Zaandam - Our Home for the Next 23 Days!

Saturday, April 14

It was 8:30 before we crawled out of bed…our bodies needed the sleep to make up for the early start to the previous day. The blue skies and warm sunshine were the exact opposite to the blizzard conditions that were taking place at home. I felt a little guilty knowing that our kind neighbor would be spending his day clearing the snow from our driveway and sidewalks while we were boarding a cruise ship.

The Hyatt Place has a better than average breakfast in the lobby which we (and many others) took advantage of. Our timing was good and we grabbed a table for two as people stood up to leave. We enjoyed a breakfast of oatmeal + toppings and a sampling of the scrambled eggs and bacon. Starbucks brand coffee was also available (for free) which I enjoyed.

Afterward, Bob grabbed his sunglasses and headed out for a walk while I showered and got ready for the day. He walked as far as one of the port gates and was able to see an electronic sign showing the Zaandam was at Terminal #26.

It was less than 24 hours since we had arrived at the hotel, but in that time my stuff had gotten strewn all over the room from me trying to find things in the luggage. (This is the reason I shun away from land-based trips. I would spend half my time trying to keep my luggage organized!) I managed to get everything repacked although not necessarily in an efficient manner.

Bob finished watching a Star Wars movie which he had already seen multiple times (do all guys watch movies over and over like he does?) and then we left the room around 11 am. Bob had downloaded the Lyft app on his new cellphone and with my referral had a $5 credit to use. Once he called for the car, it took 3 minutes to arrive and was a much better value than using the hotel shuttle at $7 per person. The total bill for our ride to the port was $8.73 but only $3.73 with the credit.

The distance to the port was very short, but with 5 ships in port, the traffic was pretty crazy. Our driver did a good job, but when 3 lanes narrowed down into 2, it took some creative maneuvering. At the entrance we were stopped and had to present our passports and boarding passes to the security guy. The driver also had to show her credentials and open the trunk for inspection.

As we were heading to Terminal 26, I got my first glimpse of the Zaandam. Only she wasn’t at 26…the ship was docked at terminal 19. 

Our driver quickly got into the turning lane and was able to drop us off at the correct spot. Very few people were arriving so she was able to immediately pull up to the porters who grabbed our bags. It was just a few minutes before noon as we walked through the doors.

Inside there were no lines so we breezed through the security check of our carry-ons, filled out the health forms, and walked right up to the counter to check in. The agent commented that they still had our photos on file from the HAL cruise we had taken in the fall so they didn’t need to take new ones. Because of our credit card issue from the day before, we also took care of switching our account over to a new card.

Boarding had not yet started. The ship was just out of dry dock and we had been informed ahead of time that the Coast Guard would be doing an inspection. Around 1 pm they announced boarding would begin soon but cabins would not be ready. It was around 1:30 when we walked on board and just as we got to the elevator to head up to the Lido buffet, the cruise director walked by and said he had just been told we could go directly to our cabin. (So glad we didn’t have to lug 2 carry-on bags and 2 backpacks to lunch!)

We did a quick inspection of our room, especially the new, large glass shower that had replaced the bathtub during the dry dock renovations. My first reaction to the cabin was “how small!” I had an idea of how it would look, but instead of a couch, we had a very, very small love seat. Could the two of us survive living in such a tiny space for 23 days?

The beds were made up as a king when we arrived but this made it hard to see out the window. We requested that the beds be split with the nightstands between the two beds which seemed roomier and gave us a better view.

The TV shelf basically made one end of the desk unusable. I noticed in other cabins that the TV was on an elevated shelf.

Our brand new glass shower! A bathtub was removed during the drydock.

The walls of the bathroom had also been replaced and I believe the vanity top and mirror were also new. 

Background note:  Several different Holland America ships (and ships from other cruise lines as well) get transferred from the Caribbean to Alaska for the summer season in April. These are called “repositioning cruises” and they all go through the Panama Canal. Doing a cruise through the Panama Canal had been a bucket list item for me for some time. When we were comparing the different ships and itineraries, we discovered one of my old high school friends, Danny, had just booked the Zaandam for its repositioning cruise. It didn’t take us long to decide to book the same cruise and join him. The itinerary looked great and it would give us a chance to get caught up on the last 40+ years that we hadn’t seen each other.

When we got to the buffet for lunch, it was a zoo as it usually is on embarkation day. With our dinner time at 5:45, neither of us wanted to eat much at 2:30 in the afternoon. We had just finished our meal when Danny texted me that he and his friend, Stan, were on board. We waited for them to get to the buffet, said some quick hellos and then let them take over our spot. We found out that we had not been assigned to the same dining table (as we had requested) so we went directly to talk to the maître d and got that taken care of with no problem.

Our next stop was the shore excursions department. For this cruise, we had nearly a thousand dollars of on-board credit (OBC) that I wanted to use for tours. I could have booked the tours in advance but would not have been able to use our credit so we crossed our fingers that the ones we wanted would still be available. Three of them were, but one I was really hoping to do was full. They put us on a waiting list and the staff member thought we might have an OK chance of still getting in the tour if others cancelled. Bob also wanted to book a scuba excursion for Cabo San Lucas but decided to wait a little longer to decide for sure.

Back at the cabin our luggage had been delivered so we set about to unpacking…not the easiest task in such a tiny space. I was griping and grumbling about not having enough space, but by the time we finished I realized that we still had a couple of unused drawers! Our cabin steward was also able to provide some extra hangers which I appreciated.

The mandatory muster drill was routine and then it was time to start getting dressed for dinner. Sail away had been scheduled for 5 pm, but the captain announced that it was going to be a little late. I did a quick FaceTime call with my sister so she could see the cabin before I had to shut off my cell phone.

The back side of the safety drill! Just before we went outside I snapped this picture of people lined up on the promenade deck. The window was like a one-way mirror. We could see out, but people could not see in.

Bob went out exploring while I got dressed but he quickly came back to get me. We walked out onto the promenade deck (our faux balcony) and there was an ambulance waiting…a sign that someone’s cruise was not getting off to a good start. We heard later that someone had fallen and needed stitches so the captain waited while they were transported to the hospital and then returned to the ship. True story? Who knows. I do know that the ship didn’t leave Ft. Lauderdale until sometime while we were eating dinner.

Bob is a paramedic so I take his photo with ambulances we see on our travels. (I know...that's weird.)

Our assigned table in the dining room was at the very back of the second level…right by floor to ceiling windows overlooking the wake. It was just the four of us that showed up at the table for six. Our assistant waiter introduced himself as “Lala” and said the head waiter’s name was “Yes Sir”! The little table marker revealed the actual names were Fadila and Yazzir. 😀

Not being extremely hungry, I ordered the cold fruit soup with a seafood noodle pot. Bob got a Caesar salad and shrimp cocktail with mangoes and a Caribbean pork dish for his main course. Danny is a dessert lover and ordered 4 desserts!

Only a 4-dessert night. A couple of times he ordered 5!

The distant skyline of Ft. Lauderdale taken through the window in the dining room.

The only evening entertainment was the movie "The Greatest Show".  I had started watching this movie on our flight the day before and didn't care for it so Bob and I explored the ship instead. The area around the aft pool was closed off and workers were busy cleaning the floor. We found out later that this area had been used to store construction equipment during the drydock and needed a good cleaning before it was ready for passengers.

I stopped by guest services to get a hole punched in my key card and was surprised at the extreme vibration of the ship in that location. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just at guest services. Back in our cabin, the vibration was so bad that I wondered if I could tolerate the movement for even the night, let alone for the next 23 days!! Between the shaking of the ship and my continued cough it was not a good night.