Life on the Zuiderdam
May 11, 2024
The Zuiderdam
Now, we'd like to tell you about life onboard the Zuiderdam. We get the question routinely, "what do you do all day on the ship?" Since it is where we spent most of our time, it is definitely worth sharing. As several people including myself like to say, "I love my sea days".
A day at sea - A day at sea can be as busy or as laid back as you want them to be. There is time to catch up on blogs, touch base with folks at home, play some games or cards, work puzzles, sit back and read or check out the library, eat, sit and knit or crochet, walk the promenade deck where 3 laps makes a mile, eat, swim in one of two pools, sauna, work-out, eat, play pickleball, or work on your tan! Did I mention EAT?! Or heck, you can do nothing. All this is usually in concert with a lecture on your next stop or two.
Our state room, 6089 - A lot of people ask about the size of the rooms on a cruise ship. We were fortunate enough to have a nice stateroom in the middle of the ship on the 6th deck. Ours included a nice balcony with a couple of chairs and a table. It was mesmerizing to go out on the balcony and watch the blue blue water go by. A great place for a cup of coffee, an afternoon drink, a good read, etc. You have to pay extra for a balcony room but we both think it is worth the money. We had two sets of two room stewards, Saeff and Nana and then Han and Solo. Saeff and Nana got off half way through the voyage when their contracts were up. Saeff had been our room steward on our world cruise in 2019! What are the odds of that? When Han and Solo took over, they picked right up where Saeff and Nana left off. It is amazing how great a job they do. Always friendly and always smiling and always working. I have no idea how they do it.
Kitchen - We got to take a kitchen tour. The numbers boggle the mind how they make all the food they do everyday. It has to be a well run machine. I was surprised by the size of the kitchen. It isn't as big as I thought it would have to be.
Early morning coffee - For the early risers, coffee is always available on the Lido deck. Grab a cup and go out back to the sea view deck. It is on deck 9 and this is where you will watch the sunrise or watch the boat traffic or watch the ship come into ports. This was one of my favorite area and I didn't miss too many mornings. The weather was very friendly for the most part. But if it rains there are areas with a roof or you can go to the Lido pool side area which is bigger, has more tables and is enclosed with a retractable roof. The Lido pool side was where most of the bigger events took place.
Breakfast, Lunch and the Crew - You could have breakfast and lunch in the main dining room but most folks ate in the Lido area. There were teas at 3:00 in the afternoon on sea days and Sunday brunches also. It is unbelievable how many dishes are prepared each and every day. Most of the passengers on board are from the U.S. but many other dishes are prepared for the many different nationalities on board. The days of the serve yourself buffets are pretty much gone. There were some things you could help yourself with, but mostly you were served by the staff. And once you sat down with your plate you are waited on by very friendly mostly Indonesians and Filipinos workers. These people never sleep. They work all day, everyday and they are always smiling, talking to you, getting you anything you want, from retrieving your coffee to helping you into tender boats. They know your names and they truly enjoy serving us. It is unlike anything you can find anywhere else. These people for the most part, sign 8 month contracts and most re-up when it is time to do so. They get off the boat for a couple months and get back with their families but all too soon it is time for them to get on board the same or a different boat and start it all again.
Dinner - We have mentioned food before but Dinner deserves it's own section. First, let us mention our lovely hostess, Josephine. She was on our 2019 cruise, too! What a pleasure she was. We had open seating, which meant we could go at any time. Sometimes, we would sit with others, and sometimes on our own. There were a dozen formal nights where we donned our tuxedos and finest rhinestones. Food on these nights was a cut above and usually included escargot, surf n turf, and decadent desserts. Every meal in the dining room was special, however, and began with an appetizer or soup (or both!), an entree, dessert/cheese and coffee or tea! All delicious and all beautifully presented. We were amazed at the range of culinary prowess and delighted when the dishes were "port to plate" meaning local dishes from the place we had just visited. The wines were impeccable and again the servers were so attentive in their service. They loved when guests had birthdays, and always went the extra mile to make the evening special with a cake and by singing their own version of happy birthday, "PANJANG UMURNYA"!!!
Port Talks - Our cruise director, Kimberly, is the go to person for port talks. This woman is an energizer bunny. She is ALWAYS on. We would all gather in the main stage area where the nightly shows are on. Now most of her talk is probably a Wikipedia regurgitation but at least she is the one doing it and we are not out there on our own. She shows the places to go, currency questions, distances, where the shuttles or buses will go and be, etc. Also the very important information on when to be back and when the ship is heading out. Don't want to miss the boat!!
Lectures - Holland America makes sure we go into ports well informed. They have guest lecturers on board who present talks on the history and culture of the places we are about to visit. For instance, while in the Amazon, we had a presenter who knew all about the Amazon and South America. He was engaging and knew how to keep us interested. As we moved through the Pacific to the Hawaiian islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, we had a marine biologist on board who informed us about whales, sea turtles, atolls, volcanoes and all things relative. There were lectures as we moved through Asia regarding Japan and China. As our itinerary did an about face and headed to Africa, we had a lecturer named Kate Ross. She even went with us on one of our excursions. She knew more about Africa than all of us put together. Vi read lots of historical fiction books as we made our way around the world that further enhanced the trip!
