Just back from Maasdam - THANKS!!

[Two if by Sea]

Thank you so much to everyone here who helped prepare me for our Maasdam cruise. I learned so much from this board, and many pieces of advice came in very handy over the past week.

 

I plan to write up lots of detail but I have to catch up on my work first! But I am very glad to talk about the past week and to share any news or tidbits that would be of interest.

 

I've posted how AYWD works, in the sticky above. I'll try to post some other short informative pieces over the next few days, or maybe try my hand at a full review.

 

In short, though: GREAT WEEK! FABULOUS SHIP!! WONDERFUL ITINERARY!!! The weather could have been better the first two days, but then it cleared up and was fine the rest of the week. There is so much choice... we probably did less than half the things one could do. I mean at all, not just on any given day. Someone else cruising with us might have had a completely different cruise and never seen us once, while we kept seeing and running into many of the same people over the course of the week who presumably were on more of our own schedule and shared more of our interests.

 

Oh -- and our 8-year-old loved Club HAL. We only had one sea day, so she was mostly with us during the daytime, but she was there without fail every evening from 7pm to 9:30pm.

[Harry1954]

Glad to see you and your daughter had a wonderful cruise. While I am not surprised as the Maasdam is a great ship with a wonderful crew, it is always gratifying to have someone reinforce my view.

harry

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home.

 

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

 

Can't wait to read your review.

[EbayCruiser]

Glad to hear you had a wonderful cruise! We are scheduled to cruise on her in the fall of 2009 for the first time so I am anxious to read your review.

 

Any tips on excursions would sure be appreciated!! :)

[sail7seas]

So happy you had such a great cruise on Maasdam.

Eager to hear more about it.

 

Welcome Home.

[Two if by Sea]

I guess I still need one more piece of advice: how do you write a review?

 

What I really mean is, how do you write one that isn't 30 pages long? Is there a set of guidelines and guide questions somewhere I can use as I write, or does everyone start from scratch and just write free-style? I will be writing a full travelog for my family but it will stretch to at least 30 pages including photos and will take me 2 months to complete.

 

Ebay Cruiser: we did not take any of the ship's shore excursions. Here is a quick summary of what we did at each port:

 

Montreal: Arrived Thursday so we'd have a full day and then some to visit sites in this city. Montreal is well worth not rushing through! We went to the Mont Royal park; took a horse and buggy tour; the Biodome; the Botanical Gardens; wandered the old port area; and went to events at the Jazz Festival both evenings. We didn't even know about the Jazz Festival until the day before we arrived! What a bonus!

 

Quebec: It was pouring in the morning, then slowed to a cold drizzle later, but we still got about for a walk. Highlights: Took the cable car up and down the hillside; went to the Glass Blowing store in the lower city (Verrierie La Mailloche) and although they weren't actually blowing glass because it was Sunday it was still a great store to visit; walked along the walls and gates. If we didn't have an 8-year-old we would have gone to see the diorama history show but she wasn't interested and we were all tired and wet. In better weather I'm sure this city would have been more of a highlight for us. Oh -- we also went to see the "Ephemeral Gardens", which is part of the 400th anniversary setup. Not sure how long they'll be there, as they are ephemeral after all. We wanted to see the "Passengers" exhibition on immigration, also temporary, but it was sold out until embarkation time.

 

Charlottetown: Rented a car and went up to the Cavendish area; viewed but did not enter the Anne of Green Gables House, and then went to the Shining Waters Family Fun Park (we did have an 8-year-old with us!) which was a charming, low-key sort of amusement park with only a few rides, a nice water park area, etc. -- the highlights for our daughter were the pedal boats and the "Topsy Turvy" house, built on an angle so you are totally disoriented as you try to walk through the seemingly-straight rooms where water flows uphill.

 

Sydney: Definitely the highlight for MY trip: we went to Fortress of Louisberg and the Miners Museum. To get to both those stops we had to rush a little (only 2.5 hours at the fortress, where you could easily spend 3 or 4) and also we hired a private driver since there was no way of combining two ships tours to get to both stops. I strongly recommend either or both of those destinations. They were each available through the ship if you want to choose just one.

