Dave’s Live from Zuiderdam Voyage of the Vikings, July 30 – Sept. 3, 2019

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Where's your next adventure , Dave? This one has been fabulous to follow!

[RetiredMustang]

47 minutes ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

Where's your next adventure , Dave? This one has been fabulous to follow!

 

Thank you!  We have booked a triple Denali next summer, but I've already reviewed one of those, so I don't plan to live blog it.  The next bucket list cruise booked is a Japan, Russia and Trans-Pacific Collector in April 2021.

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

To continue with the ship photos, here are photos of the Seaview bar and pool:

 

 

 

 

Here are photos of the Pinnacle bar:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are photos of the atrium bar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[JimnKaren]

When we were on the ship two years ago, that lobby bar was never used. Was that still the case?

Jim

[RetiredMustang]

1 minute ago, JimnKaren said:

When we were on the ship two years ago, that lobby bar was never used. Was that still the case?

Jim

 

We never used it, and I never saw it when it was open ... if it was.  It used to be the "martini" bar on the Vista ships, but I think mixology classes have moved to the Gallery Bar.

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are photos of the shops:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

 

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are the Canaletto food and drink menus:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[fatcat04]

22 hours ago, RetiredMustang said:

 

 

We had emailed our sons that we had missed St. John’s due to the remnants of Erin.  One of them emailed back a photo of a Cat 3 Hurricane he found online somewhere that I thought I would share with you:

 

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I know some onboard are concerned about Hurricane Dorian, and making flights home to Florida, and evacuations are underway in some parts of the state … sorry, but that was too good not to share.

 

More tomorrow,

Dave

That is so cute... though one might even call it a Cat 3 Purricane. 😄

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

Each HAL ship has artwork on the stairwells that vary from ship to ship.  On Zuiderdam, the forward stairwell has the renowned paintings of HAL ships by Capt. Stephen Card:

 

 

 

The middle stairwell has framed metal or metal-like engravings:

 

 

 

The aft stairwell has circular blue plaques with bronze or brass outlines of vintage ships; each landing is different.  Here are a sample:

 

   

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

Finally, to finish up the ship photos, here are a collection of things that are not necessarily connected, but are just things that struck me as interesting.  First, there is a station on deck one,, probably where the FCC used to be, that has a few computers and a printer where people can print their airline boarding passes:

 

 

 

Then, the America’s Test Kitchen set:

 

 

 

The art gallery on deck 2:

 

 

The atrium staircase from deck 3 to deck 2 (or vice versa, depending on which way you are going):

 

 

 

A statue outside the show lounge:

 

 

 

And a couple of elevator landings with interesting carpets and design:

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[canadarocks]

Thank you SO MUCH for this amazing review! 

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

All in all, we found Zuiderdam to be elegantly furnished with color schemes and designs we like.  But, for complete disclosure, the ship has some issues.  There has been a constant issue with the tile flooring in the Lido restaurant; once they tore up a bit of the decking for repairs.   (And, I am still looking for that station in the Lido restaurant that serves the Godiva chocolate-covered caramels – I haven’t found it yet, but the search continues.) 😁

 

Also, DW has smelled mold or mildew occasionally (I didn’t, but my nose is not as discerning as hers).  And, there have been water issues; last night, the ship secured the water from 1 to 6 a.m. to make repairs.

 

But, all in all, the ship is in generally good condition, and the crew works continually to repair and refurbish things as needed.

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 2, at sea (Cont.)

 

Here is the last MDR dinner and dessert menu:

 

 

And the last Lido dinner menu:

 

 

More tomorrow,

Dave

[oaktreerb]

Good to see they haven’t given up on the HAL tradition of serving Baked Alaska.  We finally saw it on the final day of our Maasdam Alaska cruise much to my delight!  

 

I’ve enjoyed following your travel report!

[lammer]

Fantastic blog, thank you so much for taking the time to post it!    I hope we can do this cruise some  day in the not too distant future.

We were on the Zuiderdam in February and thought the entertainment was top notch.

[mamaofami]

Dave, thank you for doing this wonderful blog and for all the pictures. We are boarding Zuiderdam in 2 weeks for the 3rd time and she looks very different now. One thing I noticed was that oatmeal was missing from the in room breakfast and my favorite dessert, chocolate volcano was not listed in the Pinnacle. 

Your pictures were all beautiful. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Edited September 3, 2019 by mamaofami

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks for all the ship photos. I too will be boarding her later this month and I enjoy looking at what to expect. It has been awhile since I have sailed on the Zuiderdam.

[cat shepard]

Thank you, Dave! Safe travels home.

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 3, Boston, debarkation

 

Here is the voyage log:

 

 

 

Also, here is a notice about how the immigration inspection will occur -- it will be onboard ship instead of ashore.  This is the first time I’ve seen this.   I will check in later to let you know how it went.

 

 

Later,

Dave

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you Dave for your wonderful Blog and pictures.  I have enjoyed the blog and pictures very much.

 

It was very interesting to see the changes in the ship since we were last on her.

 

Have a safe trip home.

[jbhcw]

What a wonderful report with amazing pictures!  thanks so much for sharing with us.  I think the ship looks a bit different than when we sailed on her many years ago. Safe travels home.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking us along on your marvelous journey.

Wonderful pictures and commentary.

Safe home.

[kazu]

Thanks for taking us along Dave 🙂

 

Very enjoyable 😄 

 

Safe travels home

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks for all your work in putting your thorough review together.  The ship photos really highlight the changes in the decor since I was last on the Zuiderdam four years ago.  She’s a beautiful ship.