Live From The Decks Of Maasdam 14 Nights 10/24/08 - Comparing Hal To X

[Bobed1927]

Tuggers---You mentioned hot fudge sundaes several times. I'm very partial to hot fudge sundaes and have been disappointed on several cruises when the purported hot fudge was merely chocolate sauce. Is it the "real Mcoy" on the Maasdam?

[fuzzywuzzy]

Gail, You listed some of the complaints I have heard from my friends who are on the ship with you. I got a call while they were in St. Thomas.

 

They are in one of the 'Hot" rooms. Not happy campers. Glad to hear fans have been dispatched to help with the situation.

 

They are very unhappy with the onboard activities. Not much in the way of challenging games like trivia, tribond, etc.( I do know that they won mugs at a Name that Tune-Elvis game.) Movies only scheduled at night 6, 8 & 10pm, basically during dinner hours.

 

While much of the food is good, they do have complaints. The hamburgers were precooked and stored in water, then placed back on the grill to warm....very soggy burgers. It took almost an hour for one of the men to get a hamburger on sailaway day. Pizza only available until 6pm with no choice of toppings. You are not able to order what you want. Must take what is available. Sushi only available at lunchtime.

 

From the conversation I had with them, I got the distinct impression that they will NOT sail with HAL again. They will go back to Celebrity.

 

Nancy

 

Oh please. This sounds very picky and trivial. We LOVED the pizza on the Maasdam and yes, there WERE toppings to add to the pizza. There were also nachos and a delicious cheese sauce. We loved the burgers as well with lots of fixins. Oh boo hoo if you have to take what is available??

 

We DID have one of the "hot" cabins and we didn't freak out and have to be flown home. We were given one of the big floor fans and it worked just fine. People, you are not at home, you are supposed to be having a vacation. This nit picking really irks me when they strive to please and bend over backwards to accommodate.

[hancock]

Fuzzywuzzy

 

Not every cruiseline is a perfect fit for every cruiser. I reported the observations of others on the cruise. While Tuggers is enjoying the cruise she did comment on some problems.

[rolfecms]

We DID have one of the "hot" cabins and we didn't freak out and have to be flown home. We were given one of the big floor fans and it worked just fine. People, you are not at home, you are supposed to be having a vacation.

 

Some people are more sensitive to heat than others. I for one simply can not sleep in a room that is too warm. And yes, that would be enough to ruin my vacation - be it land or sea. And it's one thing to know that the lack of A/C is temporary and totally another to find out the condition will continue for the entire cruise.

[Texed]

ccletzgoHey Ed, Hey Jacque! Haven’t tried the waffles but they do have lots of toppings! I’ll make the sacrifice and try them – just for you!

 

Thanks. :)

[Aussie Cruisers]

Oh please. This sounds very picky and trivial. We LOVED the pizza on the Maasdam and yes, there WERE toppings to add to the pizza. There were also nachos and a delicious cheese sauce. We loved the burgers as well with lots of fixins. Oh boo hoo if you have to take what is available??

 

We DID have one of the "hot" cabins and we didn't freak out and have to be flown home. We were given one of the big floor fans and it worked just fine. People, you are not at home, you are supposed to be having a vacation. This nit picking really irks me when they strive to please and bend over backwards to accommodate.

 

I agree with Tuggers and Hancock... I would not be able to cope well with the a/c not working. It is reasonable to expect prompt repairs on matters that affect the health of many people. I personally think your sarcasm is out of place, as Tuggers enjoys telling us her feelings and opinions of HER cruise. Don't down her! Live and let live fuzzywuzzy. ;)

[naples queen]

Tuggers, keep them coming! I go on line every day to read your latest update and am enjoying them very much. I am a devoted X cruiser but you have certainly peaked my interest in trying HAL. Just one question: You are raving about your accomodations..............just what category would it fall under which would be comparable to X....veranda, cc, or suite.

[C 2 C]

Oh please. This sounds very picky and trivial.

 

We DID have one of the "hot" cabins and we didn't freak out and have to be flown home. We were given one of the big floor fans and it worked just fine. People, you are not at home, you are supposed to be having a vacation. This nit picking really irks me when they strive to please and bend over backwards to accommodate.

 

I go on a cruise because the experience is supposed to better than at home. Why would I go anywhere for an inferior experience and pay for the "privilege"? "Bending over backwards" would mean kicking out the officer responsible from his air-conditioned cabin or supplying cool drinks free until the problem was fixed.... or not selling cabins without notifying passengers that there is an ongoing maintenance issue with their cabin choice... I'm not knocking HAL here but any cruiseline that does not provide the accommodations a passenger believes he/she is paying for. I can't enjoy any experience that does not provide the temperature my body demands.

[primetime99]

Hi Gail,

 

We were on the Prinsendam together to the Amazon. I've been reading your review - It is marvelous!! We are booked on Maasdam on 11/21 - you mentioned the cabins that were having trouble with A/C, do you have any idea which deck? I know you mentioned Deck 4 - but I don't see any passenger cabins on that deck. Keep up the great reports - look forward to reading more.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Marilyn

[Queenie24now]

enjoying your review Gail. . . . . I appreciate YOUR time you are taking from YOUR cruise to enlighten and entertain us back home.

