Back from the Zuiderdam

[hoptoit]

My fellow cruisers have done a great job on the reviews for the week of July 24th. I wanted to add my experience.

We missed the Cruise Critic meeting because of the ships computer problems. We had cabin # 6117. It was a very large SS cabin. My in-laws were in 6115 and when we opened the balcony partition, it was great! BAMBANG was the best cabin steward! He works so hard. The food was great most nights. Our waiter was Nana. Good job. The illusionist was one of the best I had ever seen. I thought I had bad tequila in Cozumel but I could of had the "illness".

We snorkeled in Key West on the Fury. It was a little choppy but still very fun! Stingray city with Nativeway was terrific!

Swimming with the dolphins was something you will do once in your life because of the cost. It was great but expensive if you do the Royal Dolphin Swim like we did.

HAL's private island was great! We rented the purple cabana. Mark our cabana boy did an excellent job bringing us food and drinks. You do not need the butler service with cabana boys like Mark!

The ship is very nice. I like high ceilings and large atriums which the Zuiderdam doesn't have. The casino was a little small and did not have enough nickel slots for me. My kids did very little with the teen group and club Hal. They are a little shy. Ship is very clean and the staff very friendly and helpful. We have been on NCL and Carnival Spirit and Pride. I would say the Food on the Zuiderdam was the best! Please ask me any questions that you might have.

Lori

[stillfrantic]

How long were you ill with the bug? We'll be on a month from today if the virus is still circulating among the crew and passengers.

 

Glad to hear you liked the SS rooms.

[gizmo]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a good time.

[dst]

Lori, sorry we missed you at the CC meeting. Had we known you were in the pruple cabana we would have stopped by to say hi we were in the green one....

 

all in all a wonderful cruise and great people

[RDMOREU]

Hi, We'll have the purple cabana next Nov. Apparently, it is canvas rather than wood like most of the others. Did that present any problems? Does it have a 'flap' to close off the interior for privacy if you wish to change clothes? Thanks for your help!

 

PS Oops, forgot to ask this: Is there anything (souvenirs, lockers, etc.) - Besides Tips - that can't be put on your ss card and for which you must bring cash?

 

Once again, thanks for your help!

[jstducky]

hoptoit!

 

glad to hear that you liked Bambang. I was on the Zuiderdam on 7/10-7/17. I had cabin 1070 and Bambang was also my cabin steward. I guess the cabin stewards must switch decks every now and then. Anyhow he was wonderful. Always got whatever we needed and always had a smile on his face. He works so hard to make sure that everything is just perfect!

[dst]

no difference in the cabanas really, yes you can put the front down to change.

 

You would not need cash for anything on HMC (except tipping) anything you purchase can be put on your card.

[RDMOREU]

Thank you, dst! I appreciate your response.

[jstducky]

Hi, We'll have the purple cabana next Nov. Apparently, it is canvas rather than wood like most of the others. Did that present any problems? Does it have a 'flap' to close off the interior for privacy if you wish to change clothes? Thanks for your help!

 

PS Oops, forgot to ask this: Is there anything (souvenirs, lockers, etc.) - Besides Tips - that can't be put on your ss card and for which you must bring cash?

 

Once again, thanks for your help!

RD--... you will definitely need cash to get a locker if you so wish at HMC. i beleive the lockers are $1.00 and that allows you to open the locker once and take your stuff out.... and i beleive they only take quarters so you will need to make change on the ship. also, i remember hearing that everything on HMC will take your ship card except hair braiding if you or someone else so wishes to do that... that is cash only.

[morriganfae]

HAL's private island was great! We rented the purple cabana. Mark our cabana boy did an excellent job bringing us food and drinks. You do not need the butler service with cabana boys like Mark!

So you get service then without paying the extra fee for butler service? We have the orange cabana for our Decemeber cruise and was under the understanding that a "cabana boy" was the "bulter service".

 

Thanks for any info you have!

