Almost Live: Maasdam - Seattle to Sydney 2019

[erewhon]

Thanks for your blog update.

[Chewbecca]

On 7/17/2019 at 3:14 AM, tkwbear said:

ATK is not on the Maasdam. I just did 3 weeks in Alaska out of San Francisco.

 

The guest chef we had was very good. No more cooking classes.

 

Thanks TKWBear. I like the sound of the guest chef as an alternative so won’t miss ATK too much!

 

We’ve booked ship tours in Vladivostok and Korsakov (unusual for us) to avoid the visa issue. Some sites say you can just walk off but it seems to be ad hoc and not actually in line with the visa requirements so we decide not to risk not being able to visit those ports.

[Croptop]

Really quite enjoying the posts you made so far over on your blog.

 

Forgive the newb question but what does "EXC" stand for? As in, "Gloeta gave another high energy EXC Insight talk..." As a refugee from the Princess board, it's not a term I'm familiar with.

[Galley Slave]

Have you heard any complaints or concerns about the condition of the ship-- especially plumbing, heating or AC problems?  We are considering a couple of cruises, want to be sure ship is in good working order.

Thanks for the info, have a great trip!  Hope the sun comes out more than it has here in Seattle.  The Times said 69% of the daylight hours in July had cloud cover.

[whogo]

3 hours ago, Croptop said:

Forgive the newb question but what does "EXC" stand for?

EXplorations Central is one definition, there might be others.

[canadianbear]

Love reading your blog.  Our son and DIL really loved Kodiak.  They did the float plane which landed very close to where the bears were feeding.  Got some great photos.  

[erewhon]

Thanks for your blog update.

[Btimmer]

6 hours ago, Galley Slave said:

Have you heard any complaints or concerns about the condition of the ship-- especially plumbing, heating or AC problems?  We are considering a couple of cruises, want to be sure ship is in good working order.

Thanks for the info, have a great trip!  Hope the sun comes out more than it has here in Seattle.  The Times said 69% of the daylight hours in July had cloud cover.

I've heard absolutely no complaints about the items you mentioned.  We have an inside cabin and it's been 70° for us.

 

Re: sun, we've had sun every port stop!  Simply fabulous!

 

Tim

[Krazy Kruizers]

Good to know that the ship is in good condition.  But 70 is too hot for our sleeping habits.

[bcummin]

So glad that Dutch Harbor touched your heart.  Thanks for sharing what you and Angela found there.

When we were there in 2014, I did not walk as much as you did or make it to Safeway, but Dutch Harbor was such a memorable place to explore.  I shared a van from the extraordinary Museum of the Aleutians to the cathedral, and also found it locked.  Friends who had taken a morning taxi did find the cathedral open.  Caught a school bus shuttle back to the ship.  I still enjoyed the exterior and found photos of the interior online.  What history there!

Pleased that Jason Kelly is still aboard.  He is a fount of knowledge.  And Kay is a sweet treasure.  KK was great, if she is still around.  Enjoy this voyage!

Barbara

[bcummin]

Captain Arno Jutten was so good to make sure the Maasdam could dock in Dutch Harbor, instead of tendering.

Barbara

[Btimmer]

We made it to Nome, but the port call was cancelled after tendering started due to high swells and deteriorating conditions.  We're waiting offshore for the entertainers to arrive via the pilot boat.  All tenders have been stored.

[bcummin]

How disappointing.  Thankful that everyone is safe.

Glad that your new entertainers will arrive.

Enjoy the enriched sea days ahead.

Barbara

[Lido deck main]

Great reports.  Sorry you all had to miss Nome.

[erewhon]

Sorry that you were unable to get ashore in Nome.

[Btimmer]

Tonight was the Orange Party.  Lots more details are in my blog.

Me, Kay (EXC staff), and Angela

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your Blog.

 

Sorry you didn't get ashore in Nome.

 

Great picture of you all at the orange party.

[Lido deck main]

Enjoying the reports.  You all look good in orange.  Glad the sea is calming down. 

[erewhon]

Enjoying your reports.

Good Orange party photo.

[Btimmer]

First view of a Russian volcano on the Kamchatka peninsula.  We also have been watching humpback and killer whales as well as dolphins this afternoon. The seas are totally flat.

 

[Btimmer]

Earlier it was asked about the condition of the ship, over the past couple days we've been seeing buckets deployed to catch water in various locations throughout the ship (Crow's Nest portside, main showroom portside, & Lido starboard side.) Also 6th floor stateroom aft is being dried out.   There's nothing that would defer me from rebooking.

[bcummin]

Enjoyed reading about your visit to Petropavlovsk.  Thanks again.  People to people and noticing the similarities to our Alaska natives is so good.

We visited on the 2007 Grand Asia, eyes wide open.  I will always remember a local man helping me up out of the tender and saying, "Welcome to Russia!"

Barbara

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your reports.

 

Doesn't sound good about buckets catching water.  HAL needs to work on this.

 

Great pictures.

[Alphen]

On 7/26/2019 at 6:12 PM, Krazy Kruizers said:

Love your reports.

 

Doesn't sound good about buckets catching water.  HAL needs to work on this.

 

Great pictures.

I do not want to sound harsh or in any way inappropriately to your comment, but somehow I think that some people forget that (cruise) ships are moving objects and because of this, cannot have a fixed or non-moving structure, otherwise, they would break up easily in heavy seas.

 

Because of this, pipes will also stretch and twist, because of ships movement. Leakage can occur anywhere because of this on a ship, old or new, related to the constant moving of the structure. It also occurs in brand new ships, we ourselves observed a leak in the middle of the MDR on Koningsdam’s premiere voyage.

 

Concluding, in my humble opinion, no, I do not think that HAL, or any other company for that matter, can rule out leakage completely and definitively.

[bcummin]

HAL has its work cut out, because of the above and the salt water.  Expect surprises.  Ships do require constant maintenance.

Barbara