Buying snow Zandam

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Buying snow Zandam

Starlink is good when I can get on it. Phone yes, but not the laptop. I would type in login dot com and see the Navigator home page for less than a second, then it jumped to Google. Guest services tried. Sure enough, works on the ship, too. Yes, Miami. I was a little concerned because the ships all line up nose to tail, and that means traffic could be congested, especially with the new Icon of the Seas and another Something Big of the Seas, plus a Carnival ship with us. HAL said boarding would begin at noon. I was in South Beach, so I called for an Uber around I was wrong on all counts. I requested an Uber and he showed up in 2 minutes. I got into the building quickly because I knew to have my boarding pass and passport in hand, breezing past the people rummaging in tote bags and purses. Check-in was done at kiosks that take your picture and scan your passport. Every kiosk had a person to do it all for you, so it was super quick. And they were already boarding! The route to the port from South Beach goes along a causeway that parallels the port. I got a good look at the brand-new Icon of the Seas. There was another Something of the Seas, a Carnival, and wee little Zaandam. Only passengers. I somehow ended up with a lot of OBC. I booked the tours I really wanted in advance, but gambled on booking others on board. So I had to wait for the tour office to open. The Navigator app said they would be open and The woman at the Club Orange line at Guest Services said they would open at , which turned out to be correct. I did get the tours I requested, so that was good. My Vista Suite balcony cabin by a fancy name is nice. Lots of closet space and drawers, more than I need, but I spread things out and used most of the space. Soft goods—upholstery, drapes, carpets all look new. They almost look like wallpapered with vinyl wallpaper. Floor tile is large dark brown squares, not the old small tile or am I remembering a different class of ship? The balcony, however, is in need of work. The floor is stained. The chairs are stained, too. Looks like rust. And lots of rust on the metal parts. Apparently, buying CO defaults your dining to open. All very friendly and interesting. One man was a software engineer. His comments on the HAL navigator app were not kind. The app is decidedly screwy. My booking came with the Have it All promo, which means I got credit toward tours, a beverage package, and some onboard credit. But the tours I booked onboard show as purchased with HIA credit. At dinner, we talked about cutbacks on HAL. Entertainment is meager. Menus clearly showing less expensive proteins. And, while cruise prices are kept down to entice bookings, tours are definitely more expensive. So are the shops on board. They have to make up the money they lost during Covid. Chairs are comfortable. Early seating is 5, late is After dinner, I walked by the shops. They had some stuff out in the walkway, and I looked at the jewelry. I checked the price. Are they kidding????? I took the first tender to the island, and got in line to check in and do the disclaimer form. What a bunch of wusses! We could have done it. After lunchtime, it did get rougher, but the morning would have been okay. We would have been fine. So much for the fancy app—it never notified me. So now what? IF I had known the snorkel was cancelled, I could have worn jeans and done the horseback ride, but I was in shorts. I was ready to throttle someone. And to top it off, when I got back to the ship, I turned on my phone and there still was no cancellation notice on the app. Ooh, I have plenty to say! Maybe because my tour was cancelled. Maybe because the app is so bad. The nature tour was okay and the guide was entertaining. I came back for a healthy salad lunch. And a little something from the taco bar. And a frozen daiquiri. So not all healthy. I wandered around the ship and found Explorations, with the specialty coffee bar. Yes, a library!!! One of the few ships where HAL did not remove the library. And there are comfy armchairs facing windows. And OMG, the armchairs are recliners! I may have found my happy place on board! Dinner was sort of meh. I had parmesan crusted chicken breast. When I make it, I can taste the cheese. This was just bland breaded chicken. And it came with honey-mustard sauce. I asked to have it without the sauce. At least I got my glass of wine tonight. Last night it never arrived. Table and bar service is not good. Cabin stewards are great, as they always are. I am grateful to the nice Club Orange woman at Guest Services who got my dining time fixed. A little after and it was mobbed. I was happy to trot up the stairs and go to my set table. After dinner I went to hear the classical duo. Still, the lounge they play in was full. I walked by Ocean Bar and the piano player in there sounded good. Ahh, a sea day. I had decided to order room service. I put my selection card out last night. Assorted pastries, sliced fruit, yogurt. Coffee, OJ. What I got was two small square pastries. I expected a muffin, pastry, croissant. The usual sort of assorted pastries. Fruit was meager. Two slices of pineapple that maybe constituted one ring. Two little wedges of watermelon. Two blackberries and four blueberries. And they forgot my yogurt. Used to be able to order 1 egg and some toast if I wanted a small breakfast. Or add a sausage or maybe bacon if I wanted more. MDR has two menus with that difference, too Actually, I only did room service to get the fresh orange juice. And yes, it