Maasdam Voyage of the Vikings

[kakalina]

Thank you so much for posting such detailed and interesting reports. We have considered this cruise several times.
We appreciate your weather info as this is the reason we have not gone yet. It seems to be quite chilly and rainy for the middle of summer. We are desert dwellers and don't do well in temps much under 65*f.
I look forward to your continuing reports.

[MightyQuinn]

[quote name='kakalina']Thank you so much for posting such detailed and interesting reports. We have considered this cruise several times.
We appreciate your weather info as this is the reason we have not gone yet....[/quote]
Bill & Sharon: Let me add my appreciation for your continued reports from the top of the world. Bummer about the drizzle & rain that seem to haunt your days. But that's reality & I'm glad you're having a good time regardless. Like Kakalina, we've looked at this itinerary before & we're seriously considering it for next year. Your first-hand weather reports will help with our decision. BTW do you know how many pax are on board for the full 35-day voyage? Many thanks.

[sk8teacher]

Today the sun came out in Rotterdam, and it was a wonderful day. I had found a self guided walking tour of the city prior to leaving, so that was on our agenda today. Starting right at the cruise terminal, we walked over the bridge into the city and hung a left, walking along the waterfront towards HET Park and the Euromast.

Het Park is very nice, quiet with lots of paths intertwined amongst the water. Arriving at the Euromast we were disappointed to find out we could only get up to the observation platform above the restaurant. But up I went anyway and got so pretty good pictures looking out over the city.

From there it was back towards central city and then up past the museum park, to central station and from there started over towards the skate park city hall. Did some wandering down some of the pedestrian shopping areas, and then over to the cube houses. Took some pictures of the "Pencil" building, the flying saucer over the subway, and of course many pictures of the cube houses. Went into the one they have open to see, and it was very interesting.

From there back towards the bridge and the cruise terminal, all in all a 5 hour hike around the city. We were pretty tired but enjoyed every minute and would do it again. Tomorrow is Cherbourg France and the prediction is sunny and temperatures in the high 70's.

Cheers,

[sk8teacher]

Cherbourg, July 23, 2008

Wow, two days in a row of sunshine! How delightful. Arriving in Cherbourg around 10am to high 60’s and a light breeze. The ship departs at 4:30 for Milford Haven so we really don’t have a lot of time here.

Sharon and I took the free shuttle into city center, and then walked around on our own with stops at the Notre Du Dame De Voeu cathedral, an absolutely beautiful old church well worth seeing. From there we located the Montebello Garden and attempted to find the Botanical Gardens but even though we completely circled where it was supposed to be we could never find an entrance or sign.

After strolling through the general shopping area, we decided to go back to the ship and relax as we were still fairly tired from Rotterdam.

Cherbourg is a quaint little town that is interesting from an architectural point of view but there really isn’t a lot there to see. The main attractions are the Normandy beaches which I had no desire to see as my Father was there and told me what he went through. I really didn’t want to relive that again.

Cheers,

[many cruises]

[COLOR=Blue][SIZE=3][FONT=Comic Sans MS]We are enjoying your posts from the Maasdam. Glad to hear that the weather cleared up in your next port. How has the evening entertainment been? We usually enjoy the shows in the main theater...do you think any of the present entertainers are staying on the ship in August? Any information you can share about the entertainment would be appreciated. :)[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[stewcall]

Greetings Bill and Sharon, MArgaret and Chris and LIz

All sailing on the Maasdam and cruise critic folk. Carol and I miss you guys since our departure from Rotterdam. Hope Nancy made it on board safely!

Our 17 days was wonderful, made special by the above named Cruise critic folk!
A few comments about the trip WOW! The chef would stop in port and buy fresh fish and the next day at Lunch and dinner it would be served. The Lunch seving was made into a BIG deal and lots of fun!
Open seating was wonderful! Hati made sure every evening we got the type of table we wanted. He greatly varied our tablemates-- from Ship's historian, Doctor, entertainer and our good friends above. I would strongly recommend open seating--- we ate later and it was never crowded
Loved the smaller ports on the first leg. The towns took special attention of our visits.
DO the tour Bill recommended in the Shetlands-- a blast-- they even celebrated my birthday
Bridge is great on these longer cruises-- 12-15 tables
Crows nest is the BEST place to be at sailaway--- get there early
Crew was very friendly,, Chef was a hoot and the captain very visable-- he even took part in the polar bear swim when we crossed the artic!
Be happy to answer other questions since I'm back on land having a safe flight back

Hi to all my friends aboard this wonderfull trip...
Stew in VA
PS so Bill have you taken 3000 pictures yet? HA
Stewart

[stewcall]

Couple of other thoughts about the cruise

For Bill to be posting as often as her is a credit to his patience. Internet on board is poor at best. many people were very frustrated. I know this is common, but Bill deserves lots of credit! On the first portion, we were able to get on line for free mostly at the local public Libraries-- they were friendly and helpful.