 

Halifax: Met an old friend and her granddaughter and went to the Museum of Natural History (up just past the citadel) and ate at Saege which was a great restaurant just around the corner from the museum. Then before leaving we went to the Pier 21 museum (right where the ship docks) which is the immigration museum (Pier 21 was sort of like Canada's Ellis Island). The museum is very small compared to the Ellis Island reconstruction but worth the visit. We spent about an hour there.

 

Bar Harbor: We were there for July 4th, so we watched the parade in the morning until 11:15, then wandered around, had lunch at the West Street Cafe (excellent lobster lunches there) and then took a private taxi/van tour of Acadia National Park for 2.5 hours.

 

Boston: We live here, so we just went home.

 

Okay, I guess that's part of my review of the voyage! Maybe if I do it in little chunks like this it will all come out. But if anyone has review-writing advice I'm all ears.

[sail7seas]

Wonderful job...... very much enjoyed reading what you did in these ports. Thanks for sharing.

Eager to hear more about your shipboard experience. :)

 

 

[Bramcruiser]

Thanks to the OP for her postings so far. Looking forward to my trip next year - although in the opposite direction. Glad to hear that the Maasdam is a success. Can't wait to get on her myself.

 

David

[many cruises]

Please tell us more about your experience on the ship. How was the food and the entertainment? We will be on the Maasdam in August. :)

[Two if by Sea]

Please tell us more about your experience on the ship. How was the food and the entertainment? We will be on the Maasdam in August. :)

 

Okay, maybe if I answer enough questions, I'll have a review in hand and can just concatenate the whole thing :).

 

Food:

 

Breakfast: I found breakfast in the Lido to be everything one might want, including freshly squeezed orange juice (the fruit squeezer is right there so you know it's really fresh!), well-prepared scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes -- and once I had a waffle, which was also perfectly done. Half the time we ate a continental breakfast in the Neptune Lounge, which was fine, nothing fancier than we get at home but all we really wanted.

 

Lunch: We only had lunch onboard twice, both times in the Lido; otherwise we were onshore. I found the food fine, tasty, and with plenty of choice, but it wasn't super-special either. Our daughter had no trouble finding things to eat as well, and she is on the picky side. The first day she got a pizza from the Terrace Grill and brought that back to eat with us. The second time she had a simple pasta in the Lido, and they had no trouble making that for her even though they were concentrating on a fancier sauce. I had a really good piece of cod one day -- I wasn't expecting it to be so good since generally fish on a buffet isn't, but this was. However, we had trouble finding seats after getting our food. We did find a place both times but on the sea day I was about to despair when we found one last table open. It didn't help that it was freezing and rainy out, so nobody was sitting in the more outdoorsy part of the Lido deck.

 

Dinner: We ate in the main dining hall, open seating, every night. See my earlier note in the sticky about how open dining worked. As for the food, it ranged from amazing to so-so. I was only really disappointed with one main dish (the osso buco) and some of the dishes (e.g. venison) really stood out. There was only one night when nothing on the daily menu suited me, and that day I had a steak which is available daily and was also very good. Our picky 8-year-old also found something to eat from the main menu all nights but one (and that night she used the children's menu; I will say that the one thin slice of pizza she got did not look very good, but she ate it anyway). I liked, but did not love, most of the desserts. Things advertised as "flambe" (e.g. the Crepes Suzette or Bananas Foster") had a good taste but were definitely not flambed, even in the kitchen before being served -- and certainly not tableside. I guess I can see how that might be a bit dangerous on a ship. I was very pleased with the cold fruit soups and had one every night that one was offered (I think all but one day). I usually had 3 courses plus dessert, though many people at my table ordered only two courses plus dessert and I sometimes felt like I was holding people up. Still, we generally got through dinner in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The portions were all perfectly sized for me -- I left very little food over (except the night I got a 10-oz steak;I should have specified 8-oz) and never felt like I was eating too much either.