does taste like the real thing. Since breakfast was smaller than expected, I went up to the buffet for sustenance. I wanted scrambled eggs and a little bacon. When eggs are cracked in processing at an egg farm, they are broken into a large container and mixed. Trust me, I saw this on a tour of an egg farm. They do have a slight taste of the emulsifier that keeps them mixed, but they are REAL. Well, today for the first time ever on a cruise, the scrambled eggs were powdered eggs. I am not making that up. Again, trust me—I have memories of CYO communion breakfasts and I recognized the oddly dry mouthfeel of powdered eggs. I later commented that the eggs were powdered, and the server gave me a sheepish smile and nodded. Just dressy tops and dark trousers. However, I did see a few gentlemen in tuxes, which was nice. Two of the men at dinner wore jacket and tie—cool ties, too. The third wore a tie but no jacket. We ladies dressed very nicely. So our table was quite presentable. Dressy night gets a special menu with lots of choices. It was difficult to choose. Several things I like, but they tart up perfectly good food with excess sauces and garnishes, and you can never get good info from the waiters—is the sauce on the side? So I went for a choice I knew I would like, sole served over rice, which was good. After dinner, I went to Ocean bar to hear the band. HAL used to have The Neptunes, a wonderful jazz band in the bar. Two guitars, drums, piano, trumpet, and sometimes a singer. Nice mix of songs, interesting arrangements. Then he swung back into some Gershwin and redeemed himself. How perfect is that??? Amber Cove is one of those purpose-built port areas built by Carnival Corp. The area has pools, water slides, the usual shops, bar, restaurant, etc. Because none of the ship tours appealed to me, I booked something independent through a company my travel agency works with. Okay, I can do that. Well, it was raining. Not a polite little drizzle. When I saw the weather, I decided not to take my good camera, but the waterproof instead. I had on a windbreaker, and an umbrella in my tote bag. I was ready for the trek! It was windy, blowing the rain nearly sideways. I saw umbrellas turning inside out, so I knew better than to try mine. I just pulled up the hood of my jacket. I stood for a few minutes debating what to do. People were getting off the gangway and forming a little group waiting to go back onto the ship. I wanted to join them, but then my science training kicked in. Two ships, one huge Carnival were on either side of the dock. I just have to make it past the ships and it will get better. It was still windy on the open part of the pier. By the time I got out to where the tour operators were waiting, I was soaked. But I found the bus and got on. Only one other passenger at that point, but we were supposed to be a total of They had said be there by or else, but with the rain they waited an extra 15 minutes, and all 11 of us were there. No, just larimar jewelry pushed at us. Most of what was for sale was mass produced probably in China junk that you see everywhere. But there was plenty of time to buy something. We did see the cathedral and the street decorated with umbrellas. Then we boarded the bus to go up the mountain for the walk in the rainforest. It was a nice climb past some farms and vegetation, and then—I wish I had a picture of the road in front of us. I swear it looked vertical! The bus could go only about 10 mph, but we climbed and climbed and got to the top. I had to pop my ears. We set out on our walk in the rainforest. I was hoping for more interesting flowers. Next we went to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer, a replica of the famous one in Rio. I declined. Then it was time to go back down. Not by the road. By cablecar. And a lot faster than the road! It was good to get back to the ship and out of my damp clothes. One more food comment. Several of us chose the turkey dinner. Turkey was good. Stuffing apple and pecan! We could not figure out what it was. Sort of tomatoish, but sweet. But for sure not cranberry. The chef is confused. Quinoa and raisin salad had craisins in it. Raisin bread has craisins, not raisins. Yes, finally, ten years after they started, I got to hear Cantare. All four were excellent singers, and there was a little banter, but not too much. And just enough choreography and movement around the stage to make it feel lively, but not overdone. I hope they will do another show. Oh look! I got the Club Orange menu, which showed the OJ and mimosa as complimentary. So I had the fresh OJ. I think you probably can make changes in the set choices. I asked them to leave off the beans. Proper banger and bacon, and even a fried slice actually half, which was plenty considering the fat content of the whole meal. There were six ships in port, including us. That was a total of at least 15, people swarming the city. We drew the short straw, or whatever it is they do to assign docks. Four ships docked at the city, but we were by the airport, along with Adventure of the Seas. There are two terminals there. Adventure had a decent one, but we had the one of last resort. They must use it only when they have 6 ships. Looking at it from my balcony, I could see that it had been damaged by the big hurricane 6 or so years ago. And not much had been done to it since. The main part of the building was okay, but the overhangs at the edges and the remains of what had been a movable gangway were missing materials…like railings at the edge of floors. The gangway was at dock level. It was in poor