Maasdam May 17-24 Review with Photos

[purplenorway]

The day before the cruise, we flew to Montreal and checked in at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. It is a great hotel across the street from the beautiful cathedral Mary Queen of the World (it’s worth going inside). The hotel connects to the underground and we enjoyed shopping and eating there. We also climbed up the many steps to Mount Royal and ate the pastries we bought from the underground (the crème brulee was the best). I liked when the people greeted me with “Bonjour Madame” and other lovely French phrases.

 

On Saturday, we took a taxi to the cruise pier around 12:30 and found the check in line to be out the door. We are used to waiting about five minutes to embark a ship and this time, we waited over half an hour. I’m guessing it was because this was the first embarkation Maasdam did in Montreal this year. We booked a verandah cabin, but the Upgrade Fairy moved us to a Deluxe Verandah Suite! The check in agent didn’t even tell us! We just realized she changed the cabin number and gave us gold cards. The long embarkation line was forgotten as we practically danced across the gangway.

 

The Lido was not busy by the time we went up for the embarkation lunch. It was easy to get food and find a table. The lifeboat drill was at 4:15.

 

Suite Life

 

Suite 041 was towards the aft of the ship. It was so spacious with an entryway, dressing area and lots of closet space. The verandah was huge and very private except for the Lido overhang next door (although, I never saw anyone sitting up there anyway).

 

Our cabin steward Danang was excellent. We loved the free laundry service. The Neptune Lounge was a great spot to get snacks after a day in port when we had missed teatime in the dining room. The concierges were so friendly and would wave to us every time we passed in the hallway.

 

There was not a suite lunch, just a cocktail party on the last night that seemed the same as the suite welcome reception.

 

The Ship/Entertainment

 

The Maasdam is an old ship (compared to most), but it seemed to be in good shape. Much of the carpet looked new.

 

Captain was Henk Draper, Hotel Manager was Willem Van de Poll and Cruise Director was Travis LaMarche.

 

All of the shows were at 7:00 and 9:00, this meant we had to go to the 7:00 in order to make dinner. We usually didn’t feel like getting ready that early, so we only went to one show; Chris Michaels, who played instruments such as a banjo, saw and turkey baster. It was good.

 

After dinner, I usually watched a movie in the theater or went up to the Crow’s Nest. The first night, I went to the 20s and 30s get-together. There were about 12 people there. I could easily find about seven of them there each night of the cruise. One night, some newer songs played, but mostly, the music was old and overplayed. Even the older people I heard from were not happy. The night we left Sydney was very rough, so this made for fun dancing. The last night was “Rock it ‘till we Dock it”. The DJ did not arrive until 11:00 and he left about an hour after. As one older man said repeatedly, “This is a death ship!” It wasn’t like that every night, though.

 

Dining/Service

 

We had 8:00 dining at a table for seven. Both of our dining stewards were named Gede, so that was easy to remember. I was disappointed they did not learn my name. The service was just not as personal as in the past

 

We saw the debut of the Master Chef’s Dinner on Maasdam about two years ago. This time, they seemed like they were more comfortable with it. We all got chef’s hats and they paraded around with food and juggled. It was fun, but limits your menu choices.

 

The dessert extravaganza was held by the Lido Pool. It was cold and wet, even with the sliding ceiling closed. I had a great chocolate covered fruit kebob.

 

On the first formal night, the ship’s doctor, Elspeth Kushnir joined our table for dinner. She was so bubbly and fun. She said she would look for a handsome officer to join us the next formal night. When that evening came, a place was set for him, but he never showed up. Too bad.

 

Suite guests can dine in the Pinnacle for breakfast, so we ate there most mornings. Once, I asked for a chocolate croissant. The server seemed to be taking a long time to bring one. Later, he gave me a plate of three small ones. They were still warm. I asked if they had made them just for me and he said yes.

 

I liked the Lido sandwich makers. They were very personable. One day, I had Focaccia bread which was “Italian from the Philippines”.

 

Most entrees had good flavors. The Parmesan Crusted Chicken is remains my favorite HAL entrée. However, the baked macaroni with ham and cheese was cold and not so good (I liked it on the Noordam). My tablemate had the southwestern style cheese manicotti and said it was good, so I asked for that instead, but it was undercooked. I made up for the dud entrees by getting two desserts.

 

It seemed like every night, the dining room dessert menu had items with apples. I like apples, but not every night. I’d rather have chocolate every evening. The warm chocolate pudding has been my favorite dessert, but when I had it on the last night, it was cold and very eggy. They warmed it up for me, but it still was not nearly as good and fudgy as in the past.