Plus through YOU I can keep tabs on my new friend Terri . and yes Terri loves MANGO flavored drinks

[many cruises]

QUOTE:

Apparently deck 4, odd numbered cabins, have a/c problems. Lots of the cabins have been ‘issued’ box fans in lieu of having the problem fixed. I have been told that some cabin temps are between 78 and 82 most of the time. If I was in one of those cabins I would probably be gone by now because they WOULD have flown me home! I could not stand a cabin that hot.

 

Whether the ship is incapable of fixing the a/c (which would be strange – they can usually fix anything onboard) or they are not taking the problem seriously enough (strange but not unheard of on a ship) this is a serious problem. Maasdam is due to go in for a ‘WET’ Dock in January ’09. I am told at that time all such maintenance problems will be fixed. But what about the passengers who are sailing between now and January?

 

We were on the Maasdam in August & we experienced the same air conditioning problems that you spoke of. This is a major problem on this ship because we even read about it before we sailed. The staff is fully aware of this and it has been written about on Cruise Critic. Hopefully, they will fix this problem in January, 2009 when it goes in for some work. The staff on the Maasdam was wonderful...they tried everything to make a bad situation better. HAL needs to address the air conditioning problem once and for all. For those of you who have sailed on the Maasdam and haven't experienced air conditioning problems, then you were lucky. It was unbearable in our cabin and we have never seen so many portable fans on a cruise ship. Obviously, there is a need for them on this ship. Luckily, we were able to be moved to another cabin which had air conditioning. Unfortunately, our new cabin had other noise issues which greatly impacted our cruise. Other than the air conditioning & noise problems, the Maasdam was a great ship with a terrific staff. The food was excellent throughout the week...much better than what we experienced on X. Hopefully, HAL is reading this and they will once and for all fix the air conditioning problems on this ship.

[roohound]

Tuggers - love your report so far - thanks for sharing with us.

 

I saw you mentioned the kid with the Heelies - the wheeled shoes - are those not off-limits on HAL? I would think they would be a HUGE liability! (not to mention an unbelievably huge pet peeve of mine - I hate those things. Our Publix stores put up signs saying they were not allowed -way too many kids crashing into grocery carts - I can only imagine how crazy they would be on a ship! At least Publix doesn't move! LOL!)

 

As far as the hot room goes, I pay extra to have a nice room as part of a vacation for me is to be able to lounge around and be a slug. I would not be pleased to be in a room that was 80+ degrees. I can see them taking some time to fix it, but anything more than a day and I would be royally irritated

[tuggers]

See Re-post

[tuggers]

Day 9 St Lucia

Oh, what an absolutely gorgeous day! The sun is shining, the sky and water are an incredible blue and we are going on a tour and then to the beach! What could be better?

Before we launch into today’s report let me take care of a few housekeeping issues regarding likes and dislikes people have that I’ve been asked to mention:

Drinks at lunch – there is no lemonade. There is punch, iced tea and water. There are tons of different kinds of tea for hot tea (or you could make your own flavored iced tea with them), coffee and hot chocolate (dark). But no lemonade

Water in cabins from faucet – you know how most ships never have any real cold water from the tap? Well this ship does. You can get both very cold and very hot water from the sink or the tub.

Bathtubs – I was asked to mention again how high the sides of the tubs are. You have to be able to get in the tub to use the shower if your cabin has a tub. I have nothing to measure with BUT based on the knowledge that a $1 bill is approximately 6” (and assuming a twenty is the same (J), I got 3 full bills and all but an inch of the fourth. So I am estimating 23” to the top of the tub, about 4” to cross the top of the tub and get in. There are two handrails. One to assist getting in and one to assist while you sit or stand.

If this is too much for you, look for a cabin with just a shower.

There was some concern today because the main pool and the hot tubs were closed from before one o’clock to prepare for a party at 5:30. I personally have never seen a ships crew take that long to get a party together but what do I know? Anyway, as when they closed the main pool and hot tubs before 4 the day of Halloween, you could always use the pool on deck 10 Aft. Just no hot tubs back there.

Despite repeated requests from passengers, trivia and most games are still being scheduled to conflict with main seating dinner. So if you are a trivia, name that tune, the ultimate game show kind of person and you want more than afternoon trivia you should sign up for early dining. We’ve had one tablemate who has missed her dinner twice so she could participate in the evening trivia. My belief is that no one on a cruise ship should be forced to choose between dinner in the dining room and games. Dinner is an important part of the cruise experience. Someone should take over the scheduling and help give the passengers what they want in the way of activities at reasonable times where anyone who wants can participate. And don’t try to push that ‘anytime dining’ on us. If I wanted that I could save a boatload of money and take an NCL ship! But if they aren’t going to change things, go with early seating.

After requests we do now have an afternoon movie. It’s at 2 PM! Yea!

Someone wanted me to tell you that the coffee used on this ship is ground coffee, not the syrup some ships have started using. It’s pretty good coffee. A little strong for some people’s taste maybe, but I like it.

There have been several (or a couple that I know about personally) bad excursions through the ship. One was in Dominica called Nature’s Hidden Treasures, cost $94 for 6 hours. When the guide got on she announced to everyone that she was sick with the flu but was at work anyway. Then she proceeded to cough over everyone in the front row. They said she also went for an hour at one time without speaking. They never visited the Botanical Gardens that was listed on their tour just drove by it. Lots of complaints and I know some people got refunds in the form of onboard credits. We were told that more and more the government in the islands are taking over the tours companies, making the tour guides and drivers government employees. When that happens there is less control by the cruise line. They (HAL) are sticking to that story.

