Almost live Maasdam 3/23 cruise report

[dag144]

Someone is giving incorrect info re drink card unused balances. He is the scoop from my last two HAL trips, 1/29 on the Nieuw Amsterdam and 2/12 on the Ryndam.

 

Bought $250 cards on both trips. The balance between what you have spent on the card and the cost $225 is automatically credited to your account. However if you spent over the cost, $225, the bonus is not credit to your account.

 

Perhaps the writer who was repaid in cash settle her tab in cash as opposed to using a credit card.:p

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi KK - thank you so much for the info. One more question if you don't mind - if we purchase the cards on the ship does the bar staff get credit for the purchase? Thank you as always...

 

As far as I know -- no one gets credit for sailing the cards.

[IRL_Joanie]

Just a note to say I am looking forward to the next installment:)

 

And to let you both know that we have rain and snow!! So no worries at the moment of firs in your area:) It rained and snowed most all day yesterday and the system is still right over your place and supposed to last at least another day or so.

 

So return to sea, knowing all is safe at HomeDam:)

 

Joanie

[dag144]

Re credit for unused drink cards. Did two cruises in 2012. On both cruises we purchased $250 drink cards (Don't ask how many). We received credits for unused balances, NOT in cash, but as a credit to our on-board bill. Another point -- no free lunch --Id one spends $200 for the card (cost is $225) refund is $25 not $50. If one spends $230 on the card -- no refund. It's fair.

 

Bottoms Up!:)

[Seavoyage]

Re credit for unused drink cards. Did two cruises in 2012. On both cruises we purchased $250 drink cards (Don't ask how many). We received credits for unused balances, NOT in cash, but as a credit to our on-board bill. Another point -- no free lunch --Id one spends $200 for the card (cost is $225) refund is $25 not $50. If one spends $230 on the card -- no refund. It's fair.

 

Bottoms Up!:)

 

Thanks for the explanation Dag - that's great to know. Can you use those cards at the happy hours as well?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for the explanation Dag - that's great to know. Can you use those cards at the happy hours as well?

 

Yes -- on drinnks up to a certain price. I don't remember what that price is.

For example -- you buy a drik that ccosts $5.95 -- you get the drink for just $1 -- it has to be the same drink.

[PaulaW]

Hi Maureen--

 

I'm really enjoying reading your posts and looking forward to joining you in about 10 days! I plan to watch your sail away tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the updates and see you soon!

[RMLincoln]

Hi from the Terminal 26 servers - got off for turnaround and have been in the terminal catching up on email etc.

 

Thanks for the news about the snow Joanie!! I had news from a friend in Colorado who was evacuated for fires near her but she's ok.. so news of snow is very welcome.

 

No snow in the Caribbean! we've had perfect weather until today in FL - stormy here. Hoping to be in the same spot for sailaway, forward deck 9 just under the bridge. Next time will be on LP under foreard lifeboats on April 17th.

 

So 2 weeks gone and 3 weeks to go! It's been wonderful, fabulous, grand!

 

Quick notes: Loving the entertainers! The singers are the best I've ever heard and the shows they're doing are not the old style production shows but high quality singers and musicians. The guest entertainers have been very much like previous cruises, ok, and I'm easily entertained :)

 

We finally won at trivia, yea! Most of the team is staying on for the next cruise except for my sister in law who went home today. We'll keep plugging at it and maybe we'll get lucky again.

 

The food selections in the MDR show some of the cutbacks but it always tastes better when somebody else cooks it. :) I'm not as thrilled with the open dining... only very limited times for reservations because they have to be sure to get maximum usage of the the tables. Maybe becasue Maasdam was not designed for Open Dining. So this cruise we will be moved to a fixed early dining table - asked for a 2-top but will let you know what we get.

 

Room service was excellent when we needed it - DH got a cold and was in for a couple of days but thankfully doing better now.

 

No Master Chef Dinner! There was a parade and clapping for the servers and chefs and the GoodBye song - Gulang? It was nice. The baked Alaskas were served as individually prepared dishes and laked something.

