Review: Zuiderdam Inside Passage, July 14-21, 2012 (with photos)

[alreadypacked]

Lovely review--wow!! Thanks for posting.:):)

[jimbri]

Wonderful photos! Thanks!

[spacepotatoes]

Fabulous review - thanks so much for taking the time to post.

 

Lovely review--wow!! Thanks for posting.:):)

 

Wonderful photos! Thanks!

 

Thanks, all! :)

[metairiegal]

Great review and pictures! You guys remind me of DH and myself when we started sailing with HAL 25 years ago! :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review of your Alaskan cruise on the Zuiderdam. Great pictures.

[metairiegal]

Thank you, Ruth! I'm glad you're enjoying it and the photos :). Your advice when we were deciding on staterooms last year was very helpful!

 

 

 

The Zuiderdam is going into dry dock this fall so hopefully many of those issues get addressed at that time. The reviews of the Panama Canal sailings that follow dry dock will be very telling, I think. But the Zuiderdam was a great ship for us and we didn't regret choosing her.

 

Regarding the crowding, we didn't really feel crowded on the ship. The only place where it truly was crowded was the Lido, especially those first couple of days when they serve you. We avoided that by going to the MDR most of the time. On Skagway day, we just went early enough for breakfast that we beat the rush. The Crow's Nest and Exploration Cafe were difficult to find seats in but there were always chairs available around the Lido pool. As long as you're flexible, it's no problem. That said, the weather was really good during our cruise which I'm sure helped to spread people out. My parents did the same cruise last year, with crappy weather the entire week, and they said they did feel crowded indoors.

 

We were concerned about the ports, too, but that turned out fine. There were 4 ships in each port we visited, including us. In Juneau, because we were on the Tracy Arm excursion when the ship docked, we missed the rush. By the time we headed into town, most people were out on excursions. It was easy to walk around and browse. There was barely anyone else up on Mt. Roberts with us. In Skagway, we were on an excursion all day with a small group. Afterward, the shops were closed so we could walk around town without many others around. In Ketchikan, two of the ships were gone around lunch time so that never felt crowded either, which was a pleasant surprise considering that it rained the entire time!

 

Thank you :)

 

Why do they serve you the 1st couple of days in the Lido? (Sorry, if I missed something.)

[spacepotatoes]

Great review and pictures! You guys remind me of DH and myself when we started sailing with HAL 25 years ago! :)

 

Aw, thank you :)

 

Why do they serve you the 1st couple of days in the Lido? (Sorry, if I missed something.)

 

The first 48 hrs on all HAL ships are "Code Orange" to prevent the spread of Noro virus. If there's no reports of illness after the 48 hrs are up, then everything goes back to normal. It's a great idea but does cause a lot of crowding during meal times!

[maxout]

Why do they serve you the 1st couple of days in the Lido? (Sorry, if I missed something.)

 

They call it "Code Orange" it helps prevent the potential transmission of the Norovirus from newly boarding passengers (who may not yet be symtomatic) who have picked up the virus from contact in airports/planes etc. prior to embarking, by limiting their contact with food, drink stations etc. After 2 days (incubation period having passed) if no outbreak of noro is observed (the norm) then all goes back to normal, self-service items are no longer dolled out by crew.

[lifesabeachum]

How were you able to "name your price" and bid on a specific hotel on Priceline? I see where you can name your price but only for a general area of Vancouver such as the "downtown" area. I really liked your review of the Delta Vancouver Suites hotel and the idea of $127/$157 p/night sounds super! But I don't see how you did it - do tell!

[spacepotatoes]

How were you able to "name your price" and bid on a specific hotel on Priceline? I see where you can name your price but only for a general area of Vancouver such as the "downtown" area. I really liked your review of the Delta Vancouver Suites hotel and the idea of $127/$157 p/night sounds super! But I don't see how you did it - do tell!

 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to request a specific hotel. I just bid on a 4* in Downtown Vancouver and ended up with the Delta. I started bidding at $80/nt and kept going up and down until a hotel finally accepted. I used the betterbidding.com forum to see what the options might be, which I'd recommend looking at.

 

Last year, when my parents did this cruise, I used Hotwire to book their hotel and got the Sheraton Wall Centre for $127/nt. They were really happy with it, but it is not quite as close to Canada Place as the Delta is. Betterbidding was helpful for Hotwire, too. You can usually get an idea of which hotels are being offered by matching up the amenities.

 

Just an FYI about the upgrade at the Delta - we paid an extra $30/nt, which was a special that they were running at the time. It's normally around $50/nt.