The number of the ‘bad’ verandah cabin with the water issues is #212. The last few days they have not had water pouring down from above since it was pointed out to management that the water they use to wash down the decks is gray water from the ship. This water, which is not safe for drinking or ingestion, plus all the crud it picks up is what lays on that balcony. It truly is a health issue. Now whether they will continue that or just go right back to same old same old (which would be my guess) once these passengers leave is anyone’s opinion.

Okay, back to Day 9 and St Lucia. We ate breakfast in the Lido and trying to be good, I had oatmeal. But then feeling like I owed it to you all to try some of the various offerings, I made the sacrifice and had one piece of nut bread French toast and 2 turkey sausage links. It was all very good. The sausage were a little spicy which I like.

We had a tour at 8:30 so it was off to stand in line right off the gangway. Our tour was Northern Highlights and Beach Tour. It was to last 3 ¾ to 4 hours, included a stop at a Batik factory and beach at Redoit Beach. We enjoyed the first part of the tour although the guide admitted it was her first tour in 6 months and she had to keep asking the driver the names of things and where we were. We made two stops before the beach. The first to an overlook to take pictures of the city and the ship in the harbor. We were deluged with vendors selling us goods but they were pretty good with no. Things were expensive. T-shirts that would be 3 or 4 for $10 in St Martaan were $10 each.

The second stop was at a Batilk factory to ‘witness this 2000 year old art form’. I was really looking forward to seeing that. Well, it took, oh, all of two minutes! And that’s being generous! I was very disappointed! After the demonstration we were ushered around the store by about 15 sales people all encouraging us to buy!

Back on the bus we were soon at Redoit Beach. Just before we got off the bus our guide said ‘now everything is included with your tour, chair but no umbrella, and you get a drink at the bar’. As soon as we stepped foot off the bus we were descended upon by a flock of men. I mean we weren’t even 6 feet from the bus when they started bombarding us with chairs - $5 each. We explained to them that we were on a tour for about 1 ½ hours and the chairs were included. Off they went. Then back they came with a vengeance. Most people were bullied or just talked to death until they paid for the chairs. We were told it was a mistake, they were not included. Personally, most of us feel it was just a scam. All the vendors on this beach outside of Spinnaker’s Restaurant are EXTREMELY aggressive. Aggressive to the point that I would not consider going there again without a group. I’ve been to this beach by myself or just with Jeff but I think now it’s dangerous.

I was told by two different people who used their chairs and umbrellas for only 15 minutes (one couldn’t stand the heat and left, one got injured in the surf and left) to use their chairs because they were already pair for. On no! They wanted me to pay again. They said they could rent the chair every 15 minutes if they wanted to. This got ugly. The men were standing behind the row of lounge chairs using foul language, talking about the tourists (us) and generally being obnoxious. All in full hearing of our two tour guides. They offered no help to us.

The lady who fell in the rocks at the edge of the surf and wanted to take a taxi back to the ship was ridiculed and actually laughed at by these same guides. They offered no help to a person standing there with a bloody leg other than ‘walk to the end of the parking lot, turn right and after a couple of blocks you should find a taxi’. They did not even get her name. What if she disappeared a la Natalie Halloway? Do you think they would care then? The only thing they said to her was ‘you’re not hurt, but you were funny falling down. We laughed at you!’ Can you even imagine that?

And they brought us back 30 minutes ahead of schedule! What a lousy, lousy tour.

A bunch of us went down to the Tours & Excursion Desk that night and talked to the Manager. He said that, in the islands, more and more governments are taking over the tour companies and the guides and drivers are government employees. For that reason the cruise line does not have much control any more. Heard it all before. From him.

I still think they should do something about this one! What if we all get PTCD (post traumatic cruise disorder) from such a lousy experience and being bullied so badly? And no, it wasn’t el klutzo here who got hurt! Easily could have been but not this time!

After all that drama we had Team Trivia. We got 11 out of 16, winners got 14. Your trivia question of the day (no googling to get the answer): Angel Falls is the longest uninterrupted waterfall in the world. How long is it? Tic Tock….

Back from trivia to find a bad smell in my bathroom. I washed my bathing suit and got in the shower. Just had my head full of shampoo when I looked out into the bathroom, under the toilet and sink. There was brown, stinky water all on that side of the room. Got myself out of the shower, quickly, and called maintenance. They were here within minutes and had the room cleaned and sanitized. So far no more problems.

While waiting for the plumber, I noticed a distinct droning noise, right over my bed. I listened to my phone messages and learned that Terri had escaped her cabin an hour earlier to go read. The noise had given her a terrific headache and she had to get away from it. Anyway, I had mentioned it to the plumber (Terri had no real response from her complaint) who said he would tell his boss. A few minutes later an officer came down with some workmen. They went in my cabin and Terri’s. He said he would call the engineer and see what could be done. It just started today.

