Cruise Newbies, Zuiderdam, 3/07, any and all info apprec.

[PHreuD69]

My wife and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary aboard the Zuiderdam in March, 2007. We have never cruised before in any capacity, so any kind of helpful hints about cruising, in genreal, or the Zuiderdam, specifically, would be GREAT!

 

I do have a couple of preliminary questions that I'd like your help with...

 

How is check-in, luggage handled when getting to the pier/boat? Do we handle our luggage, or does HAL put your bags in your room for you?

 

When can you board, when is your room ready, and how do you know when the room is ready?

 

I'm sure I'll have tons more questions, but thanks to you all, in advance, for your help.

[outdoorbob]

We just cruised Alaska on the Zuiderdam earlier this month and had a GREAT time!

 

You check your bags when you get to the terminal and they will show up later in your cabin. We boarded about 11:30. They will announce when the cabins are ready. It was about 1:15 a couple of weeks ago.

 

I noticed its an anniversary trip. I booked the vow renewal ceremony that HAL offered and would definitely recommend it. The Captain performed it and it was very well done. They did an excellent job.

 

Bob

[RuthC]

Welcome to the boards! Pull up a keyboard and stick around a while. You'll find a wealth of information here.

I can't speak to the Zuiderdam, per se, as I don't sail the Caribbean, but I can answer some of your questions in general terms. I suggest you read, read, read the threads on this board to gleen lots of helpful info.

When you arrive at the port you will turn over your luggage (except for carry-on's) to be screened and later delivered to your cabin. You will have received baggage tags with your documents; your tags will have your names/cabin numbers on them (because you filled them in).

Boarding will start about 11:30-ish and your cabin will be available about 1:00-1:30-ish. Until then you can go to the Lido for lunch and tour the ship. When the cabins are ready there will be an announcement over the PA system.

You can then go to your cabin, put away those things you have brought aboard yourself, and start to read all the flyers that are already there. My advice: trash the junk mail immediately! There will be new junk mail to replace it, so don't worry about running out. :rolleyes:

That's a start for you. Just keep reading the threads and you will learn a lot without even asking. Then, please ask as you think of new questions. Some of us on the board get a vicarious thrill talking about other people's cruises! :D

[wgeddings]

PHreuD69, I have a full review of the Zuiderdam that should answer most of your questions. Here is the link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=260565

 

There are plenty of others if you just do a search. To answer the questions you mentioned briefly (more info in the review), most will depend on what port you are leaving from. You need to include that info (where you are leaving and the ports of call) to get the best information. I know that check-in on HAL seems to be better than other lines and for us was pretty smooth. Just do the on-line stuff so you are all ready to go at the pier (whichever pier it might be). I have been out of Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and Port Canaveral and details vary only little.

 

Normally, you find a porter at the curb. The porter will take your bags (be sure each is tagged with your name and with a separate tag with your cabin number). Tipping the porters is not required but a normal tip is $1 a bag or more depending on how far they have to take them and such. Keep your carry on. You take your carry on through the check in process (and security screening). Check in is much smoother if you have done the on-line stuff. Your checked bags will be brought to your room and left outside. It might be a few hours before you get them though so be sure you have any medication in your carry on. Normally, bags will have arrived before dinner. Your cabin will likely be ready but a lot will depend on what time you get on board. We often board about noon or shortly thereafter. On different cruises, the room has been ready sometimes and sometimes not. If it is not ready, it will be ready by the time you push away from the lunch buffet on the Lido deck. You asked how you will know when the room is ready if it is not already ready, there will be a boarding time shown on your documents (same for everyone) and after that time, it is almost certain the room will be ready. You can usually board before that time but that is when you are taking a chance your room may not be ready (but the buffet is still open...). You may or may not see your cabin steward and he can give you more details but on HAL ships, more so than RCCL or Carnival, the cabin stewards have magical powers that allow them to come and go not unlike invisible fairies and the only way to know for sure they exist is to marvel at how your cabin is always to neat and well maintained. If you do catch one, they do attempt to grant wishes but will also be successful at granting a big smile and trying to help.

[PHreuD69]

To answer the questions you mentioned briefly (more info in the review), most will depend on what port you are leaving from. You need to include that info (where you are leaving and the ports of call) to get the best information. I know that check-in on HAL seems to be better than other lines and for us was pretty smooth. Just do the on-line stuff so you are all ready to go at the pier (whichever pier it might be). I have been out of Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and Port Canaveral and details vary only little.

 

Thanks, wgeddings and others, for your info. I'll definitely be checking out your review, wgeddings. We are leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale and going to Grand Turk, Road Town, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay.

 

Normally, you find a porter at the curb. The porter will take your bags (be sure each is tagged with your name and with a separate tag with your cabin number). Tipping the porters is not required but a normal tip is $1 a bag or more depending on how far they have to take them and such. Keep your carry on. You take your carry on through the check in process (and security screening). Check in is much smoother if you have done the on-line stuff.

