After a great couple of days at Cruise3Sixty, I’ve finally boarded the beautiful Zuiderdam in Vancouver, Canada.
Embarkation was, put bluntly, an ordeal. The Port Metro Vancouver terminal is built to berth four ships at once, but luckily only two ships were in port today – Zuiderdam and the Diamond Princess. Here’s why embarkation was an ordeal – all guests, no matter of which cruise line they were sailing on, used the same security and customs line. Almost 5,000 cruisers were all standing in a area of the terminal that seems like it was only built to accommodate one ship’s guests at a time. While the rest of the check in process was smooth sailing, I do wish Vancouver could figure out a way to refine the security and customs areas.
Once aboard the Zuiderdam, we headed straight to the Lido Restaurant to grab a bite to eat. It had been a few hours since eating breakfast, so I hustled to the salad bar and sandwich station. I was happy to once again happy to enjoy a delicious Caesar salad with Holland America Line’s special Caesar dressing. Along with my salad I also enjoyed a grilled Reuben sandwich and refreshing lemonade.
Sail away was up next and Captain Turner promised a scenic and camera worthy departure from Vancouver. His words lived up to expectations with a scenic pass by Stanley Island and a close sail under the Lions Gate Bridge. Similar to sailing under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York City, passing under the Lions Gate Bridge gives you the thrill of wondering if your ship will make the clearance, luckily we did.
Dinner followed our sail away and was taken in the Vista Dining Room. I once again enjoyed another delicious, specially designed Caesar salad along with a seafood cocktail in a light mayonnaise sauce. My main course was a crispy and warm filet of rainbow trout, served over spaghetti hair pasta with slight lemon dusting. A great first dinner to start off an inevitably great sailing.
My night ended early as a result of my jet lag and my non-stop running around at Cruise3Sixty. To end the evening, I simply sat back on my balcony and took in the beautiful passing landscape that the Pacific Northwest has to offer. Simply put – I’m stunned and can’t wait to experience more of the same whilst sailing the Inside Passage tomorrow.
A few photos from today:
One reply on “Zuiderdam Daily Cruise Blog – Day 1 Embarkation”
What a great day! Now off to bed to feel the gentle rocking of the ship! (Ummmm…..I guess that would have to be earthquakes here on land!) (We’ll do “virtual rocking”!)