Maasdam New England/Canada 5/14/11

[pizzalady1]

Just a quickie, full review later. Maasdam was lovely, and pictures will come later also. We had stateroom 220, the last verandah room on the port side with the larger balcony. The room was good and the steward was great. The balcony was really nice, but we could not stay out long because of the rain and cold. The food was very good and we thought it was better than what we had on our Princess and NCL cruises. The meal at the Pinacle Grill was OUTSTANDING, but so large we left half of our steaks on the plate. The Lido food was also very good. We ate in the Lido on both formal nights, the PG on Friday, and the main dining room the other nights. Breakfast was always in the Lido.

 

The day and 1/2 in Boston prior to embarcation had niceweather with lots of walking things to do. We got to the pier at 11am and were checked in by 11:20. Embarcation was delayed and no one was able to board until 12:30. The head chef said that a water tank had a leak and the coast guard had to watch the engineers repair it. S7S said that it was a full inspection. They brought out water for us. The main dining room was fully closed for lunch: the head chef said that because of the repair, they did not have enough time to prepare for lunch.

 

Monday was Bar Harbor and rain. We used At Your Service with another couple and had a 3 hour tour of Acadia National Park and time to shop later in the day.

 

Tuesday was Halifax and a very, very cold rain. We rented a car and went to Lunenburg (a wonderful town, with all kinds of quaint buildings and shops), Mahone Bay and Peggy's Cove.

 

Wednesday was Sydney and no rain, but cold. We rented a car and went to the Miner's Museum in Glase Bay and New Waterford.

 

Thursday was Charlottetown and no rain, but cold again. We rented a car again and went to North Rustico, Victoria-By-the-Sea and the bridge. The bridge was interesting, but we could have done without North Rustico and Victoria. Maybe it was too early, but nothing appeared to be open and after Lunenburg, they were not very interesting.

 

Friday was Quebec which was wonderful. It was a lovely sunny day and we walked until we dropped. We were docked port side and from our balcony, Quebec was really right there in our face!

 

Saturday we were all bused to Montreal. The first batch of self-disembarkers had to be ready by 4:15am. The Lido did not open until 4:00am so we knew we would not have time for breakfast. So, the day before at breakfast, we took extra cereal, bowls, pastry, milk, etc and stored it all in our fridge. It worked out OK, but we did not get much sleep that night. The 4:15am bus did not leave until 5:00am and boy, was the trip long, and cramped. The last bus was scheduled to leave at 6:30am. Snacks would have been nice on the bus, but not a chance!

 

Saturday we spent in Montreal at the Exporail and walking around. It was the first sunny day in Montreal for a long time and it was a 3-day holiday, so the Vieux Port area was hopping and was very crowded.

 

Sunday we took the Amtrak Adirondack train from Montreal to Albany NY. The train was nice, very clean, scenic, and smooth rail all the way. Overnight in Albany and on Monday we flew home.

 

I'll do a full review and pictures later after I get laundry done and catch up on American Idol and Survivor!

 

If you have any specific questions, ask away.

[kazu]

Thanks so much :D We were all wondering how this went. Glad to here that the Maasdam was up to snuff. and delighted to hear about the Pinnacle Grill:)

 

sorry about your weather but I was glad to see you got to see some of the beautiful east coast in Atlantic Canada :)

 

Too bad about the bus situation but other than that and the weather, it sounds like you had a great time and made the most of it. ;) Thanks again

[mamaofami]

Thank you so much for posting. I was anxious to hear all I could about Maasdam after dry dock. Sounds like you had a wonderful time in spite of the weather and that Maasdam is in great shape. I'm really getting excited now. Can't wait to see your pictures.:)

[sail7seas]

So sorry to hear you had the same miserable weather we've been having.

Really appreciate your review and it was good to hear all is going well on Maasdam.

We're looking forward to our upcoming cruises on her, as always.

 

Welcome Back and Thanks for your review.

[innlady1]

So sorry to hear you had the same miserable weather we've been having.

Really appreciate your review and it was good to hear all is going well on Maasdam.

We're looking forward to our upcoming cruises on her, as always.

 

Welcome Back and Thanks for your review.

 

Let's face it, Judy. We're very fortunate here in New England to have rain...and every so often, some sun peeking in....compared to the weather disasters in the South and Midwest...

[Krazy Kruizers]

thanks for your report

 

looking forward to your full review and pictures

[buckirj1]

Thank you for the review: this itinerary is on my "maybe someday" list, but the non-cruise transportation logistics are problematic

 

I've thought about taking Amtrak from Montreal to Albany, and then taking an inexpensive Southwest Airlines flight home. It sounds as if that worked out well for you.

 

Do you mind letting me know where you stayed in Albany? How did you get from the Amtrak station in Rennsalaer to your hotel and then to the Albany airport?

 

I understand the station and airport are on opposite ends of Albany, resulting in very expensive cab fares. Were you able to find a hotel with shuttles to one or both places?

 

Any advise will go into my maybe...someday...file.