As I mentioned, tonight was the barbeque by the pool featuring the bottomless frozen Pina Colada ($14) served in a coconut shell. It was pretty good but they are so filling that it’s hard to drink a lot of them. Gee, you think they know that??? J

Barbeque was okay. Chicken, Ribs (not the fall off the bones type), hot dogs, etc. Potato Salad, Baked Potato, Cole Slaw, etc. I tried a rib and a piece of cornbread and had planned to go up to the dining room for dinner (they were having Prime Rib) but I never made it. I guess all the beaching and pool time had me worn out. NOT the Pina Colada’s! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! J Anyway, well into the barbeque the rains came and I do mean RAIN! They closed the roof but things had gotten pretty wet before they closed it. I went to the cabin.

Tomorrow is Guadeloupe. Why don’t they pronounce the ‘pe’ on the end? It’s a French word and they love to say ‘pe’ at the end of things. Oh well. Not much to do here. One tour. Of a distillery. The way the tours are going I’m not sure I want to take another tour with this company. Not HAL, the people who are contracting out the tours!

We may try to find a beach within an easy drive and go there or just stay onboard.

Terri and I are still having a great time! We’re happy campers! Maybe we just have lower standards or something but put us on a ship, give us good food and sunshine and we’re okay!

Bye For Now!

[tuggers]

Day 8 – Barbados

Barbados started off with a sturdy breakfast (oatmeal, cantaloupe and a sugar free bran muffin) in the Lido. As always there were lots of choices and everything looked good. That’s the trouble, it’s been looking a little too good and too much of it has been finding it’s way into my tummy. Time for a little restraint.

After breakfast we went into the terminal to look around in the shops and check on the internet access. Phone cards were $5 for 20 minutes to the US, 10 minutes to Canada. Internet was $5 for 30 minutes and you could use your laptop (wifi) or their computers.

You buy the cards are one of two machines that look a little like ATM’s. Put in your money (have $5’s) and a card comes out through a little door. The terminal is always open so you can use the phones and internet anytime, the shops close at 5 even when a ship is in port late.

We found most of the items for sale to be pretty ordinary and a little on the high side, price wise. There were some craft type things in kiosks and you could negotiate with them. I found a beautiful beach bag that I really wanted but I walked away to do my phone calls and internet and when I came back it was gone! Darn! Lesson learned – if you really, really want it, buy it now!

Terri and I had planned to go to the Boatyard (beach) but decided to make it an easy day because we had booked a tour for 12:45. We walked around the shops inside the terminal and the ones on the outside. Beach bags you can buy in St Martaan for 3 for $10 and sometimes 4 for $10 were $10 each. T-shirts were about the same mark-up. We did find a wonderful little pottery shop that featured work by four different potters. It was wonderful. A tad pricey but not too bad. Had to buy something there! Sometime you find something that just screams a friends name and you ‘have’ to buy it!

We went back to the ship (a walk of about a block) for lunch. I had some absolutely delicious Sole and they were carving a loin of beef which was also wonderful. In the spirit of restraint I only had the fish, the beef and some cantaloupe. We’ve been on the ship long enough now that the cantaloupe is nice and ripe and sweet.

After lunch we met down at the terminal for our Green Monkey tour. We had one bus, not crowded, no jump seats used. We had a leisurely (after we got through town and the traffic jams) ride through the country side plus a stop for pictures at Bathsheba a beach made famous by the surfing competitions held there. We got some marvelous pictures. The surf was not high enough that day for competition but it looked treacherous to me!

On to the reserve where we saw the wild green monkeys, turtles of every size and description (and now we know why there are so many of them – I must have five or six pictures of the randy little guys going at it!JJ), deer, birds, flamingos and iguanas. It was very uneven walking on the brick paths but it was woodsy and shaded which made it tolerable. I would recommend good shoes for this tour. I wore my crocs and I had to be VERY careful. It was a self guided tour once you were in the reserve but they didn’t try to sell you anything and didn’t even have a gift shop that I saw. A free beverage was included in the tour. Coke, Ginger Ale, Rum Punch, etc.

We missed 3:30 trivia but Deb found some subs. There were four of us on the tour so that only left Deb and Ann to carry the flag for The Fab Five Plus One!

I didn’t have time for my afternoon nap. Just got cleaned up and went back to the terminal to make a couple more phone calls. My macaw figured out how to open his cage and get out. I was freaking out. My friend who is taking care of him was not, thank God! She was pretty cool and calm. I was the one screeching! J Didn’t get to talk to her (I’m sure she was busy with Trick or Treaters) but I did get to talk to Kathy.

Back to the ship for dinner. Tonight we had the most marvelous Coconut Nutmeg Soup. OMG, if you love coconut this was to die for!! I wasn’t that wild about the Grilled Eggplant (its served chilled). I would have had the Meatloaf but it had Veal in it. I ordered the New York Strip Steak from the ‘anytime’ side of the menu. They offer it in 8 and 10 oz. I suspect mine was the 10 oz. It was cooked medium rare and served with a baked potato, green beans and mushrooms. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. In fact I was the last one eating!

Dessert was the Coconut Cream Pie and it was really good. All in all a very good meal. Washed down with two glasses of the house Merlot.

