!. The last day we ate at the Pinnacle Grill twice. For lunch we attended the Indonesian Suite lunch - it was a tasting menu. DH and I loved it and told the manager we would love to see an Indonesian Night for dinner at the PG and would be willing to pay for that. That night for dinner in the PG I had the lobster bisque server table side and DH had French onion soup and we had both had filet mignon, and a vanilla and chocolate souffle for dessert that we shared. Captain Turner was also dinning at the PG that night and someone at this table ordered the kabobs (which I think are new) and they were flamed table side - I think I'm going to try that next time.

As for the ports. We had our first cabana #12 Yellow at HMC - this was to celebrate DH's 50th birthday. It was so nice and relaxing and the most pleasant day in HMC we had ever had. Every other time there it was been really hot and humid and I can't take that much heat. This time I think we would have been fine without the cabana, but it was worth it. I still think they should offer the Butler service for 2 instead of 4 or more. $300 for 2 people is a bit steep IMHO. We didn't do too much in Aruba or Curacao - just shopping but DH did buy me an expensive bobble in Aruba. We hadn't set out to do this but wandered in to Diamonds International - I hope this wasn't an expensive mistake, but we had done a little price comparison pre-cruise. And then finally we made it to the Panama Canal!!! I set the alarm so I wouldn't miss a thing. I was up at 5 and quickly dressed and on the bow by 5:15 - DH was still in bed. It was already crowded but was still dark so you couldn't see too much. I wondered around a bit, had a cup of coffee and a Panama Bun (YUM) and then went back to our room on the aft. By this time DH was up and it was starting to get light as we passed Christobal. Before we entered the Gutan locks the heavens opened and it poured buckets. We stayed under the over hang and stayed dry, not sure what everyone on the bow did though. The rain was short lived and finally we would stand at the railing again. Half way through the 2nd chamber we came to a stop. It turned out we had a medical emergency and an older woman travelling alone had to be taken off the ship. Once she was safely on land we finished raising up the second chamber and it wasn't any time at all until we were in Gutan Lake. This cruise did not go all the way through to the Pacific Ocean like the 14 day PC cruises, but you can book an excursion to go all the way through to the Pacific on a Ferry. Last minute we decided we should do this as we might never get back to the PC. Once in Gutan Lake we boarded a tender and then a bus which took us a ferry in Gamboa. We then proceeded under the Centennial Bridge, through the Pedro Miguel locks and then through the Miraflores Locks and under the Bridge of the Americas and then into the Pacific. We then boarded a bus that took us back to Christobal. We didn't get back to the ship until 6:30. It was a long day but so worth it and we saw the canal from 2 perspectives - being on the huge Zuiderdam and on a small Ferry. Being on the ferry you really got a sense of how large the chambers really are. Ohhh and I actually got to touch the canal walls while going through Pedro Miguel - actually very slimy. Our last port was Costa Rica. Not too much in Puerto Limon, so we took an excursion to the Tayutic Hacienda (http://www.tayutic.com/) in the rain forest. It was so beautiful and a picture perfect day. I would recommend both of these excursions.

As for the rest of the cruise. We enjoyed the seas days and relaxing. There was a CC Meet and Greet on our first sea day. We hit Team Trivia when we could - cruise director Shane made it fun each day. CC Member - mjwood77 - and her team dominated most days but we did manage to win once and got under water cameras. DH and I hit Name that tune in the Northern lights and played with mjwood77 and her husband so much they finally separated us as we won most nights. DJ Mark was awesome, we never won at Bingo, but they did change how they played Bingo. No more snowball jackpot Bingo, but they give away $10K the first day if you can win in 46 numbers, and then increase it $10K each day and they last day the jackpot was $100,000. No one won it on our cruise but DJ Mark said someone won $60K a few months ago. The casino was not that active but I did bring home about $1000 - we could not even get enough people together to have a full table for Texas Hold'em tourney. One night I played in an on stage game show and DH was a contestant in Battles of the Sexes. DH and I also sang Kareoke for the first time - We sucked but it was fun. We also met many great people while on board: Jenni, Kristi and their mom Carol, our table mates Margaret and Steve and Carol and Steve. And my poker buddies Matt from Montana and Barbara from St. Louis. It seems the Daily Program has changed from our cruise last year and we HATE it - even the entertainment staff dislike it. Instead of listing all the activities by time they are grouped by category and then by time. So you have to hunt on all 4 pages to find everything. I finally took a red pen to highlight items we might want to do we it was easy to find later.

