Zuiderdam Questions

[ORDPLATAA]

Greetings All-

I have "lurked" on this board for a bit and have found the information to be great. We are booking the Zuiderdam's 6/18/05 sailing for a B-Day celebration for my mom's 70th. This is going to be a combo b-day and christmas present. I found a great rate on cruisesonly.com and we are booked in a combo of VA and SS. The reason we selected this ship is HAL's ability to handle wheelchair passengers on tenders/in port.

So, to get to my questions:

1. My mom is in 8032 - an accessable verandah cabin. This is a deck below the pool area - should we be concerned about the noise (chairs scraping) or should we shoot for 6003/6004 on the Upper Verandah deck (they look bigger but have a promenade on one side of the room)?

2. Regarding accessability on tenders, has anyone had any experience or seen how this works? It sounds from my research that HAL does a great job - just curious.

3. WE received a great rate for an SS cabin (8038). Should we try for 8094/8099/6052/6117). They seem to be a tad bigger - is it worth the hassle?

4. We would like to do a liitle "bon voyage" party in our suite and didn't see how to arrange online. Do we do that through HAL or cruisesonly.com?

5. We are thinking of doing dinner in the Odyssey Restaurant for mom's b-day on the 19th. How soon can we make reservations?

Thanks folks!

Bob

[ORDPLATAA]

Greetings All-

I have "lurked" on this board for a bit and have found the information to be great. We are booking the Zuiderdam's 6/18/05 sailing for a B-Day celebration for my mom's 70th. This is going to be a combo b-day and christmas present. I found a great rate on cruisesonly.com and we are booked in a combo of VA and SS. The reason we selected this ship is HAL's ability to handle wheelchair passengers on tenders/in port.

So, to get to my questions:

1. My mom is in 8032 - an accessable verandah cabin. This is a deck below the pool area - should we be concerned about the noise (chairs scraping) or should we shoot for 6003/6004 on the Upper Verandah deck (they look bigger but have a promenade on one side of the room)?

2. Regarding accessability on tenders, has anyone had any experience or seen how this works? It sounds from my research that HAL does a great job - just curious.

3. WE received a great rate for an SS cabin (8038). Should we try for 8094/8099/6052/6117). They seem to be a tad bigger - is it worth the hassle?

4. We would like to do a liitle "bon voyage" party in our suite and didn't see how to arrange online. Do we do that through HAL or cruisesonly.com?

5. We are thinking of doing dinner in the Odyssey Restaurant for mom's b-day on the 19th. How soon can we make reservations?

Thanks folks!

Bob

[Oggy Boy]

8032 is a great choice! I would stay with it. My wife and I stayed in 8066 and it was a great cabin other than the elevator was right next to it. Since the elevator was attached to the outside of the ship, when someone came by they looked right onto our balcony. The balcony is quite large and I see you have some extra space as well.

Having traveled with someone in a chair frequently, here is how it works. The first issue is the tender lines. When waiting to board the tender, your Mom will be crowded if she is in the center of it all. I usually try to get down later in the tender call and hang around the back. After the crowd is pretty much boarded, I try to be the last one on. This accomplishes two things. The chair will go on last and you generally can get the "pull down" seats next to the exit. You will be the first off the tender (and the chair as well) The tender staff will all but carry your Mom on and off the tender and will make it a totally safe transfer.

Your travel agent should be able to request a party for you.

When you board the ship, go see the Maitre d' and request the evening for the Odyssay Restaurant. I would add a $20 bill with the request (they probably will not accept it on HAL) but it helps. If he can't confirm you, he will tell you how to get confirmed for what you want.

Have a great cruise!

Tom