Here’s the whole menu. I advise you not to read any further if you fear dinner menus!J

Fruit Galliano

Grilled Eggplant and Kalamata Olives served chilled

Vodka Style Gravlax

Chicken Brochettes with Rum, Lime and Mango Banana Rum Sauce

Dos Frijoles Soup

Grandmothers Beef Broth w/Vegetables

Chilled Coconut Nutmeg Soup

Heart of Romaine Lettuce Nicoise

Mushroom Ravioli w/Sautéed Spinach

Chicken Breast w/Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Basil Leaves

Master Chef’s Italian Meatloaf (beef and veal)

Veal Medallions w/Bourbon Green Pepper Sauce

Seared Rockfish Fillet w/Caribbean Vegetable Salsa

Blackened Chicken Caesar

Vegetarian Chimichanga

Creamy Coconut Pie

Chocolate Bavarian Crème

Wild Berry Bread and Butter Pudding

Cherries Jubilee

Cheesecake – no sugar added

Fruit Plate

Cheese Plate

Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Watermelon Sorbet

Strawberry Low Fat Frozen Yogurt

Fudge Tracks – no sugar added

Vanilla Ice Cream – no sugar added

Butterscotch Sundae

After dinner I went up to the Halloween party. They had great decorations both around the pool and floating in the pool. Sweets were every where along with two chocolate fountains (milk and white) on each side of the pool area. Ice cream was available inside the Lido right off the pool deck. There were a fair number of costumes. I was surprised by home many there were. I don’t know who won for best costume but my favorites were the three little old ladies dressed up as the Three Blind Mice. Really cute.

Off to bed about midnight because we had signed up for a tour at 8:30. Why do we do these things???

Bye For Now!

[tuggers]

Day 10 - Guadeloupe

The mysterious noise in the cabin continued through the night. It woke me up several times and I eventually went up to the Lido very early for coffee (5 AM). It was beautiful up there watching the sun come up. Everyone on a cruise should do that at least once. Same with sunset. It is so beautiful on the water. You owe it to yourself to see one each on a cruise.

We arrived in Guadeloupe right on time and were cleared early. I had gone back up to the Lido to try to speak to one of the customs officers to see if I could get information on a good beach. Unfortunately I do not speak French and although he told me he spoke English, it wasn’t the same English I knew. Couldn’t understand much of what he said. I smiled and nodded and we were no better off than before I ‘stalked’ the customs people! J

We decided to go off the ship and just see what we could find in the way of taxis and maybe a tour. There were probably 12 to 15 vendors right off the gangway. They were not overly nice and the prices were high. It was Sunday so everything else was closed. The only shop open was one in the terminal building, recommended by the ship and selling perfume, liquor and wine. This same shop owns an internet place in the terminal but it was closed.

We found a cab driver that would do a tour of the island for $30 per person. Alf, Pat (tablemates), Terri and I talked it over and decided not to go. Glad we didn’t as later we heard tales of people being driven out of the city by cab drivers who then demanded another $30 per person to bring them back. From what we heard through people who walked outside the terminal building the whole area was dirty and a waste of time. Sure doesn’t seem like a tropical island sort of stop. Can honestly say I was glad when we sailed out of Gusdeloupe!

Terri and I ate lunch in the lido today. We both had roast turkey w/gravy, eggplant, crab salad and berry cobbler for dessert. Terri left to take a nap and I headed for the deck 10 aft pool. Very nice up there. Hot but there’s a breeze so it’s not too bad.

I stayed by the pool until right before three o’clock when I went to team trivia. Two teams almost had a fist fight over the number of people allowed on each team. Six are allowed. One team of seven gave someone up right away while a team of eight and a team of seven stood up, shook fists (actually it was one lady on the team of seven who did the finger pointing, got red in the face and started jabbing her finger) at each other and screamed. I really thought it was going to come to blows! We’re all trying to get Michelle (CD) to go over and calm things down but she was blissfully unaware of what was going on. Thankfully it calmed itself down. I think the woman who was so red in the face and being ugly maybe realized that she looked the fool because then she tried to make a joke out of it, like she really didn’t care if they made one person sit out. I’m telling you, these trivia people take this really, really seriously.

Anyway, we won the trivia with a score of 12 after a tiebreaker question with another team. Deb was the one who saved our butt because she knew how many pounds in a stone. All I knew was that I wish I could do my weight that way. It sounds so much better than it does in pounds! And we won mugs! Not those blow-up ships they keep giving away!

I guess this has been on the HAL boards but, of course, I never read any boards except X so it was news to me.. Guess I need to widen my horizons, huh? Anyway, the ‘no games’ (things like Tribond, Pictionary, etc) was an edict from the home office in Seattle. And they’re the genius’s who gave us ‘THE PARTY PLANNER’!!! Now there’s a position they could do without! She does activities but they are (in my opinion) so inane and BORRRRING! The dance classes are nice but most of the other stuff is very useless. So Seattle likes napkin folding 101 but they don’t like Tribond??? Some serious thinkers up there, obviously! So for all those HAL people, or X people trying HAL, if you want games while you sail, you need to inundate Seattle with letters telling them that. I recommend snail mail, Priority (in the big flat envelope), addressed to the President of HAL and marked ‘personal’. It might work so try it!

Back to the cabin and the noise has STOPPED! Yea! The front desk called soon after to say engineering had found the problem and corrected it. It was blissfully quiet for my nap. And I really needed one!