Secondly, many had wished they had booked an INSIDE cabin on this cruise. Three reasons
1. The Fog and the FOG horn every 2 minutes
2 The amount of daylight--- 20 hours
3 The cold and wind (Iceland, Greenland) etc

Late night shows were only 1/2 and 3/4 fill. Most people call it an early night

When we crossed the artic circle was th MOST exciting time on board after 10:00 pm. There must have been over 150 people in the lIdo pool! It was great fun

Stew in Va

[sk8teacher]

Hmm, what can I say. An extremely busy city, both for traffic and pedestrians. We had booked hop-on hop-off bus tickets, and definately took advantage of them. In addition, I can highly recommend any of Pat Liddy's walking tours. We signed up for their 2.5 hour tour that included going into the catecombs at St Michaels and seeing some actual mummies. The guide we had was very knowledgeable and gave us more information that we could handle. A constant chatterbox (a good thing) I learned more about the history if Ireland in that tour than I ever thought about. Well worth the 12 euro per person cost.

Overcast skies most of the day with a rain shower around 4pm as we were headed back to the ship after a very tiring day.

Cheers,

[sk8teacher]

Liverpool, July 26, 2008

Today was bright and sunny; starting out in the low 60’s and predicted to go into the 70’s with just a few clouds in the sky we were off the ship around 9am and walked over to the Three Graces. After taking a few pictures there we realized that the hop-on hop-off busses didn’t start until 10am, so we went ahead and walked over to the Albert Dock area.

Albert Dock is a interesting area to visit with a Maritime Museum and a Slave Museum along with many little shops and restaurants. After wandering around there we boarded the bus around 10:45 and headed off. We stayed on board until we got to the Catholic Cathedral, one of two magnificent churches in Liverpool. We spent around 45 minutes there and then walked down Hope Street to the Anglican Cathedral. While the Catholic Cathedral is fairly modern in design the Anglican Cathedral is the last of the old design cathedrals built. Both are absolutely beautiful however in their own way and are not to be missed with in Liverpool.

By this time it was getting close to 2pm, so we hopped back on the bus and road past China Town and got some pictures of the largest China Town Gate ever built, then back to the closest stop to the pier.

We were back on board around 3pm and headed off to our daily Thermal Spa session. All in all Liverpool seems like a really nice city and we would enjoy coming back and spending a couple of days wandering the streets.


Stu, haven't reached 3000 yet but are over 2000! Should make it before the end of the cruise!

Cheers,

[stewcall]

.


Stu, haven't reached 3000 yet but are over 2000! Should make it before the end of the cruise!

Cheers,[/quote]

I miss you guys! and MArgaret too (be sure to tell her) Has Nancy joined up with you guys? Glad you are having great weather. Hi 80's here-- boy did the humidty hit us when we got off the plan at IAD. So by my count 3 more ports in a row then back to Iceland. Drink a glass for me-- say hi to everyone
Stewart

[stewcall]

[quote name='many cruises'][COLOR=blue][SIZE=3][FONT=Comic Sans MS]We are enjoying your posts from the Maasdam. Glad to hear that the weather cleared up in your next port. How has the evening entertainment been? We usually enjoy the shows in the main theater...do you think any of the present entertainers are staying on the ship in August? Any information you can share about the entertainment would be appreciated. :)[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/quote]

You will likely have all new intertainers except the ship's dancers and singers--- seemed typical. It seemed that the entertainers would board for 5-7 days and then get off--- probably due to the 35 day crusie--- the 7 day cruises they tend to stay on more
the first 17 days-- Don Ware--- comedian-- very enjoyable--- a great trumpet player from days gonr by-- yea he misses some hi notes but his stories were great-- and a classical singer--- all left the ship before the 17 day cruise were over replaced by a magician (not so good) and a cab. singer-- ok. Certainly all worth an evening of entertainment
Stew in VA

[sk8teacher]

Belfast, July 27, 2008

We arrived in Belfast around 7am, to a rising sun and mid 50’s, and the promise of near 70 later in the day. As we had booked the hop-on hop-off bus we did not hurry to get off the ship, especially as it was Sunday and most things wouldn’t open until noon or later. Free shuttle service from where we docked to city center was provided which was nice as it was quite a distance.