 

I wrote a question regarding th "No Sugar Added" desserts to find out what sweetners they use. I was told.. "A combination of Sweet and Low, Sorbitol and Xylitol." I received the answer by VoiceMail in the cabin phone system.

 

The ABC islands were lovely and the fishies in Bonaire were beautiful to see; the water is so amazingly clear there, it is really the best place to see the sealife.

 

We traveled back from Aruba with the Emerald Princess off our port side for 2 full days and nights. Docking in PE today wasn't until just after 7am but folks were beginning to leave at 7:30, right on time. Somebody in the early line had a 9:45 flight and I'm sure they made it... not that I would try that, I'd be a wreck.

 

The ship is in very nice condition. The stateroom baths have been updated, retiled with more modern look, new light fixtures too. I miss the music system that we used to be able to control from the bed but we have many TV channels of music.

 

We have a Lifestylist aboard who does morning and evening Tai Chi, morning meditations some mornings, classes on nutrition, sleep, etc. Nice.

 

Anthony Choice I think has been doing a well balanced job of CD.

 

No major issues or complaints... looking forward to more beautiful islands and just being aboard Maasdam. I'll try to compose some better notes and paste them up when in a port soon.

 

I'll be looking for you all to WAVE later today!! m--

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for checking in.

 

Glad everything is going well.

 

Our bathtub in our suite sure needed to have been replaced.

[IRL_Joanie]

Am glad to hear your friend in Colorado is O. I never even thought about them.........

 

Am really happy to hear you are really enjoying your cruise Maureen!!!

 

Cannot wait for more. I will be poised at the computer to take snap shots of you again this afternoon:)

 

Joanie

[kazu]

Maureen thank you so much for your posts. Looks like you are coping quite well with your longer cruise:):) I bet the time is just flying by;)

 

Enjoying your posts and envying you having all that time on the Maasdam:)

[rafinmd]

I was thinking this was going to be a "Welcome back to the homedam" post (I swear I can still count 14 days and it sounds like it should have ended today. Did you always plan on continuing with another cruise or did the Maasdam sweep you away with an addiction for more.

 

Continue to enjoy your time on board.

 

Roy

[erewhon]

Maureen,

Thank you for the reports of your cruise.

 

Today we saw you waving to us all, during sail away.

 

Enjoy the remainder of your time on board the Maasdam.

[Seago2]

Sounds like a lovely, relaxing cruise so far. Bon Voyage on Round 2!

[RMLincoln]

9 Apr San Juan Arrived here in the rain, first real rain we’ve had but it looks like it may break up soon. Just a few housekeeping notes: I did some laundry a few days ago. Some of the washers are out of order but I found what I needed. There are two sizes of washers, smaller ones are $1, larger ones are $2 per wash, 25 minutes; $1 per dryer cycle of 45 minutes. Both washers and dryers have selectable cycles. There is washing detergent available in a dispenser in the laundry room and a plastic cup to transfer it to your washing machine; no dryer sheets are available so bring your own on board. Quarters are available at the front desk. It worked well enough for me.

I have been able to find lounge chairs on the Lower Promenade deck when I’ve wanted one but they are a bit of a hunt in peak-time. There are nearly always several chairs available with the solid steel walls blocking the lower (water) view but you can still enjoy the sound of the waves and see the sky. It’s not like it used to be but things change so I’m dealing with it ok. I have always found one with an open railing view when I wanted one. (For those who may not be aware, Maasdam had new Lanai cabins added last year, and these cabins on LP deck have 2 deck chairs per room reserved for the guests in those rooms. Those pax pay quite a premium for those rooms and their deck chairs, therefore there are fewer chairs available for the rest of the pax but it hasn’t been much of an issue in my experience so far.)

We have a new piano man on board for this cruise and the next cruise, Barry from Boston, very popular!