Formal night tonight but it did not seem like a ‘formal night menu’ if you know what I mean. I had Shrimp Cocktail (ordered the night before) chicken and artichoke soup, roast sirloin of beef and coconut ice cream. Here’s the rest of the menu:

Fruit Pallet des Artiste

California Rolls

Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Roulade

Clams and Pacetta Bacon

Cream of Chicken and Artichoke Soup

‘DAM’ Bacon and Cabbage Soup

Chilled Pear, Cucumber and Melon Gazpacho

Roasted Baby Beetroot and Oak Leaf Salad

Penne with Marinara and Red Chili Flakes

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Slow Roasted Strip Loin of Beef

Sautéed Pork Medallions with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Roasted Orange Roughy w/Fennel and Tomato

Orchid Salad

Indian Jalfrezi (vegetable curry)

Strawberry and Blackberry Cobbler w/vanilla Ice Cream

New York Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

Banoffee Pie (caramelized bananas with toffee and chocolate sauce)

Flambe’ Bananas Foster

Paris Brest (no sugar added)

Fruit Plate

Cheese Plate

Vanilla Ice Cream

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Strawberry Sorbet

Raspberry Low Fat Yogurt

Cookie Dough Ice Cream (no sugar added)

Vanilla Ice Cream (no sugar added)

Lychee Sundae (that’s where my dessert, and most of the tables, came from!) They served us the sundae without the Lychees and the mango sauce – we just got the coconut ice cream and the toasted coconut on top! It was yummy!

After dinner I went into the casino for a while, played the 1 cent and the 2 cent machines.

Didn’t win anything to speak of but I played for a while.

I was back in my cabin by midnight. Wrote some of this and slept like a baby, It’s the first night my wrist did not wake me up in the middle of the night to take pain pills. I think it helped that I slept last night with that arm on a pillow. In St Maarten I hope to get an ace bandage of something that I can wrap around it.

Did I mention that cabin 212 has another problem? Poor Jim and Eileen! Jim went back to the cabin to get something and as he is opening or closing the door, the door comes off the hinges! Do you have any idea who heavy these doors are? And this poor guy is standing there trying to keep if from falling with no help forthcoming. He finally spots a cabin steward way down the hall and through hand signals, gets him to come help, This time they got a personnel visit from BOTH Guest Services Supervisors! The door was fixed right away but is will make a good story. Eileen asked one of the ladies if this had ever happened on this ship before. She said she thought it was the firs time it had ever happened on ANY ship!

As always,

Bye For Now!

[tuggers]

Questions 4

#77 Today, 04:27 PM

fuzzywuzzy

Cool Cruiser Join Date: Feb 2001

Location: Ontario, Canada

Posts: 368

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by hancock

Gail, You listed some of the complaints I have heard from my friends who are on the ship with you. I got a call while they were in St. Thomas.

They are in one of the 'Hot" rooms. Not happy campers. Glad to hear fans have been dispatched to help with the situation.

They are very unhappy with the onboard activities. Not much in the way of challenging games like trivia, tribond, etc.( I do know that they won mugs at a Name that Tune-Elvis game.) Movies only scheduled at night 6, 8 & 10pm, basically during dinner hours.

While much of the food is good, they do have complaints. The hamburgers were precooked and stored in water, then placed back on the grill to warm....very soggy burgers. It took almost an hour for one of the men to get a hamburger on sailaway day. Pizza only available until 6pm with no choice of toppings. You are not able to order what you want. Must take what is available. Sushi only available at lunchtime.

From the conversation I had with them, I got the distinct impression that they will NOT sail with HAL again. They will go back to Celebrity.

Nancy

Oh please. This sounds very picky and trivial. We LOVED the pizza on the Maasdam and yes, there WERE toppings to add to the pizza. There were also nachos and a delicious cheese sauce. We loved the burgers as well with lots of fixins. Oh boo hoo if you have to take what is available??

We DID have one of the "hot" cabins and we didn't freak out and have to be flown home. We were given one of the big floor fans and it worked just fine. People, you are not at home, you are supposed to be having a vacation. This nit picking really irks me when they strive to please and bend over backwards to accommodate.

Bobed1927

Cool Cruiser



Join Date: Jul 2006

Posts: 69



Hot Fudge

Tuggers---You mentioned hot fudge sundaes several times. I'm very partial to hot fudge sundaes and have been disappointed on several cruises when the purported hot fudge was merely chocolate sauce. Is it the "real Mcoy" on the Maasdam?

Longboysfan

Cool Cruiser



Join Date: Feb 2002

Location: Fair Lawn, N.J., USA

Posts: 2,340

Gail: Same thing here with the Jamican trip we had.

But we found the bus and paid our way back...

But the going was same spiel for a private tour. No thank you....

Again everything we saw was overpriced.

Bought some soda.

At the pier they had some small thatched roofed huts with nice things - slightly better prices. Going to town - unless you wanted Margarita ville was a waste of time.

CinWin

Cool Cruiser



Join Date: Sep 2000

Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

Posts: 474

Hi Tuggers,

Your terrific day-to-day reports of your Maasdam cruise are especially interesting to me because I will soon be on a HAL ship for the first time. Celebrity has been my favorite cruiseline in the past, but I always wanted to try HAL and am finally doing so on the Eurodam. The fact that you were comparing the 2 lines caught my eye, so I've enjoyed reading your every word. Sounds like you are having a really good time. Hope you finally win in Trivia.

