|
We sailed on the Zuiderdam to Alaska on May 23/09. Overall this was a wonderful cruise and I attribute it all to the cruise experience itself. This was our fourth trip to Alaska (we live in Vancouver, so it is an easy trip) so we have done many of the sights available. I won’t comment too much on the ports as we limited ourselves to a short walk around the city, a few coffee stops and some of the smaller tours. If you are on your first trip to Alaska I would recommend you do some of the more extensive tours that will take you away from the actual ports which tend towards jewelry and t-shirt shops. I would recommend the train in Skagway, the twilight wildlife tour in Haines and some of the flight tours. Back to the Zuiderdam – This is a beautiful ship which has been lovingly maintained, spotlessly clean and I couldn’t see any areas that were not in excellent condition. They layout is a bit different from ships we have been on, a lot of winding passages and the ship does have a more closed feel to it, but that resulted in many cosy places to sit and enjoy the wonderful views of the inside passage and Alaska. We were upgraded from an inside to an outside verandah (not a suite) so we were pretty happy with that. I do have to say, that we only used the verandah for an hour or two the entire voyage, so I don’t think we would pay the extra for a balcony cabin – I know that is not the normal opinion, but for us, we would rather put the extra money to another cruise. The cabin felt a little cramped – I think they try to put too much furniture in there, and there was very little drawer space. I am comparing the cabin to those in Carnival which are more spacious and provide a better layout. All in all, and with the upgrade it was really nothing to complain about. They provided deck chair blankets which are essential in Glacier Bay if you want to spend time on the outside decks – make sure you bring your gloves, hats and warm coat for that day! Also don’t lose track of your blanket – you will find that the night before many take the blankets provided on the decks and on Glacier Bay day, there are none available. Our cabin stewards were wonderful, excellent service – requests were fulfilled promptly and the cabin was cleaned perfectly. I do wish more cruise ships would adopt NCL’s system for cabin service (a dial outside the door that indicates you wish: privacy, room clean, turn down service, etc.) The Zuiderdam only provides a “privacy” card. The ship did provide some Elemis care products, but they are small and I wished I had not forgotten to bring my own shampoo/conditioner since we ran out of the Elemis several times and they do not seem to automatically replace the items. The public areas are lovely, particularily the lounges and the dining room. The Vista theatre (main theatre) has a few spots where pillars impede the view of the stage, but it is generally a good venue. The Lido deck has lots of seating, both inside and outside. The set up on the Lido decks includes stations for drinks, salads, deli and desserts, but there are still long lines that form for the entrée portion of the meals. We chose to have several of our lunches and breakfasts in the dining room because of the lines. (Also you can get free espressos and cappuccinos only in the dining room!) We did not use room service so can’t comment on that. Now to the dining room – DH and I were assigned to different tables for the late seating!! After a good chuckle with the maitre’d, he assigned us to an excellent table at the early seating (which is what we really wanted) and he made a point of seeing us every evening to ensure all was well with our meal and the service – we were impressed and I have to say that in 20 cruises, we have never received better service from a maitre’d. The food in the dining room was excellent, with service to match. Now, I have to say we vastly prefer traditional dining and this cruise reinforced this preference. Our waiters had our preferred drinks on the table as soon as we sat down. Service was immediate and we never had to wait to order dinner or dessert, beverages were refilled promptly, food was hot and excellently prepared. If I left food behind, they always questioned if it was not up to par (it always was, I was just leaving room for dessert). They always addressed us by name and were always friendly and asked about our day. We were impressed and reflected that in an extra gratuity. Entertainment was good; an excellent comedian and good production shows (Carnival still offers the best IMHO). I am not a fan of illusionists/magicians but he did offer a rather unique show that many enjoyed. An excellent piano bar, classical trio and lounge band rounded out the evening entertainment. Would I sail the Zuiderdam again – absolutely!!
|