We moved our dining to fixed early seating and have a 2-top with half a view – one person has a view of windows so we alternate our seats each evening! Last evening was our first of only 2 formal nights for this 10-day cruise. I enjoyed an excellent serving of roast leg of lamb and DH stayed with the salmon which he has found to be a reliably good choice, more reliable than the steak on this cruise, although the prime rib has been consistently good. I find the other fish dishes all taste pretty much the same no matter what name it has, all good but very similar. We’ve had several pool-side themed luncheon buffets, all interesting and different but not advertised so one has to remember to go check it out.

Turnaround day in FLL/PE was very productive for us. We gathered with many of the other B2B-ers in the show lounge at 9:30 and were escorted off the ship into the terminal, through customs for our passport check and most were escorted directly back onto the ship, although we elected to stay in the terminal and use the free WiFi connection to PortEverglades_T26 server. We used it for quite some time, did phone calls too and caught up on everything we needed to do. We missed out on the Mariner luncheon but by mid-afternoon the Lido buffet had thinned out for our lunch. Other folks took shore excursions or did their own thing that day according to their own timing; all options were accommodated. Plus we had a very windy but fun SailAway wave – I think I saw many of you waving back to see us off, thank you so much!!

For recognition of our B2B we received a Mariner tote bag, a little nicer than the usual one, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries delivered to our room and an invitation to a special Collectors Voyage Indonesian style luncheon with one’s choice of red (not sure what they offered) or white wine (Pinot Grigio).

Our trivia group has morphed a bit with my SIL leaving after the last cruise but we have won a couple of times and are enjoying the camaraderie more than the questions.

DH and I have taken two turns at the waltz lessons! Yesterday it was bouncy on the ocean, so that we our excuse for stepping on each others' toes, but fun.

Tomorrow will be St Barts and having walked to Shell Beach the first cruise I will likely make it a personalized “sea day” and stay on ship. The next day will be Dominica where we have a ship excursion for river tubing planned so a quiet day will be enjoyable tomorrow. These itineraries are rich in ports so we are happy to skip a few to enjoy our time on board.

I will try to post this in San Juan this afternoon and catch up on your comments or questions.

Best regards from San Juan's Starbucks! Later, m--

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for checking in.

Glad Intransit day went well and everything is going great this cruise.

We get a table for 2 by the rail and we rotate seats each time we are in the dining room.

On all our Collector's cruises we have also gotten the Mariners tote bag which is much nicer than the regular ones.

On our Maasdam Collector's cruise we also had the sit down Indonesian Lunch. But we didn't get any chocolate covered strawberries.

[innlady1]

Thank you, Maureen, for your "live from". Many of us enjoy a good "live from" thread, as you know!

[RuthC]

Thanks for your ongoing comments. I've enjoyed following along from an inconspicuous spot. ;)

I appreciate you mentioning who is playing in The Mix. I've never run into Barry from Boston, but have heard good things. I'd love to read your comments, too.

[RMLincoln]

16 April FLL/PE Last Turnaround Day on our 35 Day B2B2B So 11 days still enjoy!!

I had been wondering if 35 days circling the Caribbean would be too much, but it isn’t yet! I’ll fill you in on happenings I haven’t mentioned or since my last post in San Juan: We have visited Nassau, where we enjoyed walking to Fort Fincastle through the Queen’s Staircase and along the waterfront. It was hot but breezy there; at St Barts we elected to enjoy an “on-ship” day; at Dominica we had a fabulous ship excursion of river tubing on the Layou River. It was a bit slow getting organized and riding to the put-in site, getting all the folks (from 2 different ships) outfitted, but quite exhilarating once we got into the river. The water level was low but we had many rapids along with many bumps but lots and lots of fun. Then at Antigua and St Thomas we had more “on-ship” days, then a day at sea and another sunny visit to Half Moon Cay.

As you can see we are enjoying our time to relax on ship. I’ve discovered the ease and fun of checking out movies from the front desk. This is a treat for me because at home we live far from town and do not rent movies as we only go to town every couple of weeks, so this has become my new favorite past-time. I’ve enjoyed some of the ship movie presentations but their DVD collection is extensive and one can watch them whenever it’s convenient to one’s schedule.