condition, too. The treads that give people traction to get down the slope were very worn. With the rain coming down, I saw a few people slip. They held people on the ship while someone fetched a rug that could make a safer surface. I had wanted to go into town before my tour, but with the rain I just stayed onboard. My tour was at , with a meeting time of We found our guide, Nico, which I guess is short for Nicole. Puerto Rican ancestry, but raised in Brooklyn. She studied acting, but never got any roles. Her acting background made her a great tour leader. We were going to walk and eat and drink. I doubt it. The tour company is called Spoon, and they do this tour regularly, not just for HAL. She gave us some history as we walked through Old San Juan to our first stop. The Spanish painted everything white originally, but people gradually started using colors. A local who had studied architecture and archaeology started a movement to preserve Old Town. Buildings there have restrictions on changes, to preserve the original look. This man did a survey of what people liked about old town, and the number one answer was the colors. So now the preservation committee or some such body has a palette of acceptable colors. And the rule is that a color may not be used more than once in a block. First stop, we learned to make a San Juan Mule. A Moscow mule made with Puerto Rican rum instead of vodka. So they make Cuban rum. Next stop, another drink. Rum and a choice of juice. I tried the tamarind, which was a bit spicy. Not hot spice, but like cinnamon taste. With that we had pork shoulder with beans and rice. Puerto Rican food is not spicy like Mexican. If you want the extra burn, you can always add hot sauce. There were two for us to try here. Then some walking to settle the food because there was more to come. This time the drink was water, and the food was a special way of cooking plantains. It was good, but I was getting full and could only eat half of it. One more walk and then our last stop was another rum drink. Rum and lime, but not exactly a daiquiri. Back to the ship in time to run up to the buffet to snag a dessert. I was concerned that I was going to miss opera cake! Plus St Thomas is a been there done that place for me. The rest sell souvenirs. Some of the jewelry stores also sell souvenirs. You have to be careful not to look at jewelry. If they see you, they start the sales pitch and you almost have to be rude to get away. The next street over had a few stores and oh my! A microbrewery!!! So I had a flight of 3 ales and a stout for lunch. Good beers. But Leatherback Brewing named for the turtle makes a lager and a pilsner and a few fruity beers in addition to the ales. Quite versatile. I got back to the ship just before the next round of rain. The whole Eastern Caribbean has been deluged this week. Winds have caused rough seas, which caused some ships to cancel port calls. A Carnival ship hit a pier in Jamaica. So we did comparatively well, staying on schedule and not damaging anything. Shrimp taco starter and carne asada for the main. Beautiful sunset tonight. What sort of entertainment has been presented on the World Stage? We stopped booking tours on HMC. If you have your own snorkel gear mask and tube you can walk all the way down to the end right of the beach and walk in about 20 feet with lots of fish. We've had Cantare twice, Step One once or twice and again tomorrow. Two comedians, a saxophonist, and a singer. I think your cruise may be why we got Cantare. They do up the content for longer cruises. There's a piano player in Mix. He sings, too. I haven't heard him, but comments make him sound a bit cheesy. Cocktail pianist in Ocean Bar plays a variety of music. His best arrangements are standards-- Great. American Songbook. That's what he likes best, and he does not have pre-set playlists. Unfortunately only the two Rs have the cocktail pianist. And there's a ocean bar band. I travel alone and I don't want to snorkel so far away from other people, or I would have done that. There are more programs on the ship on a sea day. Today they did Ask the Captain. The Cruise Director started by interviewing the captain, then she took questions from the audience. One person asked why the public rooms are so cold. The dining room has been so cold at times I almost shivered. Another person asked about azipods. A ship can go a lot more than 24 years. Both Norway formerly France and QE2 almost made it to But I worry that people want new new NEW! Lots of bells and whistles. This was met with a loud round of applause. Next I went to a presentation on flower arranging. One guy does all the flowers for the ship. There are a lot of large arrangements in public areas, plus flowers for the tables in the special restaurant and flowers that are ordered for cabins. Someone asked which he likes to do best and he said the large ones. Oh sure. Not me. I worry and fuss and take forever. He did one centerpiece in shades of pink. And finally, an asymmetrical arrangement with a bamboo background, birds of paradise, roses, and carnations. I love asymmetrical arrangements but my brain is too tied to symmetry to do them well. When he was done, they raffled off the three arrangements, and I won the birds of paradise one! Perfect timing. The bow vase arrangement I bought for myself on the first day was beginning to fade. After dinner, I had another go at my laptop. And the light lit. One of the fixes is to try another browser or use an incognito browser. It has worked for me at home when the HAL site is being poopy. It worked. I should have