Phil Reimer aboard the Zuiderdam.
Overall, the cruise experience aboard this Holland America ship has been fairly well received by our 180 Ports and Bows guests.
Dinner at the Pinnacle (pay) restaurant was one of the gifts we handed out to our guests and most have been enthusiastic about the efforts in the restaurant. Some who to chose to eat there more than a few times were wishing for a menu change. The Lido Buffet was constantly shifting their menus.
Holland America’s Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Westerdam are all the same class of ship. I am fond of ships like these that carry 2000 passengers, allowing you to meet many of your fellow guests both on land and shore.
Holland America put together the land tours that Ports and Bows used and except for some dusty roads and country driving to get to a worthwhile destination, the tours were given thumbs up. The only port where it did get boring because we were in traffic for an hour was Acapulco.
We had a virus scare on this cruise. It turned out some had eaten Mexican food from street vendors, however some showed symptoms of Norwalk. Had it been serious, we would have gone straight to San Diego and that didn’t happen.
The Microsoft clinic with its 20 some computers was full most sessions. A ship makes for an interesting venue for any form of learning, what with all the rooms plus the theatre.
It was a quiet ship with very few staying up late to dance the night away. Sadly, musicians played for small crowds.
There are a good mix of bars located throughout the ship. One of the favourite decks was 10 where you find the Explorations Bar and its variety of coffee. Here too was a large library with a lot of the latest books. The Internet room was also located here. I carry a laptop and found the Wi-Fi power to be best there, although I could send emails from my room.
The anytime dining option proved to be a winner with the room crowded on most evenings. If you showed up looking for a table, it didn’t take too long to get seated.
We tendered into a few ports using the lifeboats. I am not big on that. They waited most times until the last seat was filled and the wicked heat and humidity got to a few people.
There is lots of deck space and two open pools. The pool with polar bears “standing guard” has a roof that closes, making it one of the better ships for the Alaska run where weather can be quite changeable.
Deck 3 has a walking track all the way around the ship, where one lap equals one third of a mile. It made for some great early morning walks.
All for now.