We’ve settled into our early fixed dining pattern but requested a table next to the window for our next cruise – will let you know if that happens. I must correct my previously incorrect rendition of the Dining Room Manager’s name; it’s Ozgur, from Turkey, and his upstairs assistant is Gabor, from Hungry… these seemed especially appropriate places for the dining room managers to be from, no? We continue to eat in the MDR and find good food and good service. This cruise (10 days) has only 2 formal nights but a recent menu on a non-formal night seemed more like a formal night menu featuring Land and Sea (filet with prawns) and lamb chops; the night before featured beef Wellington which was especially good also. But other than the very special beef dinners we’ve found the salmon consistently excellent and definitely a strong “suit” for this ship at this time. Lesser beef dinners have been a bit disappointing, perhaps because of the budget cuts or maybe due to the beef shortage caused by the draught in many places. Only a few desserts strike us as exceptional so I gravitate to the sorbets, at least until the chocolate decadence or the chocolate purse come around again – didn’t have them offered on this 10-day leg but I’m hoping they come back for our last leg. In the Lido I find the desserts usually look better than they taste but the chocolate chiffon pie was better than the usual, and the bread pudding and vanilla sauce are always good, in fact too good. I also tried an almond cake from the Explorations Café which was quite sweet and buttery so one was more than enough. DH has been captured by the 1500-piece jigsaw puzzle in the library, another vacation treat to enjoy.

The dining room stewards are indeed working harder than ever with more responsibilities for fetching beverages and 26-30 people to serve per team of two stewards. They are a very professional lot and I applaud them all.

The dessert extravaganza is still beautiful to behold with several ice sculptures, two chocolate fountains, many lovely fruit sculptures and myriad sweets which land on one’s plate if you just ask what they are!

We had another Collector’s Voyage perk with a lovely cocktail hour with Captain Smit and Hotel Mgr Hernandez; they provided champagne but also a full service open bar, so a good time for a pina colada!

Again in St Thomas we docked in Crown Bay, more of an industrial port and more difficult to get to the downtown shopping so we were not among those who were interested enough to make the taxi trip in the soggy heat (remember we’re high country mountain folks and the heat and humidity are not a comfortable combination for us) but we enjoyed poking around the shops at the pier. We considered going over to the Paradise Point Tram and up to the high point for panoramic views but I confess the ship’s air conditioning won us over again. Although a bit hazy with humidity, the skies are much clearer than we began with, which had been caused by dust from the Sarah, which seems to be all gone now, thankfully.

For entertainment we’ve had excellent shows by the Showroom at Sea cast of fine singers and dancers; they have a complement of five shows plus the introductory first night show; the same shows are presented each cruise but all are very well done, IMHO. The Showroom at Sea approach utilizes the lounge entertainers in some of the shows, especially Encore which features the tenor Alberto Sanchez and soprano Laurie Ynez accompanied by the HalCats and the Adagio Strings. A virtuoso violinist presented her show recently, Hanna Starosna(sp), not my favorite, and the next guest performer was Max Winfrey a juggler/unicyclist; the last night’s show was Brad Zimmerman a comedian. Overall I think I’ve enjoyed the cast shows a bit more than the guest entertainers but I’m easily entertained and go to all the shows. Plus Barry from Boston has been amazing as the piano man!!

We’ve been very comfortable on the ship, really settling in and giving ourselves over to its luxuries. Our stateroom temperature has varied but I’m glad to have requested a fan which I use most nights. Our bathroom has had no issues although there was a day that the ship’s forward toilets, public and staterooms, were not operating for a couple of hours – OY!, but glad to say that has not reoccurred. The pool has been comfortable, but busy this leg with a few more children on spring break. The hot tubs are not overly hot but help take the kinks out! Plenty of towels are always available on the pool decks.