remembered that sooner. In the past, calls have been too short for that. But we had a late night in Bonaire, so plenty of time to do the snorkel. I did one in St Thomas where the instruction was so bad that I swore off big groups. Sea Cow is a small boat and they take small groups. We were only 8 people, their minimum to go. Everyone was experienced, which was nice. There was a lead diver who stopped fairly often to tell us about various fish. She also used that time to look at us and make sure we were all right. Another diver had a camera, a DSLR in a watertight case. And she had a light. She did a lot of free dives, over a minute long. I know you can hold your breath for more than a minute, but you have to be in practice. And being younger helps, too. In fact, the diver with the camera was wearing a weight belt to make it easier to get down about feet to the bottom. If anyone got tired, the boat was drifting, too, about 50 feet behind us. Sadly, my new camera was not up to the challenge. It was windy, so there was a fair amount of surface movement. As a result, I was bobbing up and down while the fish were also moving across my path. The little camera is not responsive enough to deal with that. But it was fun trying to get pictures, and just floating along and looking. We were probably in the water for an hour. Then we went back to the boat for a break and a snack. We moved to a new area and went back in the water. It was getting rougher, and I was getting a bit tired. My mask fit perfectly the first time, but the second time I could not get a good seal. So I had to keep stopping to drain it. I finally just used one hand to press the lower edge against my lip and then I was more comfortable. My mouth muscles were getting tired of keeping the seal on the snorkel and I had to blow it out once or twice. I managed fine today, we could have done that snorkel, too. Some were truly spectacular. But she had the advantage of good equipment and also being lower in the water and away from the surface waves. We could buy the pictures, so I did. She said she would send the file. I had taken a taxi to the marina, but I decided to walk back to the ship. I saw crabs, a wading bird not sure what , some flowers. By then the sun had come out in full force. As I got close to the ship and the downtown, I saw things I recognized from previous trips, including the square where the craft vendors set up. I treated myself to a pair of angelfish earrings made of dichroic glass. By the time I got back to the ship, I was hot and sticky from the salty water on my clothes. And my hair, which was in a French braid, was probably glued into one mass. The spa showers have more pressure and are better for washing my hair than the bathroom in my cabin. I was tempted to go directly there and wash everything—me, my hair, my clothes--in one go. But I rinsed out the clothes in my room and then went to wash my hair. It was such a great trip, back on the ship I almost started researching going back to Bonaire and doing that snorkel again next week! After dinner, I got the email with a link to a download site. I had to quickly upgrade to the next level in order to be able to download. I was afraid there would be a hiccup in the signal, but it all downloaded just fine. And a nice surprise. After I upped the internet package, I can call and text over the ship's wifi! Also could access my Ring camera and see how much snow we got at home. Not entirely sure that's a plus. I love Curacao. Last time I snorkeled at a beach. The time before that I did a fabulous turtle snorkel. So this time I did a land tour. It sounded like it would be a walking tour, but it was more time on a bus than on our feet. It was History and Street Art, which is why I expected a walking tour. Two negatives about this guide. First, in her desire to share the history with us she talked the entire time. I opted to stay in town rather than go back to the ship on the bus. Just a few souvenir stores were open because today is the big Carnival Mardis Gras celebration, with a big parade starting 3 miles out of town and ending on the main street. While I was waiting for the ferry to cross the harbor to where we were docked, I saw a woman in a costume for the parade. She had a tall headdress, which she said weighed about 2 pounds. The costume was short shorts, but they were velour and she was wearing tights. The top had full long sleeves made of some kind of sheer fabric. She was very nice about posing for pictures. By the time I got back to the ship, I was disgustingly sweaty. I saw an older couple older than I am getting off to go into town. They would surely regret what they were wearing. She had on a windbreaker and he was wearing a light fleece. I nearly had heatstroke just looking at them!!!! Yes, some people wear them to the pool or to the buffet to get early morning coffee. But she has been in the buffet at lunchtime, standing there in her robe. I fear she has dementia of some sort and keeps giving her carer the slip. Pinnacle dinner tonight. Now that they've dropped the surcharge, I had crabcakes and the bacon. Lamb chops--large and perfectly cooked--plus mushrooms and mashed potatoes. The lamb chops come with pureed beans, which I just don't see as a combination, so I aske them to leave off the beans and then I get the potatoes. I'm pretty sure that the mashed potatoes were instant. And cheap instant at that. Chocolate souffle for dessert was divine. I had early tours the past two days, so I just assumed I would have another early day today. I set my alarm for 7. I could have had another hour of