 

The original HAL bread pudding was in the Lido daily, but they also had a different flavor next to it such as apple, mixed berry or chocolate. Yum.

 

Ports

 

In Quebec City, we took a tour that stopped at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. Mass was just beginning, so I could only get two photos of the interior before a woman said “no more pictures” and waved her hand in front of anyone who raised a camera. So, we went to the chapel in the basement. I have never seen such a gorgeous basement. The paintings and tile work were stunning. Next, the tour went to the base of Montmorency Falls and then to the top. We walked across the bridge over the falls. Back in town, we took the Funiculaire up to the Chateau Frontenac and walked the Governor’s Promenade. It goes around the fort and there is no place to get off it until you reach the top.

 

In Charlottetown, it was very cold. We walked around and found a nice mall. Later, we took the panoramic island drive. It was a lot of driving with just a stop at some shops by the Confederation Bridge. We saw fields of red dirt and even a fox.

 

In Sydney, we took the historical drive. We visited a museum in a church. This was kind of boring to me, but the people were so friendly. We also stopped at Fort Petrie. It was pouring rain and most people didn’t get off the bus, but I ran over and climbed the steps to the top. It would probably be a nice view on a good day.

 

In Halifax, we walked around and went to Peggy’s Cove in the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, but it turned foggy at the cove, of course. I think it gave my photos a nice effect, though.

 

In Bar Harbor, we just walked around and shopped.

 

Miscellaneous

 

We bought a Thermal Suite pass for the week. Since it was cool out, it was nice to relax in the heated ceramic loungers. The floor was also heated. There were two aromatherapy/sauna rooms, showers and a hot tub. The suite was usually empty or had one or two other people in it.

 

We did the On Deck for the Cure walk with about 50 other people. They gave us t-shirts, wristbands and pink lemonade. It didn’t matter how many laps you did. You could leave at any time. I saw people of all different ages participating, including an elderly woman who walked with a cane.

 

It was foggy a lot and we could usually hear the ship’s horn blowing.

 

No one received a medallion at the Mariner’s Reception in the lounge.

 

On formal nights, I saw some people in t-shirts. On casual nights, I saw some people in suits.

 

Disembarkation/Post-cruise

 

In Boston, we disembarked around 9:15. There was not a line. We went to the Hilton Boston Financial District. It was a nice hotel with a good room, although it wasn’t ready until 2:00. While we waited, we took the hop-on-hop-off City Trolley and saw some landmarks. We went to the Boston Pops since it was film night with John Williams conducting. It was fantastic.

 

Summary

 

We did things differently on this cruise, but it was still very good. Of course, any time the Upgrade Fairy visits is a good cruise, right?

 

You can see my cruise photo album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/purplenorway/Maasdam08

[rebeljohn]

Enjoyed your review...........nice pics, too...........

Thanks for posting it..........

[tropicalsunset]

enjoyed the review... may have to upgrade ourselves for our Oct sailing!!! Pictures are awesome... thanks for Sharing..

 

Lorraine and Dave

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Becky, Welcome Home and as always I so loved all your photos. You do such a wonderful job. I agree the fog coming in at Peggy's Cove did give it great effect:) And the added Indonesian Birthday song at the end was great.

How Great that the UpGrade Fairy appeared. You would have thought that if you stood in the regular check in line and that they had to get your folder from the box that has the Deluxe Vernadah Suites that you were upgraded;) I would have said Oh My we got a "Gold Card We were expecting a blue one":D I honestly do not think that those checking you in have any idea. She probably suspected you already knew.

Thanks for another great review.

[takemewithyou]

Going on this cruise in October - except it is a repositioning cruise so after bar harbor we go all the way to FLL. We are really looking forward to it.

 

Any particular excursions you would recommend that you either took or heard about from others?

 

What particular things did you enjoy the most about the Maasdam?

 

Thanks for your review. :)

[Smoke Fan]

Your photos are awesome! I'm confused about the upgrades. There was recently a thread that stated they don't usually happen, but yours was obviously quite wonderful. Thanks for sharing your review and your photos!

Patty

[bellebaby]

Thanks for the review. I really liked your photos.

 

I see from your photo library you have sailed on many of the HAL ships (some twice!) and also Princess and Celebrity. Do you have a favorite ship?

 

B

[purplenorway]

rebeljohn & Lorraine & Dave, Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the review and pictures!

 

Lisa, Thanks! I have always wanted to record the Indonesian birthday song. Another CC member, Aussiegal, sat at the table across from us. It was their tablemates birthday, but they gave us the cake. It happened to be our tablemates birthday on Saturday, so we asked Gede & Gede to sing. They actually didn't have a special suite check in. CC member, Peter was also upgraded and didn't find out until he opened his cabin door! What a nice surprize!

