BTimmer's Almost Live - Zuiderdam 1/2-30/22 -San Diego to Florida RT

[Btimmer]

We tested negative and made it to our flight as they were boarding.  We're now winging our way to San Diego.  More details are in my blog.

 

 

[Loreto]

Hi Tim,

We are getting off as you are embarking tomorrow .  The ship is in great condition and the best cuisine ever in the specialty restaurants.  A server from the Amazon Cruise was our server in the Canaletto…Issa.  It was good to see the crew returning.  They have been on board since August without being allowed to get off. They are ready to cruise!

 

We did have Covid on board and missed a port, Topolobompo, but nothing else has been reported.

Have a great cruise!

Karen

[Btimmer]

Thanks for the update.

 

We walked down to the cruise terminal from the Sheraton (2 miles). Two ships were in port (The World and Regence Seven Seas Mariner).  We also walked around the train station & the Little Italy area.
 

 

 

 

[Lido deck main]

San Diego looks lovely, we have some more snow coming on west coast and then rain for five days.  Enjoy your cruise.  Bon Voyage.

[Btimmer]

Walking back to the Sheraton, we had a nice supper at Jack in the Box, and the twilight was very pretty.  The total distance walked turned out to be 5.5 miles. At the hotel, we signed up for the HAL shuttle which should get us on the ship earlier plus they'll pick up our luggage at the room and deliver it at our stateroom.  Cost is $19/person.

 

we're looking forward to boarding tomorrow.

 

 

 

[Playin Pickleball]

That HAL shuttle sounds amazing. Do you know if it's available to folks staying at a different hotel? If so, may I ask how to get in touch with them?

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, Playin Pickleball said:

That HAL shuttle sounds amazing. Do you know if it's available to folks staying at a different hotel? If so, may I ask how to get in touch with them?

I don't know how to reach them.  It was apparently available to book in advance as there are 75 guests staying here.  We didn't know until yesterday morning that we would be staying here.  But they allowed us to book it.  A taxi or Ride Share shouldn't be that expensive if you are staying in the area .  That was my plan B.

[SailorMarg]

Good Morning.  View from our hotel room. 😊

[Btimmer]

Thanks for the picture.  We can't quite see them from our room at the Sheraton which is 2 miles away.  

Edited January 2, 2022 by Btimmer

[Btimmer]

Our luggage was just picked up at 9:27am.  We're enjoying sitting out on the balcony enjoying the warmth, sun, and views.  We can see the Koningsdam and Zuiderdam in the distance across the harbor.  They are barely visible above the trees.  Our pickup is 11am on bus #1.

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise.we get on 1/16/22

[Btimmer]

The $19 transfer fee was clearly the best money we have spent so far!  We left the Sheraton at 11:17am and were deposited inside the port gate and completely through check-in, security, and seated in the holding area in under a half hour compared to our assigned check in time of 2:40pm.  The only use of our 5 star status was quick entrance to the facial recognition process.  There's no special waiting area for status holders unlike what we have experienced elsewhere.

[Btimmer]

We just learned that Ian Page is our cruise director.  He was CD on our last cruise pre-pandemic 44 days on the Volendam plus the Nieuw Statendam inaugural cruise, and we really enjoyed him.

[travelnap]

Bon Voyage, hope you have a great cruise.

[Btimmer]

And we!re off about 20 minutes behind schedule.

 

The ship appears immaculate and I am guessing 1,000 passengers or less.  There's lots of elbow room.

[canadianbear]

Have a great time with all that room on the ship!!

[ger_77]

Take good care of the Zuiderdam, as we get on when you get off!

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂

[Btimmer]

26 minutes ago, ger_77 said:

Take good care of the Zuiderdam, as we get on when you get off!

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂

Maybe we won't get off. 😉. 🙂

[J&Dhighdesert]

Brimmer is correct on the number of passengers.  A server told me 1,600 were to be on board, but Cancelled because of flights and I’m sure of the CDC alerts.  There are 1,066 on board.

Thanks for letting me add my two cents Btimmer.

Jo

 

[IPB4IGO]

It sure is empty.

We heard from friends that they boarded two hours early so we went over about an hour early and almost didn't stop walking from the time we entered the terminal building until we were in our cabin. Except for those waiting for COVID tests, there was absolutely nobody waiting in line.

This is the Main Dining Room at 6:00 PM last night and the Crow's Nest at 9:00 AM today.

 

[Btimmer]

 

Here's the aft deck after lunch.

[canadianbear]

21 minutes ago, Btimmer said:

 

Here's the aft deck after lunch.

Wow…

[boze9999]

17 hours ago, J&Dhighdesert said:

Brimmer is correct on the number of passengers.  A server told me 1,600 were to be on board, but Cancelled because of flights and I’m sure of the CDC alerts.  There are 1,066 on board.

Thanks for letting me add my two cents Btimmer.

Jo

 

We were told by a stripe that it was actually only around 900 on board! It's an amazingly comfortable sailing!

 

[CRUZIN SUSAN]

We are scheduled to take a 45 day South Pacific cruise in October 2022 on the Zuiderdam. We saw it in port on January 2nd when we disembarked from the Koningsdam Mexican Riviera cruise.  We will be watching with interest, especially those things you liked and disliked.  The service on the Koningsdam left much to be desired.  We are hoping you will be reporting differently.

[cdhva]

3 hours ago, IPB4IGO said:

It sure is empty.

We heard from friends that they boarded two hours early so we went over about an hour early and almost didn't stop walking from the time we entered the terminal building until we were in our cabin. Except for those waiting for COVID tests, there was absolutely nobody waiting in line.

This is the Main Dining Room at 6:00 PM last night and the Crow's Nest at 9:00 AM today.

 

Hey, that’s us!  Hope everyone is enjoying themselves.  It is indeed a very empty ship.