sleep. I was really only interested in the butterflies, but the other stops were part of the tour. The butterflies were amazing. There was a guide who gave a good explanation of the life cycle and talked about the migration of monarchs. I listened and took pictures at the same time. So the only way to get a picture of them is as they fly. The bus had the most ridiculously short legroom, and I had a large man next to me, so I felt squished. It collapsed a few years ago. I was tired and not in the mood for a crowded bus, so I asked the nice young lady in the shop if she could call a taxi for me, and I bailed on the rest of the tour. Back in Oranjestad, I explored a bit. Schleppstraat, once the main shopping street was deserted. Even the stores that are still in business were closed, probably because owners had partaken of Carnival celebrations too much the night before. It was hot and very windy. Walking in the wind is tiring, so I treated myself to some excellent locally made ice cream and returned to the ship to recuperate. Also called pancake day. I should have had pancakes for breakfast, but I had a waffle instead. Or they put in too much batter? But then the excess usually runs out. Or the batter was too thick? But not lunch. I drank a hurricane in honor of New Orleans. I spent most of the day in a deck chair. My side of the ship faced the sun and it was too hot on my balcony, so I sat on Promenade deck on the other side. It was lovely to watch the ocean go by—and to listen to it. It was like sitting at the beach listening to the waves hit the shore. For a while, a group of us stood at the rail watching flying fish. Thank goodness for digital! I can take as many shots as I want. Another odd person. I saw a man walk by with jingle bells on the laces of his sneakers. Entertainment was a jazz saxophonist. He had the band from Ocean Bar backing him up. He gave them chances to solo and he called them out by name, which is always nice to see. The man played all of the saxes tenor, alto, soprano and the flute. I like the tenor sax better than the others because it has the lower register, which I think is richer. It is so good to see live music back on HAL without it being loud rock and roll cover bands. Last winter on Eurodam, the only music I liked was Lincoln Center. Cocktail pianist in Ocean Bar is great. Sadly, he said only the two R ships have that position. Ocean bar band is excellent. Serious jazz musicians, sometimes a little too much jazz for some people. And they also play music people can ballroom dance to. You're right, the dining room is always freezing, hopefully the captain will find a way to correct it, and who's the captain? Please anyone let us know if that isn't entirely correct. They do play in the Ocean Bar though The Ocean Bar is where the Third Avenue West bands usually play, but maybe they play elsewhere on the ships also. And they were on stage last night, backing the saxophonist. But mostly they're in Ocean Bar. Some nights they alternate sets with the pianist. Some nights it's all the band and other nights all pianist. I my recitation of entertainment I forgot the Classical Duo. Not was wonderful as LC, but they're only 2 musicians instead of 4 or 5, so arrangements are more limited. And while I'm thinking of it, a nice note about Pinnacle. I sat at a table that was banquette on one side and chair on the other. There were three in a row, but the other two weren't occupied. Nice gesture. My first look at it was not impressive. It looks flat and soulless. And it is. Georgetown may have the densest concentration of jewelry stores and designer clothing stores punctuated by the usual souvenir t-shirt stores I have seen in the Caribbean except maybe St Thomas. I can usually find something offbeat or charming to photograph, but nothing got my attention. It was all downhill from there. The ship didn't offer a tour there, so I booked one through one of those booking agencies like Tripadvisor. The tour company was Cay Tours. I was supposed to be there at noon. They gave me bad instructions. Thank goodness my phone's roaming worked, because instead of coming to meet me as they said, she told me where to walk to. Okay, five minutes, no biggie. I checked in on time. And then we waited for a half hour because the bus was late. This was a three-hour tour uh-oh, isn't that what they said about the Minnow???? When I booked it, I figured that it would be easy to make the last tender at But most of that cushion was destroyed by Cay's incompetence. Two people from Something of the Seas had booked the 'East End Tour,' which was the same plus a stop to see the blow holes where waves splash up through rocks. Another people had booked an entirely different tour, to see caves. We set out a half hour late. The bus drove right by the house and the botanical gardens and to the caves. We wasted time there while they sorted out confusion about the number of guests and available guides. Despite the presence of many 'safari vehicles' to take people to the start of the cave tour, our driver took us all there on the bus, at least five minutes each way on a bumpy road. The cave group were told another driver would come to get them. Ohhh, I hope that turned out to be true. It would have been a long taxi ride! And then we backtracked to the gardens. The gardens are lovely. They have little themed areas, like color gardens and orchid walk. There's a charming pond with a bench to sit and enjoy the calm. Well, because of the late departure and another half hour with the diversion to the caves If anyone had a brain, they could have