ONBOARD THE ZUIDERDAM -- Imagine seeing several dozen people hanging out in a big lounge area and none are looking at their phones.
Impossible, you say? That was the scene every day in the Game Room on this Holland America Line ship as it sailed a Canada & New England Discovery cruise from Quebec City to Boston in mid-September.
The guests, virtually all of them baby boomers or older, chatted and chuckled as they played board games, card games and backgammon while waitstaff kept their glasses full. It seemed a kind of unplugged contentment and camaraderie rarely seen these days.
A regular hub of activity, the Game Room is located forward on Deck 10 and shares space with the popular Crow's Nest bar, an observation area with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the excursion desk.
Holland America Line is known to attract the 50-plus crowd, and that was the case on my sailing. In fact, the lion's share of guests appeared to be 70-plus and seemed thrilled with the 1970s music trivia competitions, bingo games, art classes and pingpong tournaments.
One couple I met was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, and a few multigenerational groups included family members in their 80s, and perhaps 90s. I saw just one family with small children and less than a handful of couples under 40.
The Zuiderdam, in service since 2001, accommodates more than 1,950 guests at double occupancy.
The Zuiderdam called in Sydney, Nova Scotia, during a Canada & New England Discovery cruise. Photo Credit: Donna Tunney
Showtime!
On all Holland America ships, the Rolling Stone Lounge has replaced the B.B. King's Blues Club, and a highlight of the cruise was live music offered there most nights. The house band, aka the Rolling Stone Lounge Band, did a great job performing classic rock 'n' roll tunes and disco hits, and the audience showed their appreciation by dancing up a storm.
All of the musical stage performances on my Zuiderdam sailing were quality shows, but the standout was a regional band called Breton Thunder, a five-person group hailing from Eastern Canada's Cape Breton area and performing only on Canada-New England itineraries.
The band, with an amazing fiddler, plays high-energy, Celtic-inspired songs that had the audience clapping and foot-stomping to the music. Breton Thunder performed in the main theater twice during our weeklong sailing, and both shows were standing-room only.
Four additional main stage musical productions recently debuted on the Zuiderdam. The shows are "Song & Dance," featuring Broadway and Hollywood favorites; "Class Act," celebrating iconic female performers; "All That!" inspired by TV variety shows; and "Hey, Mr. DJ," presenting hits from the '60s to today.
The performances are staged aboard Zuiderdam on a rotating basis. During my southbound sailing, "Class Act" and "Hey, Mr. DJ" were each performed once. The other two were offered on the northbound itinerary.
After all that dancing, sore muscles could find a soothing respite in the Greenhouse Spa, where a $49 Thermal Suite day pass entitles a guest to use the wet and dry saunas, a fantastic mineral water hydropool and a relaxation room with heated ceramic lounge chairs. Massages and other treatments are offered, too, for additional costs.
The Celtic band Breton Thunder delighted the audience. Photo Credit: Donna Tunney
Time to eat
The Zuiderdam, like its Vista-class companions, has two specialty restaurants, and I dined at both during my cruise. The Pinnacle Grill is the more formal of the two, and dinner carries a surcharge of $46 per person.
There were a few service issues the night I dined there -- an appetizer ordered but never served, for instance. But overall, guests seemed happy with their meals. The venue was in high demand all week, with last-minute reservations nonexistent unless you were willing to dine after 8:30 p.m.
Canaletto, an Italian specialty restaurant, is tucked away in a corner of the Lido buffet, giving it less of an exclusive setting than the self-contained Pinnacle Grill. Service was on the slow side, but my pasta entree was worth the wait. The venue's dinner fee is $25.
Food in the main dining room was routinely good on the nights I ate there and, not being a buffet fan, I enjoyed a full breakfast there every morning. The midship's poolside Dive In eatery tempted guests with burgers, hot dogs and fries and did brisk business each afternoon.
The Zuiderdam has two pools, one midship with a retractable roof and one at the aft.
One of the best things about my Zuiderdam sailing -- which called at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Sydney and Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Portland, Maine -- was the crew: always smiling, always courteous, always eager to be helpful. That kind of endearing atmosphere goes a long way on the road to repeat bookings.
In mid-September, the foliage along the eastern Canadian coast was still vibrant green, so clients looking for autumn colors should book a departure date for early or mid-October.