 

What online stuff? Can you elaborate? Is this something I'll get information about later on? So far, we haven't heard about this from our TA, but we just booked a week and a half ago. How will we know our cabin number before we board (can you tell how virginal we really are ;)

 

Thanks again, everyone. I'm going to enjoy perusing all the different threads and learning as much as I can. You have already been extremely helpful!

[shonuf]

Normally, you find a porter at the curb. The porter will take your bags (be sure each is tagged with your name and with a separate tag with your cabin number). Tipping the porters is not required but a normal tip is $1 a bag or more depending on how far they have to take them and such. Keep your carry on. You take your carry on through the check in process (and security screening). .

 

A couple years ago we decided to take an RCI cruise out of Galveston. I won't bore you with all the reasons why, but we rode the RCI bus to Galveston from Dallas rather than drive down ourselves. When we got to the pier, things were kind of hectic and we'd never been there before. The porter and driver got all the bags off the bus and the porter took off with the bags. We didn't realize we didn't tip him until we were on the ship. Long story short, we had to go to the purser's desk to find our bags. The porter had ripped the tags off everyone's (from the bus) luggage including the one couple who did tip him!:rolleyes:

 

We've never made that mistake again.

[wgeddings]

Yeah shonuf, I always worry that they will do that with my bags. Whenever possible, I like to be sure they know which ones are mine when I tip them!

 

PHreuD69 - On the HAL website, there is a section for people already booked. There you will find some things to fill out that will expedite your boarding process. You will need your booking number to sign into it and be sure to print the documents and bring them with you to the pier. At Ft. Lauderdale, there is also an option to park at a place called Park N Fly. It is much cheaper per day than the port and they shuttle you to the port and back. The price is great and the going to the port part has been terrific, but the pick up left something to be desired (more details in my Zuiderdam review). Still, every bit you save on parking is more you can spend on shore excursions and fun. It is up to you. For more information about Ft. Lauderdale, also check my review of a Feb 2006 cruise on the RCCL Enchantment of the Seas. My review of the Zuiderdam includes information about several of your port of calls so I hope it helps there too.

 

Let me know if any other questions.

[PHreuD69]

Thanks again for the great info. I went to the booked guests section, but it appears to be down right now. I'll visit again later.

 

Another question. We're flying into Ft. Lauderdale, and we booked our tickets ourselves. What recommendations would you make for arranging transportation to the pier? Price is a concern, but reliability is just as much a priorty as well. Our TA recommended just getting a taxi at the taxi stand. What do y'all think?

[RuthC]

We're flying into Ft. Lauderdale, and we booked our tickets ourselves. What recommendations would you make for arranging transportation to the pier? Price is a concern, but reliability is just as much a priorty as well. Our TA recommended just getting a taxi at the taxi stand. What do y'all think?

Your TA is spot-on for this one. The airport is practically spitting distance from the pier if the wind is right.

[wgeddings]

Definitely. It is hard to believe how close they are and if it is more than a $3 cab ride, I would be surprised. HOWEVER, it does beg the question of when you are arriving. One of the biggest problems I have noted is people who make their flight reservations to arrive on the morning of the cruise. Where are you coming from? If it involves having to make a connection (meaning not a direct flight) you really should consider arriving the night before. A direct flight is dangerous enough, especially if you are coming from the north or west, but if it has connecting flights, you have all types of chances to get delays and cancellations. March weather is unpredictable and it can be clear and sunny across the nation or there can be snow storms and other freaky weather. I am a big believer in getting to the departure city the night before. You can get a hotel near the airport (preferably one with free airport shuttles), get a good night's sleep, wake in the morning and take your time heading to the port to get their about noon and you will have a much better start than if you are stressing about a flight and rushing. Plus the hotel may even give you a free ride to the port if they do airport shuttles (remember to tip the driver).

[Djptcp]

Wgeddings -- where is the Park 'n Fly in Fort Lauderdale? We are sailing on the Zuiderdam in December and hadn't heard about other parking except at the pier. We live near Jacksonville and haven't sailed from FL before, just Miami, Tampa, and Jax.

Thanks.

HAL - 2004, 2006

Carnival - 1995, 1998, 2006, 2006

NCL - 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003

Royal Caribbean - 2002

[wgeddings]

Wgeddings -- where is the Park 'n Fly in Fort Lauderdale? We are sailing on the Zuiderdam in December and hadn't heard about other parking except at the pier. We live near Jacksonville and haven't sailed from FL before, just Miami, Tampa, and Jax.

 

Thanks.

 

HAL - 2004, 2006

Carnival - 1995, 1998, 2006, 2006

NCL - 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003

Royal Caribbean - 2002

 

Here is a link to the Park N Fly for Port Everglades http://rezpark.rezlink.com/booking/rateresponse.asp?AID=PNF00001&hop=&xhrc=&xhia=&xcd== If for some reason it does not work, just go to www.parknfly.com and from the locations dropdown, you will see 2 entries for Ft. Lauderdale. One is the port, the other the airport. Same location but different rates. I believe it is $9 per day now but there may be discounts (sometimes either on-line or in the your cruise documents package from HAL). The port, parknfly and the airport are incredibly close together.