 

Good luck, if you decide to do Priceline or Hotwire!

[lifesabeachum]

Man - cruise critic is a the best thing since sliced bread! Your time is great appreciated! I will definitely look into that. I didn't know about "betterbidding.com" so thanks for another great trip! Maybe you should consider being a travel agent!

 

I think we're going with the Volendam for July 24th 2013 cruise. Wednesday departure actually worked better for our schedules and I think the Volendam will have less small children on the cruise. We plan to spend at least 4 days pre-cruise in Vancouver and we want to take a long day trip or maybe an over night to Victoria and Boutchart Gardens. Did you ever consider that? I also must see orcas and I believe Vancouver Islands is the best chance for that.

 

We hope to do Harv and Marv whale watch and walk around Mendenhall glacier in Juneau, rent a car in Skagway and do the summer sled dog musher camp, and the prize excursion will be Anan Creek bear observatory via Island Wings in Ketchikan.

 

Thanks again for your wisdom and time.

[metairiegal]

 

The first 48 hrs on all HAL ships are "Code Orange" to prevent the spread of Noro virus. If there's no reports of illness after the 48 hrs are up, then everything goes back to normal. It's a great idea but does cause a lot of crowding during meal times!

 

They call it "Code Orange" it helps prevent the potential transmission of the Norovirus from newly boarding passengers (who may not yet be symtomatic) who have picked up the virus from contact in airports/planes etc. prior to embarking, by limiting their contact with food, drink stations etc. After 2 days (incubation period having passed) if no outbreak of noro is observed (the norm) then all goes back to normal, self-service items are no longer dolled out by crew.

 

Thanks, good to know. I've never heard of that on any other line.

[spacepotatoes]

Man - cruise critic is a the best thing since sliced bread! Your time is great appreciated! I will definitely look into that. I didn't know about "betterbidding.com" so thanks for another great trip! Maybe you should consider being a travel agent!

 

I think we're going with the Volendam for July 24th 2013 cruise. Wednesday departure actually worked better for our schedules and I think the Volendam will have less small children on the cruise. We plan to spend at least 4 days pre-cruise in Vancouver and we want to take a long day trip or maybe an over night to Victoria and Boutchart Gardens. Did you ever consider that? I also must see orcas and I believe Vancouver Islands is the best chance for that.

 

We hope to do Harv and Marv whale watch and walk around Mendenhall glacier in Juneau, rent a car in Skagway and do the summer sled dog musher camp, and the prize excursion will be Anan Creek bear observatory via Island Wings in Ketchikan.

 

Thanks again for your wisdom and time.

 

Thanks! I have become our family's unofficial travel agent, but I think that's as serious as I get ;)

 

If you have the time to make it out to Victoria, it is really beautiful. We didn't have time on this trip but I spent several weeks living there back in 2007. The Butchart Gardens are great, but can take several hours if you want to see the entire property (and get distracted taking photos, like we do ;)) so you'll have to budget your time carefully depending on how long you're planning to stay. Downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbour are really nice to walk around - the provincial parliament is there, the Fairmont Empress hotel, the Royal BC Museum, Chinatown, etc. are worth checking out. I think the Inner Harbour may be the only place in Canada where palm trees grow. There's also a McDonald's that is worth stopping into just to see what is probably the only McDonald's with a chandelier :) Don't go too far beyond Chinatown, though, as it starts to get a little sketchy.

 

Your excursions sound great, have a wonderful trip!

[cruisinskier]

Hi again! I remember chatting when planning our Hawaii cruise. I just found your review here....thanks for this. We are very seriously looking at an Alaska cruise in the near future. Thanks for taking the time to post this and your photos are fantastic!

[cruiseclues]

Your Photo Review was interesting...thanks for posting. :):):):)

[spacepotatoes]

Hi again! I remember chatting when planning our Hawaii cruise. I just found your review here....thanks for this. We are very seriously looking at an Alaska cruise in the near future. Thanks for taking the time to post this and your photos are fantastic!

 

A very belated thank you, cruisinskier! I hope it was helpful. Btw, I still have your fantastic Carnival Magic review bookmarked for future reference :)

 

Your Photo Review was interesting...thanks for posting. :):):):)

 

Thanks!

[Ms. Alpha]

It was great to read your review for nearly the same time perios (we are at the end of July.)

Thanks for all the Photo's. Planning to do the Pininacle on our Anniversary so especially enjoyed those. The only time we did the Pinnacle, it was on the Zaandam and did not have the ocean views - nice to have in Alaska in the summer with more daylight.