dropped us at the garden and then gone to the caves with the others , our hour there was cut to 30 minutes, so I was anything but calm. I grabbed some pictures, figuring I would see the park virtually later. I wanted to see the blue iguana conservation area, which meant a long walk. I power walked in something degrees for 20 minutes! My only stops were when I came upon iguanas and photographed them. They warn you not to touch or get close because the iguanas bite. But one big one was right across my path. I approached and took a picture. It walked on. I walked on. Eventually, it moved to the side of the path and I resumed my fast walk. I did see the conservation center, but had no time to do more than glance at signs. I couldn't talk to anyone there. As it was, I got back to the visitor center one minute late. The driver was waiting for me. He said nothing, so not as stupid as I thought he was. Back on the bus, the others were impressed with how much ground I covered. I think I was the only one who saw the iguanas. This historic house was nice, but we saw very little of it as there was more confusion about timing of the intro film and availability of guides. And then we went back to the port. We saw about half of what we paid for. The people from Something of the Seas missed their third stop at the blowhole entirely. The driver was worried about getting the three of us from Zaandam back in time. As he should have been--it was his fault we got the late start!!! We made it back in time. People here talk about good experiences with independents and not to worry, they get you back in time. I have done some excellent independent tours, but not in the Caribbean. I forgot how 'casual' the Caribbean is about details. This is not Alaska. This is not Canada. This is not Europe. Combining tours wasted time in Puerto Plata, too. Yes, Cay did get us back in time, but it was way too stressful. But I did get to see a blue iguana and two orchids, so I suppose that's a good day's tour. February Sea day, thank goodness. I needed to unwind, and I did. I went to the City at Sea presentation, which was good, if a little hokey with the Cruise Director interacting with the video. My favorite part was the interview of a few of the Guest Services staff. What kinds of things do passengers lose or leave behind. Phone chargers, reading glasses, sunglasses, teeth. Yes, a passenger went to Guest Services and said she had lost her teeth. What do passengers forget to pack? Toiletries, like toothpaste. Who forgets to pack underwear???? In the last afternoon, I was just gazing out at the sea, and noticed something in the water, like maybe a dark log? And then I saw the puff! Marine mammal sighting!!! Based on the size, fin, and the way it swam my best guess is minke whale. Maybe two. That's two pictures, but it's hard to see where one ends and the other begins. I didn't want to go back to the ship. I just wandered around and took pictures and ate. My idea of a good day in port. I started with the pilgrimage to the Marker. But twice I got off track to look at something else and got turned around and went the wrong way. Honestly, it's a straight line down Whitehead street, how hard should that be? My sense of direction is usually better than that. But it I did make it to the southernmost point, and my diversions gave me interesting things to see. It's been many years since I've been to Key West. I remember liking it well enough, but this time all I could think was how soon I could come back. Definitely need to do some research! I want to just eat my way through all the interesting restaurants! I had swoon-worthy coffee and key lime cookies at a French bakery. I had barely finished the cookies when I saw an ice cream store that claimed to make their product right there on site. Ohhh, so good! And I saw four more ice cream stores, plus more cafes, and of course, key lime bakeries. I know the thing to do on Key West is a bar crawl. Forget that, I want a carb crawl!!!! So that's the end of the cruise. I was concerned about so many ships and people, but everything was easy. And now I'm home and doing laundry and sorting mail. It already feels like the trip was long ago. A few comments on the cruise. Cabin stewards were excellent, as always. Dining room waiters not as good. Guest services were very helpful. Shorex staff a little off the mark at times. Flowers I bought in my room and won! The triangular vase is called a 'bow vase,' for the shape of the bow of a ship. Entertainment is improving. World Stage had two different comedians, each doing 2 shows. A ventriloquist, one show. The saxophonist, and a singer another night. So at least they weren't relying on videos. Food was good, not great. Pinnacle and Canaletto were excellent. My main complaint about the MDR was that they couldn't get beef to the requested doneness. I always ask for rare, and usually got barely pink. A man at the table ordered steak every night and his was usually rarer than he wanted. Two tiny asparagus are NOT a portion, they're a garnish. Anything lobster was an upcharge. Surf and turf was steak and two grilled shrimp. Actually, I don't mind. I don't get excited about a lobster tail that's been frozen. Nobody at my table bothered with any of the lobster upsell opportunities. There seemed to be more menu choices than I recall from a year ago. Three gala menus in 14 nights, blue, silver, gold. I had CO but only ordered the special item once. It was supposed to be veal cutlet. But it was a huge chop. I've never seen veal chop that big, and frankly, it tasted like beef, not veal. It was