 

Other: We did not eat in the Pinnacle Grill, so I can't comment. Nor did we stay up late enough for a midnight (or even 10:30 PM) buffet. We did, however, go to the very nice Indonesian Tea Ceremony at 3:00pm one day, and had some interesting Indonesian-style appetizers along with very good cups of tea. We were onshore most of the other days at regular teatime and so just had a cup of tea in the Neptune Lounge when we got back. There were nice hors d'oeuvres served in some of the lounges where we hung out to listen to music after dinner -- a little late for hors d'oeuvres on our schedule, but we at them anyway :). Also the Explorer's Lounge had little chocolate hearts out every evening around 7:30 PM. Nice touch!

 

Entertainment: We did not go to any of the main shows. It just isn't our thing. We did hang out frequently in the Explorer's Lounge listening to the Palmira Strings, and in the Ocean Bar listening to the Basul Trio. We loved both of their selections; the former classical and the latter more old-time tunes from the 30's through the 60's. At the latter also we would sometimes see a few couples, generally the older ones, dancing to the music. And they would take requests. Try them both, if you like live music! It became our regular evening activity while our daughter was at Club HAL.

[takemewithyou]

Who is the Captain, Cruise Director and Hotel Manager?

Did you have a suite luncheon or suitecocktail party?

Any music in the Crow's Nest?

Where was Bingo held? In the show lounge or in the Crow's Nest?

Did you attend the Mariner Lunch?

 

Thanks.:)

[Two if by Sea]

Who is the Captain, Cruise Director and Hotel Manager?

Did you have a suite luncheon or suitecocktail party?

Any music in the Crow's Nest?

Where was Bingo held? In the show lounge or in the Crow's Nest?

Did you attend the Mariner Lunch?

 

Thanks.:)

 

Our Captain was Maurits Groothuis. We met him and his wife at the Suites Welcome Reception the first evening and they were both charming. His wife travels with him and they appeared to be quite social. We heard regularly from the captain during the course of the week, generally around 4:30 or 5:00 pm as we were preparing to depart from each port, but we also saw them around the ship at various times. His wife told us that this is their first season on the Maasdam after a few seasons in Alaska on the Ryndam.

 

I didn't meet Hotel Manager Firmin Van Walle personally although I believe he was at the suites welcome reception as well. There was also a suites farewell reception with the Captain, but we didn't attend. Both of the suite events were evenings for champagne in the Neptune Lounge. There was a third event we were invited to with the Captain in the Half Moon room. I don't know why -- it didn't say for suites -- but we were unable to attend so I still don't know who else was invited.

 

The cruise director was Savannah Rye. We heard her melodious voice once a day letting us know where to get off the ship, and then again at special events and quite a bit on the final morning as she was announcing where and when to disembark. But unless you went to the events she was hosting, she was not obtrusive and made very few loudspeaker announcements.

 

We weren't Mariners, and so were not invited to the Mariner's event. I think I heard someone mention it, so I assume it existed.

 

As for Bingo, I didn't attend, and looking over the daily programs I am unable to find a single mention of that activity. If it happened, it was a well-kept secret.

 

The Crows' Nest did have music, according to the daily schedules (generally Marisha and the HALcats from 5-6 and 9-midnight, with DJ Dan after that) but that was the one bar on the ship that I found to be smoky once it was in use, and I stayed out and can't tell you what the music was like.

 

I was very pleasantly surprised by the small number of announcements. We were left to enjoy the surroundings of our particular space, with no interruptions to tell us what was happening elsewhere.

 

We did get a lot of daily mail that I didn't keep, mostly about art auctions and the spa -- perhaps the Bingo announcements were in that. I kept only the Daily Programs, the menus, the Club HAL program sheets, and the invitations to events we attended.

 

I met the Executive Chef, Joachim Barelmann, twice. The first time was during the Galley tour when he was there to have our picture taken with him. He seemed fun and friendly. He was pretending that the tour wasn't coming fast enough and miming that he was chugging down a full bottle of wine in desperation. I forgot to take my camera on that tour :(. The second time was at the second formal night, or maybe it was Master Chef's dinner -- we were heading out from our very early Open Dining seating, and as we got to the top of the stairs some event started (maybe the Baked Alaska parade) and he was suddenly there standing next to us while it went past, waving down at the 7th deck as if we were with him and were visiting dignitaries. Again, no camera :(.

