2019 Dec. Zuiderdam cruise

2019 Dec Zuiderdam Cruise: ABC islands

2019-Dec. 10-20 : Zuiderdam 10 nt. sunfarer (Bonaire; Curacao; Aruba; Amber Cove; Half Moon Cay)

It's been over 2 years since our last cruise.  During that cruise, we paid the $100/person for the FC Deposit.  Of course we had no idea of what was to come in the next year.  Ken's diabetes caused his ankle to collapse.  For the next 1 1/2 years he was in and out of hospitals and Dr.s' offices.  Ultimately it appears they were able to fuse his ankle and save his foot, but he's still a long way from moving well.  But we hope that a cruise will be a good way to finally get a little rest and relaxation.

So I booked us an inside handicapped accessible room for $750/person with gratuities included.  At that point, we weren't sure if he'd still be in his wheel chair full time or in a boot when the cruise date came.  Turns out, both.  So when prices for  a verandah cabin dropped to $799/person shortly after final payment, I called to grab one of them.  But they said we'd loose our gratuities, unless we wanted to upsell to a signature suite for $999/person---then, somehow, we would be able to keep the paid gratuities.  Sounded a bit fishie, but I liked the idea of a suite, so I took it. Only thing that was a bit annoying was they wouldn't increase the OBC for booking a suite with our FCC.  They said it stays at the level of your original booking.  At least it was only a loss of $50 OBC.  And we still had the OBC for owning CCL stock.

Then came the months of waiting to see what cabin we'd be assigned---and hopes for an offer to upsell to a Neptune Suite.  Almost a month before our cruise, we got an offer.  At $399/person, it really wasn't a bad deal, but I noticed there were a lot of cabins available so I declined it and hoped for better offer.   2 weeks after the upsell offer, we got an offer to buy into their new Club Orange.  Still not interested.  The benefits of priority boarding, special area in the restaurant for breakfast, tote bag, upgrade within booking category, designated concierge, and whatever didn't seem worth an extra $500.  But they did say they'd put me on a  waitlist for a Neptune Suite offer (whatever that means!). 

 

 As it turned out, we did get a waitlist call on Dec. 2nd (8 days before our sail date) offering us an upsell to a Neptune suite.  But they still wanted the $399/person for it.  I mentioned I hoped it would have gone down from the previous offer to which she said she could give it to us for $299/person.  So, Merry Christmas to us, I took it!  Maybe a bit much for the benefits, but I'm ready to be spoiled for a while.  I do look forward to the breakfasts in the Pinnacle Restaurant, easy access to the Neptune Lounge, and the larger table on our verandah---as well as a much larger cabin.   It'll only be our 2nd time in a suite.  Only had a choice of 2 suites to choose from. We ended up going with SA 7082.  Turned out to be a great cabin.  As I'm sure all the Neptune Suites are. 

Neptune Suite 7082: 

We had never been on the Zuiderdam before, so I'm including a bunch of random pictures from around the Zuiderdam:
 
Around the Zuiderdam:

The itinerary is one I love for the snorkeling opportunities.    Turned out Ken didn't leave the ship in ports, but I did.  
My links to each day:

Dec. 10, 2019  Embarkation Day: 

Dec. 11 & 12  Sea Days:

Dec. 13, 2019  Bonaire (and a great Friday the 13th) 

Dec. 14, 2019  Curacao   

Dec. 15, 2019 Aruba: 

Dec. 16, 2019 Sea day: 

Dec. 17, 2019 Amber Cove, DR:

Dec. 18, 2019 Sea Day:

Dec. 19, 2019 Half Moon Cay:

Dec. 20, 2019 Debarkation:


I dreaded the drive (which I did all of since Ken's driving ankle is in a boot), but the overall experience made it well worth it.  I had a great time.  I think Ken did, too.  Since this was the first real vacation he's had since his ankle collapsed 1.5 years ago, I'm sure he needed this trip, too.