smothered in gravy so it was hard to navigate around the large bone. And, sadly, the excellent risotto was buried under the meat and ruined by the intrusion of the gravy. I was tempted to turn vegetarian at dinner. One woman at the table is vegetarian not vegan and some of her options looked delicious. So if you're vegetarian, you'll have lots of good choices. My usual lunch was the salad bar. That continues to be excellent. And Zaandam has a taco bar!!! So I embellished my salad with some guac and chips. As the cruise went on, the embellishments increased It's just so tempting. Navigator worked well for me on my phone. And I did learn a workaround for my laptop. One annoying thing is that it doesn't know that you signed out of your other device. I would sign out on the laptop and turn it off. But when I used the phone, it would tell me I had reached my limit of devices and did I want to disconnect the other one. A small annoyance, but it seemed odd that the system thought it was still connected to a computer that was turned off. I liked being able to check my statement. I found two errors. First, I went to the Mariner wine tasting and they billed me for it. I went to Guest Services and it was corrected. I was billed the full amount, although the previous night I was only billed for the extra 50 cents plus service charge on 50 cents. That got fixed, too. So, 'trust but verify. But I had used that credit with tours I'd booked before the cruise. They sorted that out at the end of the cruise and I did get billed for the extra tours. I guess they figure with cancellations and changes, it's easier to wait until you've 'spent' all of your HIA credit before they work out the charges for tours over the credit amount. The math looked correct to me. One last thing. I hate to be the whining solo woman, but it's true. We can be invisible. Bar service by the pool and at Ocean Bar was so bad I started timing it. I sat for 10 minutes in Ocean Bar and nobody came by. I was in the main bar area, not out in the atrium. They weren't full. I finally went up to the bar to get my drink, and even then, people who walked up after me got served ahead of me. I got the impression that the way to get attention is to go there first day, introduce yourself, and tip big. Be a 'regular. Or be a man. A man sits down, and a server shows up. One night when Ocean bar was busy, I asked to share a table with a man who was on his own. Server checked on his drink, so I was able to ask for a drink. Server checked back on him several times. Some loud men at a nearby table were tipping quite obviously, and that server was very attentive. Service at the pool bar was even worse. I never did figure out where to sit that I would be in the path of a server I could accost to order a drink. I don't like to get my lunch and then have to leave it while I wait at the bar to get my drink. I don't always remember to bring a book or some other 'marker' to hold my table. I cruise solo most of the time and have always had good service at bars. I do go at the beginning of the cruise and middle, and end! It really frys me when people think that the only way they get service is by tipping up front I'm not going to stop people from doing that so I will continue to plod along with my way of being friendly and then at the end of the cruise I tip extra to the crew who gave me more than great service all along. I have felt well served by HAL staff when I am solo. I hope your next cruise is a little better for service. The server gave them their drinks, then went to another table, and then as she walked past them again, one man held a couple of bills up at his shoulder as she walked behind him and she took them. Maybe he didn't have the money out when she delivered the tips, or maybe he likes to look like a big spender. It was crass. You will be able to leave a comment after signing in. Write An Amazing Review! If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password. Holland America Line. Share More sharing options Followers 3. Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2. Recommended Posts. Posted February So here we go. February 5 At sea Ahh, a sea day. Not really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options Thursday, February 8 St. Thanks for your review. I'm enjoying following along! Mosaic Posted February Thanks, for all the Detail! Who is the current Captain and Hotel Manager??? DCThunder Posted February Posted February 12 edited. Edited February 12 by DCThunder. Chapter 6 Something strange in the sky I fixed my computer problem! Chapter 7 Carnival! February 11 Curacao I love Curacao. Our band is just called Ocean Band. Posted February 20 edited. That's two pictures, but it's hard to see where one ends and the other begins Edited February 20 by 3rdGenCunarder. February 16 Key West I didn't want to go back to the ship. Vista suite. Look at all those closets!!!!! Posted February 21 edited. Please sign in to comment You will be able to leave a comment after signing in Sign In Now. Go to topic listing. Forum Jump. Welcome to Cruise Critic. Hurricane Zone New Cruisers. River Cruising. Special Interest Cruising. Cruise Discussion Topics. UK Cruising. Canadian Cruisers. North American Homeports. Ports of Call. Cruise Conversations. Announcements New to Cruise Critic? Join our Community! Parliament, Budapest. Here's What I Learned. Find a Cruise. Popular Ports. Member Reviews. Research a Destination. Cruise Planning. Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more. Top deals Find a cruise About us Privacy Terms of use. Sign in OR Create an Account.

