joekerstef

One place haven't been to, but looking forward to on our Panama Canal cruise, is the deck at bow of ship on Promenade deck. Apparently they open it up as a viewing platform while in canal.

Probably lots of other things also have not experienced yet, but these come to mind.

Jane

On Maasdam, the bow was always open except after dark and if the weather was poor. I won't swear that this is true on the other ships, but I think I remember reading that on the boards more than once. I'm sure others with more experience on different ships can chime in on this.

As for original question, someone already nabbed my answer--the morgue. Although I'd really like to see the bridge and the engine room too.

Been off the CC board for a couple months suffering from post-cruise I'd really rather be back on the Maasdam than doing whatever I'm doing right now depression. Happy to say that my mother and I have booked another Maasdam cruise, same cabin even, for 2018 (way too far away but alas) so now I have a big trip to look forward to again. Anyway, just wanted to echo everyone's wonderful comments about the ship for those who haven't sailed her yet. Nice size, enough to do without being overwhelming, plenty of places to hang out in peace and quiet and read or just stare at the sea, great crew and service, and wonderful vistas from the open sky deck or from the crow's nest if you like a comfy chair and no breeze. Next cruise I will spend more time on the promenade, which I spent far too little time strolling on last time. I hope you all enjoy Maasdam as much as I did!

I love the Sky Deck (deck 14, above the crow's nest). For glaciers, it's packed, but otherwise I had the place to myself much of the time. It is not glassed in so it does get windy and cold, but the view can't be beat without the obstructions of the Crow's Nest (which is also good if you want to stay warm).

There's a small deck area with a bench and some deck chairs at the stern on deck 9. People rarely go there. Also agree with the lido deck aft, particularly those tables by the rails in the middle.

I was not a fan of the viewing area in front of the gym. True, there will not be many people there, but the railing was too high for me. Not that I couldn't see, it was just awkward.

On our Alaska trip last month, the bow was open anytime during daylight except during adverse weather (which we really didn't have save for about an hour after Icy Strait Point). I was also less of a fan of the bow (also packed during scenic cruising). Access is through the glassed-in stairwells at the forward end of the lower promenade deck (deck 6). Signage was not at all obvious though so I don't think many people realized they could be out there or how to get there.

For my money, that Sky Deck cannot be beat.

Just use your I-Phone!

An iphone is a great tool to have in the camera arsenal, I certainly used mine quite a bit on my recent Alaska cruise, BUT it shoots wide angle which is great for those majestic pictures of mountains and glaciers (try the panoramic feature), casual snapshots, pictures of your dinner and whatnot but not so great if you want to take photos of say wildlife unless it's relatively close to you. I would never go on vacay with only my camera phone because I'd automatically miss the majority of the shots that I'd want to get.

I personally prefer having a cabin on the starboard side of the ship because... It just feels better to me. No real reason other than that.

 

Cheers!

I agree. No good reason why. It just feels right.

Not knowing your exact sail date, all I can report is that since the beginning of June up to and including our sail date of 7/18/16 all sailings have been sold out according to Holland America website and the online agency I use. I started watching the sailings in May to book last minute as our schedule allowed. Missed the last two sailings as they sold out just as I was ready to book.

Not sure how. As JudithLynne pointed out, they were offering upsells like kleenex in the weeks before sailing (pretty sure we received the last one just a couple days before embarkation), and someone on our roll call board kept giving us a running total of how many rooms were available on the HAL site up until a few days before sailing. I recall grumbling at my mother because the price was so much lower than what we booked at. I was on the 6/6 cruise and it was not sold out. Met people on the ship who said they booked one month, two weeks, and one week prior to sailing.

Congratulations on joining CC and welcome to the boards.

 

I question the 70% capacity information that you received. We just got off this cruise on the Maasdam and we did not sail full. We booked after final payment, got a very desirable cabin, and saved $2000 over the original fare. HAL was selling upgrades like crazy right before the cruise to attempt to fill the ship.

 

If the 70% capacity is true, I would seriously worry that a theme group is aboard.

 

Your date, 7-23 is one that we are looking at. We really enjoyed this cruise and it is only an hour flight to SeaTac for us.

 

Judith

Remember though that there are only four sailings of this itinerary next year whereas this year it's every two weeks from late May straight into September. Perhaps Amsterdam is considered a more desirable ship than Maasdam too.