 

My wife also met the Pinnacle Grill chef, whose name escapes me, when she took the cooking class on the sea day. She found the class very well worth the time, and we now have several new recipes to try at home. The class filled up quickly so I'm glad people here had advised me about it and I knew to go straight to the concierge and sign her up immediately after embarkation.

[takemewithyou]

I just wondered about Bingo - not because I am a regular, but because on the Westerdam to Alaska in May, they held bingo in the Crow's nest (in the middle of our meet and greet for CC roll call) and I didn't like it one bit! I have only ever seen it done in the show lounge, but not on that boat!

 

I hope we can keep the quiet ambiance in the Crow's Nest on the Maasdam during the day time. It's a nice spot to come to to relax with a good book and watch the view.

 

We are not staying in a suite on Maasdam, but we did on Westerdam. We did not have a suite reception on the first night, only a suite luncheon. Sounds like they treated you very well. We are very much looking forward to our New England trip.

 

Can you tell me more about the Fortress of Louisburg that you visited and recommend?

How long did it take to clear immigration in Bar Harbor?

What time were you off the boat there?

 

Have you picked your next trip? ;)

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions!

[Two if by Sea]

Can you tell me more about the Fortress of Louisburg that you visited and recommend?

How long did it take to clear immigration in Bar Harbor?

What time were you off the boat there?

 

Have you picked your next trip? ;)

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions!

 

I'm very happy to answer questions. It helps keep the trip alive! (It also helps keep me from working.... but I digress....

 

Anyhow:

 

The Fortress of Louisberg is a reconstructed fortified village, on the spot where the original fortress was built and held by the French in the early to mid 1700s. It is filled, in season (June to September, I think) with costumed interpreters who pretend to be local French guards, peasants, bakers, blacksmiths, captains, etc. They have all sorts of activities all day, from musket-firing demonstrations, to places where you can learn and play ninepins; bake and eat bread; watch the blacksmith at work; sit and have a snack or full meal in a tavern of the style of the day (you get one pewter spoon with which to eat your whole meal -- use the stem of it for sugar and tea); see the Captain's servants at work in a real working 1700s kitchen cooking his meal; etc. etc. We learned a lot about the history of the island, too. It is very well done, and the activities just keep coming so you could go all day and not get bored. Although I think 3 hours is probably sufficient for most people. We had 2.5 hours and it wasn't enough.

 

Do make sure they are in season when you're going, though. They have a website. Off season, the admission fee is much much lower but all there is to see is a bunch of empty reconstructed buildings.

 

Bar Harbor: We anchored off Bar Harbor about 7:15 AM. Immigration began immediately, before we had finished with breakfast, and although they call people alphabetically by last name and we were supposed to be in the first group , the first group also contains everyone going on a shore excursion and everyone who didn't pay attention to the rules.

 

So when we got there the line went all the way through the library AND all the way through the casino. I thought we'd be there all day. We weren't. It moved VERY fast. I think we were in line for 10 minutes tops. At any rate, we were out of the line with a white "okay to disembark" card in hand well before they called the first tenders. I did feel sorry for a non-American citizen family who had waited in that line, though, and then had to go to the Wajang theatre and start all over again.

 

They announced that tenders were available about 8:15, I think. We went down then (with suite cards we didn't need to wait for a tender number). There was a line of about 20-30 people waiting for the next tender. There was also one person insisting loudly that his suite card meant he could go to the head of the line, and no amount of explanation from the port ambassador would convince him otherwise. At once point I heard the port ambassador say "You're not going to get to Bar Harbor any faster at the head of the line, since you still have to wait for the tender to arrive". Oh well. He didn't hurt anybody. We all (everyone waiting in that line) fit onto the tender when it came around. They're bigger than I thought! So, I figure we were on the second one out, and walking the streets of Bar Harbor sometime around 8:30 or 8:45 AM.

[kittiecat]

Thank you so much for the information you are sharing, and I'm glad you and your family enjoyed the cruise!

