The HAL Zuiderdam can hold 1,916 passengers and 842 crew. Our captain was Frank Van der Hoeven, the hotel director was Glenn Cowley, our Cruise director was Karlijn Verpalen, and when Karlijn had to leave for a family emergency, Glen Michaels the Entertainment Director took over. Our inside cabin was 7132 and our cabin stewards were Johan and Matt. We had dinner at table 23 in the Dining Room 3rd deck. Our servers were Apri and Desri.
Day 1: Embarkation - Saturday, November 23, 2024Click here for pictures while we were on the shipWe left our FL house at 9:30 and made it to the port by 10:30. There were no lines for dropping off bags and when we got to the parking garage, we found a spot on the 2nd level. Embarkation went very smoothly and we were on the ship by 11:30.
After lunch, we walked around the ship and dropped our stuff off at our cabin. Since our luggage wasn’t there yet, we walked around and got a couple of drinks. We found our dining room table (it was a table for 4) and we also checked on our shore excursions. When we checked, my suitcase had arrived so I put away my clothes. At 1:30, we did the safety drill which meant we had to go to Deck 3 and check in. Once we saw our lifeboat (section 16), we could leave. We watched the safety video on our TV and that was it. Don’s luggage had arrived so we put away his stuff. Then we went up to the Crow’s Nest to watch us leave (supposedly at 3:45). By 4:30, we left to get our jackets for dinner and went to the dining room.
We sat at table 23 and it was only the 2 of us. For dinner, we started off with French onion soup (for me) and a beet, orange salad (for Don). Don had Ocean Hake (fish, muscles, and clams) for the main entree, and I had the NY Strip Loin. We both had a cookies and cream sundae for dessert.
After dinner, we went to the Captain’s reception for 3, 4, and 5-star mariners. I got a picture with the captain. We went to the Crow’s Nest to get a cappuccino and then returned to our cabin so Don could watch football.
Day 2: Sea Day - Sunday, November 24, 2024After breakfast, we walked for an hour around Deck 3. There were a lot of walkers out there with us. At 11, we went to the talk about The Caribbean Up Close: Water Works with Karlijn. I realized that we had been on the Rotterdam with her in 2022. She did a great job! I left at 11:30 to meet up with knitters and 6 others showed up. At noon, I met up with Don for lunch. At 2pm, we heard Karlijn talk about the Caribbean Up Close: Treasure Islands. Then we stopped at the Pinnacle Bar and had a couple of Bloody Marys before dinner. I enjoyed dinner in the dining room and our servers are excellent. After dinner, we went to the show: Emile Diego Doles, Tyler Michael Breeding & Company in Song & Dance. Then we stopped at the Pinnacle Bar for one last Bloody Mary before heading back to our cabin. Before going to bed, we watched DeadPool.
Day 3: Sea Day - Monday, November 25, 2024
After breakfast, we walked for an hour around Deck 3. There were a lot of walkers out there with us. At 11, Don went to the talk about The Caribbean Up Close: The Islands’ Spirit with Karlijn while I went to the Crow’s Nest to meet the knitters. After lunch, I went to a watercolor class on painting jellyfish. That was a lot of fun. At 3pm, we went to the Rolling Stones Lounge to hear Karlijn answer questions about St. Maarten. When we got there, Glen Michaels, the Entertainment Director, was in her place due to a family emergency. He was very good! On the way out, I gave him a gnome as a thank-you for jumping in to help Karlijn. After that session, we went to the Pinnacle Bar for pre-dinner cocktails. Dinner was very good again and after dinner, we went to the show: The Alans, a husband-and-wife team. He was the magician, and she was the mentalist.
Day 4: St. Maarten - Tuesday, November 26, 2024Click here for pictures of St. MaartenWe met on the dock at 8:15 for our shore excursion: Under Two Flags, Island Drive. We got on the bus and our driver was Nicholas. We drove through Philipsburg (the Dutch capital) and headed to the French side. We passed by Orient Beach and stopped in Marigot (the French capital). We walked around for 45 minutes and found the post office but we didn’t buy anything since they didn’t accept US dollars. We stopped by Maho Beach on the way back to Philipsburg. We arrived back at the ship around 11:30 and felt this excursion was well worth the $30 pp that we paid.