Tech Class - Bernie was our resident tech. He gave classes everyday on how to better use your cell phone. This included everything from how to connect to wi-fi to the best apps to download for your time in port. This included maps.me, Google Translate, and XE (currency exchange app). Everyone thinks the captain is the hardest working person on the ship, but not true .... it is, as is true everywhere, the I.T. guy! Funny that we don't have any pictures. He never was still long enough!!!
Shows - After dinner, we were entertained in the Main Stage with all types of music and shows. The Zuiderdam's Main Stage Band was incredible! Every time a new act came on board, they had one rehearsal, and then GO! As good as the entertainers were, we loved when the Main Stage Band performed their own sets. They did their version of the Beatles one night, (and a reprise near the end of the trip!), and another of Santana. Absolutely loved them! The range of entertain was incredible .... from local artists (think Asian accordian player, light shows, and magicians) to lounge lizards performing Frank Sinatra or Carole King to balloon artists to special acts brought on board for 1 night only specials, usually ethnic/cultural shows. There were Hawaiian dancers, Japanese musicians, Chinese kabuki shows, and African rhythm shows. Wow, just wow!
Library - This was one of Vialula's favorite places on the boat. The selections were varied and up to date. Many books were reflective of where we would be going. There were a few chairs to sit and enjoy a good read. I would estimate that Vi went thru at least 15 or so books in between all the other things she was doing. She is continuing the reading frenzy at home too.
Libations - There were several bars onboard. Crow's Nest was one of the bar/lounges mentioned before. The biggest difference here is that this one is at the front of the ship with a panoramic view of where we are going. Here was where we played cards and puzzles, and several other games were available.
Special Events - There are so many diversions/distractions/entertainment on board the ship that is created and provided by the crew for our enjoyment. They helped us celebrate the Super Bowl, Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras and Easter. In addition, they added festivities like the Roaring 20's, a carnival (complete with cotton candy, popcorn and lots of carnival games), Cake Days, Ice Cream Sundaes, our own Kentucky Derby, campouts by the pool, sail-aways, a towel animal jungle and even King Neptune seeing us safely across the Equator. As we returned home, there was two different talent shows, one for the crew (which we loved!) and one for the guests (our own Sparty played his harmonica, and was our favorite!) Our favorite events though were the "sail away" parties, usually on the back deck as we sailed away from that day's port, watching the sun set and having a going away drink or two.
Spiritual Life - A pastor, a priest and a rabbi went into a bar ,,, I mean, went onto a cruise ship - sounds like a joke, doesn't it? But, it's true, Holland America is one of the last cruise lines to ensure our spiritual well-being. On sea days, there is Bible Study every morning, and there is a service every Sunday. If we were in port, which we were for many Sundays, the service would be at night. This is very important to everyone. They also have services for the crew.
Oh Captain, my Captain ... We had two captains on this trip. both Dutch, Capt. Frank and Capt. Frisso - halfway through the trip, we got a new captain. Captain Frank and his wife were on the first half, and then Capt. Frisso and his very tall girlfriend, Chantal, were on the second half of the cruise. Both were very capable and very friendly and very tall! What is it about the Dutch. They are all very tall people! Each day at noon, they would come across the intercom to advise of things like position, weather, upcoming unique port entries and usually a bit of seafaring trivia.
Cruise Specialists hosts - The travel specialists we used on both cruises have 3 people who do the entire cruise with us. They are on board to help with any problems that might come up and they host our excursions when we are in port. These three go out of their way to be sure each and every one of the 200 plus people they are associated with have a good time, have no problems and enjoy each part of the cruise. Tom Mullins is a world cruise mainstay. He has been on about 25 or so of them. Everyone knows Tom, and Tom knows everyone. He was accompanied by two new world cruisers, Susie and Keith Boyland, a husband and wife team who in previous cruises were in charge of arts and crafts, etc. These two were a pleasure to be with; and boy they took their job seriously. It was like having a mother hen. They made sure everything was taken care of and they crossed their t's and dotted their i's. Susie called us her "chicks", and Keith called us his "ducks"! We will miss them and hopefully sail with them again at some point.
FriendSHIPS - You just can't say enough good things about some of the relationships you develop on the ship. You just can't help create friendships that will last the rest of your life with some of these folks. A lot of them start with just a simple meal you share, or an excursion you both go on. You find common ground and go from there. They may come from the States or from Canada or believe it or not, your same city or state but with 128 days, you have time to create a lasting bond that we hope we don't lose. We have some from our first trip that we stay in touch with. This one will be no different. You can't be friends with 1200 people but you carve out your niche. It was so hard to leave some of them when you disembark the boat but you know you will stay in touch.
A lot of people ask if this trip was as good as or better or worse than our first trip. Or they ask where our favorite place was, or something like that. I really don't want to try to rank or say one was this or one was that. They stand on their own merit. We loved the first trip, and we loved the second one. How can you not? You live in a bubble on board the ship. Everything is taken care of for you. What's not to like? Where you go doesn't really matter because you find that the people you encounter are all pretty much the same. They are trying to get through the day to day, just like we do when we are home.
Oh, we will take home special memories from this place or that place and there are places I wouldn't necessarily choose to go back to, but it's all part of the adventure. And the adventure is why you sail in the first place. Grab it all and embrace the good parts, and if there are some not so good parts then just remember that it is a package deal. Take the bad with the good and you will come out ahead at the end.
Thank you all for coming along with Vialula and LeRoy. We enjoyed your comments and hope you got a little something out of each of our stops. Until next time, bon voyage!!
Vialula and LeRoy
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