Snow scooters in Zaandam

Buying snow Zandam

I read that the Zaandam was refurbished recently in Did they also upgrade the Wi-Fi to the latest and fast technology? My mom's about to go on a 34 day cruise and we'd like to find out if it's worth buying the package for her? It may depend on the location of the ship, I don't know, but on my recent Panama Canal cruise I had no problems Emailing a picture took a while so I only did that once. And we were at sea for 10 of those 18 days five days to Hawaii and five days back. I bought the package then did add minutes. I used my cell phone and kept the cell phone on airplane mode and only switched to wifi when I wanted to quickly check my email--kept the cost down. Your mom can also use the computers in the library and her account will be charged for whatever minutes she used. I have an app on my phone where I can see if my home furnace is running and what temp is set and can even lower and raise the heat Honeywell , since I live in snow country, and I could check this app at Cape Horn and at the Falklands--so I had wifi! Hope your mom has a really fun time! We have just done a 21 day cruise on the Zaandam. From Santiago to Buenos Aires. Our cruise did go down to Antarctica. We bought a minute package. We had a small 'Surface' computer with us, and used it in our cabin down on 'Dolphin' deck. We had no problems at all, even in the Antarctic waters. Just make sure that your Mum knows how to log on, and MOST importantly, how to log out again after she has down-loaded emails etc. Wow, that's a hugely important detail! I might put a sticker on her laptop to make sure that she remembers to log out each time. It makes a HUGE difference in transmission times and is more than adequate for internet purposes. The high resolution print pictures can wait until a person returns. Haven't been on the Zaandam recently but will board March The Zaandam's wifi generally worked well from our cabin, Verandah deck for two laptops and two cell phones, even in Antarctica in January The cabin is the most forward location on that deck, other than crew quarters. Upload speeds for higher resolution photos were slower but satisfactory. Resizing photos is a good idea. We bought the 1, minute package expecting slow internet speeds and found we didn't need all those minutes. We have never cruised and I am trying to understand the connectivity options on the Zaandam. We will be on the Dec 17 22 day cruise. Do you have to pay just to access the Wifi or can you access the local wifi without the internet for phone to phone communications on the ship? Thinking about how we might contact each other even when not using the internet connection. Is my understanding correct that cell service works with roaming charges even when not in port? Data or just voice and SMS? You will be able to leave a comment after signing in. Write An Amazing Review! If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password. Holland America Line. How is the Wi-Fi on the Zaandam? Share More sharing options Followers 1. Recommended Posts. GuavaTechAngels Posted March 5, Posted March 5, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options HollDoll Posted March 5, My mistake I was on the Zuiderdam. Alberta Quilter Posted March 5, GuavaTechAngels Posted March 6, Posted March 6, Alberta Quilter Posted March 6, Thanks Alberta! Did you try posting pictures to Facebook? How was that experience? No, I didn't. I'm not on Facebook. But I did do a live thread on CC no pics, though. Mtngirl2 Posted March 7, Posted March 7, GuavaTechAngels Posted March 7, It all depends on the time of the day and where the ship is. PatandJack Posted March 7, Posted March 7, edited. Roy Edited March 7, by rafinmd Koningsdam. Minne Wonka Girl Posted March 7, Posted March 22, Good topic! We will be sailing her to Alaska next year. Posted March 27, Very slow. Terrible for uploading pictures. Just got back from South America Cruise. Used most of my minutes waiting for pictures to up load. GuavaTechAngels Posted September 13, Posted September 13, GeoNomad Posted November 17, Posted November 17, Any recent update on performance since the refurb? Thanks for any help. Please sign in to comment You will be able to leave a comment after signing in Sign In Now. Go to topic listing. Forum Jump. Welcome to Cruise Critic. Hurricane Zone New Cruisers. River Cruising. Special Interest Cruising. Cruise Discussion Topics. UK Cruising. Canadian Cruisers. North American Homeports. Ports of Call. Cruise Conversations. Announcements New to Cruise Critic? Join our Community! Parliament, Budapest. Here's What I Learned. Find a Cruise. Popular Ports. Member Reviews. Research a Destination. Cruise Planning. Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more. Top deals Find a cruise About us Privacy Terms of use. Sign in OR Create an Account.

Buying snow Zandam