Our day at HMC was breezy but oh so lovely. Many excursions were canceled due to the 24 knot wind (we’re lucky we could land the tenders!) I got pictures of the fish while I snorkeled (with my newly purchased camera! After my old one croaked our first day); the lunch served on the island was better than I expected with freshly grilled marinated meats, sweet-potato salad and cold slaw with papaya, yum. I’m mazed at what they go through to provide this. We walked some of the nature trails, and as the music from the HalCats faded away we were able to hear the birds singing, including owls. It was a lovely day there, my best yet… and looking forward to being there again soon!!

Other notes that have occurred to me: Yes, they are signing out towels at the gangway,taking down your cabin number and the number of towels you’ve requested… then checking them off upon return. It hasn’t been a bottleneck and I hope it makes people be more accountable. I don’t know what they do if you don’t return what you took, haven’t heard any reports or confessions. We finished trivia the way we started… poorly, but we had a couple of wins and a lot of good visiting and fun so a major success and looking forward to meeting some new folks as we begin the next leg.

Our next stops will be St Martin, St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent, St Kitts, St Croix and HMC, so some new places for us and a lot more relaxing. I’ll try to check in along the way. See you later today at Sail Away Wave, Lower Promenade deck, 3rd lifeboat from the front! m--

[IRL_Joanie]

When you get off the ship in St Lucia, go to the right (like you are going to town) head innto the little driveway that veers off towards the cove. You will find yourself in the most amazing place I've ever seen.... The REAL fishermen. It is absolutely amazing that these little boats catch such fish as Marlins, swordfish, etc.... It does not look like much from the street but OMG!! A photographers dream!!

 

Here are a couple of photos (one is of the Lion Man of St Lucia, who usually sits by the first building to your left (if you are entering from the direction of the ship)

 

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[ATTACH]230150[/ATTACH]

And before I forget, Do NOT throw any thing to the young men/boys when you are tendered at Soufrierre. We did not know and found out after we left that we were very very bad.

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

well, aren't you just a snob? hal and the world owes you, eh?

Excuse me?? Dr. Dawg, what are you talking about??? I do not understand???

 

Please tell us you posted to the wrong thread, Please??

 

Maureen is far from being a snob!! she is the sweetest most wonerful person you could ever hope to meet:) She drove down to be with me when I nearly lost my toes in February, and had never ever met me before.

 

Please say this was a mistake in posting, Please????

 

Joanie

[RMLincoln]

Thanks Joanie for the heads up and the pictures! We'll be meeting Spencer Ambrose at the pier for his Land and Sea tour, so really looking forward to it. Having a great time and also so glad to hear that all seems good at home too. They got a late inch of snow so fires are not a threat yet, good news!! m--

[kazu]

well, aren't you just a snob? hal and the world owes you, eh?

 

 

:confused::confused::confused:I really don't understand why you are saying this:confused::confused: explanation for some of us that 'don't get it' please

[IRL_Joanie]

Thanks Joanie for the heads up and the pictures! We'll be meeting Spencer Ambrose at the pier for his Land and Sea tour, so really looking forward to it. Having a great time and also so glad to hear that all seems good at home too. They got a late inch of snow so fires are not a threat yet, good news!! m--

Did that Land & Sea Tour and it is wonderful!!

 

Heads up though, sit in the front ride seats or you will not get any photos as the bus does not stop but once (at a church) and that reminds me, bring tissues as the bathrooms behind the building do not have any!!! AND bring some Euros and try some of the little cakes the ladies are selling in the driveway of the church, right beside where the bus stops.

 

Yeah, we had a bit of rain/snow. The southern and western parts of the state did have some fires, but....

 

Joanie

[dr.dawg]

hi, joanie. i was reacting to the post of kk. i thought her outrage over others than just high suite folks being allowed so-called embarkation perks was snobbish. and i still do. even four-stars have to wait behind suite guests. i just sense a kind of attitude in her posts that i do not appreciate. i know, that as you say, she may be a kind and gentle person, but it does not come across. she disses a lot. i did not mean to offend, really, it just struck me as elitist. thanks for your reply to my reply.