MS Maasdam Cruise Log - Mar 02-12 2012

[aliaschief]

Great review. Thanks for all the time and effort!

[dot73]

"I have a major problem with the people we encountered here. Despite the fact that two of us on our group could speak French, it was clear that the people of the island resent the cruise-ship passengers."

This disdain for tourists by the French, no matter what nationality you are, seems to exist in most French-speaking countries. I have been to France, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Polynesia. I can speak some French and I have encountered the same problems in trying to communicate. What I found interesting, however, is that it's only the "European" French that didn't understand what I was saying and were rude. I found the French black people in the Caribbean very friendly. In French Polynesia, it was the same thing. The Polynesians had no problem understanding what I was saying and were very friendly in replying nice and show and I could understand everything they said. No so with the Europeans. I will be in St. Bart's next year and will probably experience much the same. Oh well, c'est la vie! If they don't want my money, then I will spend it on the next island while I will still enjoy their pretty island and nice beaches.:D

[RuthC]

I have a major problem with the people we encountered here. Despite the fact that two of us on our group could speak French, it was clear that the people of the island resent the cruise-ship passengers. While everything is clean and safe, you just do not feel welcome.

"Yankee go home---leave your money"? I felt that attitude on every island on my first Caribbean cruise (7 ports in seven days) back in '79.

On my few visits back there, I think the treatment has really much improved! It just hasn't disappeared entirely.

[Linda VH]

Many years ago my DH and I sailed into Ft deFrance Martinique on a bareboat charter - just the two of us. I guess I look French because I was greeted everywhere by very friendly people but my husband, who CAN speak a little French, was totally ignored. I finally got to the point that I pretended to have laryngitis because they just wouldn't believe I wasn't French and couldn't speak any either. :eek:

[irwinler]

Our son and his family experienced a very high food bill on the French side of St. Martin in 2006 - $75 for 4 burgers, fries, and cokes. The Dutch side is reasonable.

We're very interested in hearing about your language barrier incident on Day 8 on the ship.

nmi

[Spire2000]

DAY 8 - St Thomas

 

This morning we found ourselves tied up at the Crown Bay pier which was a little disorienting since we've previously tied up at the Havensight pier. It's further from town, and an added expense for the cab if all you wish to do is walk around the main part of Charlotte Amalie. I've certainly seen the trend on the MAASDAM that because of its relatively small size, it get relegated to the secondary docking areas when space is at a premium.

 

No matter for us though as we've been looking forward to visiting Magen's Bay for some time. Last winter, on our visit here, we were all ready to hit MB but were naively talked out of it by our cab driver who told us we would enjoy a different beach more. We were taken to a beach at a resort that I'm sure the cab driver got a kick-back on. Regardless, this time I would hear no arguments and off to MB we went.

 

The beautiful photographs of Magen's Bay are something of a misrepresentation. Often you see photos of a gorgeous stretch of beach, 30 feet deep from water to trees and not a soul to be seen. I'm not sure how they got those photos. In reality, while the location is beautiful, the beach is very narrow, the water can be surprisingly rough and the place is absolutely jam-packed; so much so that if you arrive past, say, 9:30am you will have a hard time finding a place to sit down that isn't in danger of being drenched by the tide. The single bar/restaurant while serving very tasty food, gets completely overrun by around 11:30. I don't regret our day at Magen's, and would probably return if we stopped in St Thomas again, but the beach really was disappointing.

 

That evening, we visited the MDR for the final time for dinner. We had the Pinnacle and the Italian place booked on our final nights. I've mentioned our displeasure with the service and food in the MDR, but up until tonight it was really just a vague annoyance at the lack of attention to detail.

 

This evening, I ordered a tasty sounding chicken dish in a Thai-style sauce. I'm a big fan of Thai food, but I need to be careful as I have peanut allergy and peanuts tend to find their way into Thai food often. My allergy isn't a serious one, but I am still careful.

 

I asked the server if this dish included any peanuts and he said he didn't know. He did not volunteer to find out, so I politely asked him to check with the kitchen and if it did not have peanuts, I would order that. If it did, I had a second choice. Fine.

 

20 minutes later, the main course arrives and my chicken is bathed in a sauce that very clearly contains peanuts. I tried to call our server over, but he was absent. I had another server summon the manager. The manager arrived and I explained the situation. The manager looked at the food, said he needed to see the menu and went and found one. He returned and pointed out to me that the menu did not say the sauce contained peanuts. I said fine, but obviously it should say it did, beacuase obviously it is so. At this point, our server returned, noticed we were consulting with his boss and asked if there was a problem. Again, I explained the problem. Explaining my concern to these two was like pulling teeth. Maybe "allergy" was not in their vocabulary, but the language barrier made this a frustrating exercise.

 

I asked all parties present if HAL has a policy to note when a potentially serious allergen is present in a menu item. I don't need a warning on the menu, just a mention of the nuts in the sauce. Any reputable restaurant that would rather avoid lawsuits tells it's customers when nuts are present in a dish. I was met with a blank stare from the manager who either realized the menu writer seriously screwed up or had no idea what I was trying to say.

 

Eventually, another piece of chicken arrived, without the sauce or anything else on it. The manager confirmed from the kitchen that not only were there pieces of peanuts in the sauce but the sauce was made with pureed nuts also.

 

But here's the real kicker. The manager asked if I would like to see tomorrow's menu in advance so they can find out if there are nuts in anything. :confused: Seriously? After all this, they still don't get that if there are nuts in a dish, PUT THAT ON THE MENU! I told the manager at this point not to bother, because that was our last visit in the MDR.

 

I have emailed HAL's head office with this story and haven't heard back yet. While the situation wasn't life or death for me, and I imagine that if I was a person with a deadly allergy I would be very vigilant on these sort of things, the complete inability for the MDR staff to understand my concern to take any real preventative action on it was irresponsible and completely off-putting.

 

More to follow on our last few days.