 

takemewithyou, I'm jealous you get to stay on longer. I really liked the trip to Montmorency Falls and the cathedral in Quebec City. I heard the Anne of Green Gables tours are great in Charlottetown. From Halifax, Peggy's Cove is pretty. In Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park and the view from Cadillac Mountain are fantastic. I love the Maasdam because it is a smaller sized ship. It is easy to walk from one end to the other. You can easily run into people you meet again and again instead of never seeing them the whole week. I like the dining room layout and the walk-around promenade as well.

 

Patty, This was our second free upgrade. It happened once before on the Westerdam at the pier (they told us then). I guess it depends on how full the ship is or if someone cancels last minute (we had other people's stationary on the Westerdam). If may also help if you are a Mariner.

 

bellebaby, Thanks! I would say my favorite ship is the Rotterdam. It was a while ago (I don't have an album for it). I thought it was so beautiful. I loved specialty restaurant and the terra cotta statues.

[takemewithyou]

Thanks for the reply to my questions. Your photos are lovely. :D

They make me want to go right NOW!!

[RuthC]

I love the Maasdam because it is a smaller sized ship. It is easy to walk from one end to the other. You can easily run into people you meet again and again instead of never seeing them the whole week.

This is so true. I think that's what I love most about the S-class ships---the opportunity to meet up with the same people again and again.

[bellebaby]

bellebaby, Thanks! I would say my favorite ship is the Rotterdam. It was a while ago (I don't have an album for it). I thought it was so beautiful. I loved specialty restaurant and the terra cotta statues.

 

That's not a response I expected! Thanks for the informationl

 

B

[sue1898]

Thank you so much for posting this. I enjoyed your preview of my cruise next month. Your photos are delightful and I've put the one of the 3 fishing boats in the fog as my desktop so I can daydream of my upcoming adventure while I pretend to work.

[purplenorway]

sue1898, I'm honored my photo is on your desktop! Keep daydreaming about your awesome trip coming up!

[takemewithyou]

Sounds like you liked your hotel. How far was it from there to the pier?

Did you do a pre-cruise saty through HAL or on your own?

 

How far from the airport to your hotel?

 

Where you stayed is where HAL had been putting people up, but for some reason, we are doing a pre-cruise hotel with HAL in Montreal and right now they are saying it will be the Delta Montreal. Don't know if that is near where you stayed or not. The reviews on Delta Montreal on some of the travel web sites are quite mixed.

 

Could you tell us more about the hotel you stayed at?

 

What was the terminal like where you had embarkation? Any other ships there with you? Like Princess, etc?

 

Hopefully they smooth our the check-in process as the season goes along.

[sail7seas]

So happy you had a wonderful cruise on Maasdam. No secret here how much we love that ship and her crew.

 

I agree Cadillac Mountain is a nice tour. We don't do many but very much enjoyed that one.

 

Welcome Home and Congratulations on your upgrade! What a nice surprise.

[purplenorway]

takemewithyou, Airport to the the Queen Elizabeth is about 14 miles. It's probably a few miles from the pier. That cab ride was about $10. We booked it on our own since it was cheaper than with HAL, but it didn't include the transportation. We did book it with them 2 years ago since we couldn't find any other place to stay and that included a bus tour before embarkation. The hotel has a nice lobby and a couple restaurants. It's easy to get to the underground by taking the escalator down. They upgraded us to a suite. It had a full and a half bath, a sofa bed, another bed and a sliding partition between. The terminal is up a ramp and looked like one big room. We never saw another cruise ship the whole week!

 

sail7seas, I know you love your Maasdam! The upgrade sure was a nice surprize!

[photodoodle]

I think your photos are wonderful. You really do have a good eye.

[takemewithyou]

Thank you, purple norway for all the information!

[Two if by Sea]

Echoing the thanks! We'll be on there in less than a month now!

 

Purple, if you had known ahead of time that you were in a Deluxe Suite, would there have been a shorter line for you? Or was it chaos all around?

[GmaPajama]

Your thorough review and fantastic pics are much appreciated. Our next trip will be on the gorgeous Maasdam, and your posting has made us all that much more anxious. Thanks for sharing!

 

Your closeup flower pics are great - you really captured the beauty there!

[purplenorway]

photodoodle, Thanks so much!

 

Two if by Sea, There was no separate suite check in, it was just all one big line.

 

GmaPajama, Thank you! Enjoy your cruise!

[CruiseBumm]

Oh how I miss the Massdam. Great phots, really enjoyed them.