After lunch, we sat on the deck and relaxed for a little while. Then we had a couple of drinks before going back to the cabin for a shower. After that, we went back out for another drink and then to the Lido deck for French fries. By then, we walked around until it was time to change for dinner. Dinner was prime rib which I enjoyed but Don’s prime rib was tough. At 7:30 we went to the show All That and enjoyed the show because we recognized all the songs. When we got back to the cabin, we watched the movie Avatar, the Way of the Water.
Day 5: Antigua- Wednesday, November 27, 2024Click here for pictures of AntiguaWe got off the ship around 8:30 and walked to the post office. Don bought $2 worth of local stamps. Then we walked to the Central market, the meat market, and the fish market. We got back to the ship around 9:30. We sat on the Lido deck and had some cool drinks while we waited for lunch to open. After lunch, we went to deck 3 to sit in the lounge chairs with a beer. Eventually, we had to move because they were cleaning the lifeboats so we went to the Pinnacle Bar and sat for a while. Then I sat with some knitters before going back to the cabin for a nap. At 5pm, we had a reservation at the Pinnacle Grill.
For dinner, we had lobster bisque as a starter. For the entrée, I had a 15 oz. boneless ribeye and Don had the Chilean Sea Bass. For dessert we had crème brulee. Our whole dinner was fabulous!
After dinner, we watched The Alans again do their magician mentalist show. It was entertaining.
Day 6: St. Lucia - Thursday, November 28, 2024It was raining when we could get off the ship so we ended up staying on the ship all day. It pretty much rained all day until it was time for us to leave the port. We were glad that we had been here many times so we didn’t feel like we missed anything. In the morning we sat out on the Lido deck and read until lunchtime. After lunch, we spent the afternoon in the Pinnacle Bar listening to podcasts and I knit. After dinner we went to the show – Class Act which features songs by well-known women (Bette Midler, Enya, Helen Reddy, Ann Margret, Tina Turner.
Day 7: Dominica - Friday, November 29, 2024Click here for pictures of DominicaWe had to get up early because we had a shore excursion scheduled – Dominica’s Favorite (4.5 hours for $60 pp). We met on the pier and got on the bus very quickly. Our tour guide was Corey and he was fabulous. About 15 min. into the drive, our bus broke down. We were right in front of the water treatment plant. 30 minutes later a replacement bus was sent and we were on our way. Some people needed to use the restroom so he stopped at a small store and asked if people could use the restroom. They came back and said that there was no seat and no toilet paper and it didn’t flush. I’m glad we didn’t need to use it. Our first scheduled stop was at the Emerald Pool. It was about a 15 min. walk to the pool downhill which means it was uphill on the way back but it was well worth the hike. Our next stop was at Trafalgar Falls and it was a 10 min. walk uphill which made it a lovely downhill walk on the way back. Our last scheduled stop was at the Botanical Gardens. At one of the Powder Puff trees, the hummingbirds were all over it. Before heading back to the ship, we went to the top of the mountain and got a lovely view of our ship and the town of Roseau. When we got back to the ship, Don and I went to the General Post Office which was a 2 min. walk from the ship. It was really hot and sunny outside. We weren’t sure where to go and the security guard asked us if we were looking for the post office and welcomed us in. It was nicely air-conditioned! The lady in the post office was patient and nice so we ended up buying $7 USD worth of stamps. On the way back to the ship, we stopped at the supermarket.
When we got back to the ship and went up to the Lido deck, it was just closing. Don was able to get a salad right before it closed. I went to the Dive In and got a hot dog and French fries. Then we stopped at the Pinnacle Bar for a drink before returning to our cabin to clean up for dinner.
After dinner, we skipped the show because we both were pretty tired from our busy day. We went back to our cabin and finished watching the movie Avatar. Then we went to sleep early.
Somebody told us that they went to Champagne Reef and went snorkeling. The cab driver wanted $100 but they negotiated down to $60. The driver dropped them off and then came back for them. Maybe next time we will give it a try.
