A-Z .... The ABC and D Islands on the Zuiderdam

[scubacruiserx2]

12 minutes ago, davy jones said:

Thanks for the review.

 

On the two posted dailies, I do not see Lincoln Center Stage.  Is it still onboard and in use?

 

Yes it's still on board and in use .

[scubacruiserx2]

26 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Joe and Pat, a great read which I just lapped up in one sitting.

Thanks for the superb photos and for reminding me how colorful and  cool Curacao (Willemstad) is.

One of my favorite ports.

 

Cheers!

Norris

 

Thanks Norris and welcome on board . Great timing , dinner and a sunset .

[scubacruiserx2]

We took the elevator to the 3rd floor to look at our second choice for dinner - Steak and Ribs . We found a corner table that had a nice breeze and a view of both the city and the sunset . And they had an Air Conditioned bath room ( I wondered if we could get room service there )  Score !

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

I didn't bring my pocket camera for the food shots so I borrowed Pat's camera . The last one and the video ( shot in March 2917 ) are from mine . Cheese cornbread app. , Mojito ( good ) , Margarita (good but small so I wanted 2 ) , grilled shrimp (good ) and conch and grilled shrimp ( good ) . The conch was unlike any I've had before . I have had cracked ( fried ) , salad ( ceviche ) , chowder and fritters . This was more like conch curds in garlic . The price was $124 before tip . 

 

 

 

[jlocole]

Thanks very much for the review. I will be on the Zuiderdam in April for a 10 day panama cruise for our 40th wedding anniversary. Very excited to see HAL still has Happy Hour specials!

Good for the non-suite, budget conscious , no drink package cruisers like us.

The dining room meals look pretty good, too. Hope our cruise has the surf and turf offering.

Did your cruise stop at Half Moon Cay?

[scubacruiserx2]

18 minutes ago, jlocole said:

Thanks very much for the review. I will be on the Zuiderdam in April for a 10 day panama cruise for our 40th wedding anniversary. Very excited to see HAL still has Happy Hour specials!

Good for the non-suite, budget conscious , no drink package cruisers like us.

The dining room meals look pretty good, too. Hope our cruise has the surf and turf offering.

Did your cruise stop at Half Moon Cay?

 

Congratulations on this trip and your Anniversary . Our last stop was HMC .

[MicCanberra]

A shame your lunch was cancelled, but I suppose you wouldn't have got the quiet lunch with a large wedding party there anyway.

[SarahCBL]

I have enjoyed reading your review!  We will be on the Zuiderdam for two weeks starting on January 18th.  Hopefully they have all the kinks worked out from dry dock by then.  We really loved this ship the last time we were on it 2 years ago.  

[scubacruiserx2]

9 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

A shame your lunch was cancelled, but I suppose you wouldn't have got the quiet lunch with a large wedding party there anyway.

 

It worked out for the best as we had a better view and fewer people to share it with which made it more intimate .

[scubacruiserx2]

13 minutes ago, SarahCBL said:

I have enjoyed reading your review!  We will be on the Zuiderdam for two weeks starting on January 18th.  Hopefully they have all the kinks worked out from dry dock by then.  We really loved this ship the last time we were on it 2 years ago.  

 

Thank you . Most of the problems were resolved about midway through the cruise . We also enjoyed the Zuiderdam in June on a Baltic/Northern Isles B2B in June last year . In August we hope to do a TA on the Zuiderdam that includes Norway , Iceland and Greenland . 😊 😎

 

[MicCanberra]

9 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

It worked out for the best as we had a better view and fewer people to share it with which made it more intimate .

That is good.

[scubacruiserx2]

Next up was Aruba 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

 

 

Approaching Aruba A new day was dawning bright

 

 

 

A map of Aruba

 

[MicCanberra]

Beautiful pictures.

[cat shepard]

What a gorgeous welcome to Aruba!

[scubacruiserx2]

17 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Beautiful pictures.

 

2 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

What a gorgeous welcome to Aruba!

 

Thanks we were off to a great start . We met our guide for the day Esther who was born on the island and lived here all of her life .

 

We began our tour downtown  . Esther told us about the blue horses that we would be seeing .

http://www.aruba.com/our-island/paardenbaai-aruba-0

 

 

The next place I think was Palm Beach

 

 

At the far end

 

 

We stopped at De Olde Molen on the way to our next stop .

 

 

This windmill was made in 1804 in Holland and shipped to and reassembled in Aruba in 1960 .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next stop was Moomba Beach

 

 

It seems like a good place to board a pirate ship

 

 

or lounge

 

 

Shiver me timbers somebody looks three sheets to the wind !

 

[MicCanberra]

Now she looks to be in possession of a great coffer.

[scubacruiserx2]

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Now she looks to be in possession of a great coffer.

 

Is that like a Treasure Chest ?

[MicCanberra]

3 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

Is that like a Treasure Chest ?

Yes, a pirates dream.

[scubacruiserx2]

More Moomba including a bucket shower head and a beer bottle tree

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We next headed down to a beach

 

 

I found it interesting to see these cacti near the beach

 

 

 

There was a strange looking white one in this group

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We continued North stopping at a couple of overlooks for photos

 

 

 

Ouch !

 

 

The California Lighthouse 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

[Love the beach]

Your Aruba tour looked wonderful....I have been there several times but haven't seen those places. Going again in Feb. Was that a HAL tour or a private tour?