We went off around 9:15 and got downtown around 9:35. We found out where the ho-ho bus loaded and walked over there to turn in our e-ticket and get on. Using the ho-ho bus you get an excellent tour of Belfast that includes the Parliament building, both sides of the wall, and pass by most of the murals still there. It’s an excellent way to see a lot of the city in 1.5 hours.

Arriving back at city center around noon, we went into the tourist center to inquire about getting to Belfast Castle, but we decided that it would take to long. We then asked about walking to the Botanical Gardens, and were provided directions including a stop at the Crown for lunch. Walking over to the Crown we arrived around 12:15 to see quite a few people from the Maasdam waiting for it to open. We assumed it opened at 12:30 but then found out it didn’t open until 1pm. So we walked around to the back and into Fibber Magee’s pub for a pint while we waited.

After finishing our pints we went back to the Crown and had a wonderful lunch. Sharon had a steak and ale pie and I had mushrooms and ale pie with the obligatory pint of course. The food was absolutely fantastic and we can highly recommend stopping in.

By the time we finished lunch it was getting on to 3pm so we decided to forego the Botanical Gardens and went back to the Maasdam to rest up.

Stu, I lied. We are at 3962 as of today and counting. May come close to 5000.

Cheers,

[sk8teacher]

Stornaway Shetland Islands, July 28

As we approached the island a heavy fog laid over the sea. We were supposed to anchor at 10am but the fog prevented us from entering the port area. Finally around 10:30 we were allowed into port. Unfortunately because another ship was in port already and a ferry was due, the only landing that we could use by our tenders was up several slippery steps. The Captain made the decision for the safety of everyone to cancel the call and refund the port costs. So by 11am we pulled up the anchor, turned around and left for a slow trip to Thorshavn Faroe Islands.

Thorshavn, July 29, 2008

Once again fog was about, but we still were able to enter port and tie up to the pier. As today was the last day of St. Olaf festival and most shops would be closed we had breakfast and went to the Thermal Spa. The fog was coming and going so we stayed on board until lunch time, then went ashore.

We went into the center of town and caught the last few minutes of the festival. A choir was singing native songs and we could see that they were either filming the festival for broadcast later or perhaps broadcasting live on TV as there were several large cameras around. The local people were dressed in their formal native clothing which was very beautiful to see. The town itself is rather small but quite clean and the people seemed very friendly.

While the festival was very interesting to see it would have been nice of some places were open, especially the Post Office as we really wanted to get some stamps from here. But that was not to be so after walking around for a couple of hours it was back to the ship.


Cheers,

[MightyQuinn]

[quote name='sk8teacher'] Stornaway Shetland Islands, July 28
As we approached the island a heavy fog laid over the sea. We were supposed to anchor at 10am but the fog prevented us from entering the port area.

Thorshavn, July 29, 2008
Once again fog was about, but we still were able to enter port and tie up to the pier. The fog was coming and going so we stayed on board until lunch time, then went ashore.[/quote]
You've had more than your fair share of drizzle & fog on this journey:(.

Here's hoping that the drizzle stops & the fog lifts so you can experience the total solar eclipse on Aug 1/08. You'll be in perfect position along side Iceland. I'm copying the website again here JIC you didn't see my earlier post. Cheers!
[URL]http://www.eclipse.org.uk/eclipse/0312008/[/URL]

[sk8teacher]

Nanortalik Greenland, August 3, 2008

What can be said about Nanortalik. The southernmost settlement in Greenland and with a population of about 2500 people, there really isn’t much to see. The mountain peaks surrounding the settlement are absolutely fabulous, and the best part of the visit. There were still some fairly good sized ice-burgs around both entering the port area and a couple still in the port area. You can spend about 2 hours walking around from one end of the town to the other (from the church to the graveyard) and will have seen it all. We were blessed with clear skies and temperatures in the low 40’s so that was nice.

While it was interesting to visit and a nice break in sea days between Iceland and St Johns Newfoundland if you like shopping or excitement, you will not find it here. There were rumors of some kind of native show that was supposed to happen while we were there but supposedly there was some issues between HAL and the town so it never happened.

The solar eclipse was a bust. Overcast skies and yuck.