 

A question: how physically difficult was it to get on and off of the tenders? How many stairs were there down to the tender (roughly)? Are there additional stairs inside the tender? How much balance is required? Did you see any provisions for the handicapped?

 

I ask because one person in our family has had some joint replacement work done and finds stairs and balance sometimes tricky. If she's not going to be able to comfortably get into Bar Harbor during our cruise in August, I'd rather know now so that some of us can plan to stay on the Maasdam to keep her company.

 

Thanks!

[takemewithyou]

Thanks for the info about the Fortress. We are off-season, so it may not be the best option for that time of year. But I will investigate further.

 

We have friends who want to meet us in Bar Harbor and wasn't sure when to tell them we could meet them onshore!

 

Thank you, again.

 

P.S. Your review is pretty much written and very well done - you should piece it together and submit it to the review section of CC. :)

[Two if by Sea]

A question: how physically difficult was it to get on and off of the tenders? How many stairs were there down to the tender (roughly)? Are there additional stairs inside the tender? How much balance is required? Did you see any provisions for the handicapped?

 

That isn't something I paid much attention to, I'm afraid, since it wasn't an issue for anyone in our party. I'm trying to reconstruct it in my memory. I think there was only about one big step down at the tender itself (and the tenders leave from Deck 3, which is accessible by elevator). I do know that someone who we ate with who often uses a wheelchair but sometimes stands with a cane was on our tender, so clearly it can be done!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I just wondered about Bingo - not because I am a regular, but because on the Westerdam to Alaska in May, they held bingo in the Crow's nest (in the middle of our meet and greet for CC roll call) and I didn't like it one bit! I have only ever seen it done in the show lounge, but not on that boat!

 

I hope we can keep the quiet ambiance in the Crow's Nest on the Maasdam during the day time. It's a nice spot to come to to relax with a good book and watch the view.

 

We are not staying in a suite on Maasdam, but we did on Westerdam. We did not have a suite reception on the first night, only a suite luncheon. Sounds like they treated you very well. We are very much looking forward to our New England trip.

 

Can you tell me more about the Fortress of Louisburg that you visited and recommend?

How long did it take to clear immigration in Bar Harbor?

What time were you off the boat there?

 

Have you picked your next trip? ;)

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions!

 

 

Bar Harbor -- a couple of times immigration (for those heading back to either New York or Boston -- have done both) was very quick (and painless) and the ship cleared quickly.

But last August we had fog and were late arriving - see report: Friday, August 31 - Bar Harbor

 

Within minutes of leaving Halifax yesterday, heavy fog rolled again. We blew our fog whistle all night long. As we sit here this morning in Bar Harbor, you can only see a few feet.

 

The original plans was to have begun immigration around 7 AM. Last week while we were here we reserved Oli’s Trolley 10 AM tour (2 ½ hour one). We knew that we would have to get through immigration quickly and be on one of the first tenders no later than 8:30 or 8:45. At 8 AM, the captain came on and announced that we were waiting for the immigration officials to arrive. He also announced that because of the heavy fog and regulations that we will only be allowed to use 2 of our 4 tenders. The tenders will also be required to have officers on board and they will be using radar to guide them back and forth from the ship.

 

Knowing that we are going to be awhile before the officials arrive and the ship gets clearance, we used our cell phone and called Oli’s Trolley to cancel our reservation.

 

They began calling the first passengers at 8:25 - those who had early HAL tours and last names beginning with A, B, and C. We were called at about 8:40. When we went down to the tenders, the Ocean Bar was already mobbed with people with the regular tender tickets. The fog began to lift around 9 and all 4 tenders were put into operation. We finally went to the tender about 9:30 and ashore at 10:00.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you so much for the information you are sharing, and I'm glad you and your family enjoyed the cruise!

 

A question: how physically difficult was it to get on and off of the tenders? How many stairs were there down to the tender (roughly)? Are there additional stairs inside the tender? How much balance is required? Did you see any provisions for the handicapped?

 

I ask because one person in our family has had some joint replacement work done and finds stairs and balance sometimes tricky. If she's not going to be able to comfortably get into Bar Harbor during our cruise in August, I'd rather know now so that some of us can plan to stay on the Maasdam to keep her company.

