AT SEA –

WE HAVE A WINNER!

March 20, 2025, Thursday, Temperature 77 Degrees, Humidity 73%, W – E @ 23.4 mph

There have been so many special events on this World Cruise! Some big events, some small, all fun with lots of planning & work by HAL staff. Here’s just a few!

ZUIDERDAM DERBY – Today was Derby Day - Kentucky has nothing on the Zuiderdam! Unfortunately, we didn’t take pictures but since we were “winners” we wanted to share. Or course there was food and lots of it. Four food stations – hot dogs, potato salad & slaw; sautéed & shrimp tempura, fried rice; and lamb chops & mashed potatoes (that seemed a little strange) and finally desserts with cookies, brownies and Tim Tam bars. We’re trying to stick to 2 meals a day (and prime rib was on the menu for dinner) so we just had some tempura shrimp; so good! Of course, there were decorations including an amazing floral horseshoe. Some ladies sported beautiful derby hats.

The day before, we received the Program and horse profiles (there were six, including “Filly Up My Julep” represents the ladies) The Racecourse was set up around the pool with 15 stations. Prior to the race, you could “bet” by submitting a ballot. When the betting was closed, Harry Trotter (ridden by one of the popular twin piano musicians’ from Billboard on Board was the heavy favorite). Our “bet” was on Neighvigator (ridden by one of the guys from the Fitness Center. I figured if there was any real racing involved, he’d be a good bet – but turns out, physical prowess really didn’t matter). And they were off!! A die was thrown for each rider who would move 2-6 spaces, if a 1 was rolled, the “horse” had to go back a space. At the end of the exciting (and hilarious race – the jockeys really played to the audience) our horse Neighvigator was the winner. Everyone who bet on (voted for) the winning horse received a bottle of Holland America Line Sparkling Wine delivered to their cabin!

ST. PATRICK’S DAY – The Dining Room is decorated and the staff dresses up for every event. They wore jeans and bandanas for The Barn Dance, wore masks and beads for Mardi Gras. There’s always a themed special Menu (of course with Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day). Beyond the Dining Room festivities, there was a Pub Crawl between all the bars on the ship, a Irish singalong at the twin pianos at Billboard on Board and Irish & Bluegrass music on the World Stage featuring a fiddler and former “Lord of the Dance” star.

INDONESIAN FRUIT EXTRAVAGANZA – Amazing display and sampling of fruit we’ve never see before! We’ve used canned Lychees in cooking class but weren’t familiar with the fresh version. The Dragon Fruit with its bright pink center was our favorite. It had a texture like a pear and tangy sweet flavor.

FOR CAKE’S SAKE – In case anyone’s calorie count was falling, they’ve offered an afternoon celebrations of cakes (we’ve had two with another on the schedule). There were 20+ cakes available, sample as many as you like! We’ve only gone the first time. We’ve decided the best strategy is to stay away from the Lido as much as possible! It’s buffet format and too many delicious choices make it hard to resist!

PANAMA ROLLS - They served “Panama Rolls” and coffee on the Bow Deck for our early morning entry into the Panama Canal (creamed filled pastries) and two other times at special, early morning events. Each time the rolls were named for the event with different fillings.

Of course, there’s more - Themed Afternoon Teas with savory and sweet treats once a week, Ice Cream Socials, Food Truck Night and Pasar Malam Night Market with delicious international foods representing the diverse cultures of our wonderful chefs.

It’s not just eating! On International Women’s Day the women of the Zuiderdam crew were recognized. Project Linus is a cruise long project where cruisers knit and crochet blankets for children who are ill, traumatized or otherwise in need. The Linus Project is an international project offered only on HAL World Cruises. Upcoming, a silent auction for the Bernhard Nordkamp Centre which provides a safe place for orphans and vulnerable children in Namibia.