 

Morriganfae~

[hoptoit]

I was only sick about 24hrs. Maybe the 1 huge margarita I had in Cozumel didn't have the top shelf tequila in it. Headache and vomiting that night and felt much better the next morning! I felt good enough to eat 3 lobster tails that week and 2 orders of king crab legs! Don't worry about getting sick. The rest of my family was fine.

[hoptoit]

We dropped the canvas front of the cabana just before we went back to the ship so we could change our clothes. It is not easy to roll the canvas back up. We just left it down because we were leaving. We did not need a locker because one of us was always in the cabana. If you want a locker you need 4 quarters. The cabana boy is from the ship. Mark was a waiter on the lido deck. When we got to Half Moon Cay we were met by Fritz(waiter in Pinnacle)

he got us a ride on a "tractor thing" and then Mark came by and made sure we had our water and soda. He then asked us if we wanted him to bring us lunch. Of course we said yes! He delivered bbq chicken,ribs,fish,salads,burgers and hotdogs! He will deliver drinks from the bar if you want him to. We enjoyed the cabana so much that by the time we went to do some shopping the gift shop was closed. Outdoor vendors did not have much to speak of.

[spcl4cs_gal]

Mark is a waiter on the Lido deck or does he take drink orders in the forward Lido pool? I know a Mark who works in that area...just curious. :)

[hoptoit]

I am not sure what area of the Lido he worked in. I believe he said he had a 1 1/2 yr old child??????

[spcl4cs_gal]

:D That would be the Mark I know then. LOL

[RDMOREU]

Thank you both for your information!

[risa00]

Did you notice a big difference in your cabin and the one next to you? It is much larger than a standard SS cabin or is it shaped differently to make it seem that way? Thanks!

[cruznon]

Thanks for the info about HMC. In 30 days we're in the Turquiose cabana!:D

[PhylDunc]

RD--... you will definitely need cash to get a locker if you so wish at HMC. i beleive the lockers are $1.00 and that allows you to open the locker once and take your stuff out....

 

Hi, I had read a post regarding whether it was safe to bring camera's to HMC and many posters recommended against doing so because there are no lockers. Where are they exactly on HMC? DH and I plan to ride the horses and figured we would have to bring the disposible camera for days we're doing excursions. I was hoping there would be lockers.

 

Phyllis

[sail7seas]

I was only sick about 24hrs. Maybe the 1 huge margarita I had in Cozumel didn't have the top shelf tequila in it. Headache and vomiting that night and felt much better the next morning! I felt good enough to eat 3 lobster tails that week and 2 orders of king crab legs! Don't worry about getting sick. The rest of my family was fine.

 

 

That sure sounds like Cozumel was the culprit in your case. Happy you felt better so quickly.

Thanks for posting your comments. Glad you had a good cruise.

[arzz]

It may not have been the alcohol -- but instead the ice

 

In areas where the water carries bad stuff, so does the ice if it is made locally rather than purchased like bottled water

 

It is usually safer but less cooling to stick with beverages that do not require water or ice and safest to consume them directly fromt he container with a straw.

[richcrow]

Please ask me any questions that you might have.

Lori

 

I have seen posts on the HAL board that talked about the possibility of paying for a drink card for unlimited drinks (beer, etc.) in your cabana. I believe that the cost was $15.00. Did you receive such an offer?

 

Richard

[Sierrachik]

Did you notice a big difference in your cabin and the one next to you? It is much larger than a standard SS cabin or is it shaped differently to make it seem that way? Thanks!

 

My question too, we are in 6117 this October. I know the veranda is much larger but wasn't sure if the cabin was larger or smaller. Have heard conflicting info.

[psc11]

The drink cards are still available but they have really gone up in price. I purchased three and with the 15% service charge it came to somewhere around $95.00. We only had to show the card the first night in the dining room and the kids drinks were there waiting for them.

[richcrow]

The drink cards are still available but they have really gone up in price. I purchased three and with the 15% service charge it came to somewhere around $95.00. We only had to show the card the first night in the dining room and the kids drinks were there waiting for them.

 

It seems if you are talking about the soft drink cards. The post that I saw was about buying alcohol drink cards. I was wondering if they still offered anything like that for those that rented a cabana.

 

Thanks,

Richard