Disembarkation was utter chaos as it I guess it can be. We were driving to northern Florida and opted to walk our luggage off the ship and got the Expedited departure. The expedited people were also group with the yellow group also getting off at 7:30. They should have spaced this out a bit more so the Expedited people could get off first or what's the point in having it. So we finally made our way off the ship and to the elevator. We expected a line and there was one and then several different groups cut the line as they had an "escorted" status. We had wait an extra long time for the "escorted" people to get in front of everyone else. The "escorted" people were not older nor disabled it was a bit annoying, but not so much to spoil our cruise at all. We picked up the free car rental shuttle and were at FLL by 8:30. (If you use the free car rental shuttle you need a print out of your reservation). We don't have any planned for a future cruise but want to go again. I'll answer any questions I can and I highly recommend the 10 day Panama Canal cruise. It's our favorite just under the European cruises.

[aliaschief]

Thank you for taking the time and effort in telling us about your cruise.

[sevenseasnomad]

Thanks for your review. We are on Zuiderdam next year, December 13 cruise. Can't wait because our son & his best friend decided this week to go with us. They booked their cabin Thursday. We are all so excited and are saying to each other, "Just imagine. This time next year we will be on the Zuiderdam in eight days!"

 

Glad you had a great cruise & good to hear that for the most part the ship is in excellent condition.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

The Pinnacle Grill Kabobs were officially started on our Nov 3 cruise.

Hope you didn't have the "Nearly all chicken menu" menu in the dining room on embarkation day like we had.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and got to try one of the Panama Buns.

[sunshine nana]

Thanks for the nice review. Did you happen to talk with anyone who took the train across to the Pacific? How did they like it?

[FoxyTerrier]

Thanks for the nice review. Did you happen to talk with anyone who took the train across to the Pacific? How did they like it?

 

Yes - CC'er mjwood77 and her husband Dan took the Dome Train to the Pacific. Dan is very into trains so it was a must do for him. Hopefully she will see this and can comment more on the train. I think they also did a train trip in Costa Rica.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the nice review. Did you happen to talk with anyone who took the train across to the Pacific? How did they like it?

 

We did this tour several years ago -- absolutely loved it!!

We were in the domb car.

Back then we took the train over to the Pacific side. Then transfered to buses for the tour to the Miraflores lock and all around. Then we return back to the ship by train. Now I understand you stay on the bus and return back that way.

[Himself]

Sorry to hear the disembarcation is still a disaster. It was on Oct. 24th and I hope things would have improved.

[BuddyP]

Hi Joni,

 

Nice review. We were on the November 3 sailing, and enjoyed it as well. Unfortunately we had to get off in Panama and return home early due to an unexpected death in the family, but we had a nice time while we were aboard.

 

I can't help but notice your name and avitar. My wife and I are the proud parents of 2 wire fox terriers. I've owned the breed for almost 40 years. Our male is a champion show dog, now retired and spoiled. Our female was injured at a young age, and we adopted her so she would have a good home. I've attached a photo. Anyway, it's nice to meet another wire fox fan. There is no better breed, in my very biased opinion. :)

[FoxyTerrier]

Hi Joni,

 

Nice review. We were on the November 3 sailing, and enjoyed it as well. Unfortunately we had to get off in Panama and return home early due to an unexpected death in the family, but we had a nice time while we were aboard.

 

I can't help but notice your name and avitar. My wife and I are the proud parents of 2 wire fox terriers. I've owned the breed for almost 40 years. Our male is a champion show dog, now retired and spoiled. Our female was injured at a young age, and we adopted her so she would have a good home. I've attached a photo. Anyway, it's nice to meet another wire fox fan. There is no better breed, in my very biased opinion. :)

 

Hi Buddy,

 

Sorry to hear you had to cut your cruise early for death in the family. My father is in poor health and we almost didn't make the cruise at all.

 

We have had wire fox terriers for the past 25 years and mostly one at a time but had a few that over lapped for a short time. Our most recent came from rescue and we believe to be a show dog as well. He and 32 wires were taken from a breeder in Virginia. He's the most dear dog we have ever had and I missed him so much on the cruise.