Cheers,

[RuthC]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]After getting back from my own lengthy cruise I just found your thread, and am delighting in it! So many memories of my Voyage of the Vikings cruises you are bringing back! :) [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Ah yes, the fog, the drizzle, the unexpected sunny day---all you have posted is making me want to book this cruise for the fourth time. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]You have had some new (to me, anyway) ports this year. Your descriptions are fascinating, while I can picture the regular ports so well. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]Thank you everso for this journal. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[sk8teacher]

St John Newfoundland, August 5, 2008

We arrived in St John around 11:30am to an overcast sky with a heavy mist coming down. By the time we completed docking and were allowed off the ship, the drizzle had stopped. St John is a lovely little town, but be prepared for walking up hill. And some are very steep. We wandered around the town a bit and finally found the tourist center, as we really wanted to go out to the fishing village of Quidi Vidi and visit the brewery there. After getting directions to pick up the bus that went out there, it was another uphill climb to the bus stop.

When the bus arrived we asked if he would accept US dollars (the fare was $2.25 one way), and he said no but after we told him we were from the Maasdam he let us board for no charge. Arriving at the village, we had to walk down a steep hill into the village, and then up a small hill to the brewery. We had just missed a tour, and had to wait for almost an hour for the next one. We decided to buy a couple of their beers to try out, and then walked around a bit before heading back up the hill to catch the bus back into St John.

Arriving back at the ship around 5pm we went up to the Lido to get a bite to eat and then hit the Thermal Spa. Around 6:45pm we departed St John headed for St Pierre and the weather report is predicting rain (sign!):(

Cheers.

[primetime99]

[quote name='sk8teacher']St John Newfoundland, August 5, 2008

We arrived in St John around 11:30am to an overcast sky with a heavy mist coming down. By the time we completed docking and were allowed off the ship, the drizzle had stopped. St John is a lovely little town, but be prepared for walking up hill. And some are very steep. We wandered around the town a bit and finally found the tourist center, as we really wanted to go out to the fishing village of Quidi Vidi and visit the brewery there. After getting directions to pick up the bus that went out there, it was another uphill climb to the bus stop.

When the bus arrived we asked if he would accept US dollars (the fare was $2.25 one way), and he said no but after we told him we were from the Maasdam he let us board for no charge. Arriving at the village, we had to walk down a steep hill into the village, and then up a small hill to the brewery. We had just missed a tour, and had to wait for almost an hour for the next one. We decided to buy a couple of their beers to try out, and then walked around a bit before heading back up the hill to catch the bus back into St John.

Arriving back at the ship around 5pm we went up to the Lido to get a bite to eat and then hit the Thermal Spa. Around 6:45pm we departed St John headed for St Pierre and the weather report is predicting rain (sign!):(

Cheers.[/quote]
Thank you for taking us along on the "Voyage of the Vikings". This is a trip on my wish list - maybe next year.

Thanks again for your reports.

Marilyn

[RuthC]

[quote name='sk8teacher']Around 6:45pm we departed St John headed for St Pierre and the weather report is predicting rain (sign!):(
[/quote]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=royalblue]Ah, back to France. It's honestly and truly part of France, and not French heritage islands that are in Canada. In all my life I didn't know that until I went there. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#4169e1]St. Pierre is charming. Enjoy. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[sk8teacher]

St Pierre France, August 6, 2008

As the sun attempted to rise this morning, we noticed on the bridge cam that as predicted, it was raining. We entered port and docked around 10am to an overcast sky and a light rain. Just enough that you really didn’t want to take a good camera out. We decided to stay aboard until after lunch to see if maybe it might stop later in the day.

Luck was with us and around 2:30 we saw that the rain had stopped, so down we went to catch the tender into town. Arriving at the dock, we walked out of the secure area and noted the post office right there. We went in and after taking a good look purchased a couple of stamps for Justin our Grandson.

From there we walked across the street looking for a large wine shop that I had read about online. Found it two blocks up from the dock area, and made our purchase of a couple of French wines that you can not get in the states. We also bought a couple of bottles of Desperado beer, that supposedly contains tequila.

From there we wandered around a bit looking for postcards which Sharon finally found. By then it was approaching 4:15 and as the last tender back was at 5pm, we decided to go on back. All in all St Pierre is a colorful, small village and the people we did meet and speak with seemed quite friendly, and spoke English quite well. While Euro is the currency there, they seemed prepared to accept US dollars as well.

Cheers,

[maninmontreal]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=blue]I am enjoying your posts Bill. Keep up the great work. Sorry you did not connect with any whales but like you say there is still hope. I suspect you are a bit late for icebergs though, even up at St. Anthony's, where they can often be sighted in spring. [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#0000ff]The Maasdam is an awesome ship with a great crew. If you are in the Crows Nest, say hi to Archie from Sir Mike in Montreal. Get him to show you his tricks.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#0000ff]Looking forward to the rest of your reports on this wonderful voyage. Cheers .......Michael:) [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[sail7seas]

[B]I've very much enjoyed your posts and thank you for them. Hard to believe your cruise is coming to an end. It goes by so fast.