 

Thanks!

 

Bar Harbor tenders - you go down to Deck B to get the tenders.

From there you have quite a few steep steps down to the tender platform before you get onto the tender which is one BIG step.

Ask the crew to help your family member down those steps -- I have seen 2 crew members actually pick up a person and take them up and down the steps.

Your family member should have no problems.

[takemewithyou]

Thanks, KK, for the info on Bar Harbor. Let's hope it's not a day when we are socked in with fog! :eek:

[sail7seas]

We were on the same cruise as KK and remember that fog well. It was so thick we could not see the ship from the tender when it had barely started the ride to shore. It is a VERY short tender ride and when the fog is thick, a Bridge Officer rides on every tender along with the quartermaster driving and their directional devices. I actually loved watching how great they handle the tenders even in those conditions. They are such professionals it's a pleasure to see them work.

 

The stairs from the side of the ship down to the tenders are quite steep and as KK says, help will be provided to anyone needing assistance.

 

Once on the tender platform, there is only one step down into the tender. Again, there is a sailor at the doorway who will help.

[kootz]

May I ask a few questions...We will be doing the opposite in August.

 

If you still have the dailies do they show what the theme is for dinner every night. I remember a certain menu that I disliked and would like to do the alternative that night...It had all weird stuff on it like Hutspot and such...

 

Do they movies playing in the cabins and if so what...I am up late at night and like to watch Tv while DH sleeps...Any VCR's or DVD's? We will be in a lower end suite...

 

Any movies playing in the theatre?

 

Did you by chance run into a wine steward named Boyet? We have cruised many times with him and he is a delight...

[sue1898]

May I ask a few questions...We will be doing the opposite in August.

 

If you still have the dailies do they show what the theme is for dinner every night. I remember a certain menu that I disliked and would like to do the alternative that night...It had all weird stuff on it like Hutspot and such...

 

Do they movies playing in the cabins and if so what...I am up late at night and like to watch Tv while DH sleeps...Any VCR's or DVD's? We will be in a lower end suite...

 

Any movies playing in the theatre?

 

Did you by chance run into a wine steward named Boyet? We have cruised many times with him and he is a delight...

 

Kootz,

We were on this cruise last week as well and I have all the daily programs as well as the menus. What menu are you hoping to miss? I'll be glad to look for it and let you know. Re movies, I can list them later today as well. On previous ships, the movies shown in the theatre were later shown on the TV as well but that was not so on the Maasdam. We did have DVD players and DVD's were available to watch although we brought our own.

[sail7seas]

You can go to the dining room doorway every day and see the dinner menu. It is posted outside the doors.

 

Most short cruises no longer have Dutch night......unfortunately. Sometimes a few traditional Dutch dishes are on a menu but no Dutch Night as we used to know it and WE MISS IT!

[Two if by Sea]

May I ask a few questions...We will be doing the opposite in August.

 

If you still have the dailies do they show what the theme is for dinner every night.

 

Do they movies playing in the cabins and if so what...I am up late at night and like to watch Tv while DH sleeps...Any VCR's or DVD's? We will be in a lower end suite...

 

Any movies playing in the theatre?

 

The dinner themes seemed to center around the holidays (e.g. American food on July 4th) so I don't think it would be in the same order on your cruise. Just look at the menu each day. I don't know if everyone gets a menu in their cabin the night before, but we did. Perhaps that is only for Deluxe Suites.

 

The "themes" were for the Teas at 3pm. There was an Indonesian Tea, a Dutch Tea, etc.

 

I was told that the movie they played each evening in the theatre would then be played again on the TVs during the day. There is also an extensive DVD library available in the Explorations Cafe Library for a small rental fee. Yes, there were movies in the theatre, on the large screen, every night. Mostly recent releases that I didn't want to see. They also played the 3.5 hour "Anne of Green Gables" (excellent movie, but I've seen it twice) on the day before we reachd Charlottetown. Maybe they'll do that again.

 

More questions? Glad to answer them if I can!!