[BuddyP]

Hi Buddy,

 

Sorry to hear you had to cut your cruise early for death in the family. My father is in poor health and we almost didn't make the cruise at all.

 

We have had wire fox terriers for the past 25 years and mostly one at a time but had a few that over lapped for a short time. Our most recent came from rescue and we believe to be a show dog as well. He and 32 wires were taken from a breeder in Virginia. He's the most dear dog we have ever had and I missed him so much on the cruise.

 

Joni,

 

I'm sorry about your dad. Been there, done that. :(

 

This is the first time we have had two dogs. Willy was first, picking me when we visited the breeder to pick a puppy. Carley came later, when she was forced to end her show career because of hip injury. The dynamics of owning 2 wires is something only a wire lover would understand. Carley is completely dominent, even though Willy is 5 pounds heavier. We almost had to give her up for attacking Willy, but trainers helped us get it mostly resolved.

 

The only bad part of cruising is how much I miss the dogs. We were lucky on our cruise. There was a wonderful Canadian lady who posts here sometimes, and she had her small service dog on the cruise. We saw them several times, and she was very gracious allowing us to pet her dog. I'll never forget her quote, "I know how much people miss their dogs when they cruise." That's the best part of cruising, meeting nice people.

[pamssanity]

if you have a chance could you explain what you did in Tayutic-- thanks- we are travbeling this trip on 1/22/10/.

Pam

[IRL_Joanie]

Thank you for this review of your PC Cruise. Even with a few things wrong you bore with it and did not let it effect your overall experience, I like that!!

 

Glad to have you back with us and look forward to photos.

 

Joanie

[PegIra]

Hi,

 

The trip on the ferry sounds great. That way we could go though the locks and still take the Ft. Lauderdale round trip. Is this excursion through HA or a private company. If private could you tell me where to find them to contact.

 

Peg

[FoxyTerrier]

Hi,

 

The trip on the ferry sounds great. That way we could go though the locks and still take the Ft. Lauderdale round trip. Is this excursion through HA or a private company. If private could you tell me where to find them to contact.

 

Peg

 

Peg,

 

It is through HAL and the title is The Panama Canal Experience. I think the price is $149/pp. You have to book all PC excursions through HAL as I think there is too many chances people will miss the ship.

 

A lunch is also provided including water and soft drinks. You can purchase local beer for $2 and they also sold PC branded stuff (t-shirts, hats, magnets, etc). The lunch wasn't fabulous and the excusion staff told us that in advance and suggested eating a large breakfast.

 

I think if they could get better food they could easily charge more for this excursion.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi,

 

The trip on the ferry sounds great. That way we could go though the locks and still take the Ft. Lauderdale round trip. Is this excursion through HA or a private company. If private could you tell me where to find them to contact.

 

Peg

 

Only people who book HAL excursions can leave the ship in Panama -- that is Panama's ruling.

There are no tour companies, independent taxi's or anything once the tenders get to shore.

[biddy belle]

Thanks for the nice review. Did you happen to talk with anyone who took the train across to the Pacific? How did they like it?

We took this excursion last week, also, and loved it! Service was first class all the way, and plenty of snacks and beverages were provided. You will enjoy the beautiful conducters on the dome car and their concert performance! Worth the price.

[PegIra]

Once again, thanks so much for all the great advice. I am sure I will drive you all crazy before we leave as this seem so different to me than our 5 Disney Cruises. We have never cruised with any other line until now.

 

Peg

[FoxyTerrier]

if you have a chance could you explain what you did in Tayutic-- thanks- we are travbeling this trip on 1/22/10/.

Pam

 

Tayutic is a very large working farm. They grow coffee, macadamia nuts and sugar cane. They explain in detail the process of growing and harvesting all of these and have venues to explain this.

 

Also many beautiful plants including an orchid green house.

 

It a 2 hour drive from the Puerto Limon to Tayutic (which is way up on the mountains) and our guide, Gloriana, did a fabulous job telling our group about Costa Rica.

 

They also prepare a very nice lunch included in the price and they have a small gift shop.

 

We were very lucky it was a very nice clear day but if it was rainy I don't think I would have liked it as much.

[PegIra]

Just to let you know, you convinced me and I booked the Panama Canal Experience Excursion for our trip in April.

 

I'm sure my husband will be thrilled with the trip.

 

Thanks again,

 

Peg