Maasdam live

[VK3DQ]

Hi folks.

 

Now on board Maasdam the ship is comfortable , food is fine snd service warm and attentive.

 

We are more than happy the ship fits us nicely ,very nice quartet in lounge last night playing jazz and standards, had Elsie the 95y/o mil toe tapping a nice dance floor that I regret not being able to use.

 

Food has been good no issues at all drinks ok but wine expensive.

 

Cabin nice and comfortable no nasty smells stewards helpful.

All in all a nice cruise so far. Weather good sea calm. Course 87o almost due east speed just under 19 knots.

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Best regards.

John

[cat shepard]

Bon voyage & smooth sailing!

[daisy-mae]

Just wondering what deck you are on?

 

Have a great cruise!

 

[dillpickle48]

Have a great cruise.  Love the Maasdam.

[erewhon]

Thanks for posting.

Have a fabulous cruise.

We are counting down the days until we board Maasdam again.

[VK3DQ]

8 hours ago, daisy-mae said:

Just wondering what deck you are on?

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Hi There

 

We are on A Deck (4) We have 2 x oceanviews 731 &729  bog standard ocean views not large but fine for 2 persons  would not like to try  THIRD PERSON Hence the MIL is next door for this trip

 

Regards

John

[VK3DQ]

I will post some photographs a little later as we depart New Zealand and head out towards Tonga and Beyond

 

Garla Dinner tonight very nicly done and Capains Toast with a rather clever Magic show to follow (Jamie Allen)

 

We ran through a large bank of fog this afternoon which was unusual warm air convection I think

 

First port of call tomorrow which is the bay of Islands in New Zealand followed by the city of Auckland tomorrow

 

one observation the aircon is a little cold a jumper is a sensible idea

 

Best regards

 

John

 

Please feel free to ask questions

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for checking in.  Glad all is well.

 

Looking forward to your reports and pictures.

 

Have a great cruise.

[ski ww]

Bon Voyage sounds like you're having a great cruise.

[cat shepard]

Am really interested in any info you share - New Zealand and Australia are near the top of my list of places to visit.

 

Thank you!

[daisy-mae]

5 hours ago, VK3DQ said:

Hi There

 

We are on A Deck (4) We have 2 x oceanviews 731 &729  bog standard ocean views not large but fine for 2 persons  would not like to try  THIRD PERSON Hence the MIL is next door for this trip

 

Regards

John

 

We enjoyed our time on deck 6 (lower promenade); I agree that more than two persons would be a little too cozy.

The Maasdam is a great ship, and just the right size (in my opinion).

Looking forward to reading more about your journey.

[GTVCRUISER]

I will be on the Maasdam for the first time April 3, 2020 🙂 Have a Great Cruise 

Edited December 5, 2019 by GTVCRUISER
wrong date

[mightycruisequeen]

Wondering if it's still the old TV/DVD players in the cabins?

Thanks in advance.

[VK3DQ]

3 hours ago, mightycruisequeen said:

Wondering if it's still the old TV/DVD players in the cabins?

Thanks in advance.

Hi there.

 

There is a small flat screen tv and a dvd player which looks quite new have not used it as I have my laptop and access to youtube has been good.

 

Regards.

John

[VK3DQ]

We have the coast of the north island of Newzealand on our starboard beam seas flat calm no wind a little haze.

 

Had a nice omlet for breakfast ..all is well with the world. Up in the crows nest.

 

Regards.

 

John

[bcummin]

Thank you for sharing this EXC voyage with us.

It is sweet and thoughtful of you to give your DMIL a separate room.

We were on deck 5 last winter December to February.  You are in for a treat.  Our TV was a little old one, so you have been upgraded.  And Diana made spectacular omelettes.

Do you have a separate Cruise Director, Location Guide (Kay?), and Shore Excursion people??  Is your Captain still Ryan Whittaker???  How many guest presenters are giving lectures????  Guest Chef?????

What is your itinerary, roughly?

Enjoy a spectacular voyage!

Barbara

Edited December 5, 2019 by bcummin

[VK3DQ]

Hi there.

 

The cruise goes from Sydney to the bay of islands ,next is Auckland and then out in the south pacific to the Kingdom of Tonga. Then across the date line to nuie , then we turn north to Fiji and west to New Caledonia and back to Sydney ...trip is 20 days.

 

Regards. John

[bcummin]

That was quick !

Thank you for this interesting itinerary.

Maybe the Zodiacs will be used?

Barbara

[VK3DQ]

12 minutes ago, VK3DQ said:

Hi there.

 

The cruise goes from Sydney to the bay of islands ,next is Auckland and then out in the south pacific to the Kingdom of Tonga. Then across the date line to nuie , then we turn north to Fiji and west to New Caledonia and back to Sydney ...trip is 20 days.

 

Regards. John

Hi.

 

Yes I understand the zodiacs will be used at a number of ports , we are now on approch to the bay of islands sitting in the crows nest watching the. World go bye.

 

Regards. John

[Floridiana]

What a wonderful trip! I once flew to Niue via Tonga because it is rarely visited island. 

[RubyRedDeb]

Looking forward to reading all about your experiences of an EXC voyage - we are going on our first Maasdam EXC cruise to Tassie & New Zealand early next year. 

Bay of Islands is beautiful - last time we were there we went on a trike tour of the area, then took a ferry over to Russell, had an awesome seafood chowder ( from locally caught fish ) for lunch at the cafe overlooking the calm water of the bay. 

[NSWP]

Thanks for the updates young John. Above all, enjoy !!

[JimAOk1945]

The Maasdam is a great ship. We love the size and crew. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures and reading about your cruise.

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

A nice day at the Bay of Islands  went ashore by tender , no issues taking my mobility scooter along , however rather a bouncy and for a couple of passengers a wet trip back to the ship , with the ships dock wet with spray and handrails very slipery but crew first class assisting me up the steep steps!

 

A nice steak in the lido tonight as I was a little tired after going ashore and had a sleep and was not ready for the main dining room

 

after this we ended up in one of the bars listening  to the rather good quartet ...Jazz and Standards  then it was off to bed  and by 10:30pm we were both in the land of nod

 

This morning we will dock in Auckland .. hopefully having lunch with my wifes younger brothher who lives in Auckland

 

Elsie the MIL had an early night yesterday so should be fighting fit this morning ...ready for a good breakfast in the dining room ..I think it might be an egg and bacon day for me with Toast and a danish to go with my coffee

 

so here we go its just after 5am and I'm wide awake waiting for my breakfast , but as soon as the wife is awake I think we will phone for room service coffee (grin)

 

Best regards

 

John

Edited December 6, 2019 by VK3DQ
spelling

[VK3DQ]

By the way I forgot to mention that we had a plesent and well attended cruise critic  meet attended by the cruise director, low key compared to RCL and Princess but plesent for all that and a nice chance to meet up and have a chat...everyone is frendly and seem to be enjoying their cruise

 

Regards

 

John