I am on the same ship in cheapie inside cabin, and have the stateroom steward from HEAVEN!! Plus, the AC and heater work perfectly, in spite of CC reports to the contrary. Having the time if my life :)

 

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

I was on the 6/6 sailing in a relatively cheapie OV cabin with functional AC/toilet/shower. Our meet and greet was in Crow's Nest during trivia, so I never actually met any of our m&g people (but did become cruise buddies with a couple that was there for the trivia). Oh well. Was everything perfect? Nope, but my biggest disappointment was that I missed all of the confirmed sightings of orcas near the ship. But I was in freaking ALASKA enjoying pretty much perfect weather, breathing in that wonderful sea air, and seeing lots of whales and glaciers and whatnot. I had a blast and would love to be back on that dam ship right now (alas, still not adjusting well to real life post-cruise). Most of OP's complaints are IMO minor and can be addressed immediately as others have mentioned. It's a pretty sweet itinerary, so I hope OP can take everything in stride, relax, and enjoy the rest of their cruise. :)

On the Panama Canal and turn south, Celebrity offers one, we are doing it in November of 2017. It goes to Santiago.

Sweet! Thanks for the tip, Kirk!

Panama Canal from Florida that turns south on the Pacific side rather than north.

That was so fun! Love the end shot from the bow! You have to love a crew with a great sense of humor.

Someone on our cruise mentioned these cameras. Thanks for refreshing the thread with the links!

Prices of course could change by then, but just got off the Maasdam and the drink of the day was $6.50, and as Krazy Kruizers noted, happy hour was a good deal getting the 2nd drink for a dollar with most normal cocktails priced around $7.50. My dh doesn't drink so he got the $25 soda [good for $50 worth of soda] and ended up getting a second card to get him through the 2 weeks. I used our OBC for my drinks, and happy hour in the crow's nest from 4-5 and then again 9-10 pm was perfect for me Ocean bar happy hour was also 4-5]. You can always bring soda or water on board, but since we had a healthy amount of OBC we decided not to. When we wanted to buy water, we just bought a bottle during happy hour and the 2nd bottle for a $1. Water from the tap was ok for us too. We bought a few latte's at the explorations cafe but found the coffee in the dining room and lido was quite good [much better than NCL!!]. Not a big wine drinker so I can't comment there.

I was on the same cruise, and in addition to what nw gardener has mentioned here, there was also "Martini Madness" or somesuch in Mix practically every day for $3. I'm not a martini fan so I didn't partake and can't offer any more details than that.

Don't forget, you can bring your tumbler to the lido and fill up on coffee, tea, juices or water too.

Anyone else keep hearing the "horse racing bugle call" at Juneau?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGjj9wfzJdM

Heard it once; was wondering why someone was playing the bugle.

Time onboard seems to go much faster than when at home!:confused::D

Yes. And much faster than when at work... :/

two weeks ago i was watching from the stern of Maasdam.... *sigh*

Norwegian Sun putting an egg in her shoe, mixing it, and scrambling outtahere, Norwegian-style

Any idea what caused her to be so late in getting in to Juneau?

We were on this same cruise. LOVELY.

We tried to get to the M&G but were a little late. When we arrived Trivia was going on and thought I had mis-read the meeting time so we left. Thanks for all the work you put into it.

We also had a lanai room. It was so nice jumping out of bed and having a fabulous view with minimal effort! We would get one again in a heartbeat.

We also got there a little late and trivia was happening. Couldn't tell who was meeting and greeting and who was playing trivia so we grabbed a couple cookies and listened to the rest of trivia. Wound up meeting a couple playing trivia who became buddies during the rest of the cruise though. :)

for oaktreerb -- whatever time your m&g happens on your cruise, name tags might be helpful to be able to identify other people.

The webcam keeps shutting down on me -anyone else with that problem. It just started today.

Yeah. A message pops up asking if you're still watching. If you don't hit the button in X amount of time, it now times out. First I've seen of this too.

I guess she doesn't have the bow open - or else everyone is having breakfast!

I see one person out there. A lot of people also preferred the higher up views from Sky Deck or Crow's Nest on our trip.

Not many people on the bow.

People don't seem to know that it's open for other than glacier viewing, and if you don't already know how to get there, the signage is not obvious.

I miss that Sky Deck... what a view!

Or he's gone to Starbucks for his first coffee of the day!:)

back from coffee break I guess. :)

I see her, too. Might be too early for "webcam person" to be on the job.

Yeah, I see her too. Not expecting a zoom this early. :)

Maasdam on the way in! Early, but she anchors nearby for the overnight.

whoops, my apologies, that's the Disney Wonder. Too early in AK for a zoom when she's in the channel. Need my morning caffeine still.