Cindy

Hi Gail !

 

Thank you again for your wonderful reports. We sure missed it around here. I look forward to your next update. Have a great time !

__________________

Regards,

Originally Posted by C 2 C

Tuggers:

The posting of menu choices is killing me. After so many voyages on X, with selections becoming stale, I'll have to start cruising on a different line. The old saying of "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" is threatening my monogamous relationship with Celebrity..

I remember the soufle Celebrity used to offer in the dining room. It's been many cruises since I last bothered with the desserts on X. Your description brought back many clothes-shrinking memories.

 

Hi Arno !

 

Funny you mentioned Celebrity's desserts. While they look great, I wasn't very happy with many of them. Good news for me, as I need to avoid them anyway . I agree that Gail's reports on HAL's menus look very tempting !

 

While I have been very happy with Celebrity's food over the years, I agree that the menus sorely needed an update. Well, now we have it. Hopefully, the updated menus will be a welcome addition. I'm looking forward to trying some of the new Menu items on Solstice.

__________________

Regards,

Andy

gracecarmo

Blue Ribbon Cruiser



Join Date: Jun 2001

Location: Kansas, the Heartland of America

Posts: 4,123

Gail: thanks sooooo much for your reports. I think you have convinced us to try HAL again.

Re the tablemates that had the water overflowing on their balcony: do you know what floor or cabin they have?

 

Menus: to dream about!

__________________

Grace

Glad you are having a good time

Hi Gail

 

It has been fun reading all your posts. Looks like Terry and I will have to be looking into a "dam cruise. Have fun the rest of your trip and tell Terri we say hello!! And for her to pack those little t-shirts safely this time.

__________________

Gloria & Terry

Toad

Cool Cruiser



Join Date: Dec 2002

Posts: 995

Tuggers...

I am so enjoying your posts as we will be doing the same itinerary, 11/21/08. You should be a travel writer. The menu posting are killing me. I do an extra lap after reading each one!

 

Can you please tell me if Gildus is back as maitre d? He is wonderful and we hope to see him again in November. Thanks. Elizabeth

FinelyCruising

Blue Ribbon Cruiser

Join Date: Feb 2001

Location: New Jersey

Posts: 5,173

Thanks Gail!!!

Wow to the menu. Makes one stop and think.

smoothsailing

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Sep 2002

Posts: 23

Thanks Tuggers for your laundry and drink info. We look forward to reading your daily reports, as we are leaving for the Maasdam next week.

hisfirstm8

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Posts: 982

Gail,

I am so enjoying your postings. I am also sitting at my desk at work and wishing I was with you. Mike and I may look at taking a HAL cruise next time. I am upset with Celebrity right now and haven't booked any future cruises. Hope you continue to have a great time. When you get a chance will you give me you email address again so we can keep in touch!

(fishingfrye at comcast dot net)

 

Barbara

__________________

God Bless the USA and those who are fighting for freedom!

keela1eva2

Cool Cruiser



Join Date: Feb 2006

Location: Harrogate North Yorkshire England

Posts: 1,121

Thanks Gail for the information on the single cruising prices. I agree with Arno that the food sounds wonderful with so much choice.

I love reading your reviews are they are so detailed as well as being fun to read.

Enjoy the rest of your trip. I finally got the Australia Visa today have been leaving it till nearer the time as it lasts for 12 months. Easy to do on line for an ETA.

Keep writing as we all love what you do!!

 

Sue

goofysmom99

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Jan 2006

Location: Central FL

Posts: 849

Gail, Mike & I cruised on the Maasdam 6 times and it was our favorite "dam" ship. . .just the right size. I'm glad to hear that the food has improved. That's why we switched to X a few years ago. Now that I'm a solo cruiser, I'm looking into HAL again. Their fares are so much better for solos. I'm enjoying your postings very much!

C 2 C

5,000+ Club

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: ArnoC2C@gmail.com

Posts: 6,497

Tuggers:

The posting of menu choices is killing me. After so many voyages on X, with selections becoming stale, I'll have to start cruising on a different line. The old saying of "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" is threatening my monogamous relationship with Celebrity..

I remember the soufle Celebrity used to offer in the dining room. It's been many cruises since I last bothered with the desserts on X. Your description brought back many clothes-shrinking memories.

donnaw

Cool Cruiser

Join Date: Dec 2001

Location: Burlington, WI 53105

Posts: 1,736

Keep on having fun!

And torturing me as I sit at my desk slaving away! Do I have to say that I wish we were there! Now both of you stay out of trouble and no more searches for things gone missing!

 

As to March, definitely possible! Which week? Especially since the mess with X is ongoing and he is more than a little irritated with them.

 

Definitely looking better and better as I keep reading. Will read this to the cute little chubby guy as soon as he calms down from the whole market disaster of the last 3 weeks. Market or not - it is our 40th and where better to spend it than with someone who witnessed our 35th! As in does he plan on having a 41st! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

Fuzzywuzzy, actually that was me that said I would go home if my room was 85 degrees and they weren’t doing anything about it. If they moved me or gave me a fan that worked things out I would be okay. But if nothing was done and I was uncomfortable, I would go home. What I don’t understand is that they can usually fix ANYTHING onboard. If they need parts why not have them shipped to a future port? Just wondering.