[sail7seas]

Let's face it, Judy. We're very fortunate here in New England to have rain...and every so often, some sun peeking in....compared to the weather disasters in the South and Midwest...

 

 

You're so right, Sheila.

When we watch the news, our rain and chill are NOTHING by comparison. My heart breaks for those who are suffering so terribly.

[pizzalady1]

Thank you for the review: this itinerary is on my "maybe someday" list, but the non-cruise transportation logistics are problematic

 

I've thought about taking Amtrak from Montreal to Albany, and then taking an inexpensive Southwest Airlines flight home. It sounds as if that worked out well for you.

 

Do you mind letting me know where you stayed in Albany? How did you get from the Amtrak station in Rennsalaer to your hotel and then to the Albany airport?

 

I understand the station and airport are on opposite ends of Albany, resulting in very expensive cab fares. Were you able to find a hotel with shuttles to one or both places?

 

Any advise will go into my maybe...someday...file.

 

We stayed at the LaQuinta in Latham--got it off of Hotwire for $60 while most of the other airport hotels were $150 or so. The taxi was outrageous, $37.50. The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to the airport. I could not find a hotel that had a shuttle from the Amtrak station. I also looked into Enterprise that has a rental agency in the station. It ran a little bit higher to rent a car with a drop off at the airport than a taxi, but then we would also have a car to go to a restaurant. But, Enterprise is closed on Sunday, so we were left with the taxi and walking to an ok diner for dinner.

 

The Amtrak was more for my "anything railroad" for my husband, but I kind of enjoyed it also. Our tickets were $42 each.

[buckirj1]

Thanks so much! This is great information.

[cruisinjudy]

Thanks for your review. We are on Maasdam B2B august/September.

[SF49erfan]

Thanks so much for the review. We were on the first cruise out of drydock. Even with cooler weather and some rain it was a wonderful time.

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[berries999]

Two qeustions:

 

How many kids did you see on board?

How where the activities on the sea day?

[pizzalady1]

Two qeustions:

 

How many kids did you see on board?

How where the activities on the sea day?

 

We did not see very many kids onboard, mostly little ones. That could be because schools are still in session.

 

I scanned the seaday activities but the thumbnail was too small to read there was too much to type in! If you give me your email I will send the full size version to you. My email is pizzalady1@earthlink.net

[innlady1]

Just a quickie, full review later. Maasdam was lovely, and pictures will come later also. We had stateroom 220, the last verandah room on the port side with the larger balcony. The room was good and the steward was great. The balcony was really nice, but we could not stay out long because of the rain and cold.....snip

 

We had #220 on the Maasdam in January/February in the Caribbean. Didn't really use the verandah a lot either because the stateroom was so close to the stairs up to the SeaView Pool area.

 

Who were your stewards? Wondering if they were the same nice ones we had!

Really looking forward to your photos...haven't seen many yet since the Maasdam drydock, so it'll be a joy to see the changes!

[sail7seas]

Two qeustions:

 

How many kids did you see on board?

How where the activities on the sea day?

 

Seeing there are six ports in seven days on this cruise, the one sea day is very busy. They have the Mariners Brunch, Suite Lunch, On Deck For The Cure,,,,, they have to squeeze so much into one day.

[pizzalady1]

Who were your stewards? Wondering if they were the same nice ones we had!

 

We had Adi and Kusmanto. Adi was really great and would yell down the hall when he saw us coming or going.

 

When we were in Quebec, my husband was down a big hill taking some pictures and I was at the top. I was on my way down the steps to see what was taking him so long when Adi came up with others from the crew members from the ship. Without skipping a beat, he said that he saw my "Mr" down taking pictures and that he was on the way back. He walked down a couple of steps and said that he was coming and starting yelling "hey, Mrs is up here waiting!" I don't know how he can match up all the faces he sees and who belongs with whom.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thank you for the review: this itinerary is on my "maybe someday" list, but the non-cruise transportation logistics are problematic

 

I've thought about taking Amtrak from Montreal to Albany, and then taking an inexpensive Southwest Airlines flight home. It sounds as if that worked out well for you.

 

Do you mind letting me know where you stayed in Albany? How did you get from the Amtrak station in Rennsalaer to your hotel and then to the Albany airport?

 

I understand the station and airport are on opposite ends of Albany, resulting in very expensive cab fares. Were you able to find a hotel with shuttles to one or both places?

 

Any advise will go into my maybe...someday...file.

 

Another train option is to take the Adirondak all the way to New York, where you will have more options for flights, or even a train home. It's a very long train ride, but does offer more connections for onward travel.

[buckirj1]

Another train option is to take the Adirondak all the way to New York, where you will have more options for flights, or even a train home. It's a very long train ride, but does offer more connections for onward travel.

 

Yes, this is the easiest way to travel between Montreal and New York, but train schedules require an overnight stay in New York for onward travel. A hotel stay in NY would pretty much negate any savings obtained from train vs. air. Besides, I find overnights in NY unpleasant except in the very coldest parts of the year.

 

"you just can't get there from here"