One seven day cruise and then DH and I board for two weeks. You've made my usual Maasdam excitement build to an even higher level.

Thanks for taking such good care of that beautiful ship.

Safe travels.

[/B]

[sk8teacher]

Unfortunately the skies were overcast and we had the occasional heavy mist. Therefore the top of Cadillac Mountain was not to be had. That said, we had booked a private tour through At Your Service Taxi company for a 3 hour Acadia Tour. We did manage to see quite a bit on the tour, including Sand Beach and Thunder Hole along with a very nice tour of the lower sections.

After the tour we stayed in town and had a wonderful fish and chips lunch, did just a bit of shopping and then back to the ship to start packing.

Now for the wrap up!

Dining: We were originally assigned open seating. Because of a couple that had to cancel, one of our Cruise Critic friends invited us to sit with them at the 5:45 early fixed seating. As that was what we had really wanted anyway, we accepted.

I'm not sure what the problem was, but service seemed very slow. I don't think that it was our waiter, as both he and his assistant seemed to be really trying very hard to get our food to us in a timely manner. That said, they had a total of 26 seats to serve, four of which never appeared at all for the entire cruise.

There seemed to be some small mix ups the first few nights in that some orders were not as requested. But, as time went on things did improve somewhat.

Options: I had ordered the Just for Us package as a surprise to the wife for our anniversary (we were celebrating our 45th). I was somewhat disappointed in that we had several calls the first three days of the cruise asking for dates for when we wanted the High Tea and Desert Extravaganza which were part of the package, including a call at 9:30 at night. As they should have known we were booked for the entire cruise I really didn't understand what the rush was.

Spa: Our Just for Us package also including a couples massage. As it really is only a 25 minute massage we asked to extend it to a full 50 minute massage which of course we would pay for. Both the wife and I get a massage monthly when we are home, and have for several years so we are somewhat knowledgeable of what a massage should be.

We were both quite disappointed in the massage we received onboard, although mine was a little better than my wife's. Her's consisted primarily of the masseuse doing nothing more than pressing down with no actual massaging taking place. I'm not saying that the massages were bad, just not what we had expected and we most likely will never do it again onboard.

So to sum up, the weather was iffy, the seas were mostly calm, our cabin steward was to die for, the Maasdam was as delightful as ever, the crew outstanding, and the food excellent. Overall a fantastic cruise and we look forward to the Grand Med cruise next March on the Prinsendam.

Cheers!!

[stewcall]

Welcome back CC travelers. Sounds like the drizzles persisted during much of your second half part of the cruise as well. Hope the last 18 days was as good as my first 17 days.
We found open seating simply wonderful. We did find ourselves often eating after 8:00 and had great service and no wait. In fact the lower dining room was never more than 3/4 full whenever we ate. I think so many wanted fixed seating, it made for a full dining room for you and better level of service for us.
We did enjoy ourselves and I will add more imformation as others from the ship add thier reviews
Stew in Va

[lizzielady]

Your posts for our cruise are greatly appreciated! I had trouble with the email on board, but my daughter was able to follow along via your posts.
A few additional comments--

Hello to all cc'ers on this cruise. Long cruises are great as they allow one to create bonds which otherwise might not occur.

Thirty five days at the same table--wow!!! We enjoyed each and every one--Torrie and June, Don and Rosalie, and Herb, our expert on cruising on Holland America. We didn't go to the Pinnacle Grill because we didn't want to miss our dinner time with you quys.

I enjoyed the nights at the Piano Bar, which I had never frequented before. Our host was Stephen Lynch who made everyone feel at home, remembered everyone's name, and knew every song (music and words) that anyone had ever known. It was a interesting and a great way to develop relationships with other passengers. Thanks Steve.

We had lots of great excursions. The best was in Isafjordur, Iceland. it was a cold and rainy day, but we saw Puffins, Arctic Terns, Eiderdown ducks, and other birds on Vigur Island. The others were planned and organized by CC'er Nancy of Cruisin4livin. She did a great job and we enjoyed them so much. Thanks, Nancy

The most spectacular day was the day we cruised in Prince Christian Sound on out return from Europe, leaving from Greenaland. Every moment was breath taking--waterfalls, glaciers, mountain peaks: around every bend was a spectacular vista. My day in the Crows Nest will be with me always.

Leaving the sound was dramatic: large icebergs in every shape and size you could image--even as large as the ship--or maybe even larger.

It was a great cruise!

Carolyn