Day 8: St. Kitts - Saturday, November 30, 2024
Click here for St. KittsWe had to get up early again because we had a shore excursion scheduled – St. Kitts Railway (3 hours for $130 pp). We docked later than expected because it was very windy. It took 3 pilots and a tugboat to get us docked. We got off the ship around 8:30 and rushed to our meeting place on the pier (we were supposed to meet at 8:15). After a 10 min. bus ride, we got to the Needmust Train station where we got on the train. We stayed downstairs because it was air-conditioned. They gave us unlimited drinks (rum punch, punch, soda, or water) and a sugar cake (a candy mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) We got back to the ship around 12:30 and got on board to have lunch. After lunch, we sat in the Pinnacle Bar until it was time for dinner. After dinner, we went to the show featuring comedian Bill Boronkay. When we returned to the cabin, we watched the movie, Arthur the King which was very entertaining.
Day 9: St. Thomas - Sunday, December 1, 2024We arrived in St. Thomas around 8am but we didn’t get off the ship. After breakfast, we sat out on deck 3 and enjoyed the scenery. I knit, read, and listened to podcasts. Around 11am, we went up to the Lido deck to claim our table for lunch. After lunch, we went to the Pinnacle bar to have a couple of Bloody Marys. Then we went back to the cabin to watch the Bridge of Spies. At 5 we had dinner at the Pinnacle Grill and then we went to the show featuring a Celtic violinist, Mairead Nesbitt who was very good. They showed a video of scenery (probably Ireland) while she played almost nonstop for 50 minutes. She was very lively and energetic as she played. We had to turn our clocks back an hour when we went to bed.
Day 10: Sea Day- Monday, December 2, 2024Today we relaxed all day on the ship. We sat on deck 3 and relaxed until lunchtime. Don forgot his hearing aids and had to go back to the room. Then he had trouble finding his way back to me. I don’t know if his sugar is up or if he is dehydrated which may be causing his confusion. After lunch at 1, we went to Ask the Captain. At 3, we went to the Royal Dutch Tea. After dinner we went to the show Hey Mr. DJ which was very good. We sat with Mari and Viji again and I learned a little more about them. They are fascinating to talk with!
Day 11: Half Moon Cay - Tuesday, December 3, 2024When we arrived at Half Moon Cay, it was windy and overcast so we decided to stay on the ship. We sat on deck 3 until lunchtime. After lunch, we went back to deck 3 where I read and Don walked laps. Then we went to finish packing our suitcase which didn’t take long. We also worked on a letter to the hotel director complaining about the deceptive advertising of the specialty restaurant. Then we relaxed in the Pinnacle Bar until it was time to get ready for dinner. After dinner, we went to the show which was a combination of the comedian and the violinist. Viji and Mari sat with us, and they gifted me a beautiful pair of earrings! I enjoyed the comedian because he used new material, but the violinist played the same songs that she played the other night. When we returned to the cabin, we put out our suitcases and finished watching the movie Horizon Chapter 1 and it was a horrible movie.
Day 12: Ft. Lauderdale - Wednesday, December 4, 2024I got up at 4am and then went to the Lido deck. I saved our seats and went back to the cabin at 5:30 to make sure Don was awake. We got everything together and went for breakfast. Since we are 4 star mariners, we were able to get off the ship at 8:15 and we were on the road by 8:30. It was a very smooth debarkation!
Things I Learned:- St. Maarten – cab ride to the boardwalk is $3 each way; water taxi is $4 one way/$7 round trip. $2 public bus ride to Maho Beach.
- Antigua - Someone recommended going to Jolly Beach so maybe next time we will take a cab there and check it out.
- Dominica – there is a mountain covered in grass and when the rocks get hot, the grass catches on fire and burns. Then the seeds that didn’t burn eventually grow and cover the rocks in new grass.
- We liked Dominica and want to go back.
- St. Kitts – the St. Kitts scenic train ride was bumpy but fun. The view would probably be better upstairs, but the downstairs was air-conditioned.
- I messed up and saw we were charged for Pinnacle Grill last night. I read on the Have It All package that we got 2 nights at the specialty restaurant. Apparently, it is only 1 night at the Pinnacle Grill and 1 night at Canaletto. So we had to pay for last night. I still feel like they misled us on purpose but I learned my lesson for next time.
- I’m glad I brought my magnets with hooks for me.
Original photos by Pat Hensley
