Monday Morning, 15 May 2023

On Board ms Zuiderdam

Another calm and sunny morning, although the air temperature has cooled to the upper-60's, as the Zuiderdam continues eastward. Today is sea day number three, with three more to go before reaching our first port in the Azores.

But the blog returns to embarkation day and a much more pleasant outlook, except for one minor glitch after boarding.

Friday Morning, 12 May 2023

Ft Lauderdale: Embarkation Day

After this morning's adventure, it is at last calming and peaceful on board the Zuiderdam. I take the hotel shuttle from the Hilton to the ship (I'm the only person on the shuttle), and in a very few minutes the boarding process is completed. Nowadays, most of the boarding verifications are done on-line, before the passenger even arrives at the port.

I enjoy a leisurely Mariners-only lunch in the Main Dining Room--mixed salad with creamy Italian dressing, tortellini in red sauce, vanilla bread pudding for dessert. Portions are smaller than they used to be, but that's fine with me. Food is still excellent and tasty and beautifully presented.

After lunch my veranda stateroom is ready and my luggage has arrived. Because I have a bunch of new readers I am going to include some ship photos for them, as the sea days pass. Readers who have been with me for a while might want to run through them quickly. The Zuiderdam is one of four sister ships named for points of the compass:  Noordam, Oosterdam, Zuiderdam, Westerdam. Except for the Noordam, I have been on each of the other ships at least twice, sometimes more. The interiors of the ships are similar, with only a few individual design variations.

Veranda Stateroom 5083 - Mid-ship, Deck 5

There is one slight snafu after boarding:  I have a confirmed single table at 8pm in the main dining room, just as I have on every solo cruise. This is both a personal preference (after socializing all day I am ready for a quiet dinner), and a health issue (it’s very easy for Covid to spread during group meals). But my stateroom keycard indicates a 5:15 group dinner reservation. The problem is resolved to my satisfaction, but only after standing on line for over an hour, for something that should never have happened.

Dinner turns out fine; the highlight is a large and perfectly medium-rare NY strip steak. My table stewards, both from Indonesia, seem fine and eager to please. Service is slow, but it always is on the first night of any cruise, and the Zuiderdam has just ended a round-the-world journey in Ft Lauderdale.

More Views of ms Zuiderdam

Central Multi-Level Atrium

Main Stage Theatre Viewed from Balcony

Newly-Remodeled Library

Topiary Celebrating HAL's 150th Anniversay on Lido Pool Deck

Collection of Port Plaques

In the next blog I will try to catch up on the first three sea days, but since there is so much going on I might have to post more than one entry.