Live from the Zuiderdam - August 26 to September 2 - Maine and Canada

[Rubyfisch]

Tonight's dinner menu:

 

[canadianbear]

27 minutes ago, Rubyfisch said:

Now that we are sadly halfway through the cruise, some initial thoughts.

 

We are having a great time. I would definitely book another Holland Cruise. There are definitely things that take some getting used to, like the random periods during the day were there is effectively nowhere to get food (particularly as everyone is getting back on board). I love how friendly the staff and most of the passengers are, which really makes up for the limited amount of scheduled programming.

We have ordered room service when we’ve been stuck after an excursion with not much open to grab a bite to eat. 
 

Nice to hear you are enjoying the cruise and would book another.  
 

We love the staff too-they are hard working lovely people.  

[Ken the cruiser]

33 minutes ago, Rubyfisch said:

Tonight's dinner menu:

 

Thanks for posting this. My DW is definitely going to like hearing the HAL menus denote which items are gluten free. 

[Rubyfisch]

Almost sunset from the promenade:

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Speed test results. It's been great and consistent - uploading here works well, we can stream videos in bed at night, it's been great.

 

[Rubyfisch]

Dinner was fantastic - I asked our server whether I should get the chicken or salmon, and he said salmon. It was so good.

 

Beets:

 

 

Sushi (we shared this):

 

 

Salmon:

 

 

Ricotta tart:

 

[Dobby36]

14 minutes ago, Rubyfisch said:

Speed test results. It's been great and consistent - uploading here works well, we can stream videos in bed at night, it's been great.

so nice to see this, as I will be on next week! Yay. 
 

im not a huge techie, but I noted your screenshot says “sever:Seattle”   Do you know if that means you get the US version of websites onboard? The reason I ask is on past cruises when booking a new one onboard, I can’t get info from HALs site, as it defaults to the EU/German HAL site no matter what I try. Which results in me having to compare all voyage options with those flimsy paper printouts from the future cruise folks LOL(and lacking pricing!)

[Rubyfisch]

5 minutes ago, Dobby36 said:

so nice to see this, as I will be on next week! Yay. 
 

im not a huge techie, but I noted your screenshot says “sever:Seattle”   Do you know if that means you get the US version of websites onboard? The reason I ask is on past cruises when booking a new one onboard, I can’t get info from HALs site, as it defaults to the EU/German HAL site no matter what I try. Which results in me having to compare all voyage options with those flimsy paper printouts from the future cruise folks LOL(and lacking pricing!)

I think that is the server that is running the test - but I'm not 100% sure.

[Ken the cruiser]

6 minutes ago, Rubyfisch said:

I think that is the server that is running the test - but I'm not 100% sure.

Here’s the link to the Ookla Speed Test I always use when we’re on a cruise if you’d like to try a different test that lists the service (e.g., Starlink) as well as the actual server and location it’s using.

 
https://www.speedtest.net

 

[Rubyfisch]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s the link to the Ookla Speed Test I always use when we’re on a cruise if you’d like to try a different test that lists the service (e.g., Starlink) as well as the actual server and location it’s using.

 
https://www.speedtest.net

 

 

I just tried that one twice, and both times it was servers in Kansas:

 

[Ken the cruiser]

FWIW when we were on the Diamond Princess last month, they implemented Starlink while we were on a B2B cruising around Japan. When I used my iPad, I would get both upload and download speeds. It only did the download test when I used my iPhone.

 

The first example while in port at Akita, Japan

  

 
The second example was later on in Kobe, Japan after switching to Starlink.

 

 

[AllTheSun]

Have you happened to notice if there anyplace good for a late night dessert?

[Rubyfisch]

8 hours ago, AllTheSun said:

Have you happened to notice if there anyplace good for a late night dessert?

Only between 10:30 and 11:30 pm. The Lido reopens and they have a selection of desserts.

 

The lack of options between 8:00 and 10:30 is probably the first thing I would magically change if my opinion to do such things was asked.

[Rubyfisch]

Good morning!

 

Current balcony view:

 

 

Where my phone thinks we are .... (Inexplicably....)

 

 

Where we actually are:

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Today's forecast:

 

[Rubyfisch]

Some sort of land ....

 

[Rubyfisch]

The Lido at 8:15 on a port morning is kind of insane - particularly when the rain is keeping everyone inside.

 

The food was all good, though.

 

[Ellencruise]

1 hour ago, Rubyfisch said:

Only between 10:30 and 11:30 pm. The Lido reopens and they have a selection of desserts.

 

The lack of options between 8:00 and 10:30 is probably the first thing I would magically change if my opinion to do such things was asked.

I take extra dessert back to cabin for later. I also make a sandwich at breakfast to take on excursions since not all include food. It really helped this past cruise.

[Rubyfisch]

Photos from the sail- in to Charlottetown, including several lighthouses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

It was a very rainy morning, but we went out and about in the port area.

 

Here's the shops right off the ship. They were giving out free oysters and lobster rolls (I'm not a huge fan of either, so I left those for others).

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Walking around outside:

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Rubyfisch
Wrong picture

[Rubyfisch]

There are three ships in port today - little baby Zaandam, the Zuiderdam, and a Seaborne ship that's tendering:

 

 

 

 

[Rubyfisch]

Some of the cute shops:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Rubyfisch
Duplicate photo

[Rubyfisch]

Our purchases:

 

[Rubyfisch]

Delicious lunch in the Lido (that I actually managed to photograph before devouring):