On this cruise, the Zuiderdam anchored and tendered passengers to the center of the Charlotte waterfront, very near the St. John’s ferry (tempting, but there really is not enough time to go there and get back for the last tender). Passport clearance at St. Thomas begins onboard around 0645 for the lower deck cabins and ends around 0815 for the upper deck cabins. The first tenders leave soon thereafter.
After another day at sea, the final port of call is Nassau, on Providence Island in the Bahamas. This is another shoppers’ orgy, which we usually avoid. We either take a taxi to Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island (for about $5 per person), or we take a public bus for $1, east along the waterfront to the base of the old (southbound) bridge. It is a 10-minute walk over the bridge to Paradise Island (the north end of the bridge is adjacent to the ferry dock). Once on the island, we walk another 10 minutes toward the Sheraton hotel (straight ahead). Public beach access is just to the right of the hotel. There are no restrooms on the beach, but chair, umbrella, parasail, and wave-runner rentals are readily available. We usually walk another 10 minutes east along the beach to avoid any crowds from the nearby Atlantis Hotel complex (which is an interesting sight in itself if you have the time).
That sums up our impressions of the cruise. What follows is a series of suggestions about pre-cruise, ports of call, and post-cruise arrangements (and cruising in general) aimed at the budget-conscious traveler. These ideas have worked for us, but feel free not to follow them if they are not your style.
Air travel to the cruise port can be problematic in the winter. We have found that making our own reservations is less expensive than booking through the cruise lines, but one loses the cruise line protection if there is a delay or cancellation. We fly into Fort Lauderdale (FLL) the day before the cruise, and usually plan a return flight in the afternoon of the last cruise day, to allow for disembarkation and airport delays.
Taxis from the cruise port to the FLL airport are about $10 plus tip, making this less expensive (and faster) than the cruise transfers. Except for some previous cruises when we were last off the ship, we have never had to wait for a taxi. On this cruise, HAL kindly put us in the first group (disembarking about 8:30 am) since we had an early return flight. The bonus is that airport security lines are shorter early in the day, before most cruise passengers get there. Again, if possible book your return flight for noon or later to be certain you arrive in time (once after a previous cruise we did not clear airport security until 1 pm even without checked bags, the airport lines were so long).
In Ft. Lauderdale we usually stay at one of the several chain hotels on 17th Street, which are only minutes away from the airport and cruise port. Most of these hotels provide free shuttle service to and from the airport and cruise port. Nice rooms should be available for less than $100 by using any of the internet discount booking engines or sometimes by booking through the hotels directly. If hotel prices are too high, we rent a car for 24 hours and drive to a motel a few miles from the port (check your AAA guide for options). The price difference more than pays for the car rental, and shoppers can use the car for a visit to Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall, one of the largest in the country, located about 30 minutes west of town (they have great, relatively inexpensive men’s and women’s formal wear shops if you need some additional elegance).
Amerisuites, Embassy Suites, Marriott, and Holiday Inn all have properties on 17th Street. There is a large Publix grocery and liquor store within walking distance for any last minute purchases, and there are many restaurants and food outlets nearby. There are even a few upscale clothing stores catering to the yachters in the nearby marinas. The water taxi-tour boat stops (hourly on weekdays, half-hourly on week-ends) at the Marriott marina, which is within walking distance of most other 17th Street hotels. In good weather the water taxi is a great, inexpensive ($5 for the entire day) way to see some very fancy homes and boats, and one can hop on and hop off at any of the numerous stops to see Ft. Lauderdale’s sights.
Part 2 > > More of Ed's Cruise Review of the Zuiderdam - General information on cruising > >