I know that people like the pizza later than 6 PM but I’m not getting all worked up about it. It’s just a difference in the lines. The pizza is good. I had a slice of a pepperoni yesterday just as they were putting it out and it was great. Can’t comment on the hamburgers as I haven’t had one. I can tell you that we made some killer nachos with taco meat, black olives, salsa , cheese sauce, onions, jalapenos and guacamole. I’m forgoing the burgers for the Mexican!

BTW, after I wrote a letter to Michelle (CD), and I’m sure other passenger complaints, we now have a 2 PM movie. Complete with popcorn.

Hancock, I’m really sorry that your friends are unhappy. They are great people and I like them very much. Maybe HAL is just not for them. That’s one of the purposes of this comparison – to give people a little insight into other lines so they can make an informed decision.

Personally, I would like to see the ‘Party Planner’ position take a hike, give the CD’s a bigger activities staff and do some of the Pictionary, Tribond, music trivia, etc stuff. If enough people object, and are willing to put it in writing to Seattle, it might happen. If it doesn’t, I’m still okay with HAL. Like I’ve said before, give me a pool, a good book and an occasional beach/shopping break and I’m a happy camper.

Bobed1927, it was real hot fudge on the ice cream bar one day, an almost pudding type milk chocolate another. I haven’t had the Hot Fudge Sundae at dinner but I’ll ask some of my tablemates.

PS It’s one of my all time faves too! With sliced almonds! And coconut! Yummy!

Longboysfan, you know the drill too well! It’s not the amount of money, it’s just the aggravation factor! Besides, I hate to be taken for a fool!

CinWin, we did actually tie for the win once. Remember they got those weird blow-up ships and we got the keychains? Doesn’t matter if we win or lose as long as we can play. And they have the 2 for 1 cocktails where we play! J Thanks for the kind words!

Hi Gail !

 

Thank you again for your wonderful reports. We sure missed it around here. I look forward to your next update. Have a great time !

I don’t know who posted that because I apparently cut off the signature. Thanks for reading and for missing my reports!

C2C, you know the sea air will shrink those clothes!

Andy, wouldn’t it be great if the new menu on X is as marvelous as we hope? And the desserts again tasted like something besides cardboard?? Enjoy Solstice!

Gracecarmo, I’ll have to ask for the cabin number tomorrow night at dinner.

Hi Gloria and Terry! Yep, she’s buying t-shirts at every port. She loves that little guy to death!

I think you might like this ship. Not too big, lots of elbow room and the food has been good. Think about April 24th.

Toad, WOW! Thanks! It would be great to be able to travel and bring in a few bucks at the same time!

I’ll ask about your restaurant guy.

Finelycruising, it does indeed sound like a good menu doesn’t it?

Smoothsailing, will try to keep her sailing and in good shape. What’s your cabin number?

Hisfirstmate, wish I could send you a dessert or two! Sorry X has you upset! I think you might like this ship! Tuggers1 at mchsi dot com

Keelaleva2, glad you got the visa. Takes a load off your mind, I’m sure. HAL single prices are so much more ‘single friendly’ than X or Royal. Thanks for the kind comments!

Goofysmom99, Yes, the solo prices are much, much better on HAL! Definitely a consideration when you travel single. Just remember that the Flash Fares are almost always 200% making HAL one of the few where you do better booking (as a single) before the sailing goes to Flash. Glad you are enjoying the reports and that I could tell you the food has improved.

I think I mentioned that I spoke with the Executive Chef yesterday and he said they have been working for two years to improve the menus and the food. They sure believe in giving you choices! He is also very proud of the 6th place rating on CondeNaste!

C2C, sorry the menus are killing your waistline! Yes, I do remember the dining rooms soufflés! They were great! Tonight I had the Coconut Cream Pie which was pretty darn good! Do wish they would go back to the dessert tray and presentation they used to do.

Donnaw, is it snowing there? So many her are hearing from home that it’s 0 degrees and snowing!

Tell the cute chubby guy that he needs to spend some time looking at the HAL 4/24 14 night. Exactly when is your anniversary? If I had internet I could look it up on my BirthdayAlarm but alas I am internet-less!

Tell Joe the market goes up the market goes down, just don’t panic and take money out

[tuggers]

Guys I am SO glad I waited till St Marteen to buy jewelry! Got the most fabulpus buy in a store called The Grand! Sonny helped me find just the bracelet I was looking for at an EXCELLENT price. I will post pictures when I come home!

I got referred there severla years ago by Mark and Randi from NJ and this guy has never done me wrong!

You are going to swoon when you see it!

Bye For Now!

[donnaw]

One that just might make the record books - it is 72 degrees and sunshine! Of course I'm stuck at my desk and it is supposed to snow by the weekend!

 

3/6/09 which is 5 years from the first time we sat on bar stools next to each other at the pool bar on Horizon!

 

Him? Take money out? Not a chance, actually he is buying but he is hand holding some very nervous clients at the moment and more than a little frazzled.

 

Keep on having fun and both of you stay out of trouble!

[donnaw]

Donnaw, is it snowing there? So many her are hearing from home that it’s 0 degrees and snowing!

 

Tell the cute chubby guy that he needs to spend some time looking at the HAL 4/24 14 night. Exactly when is your anniversary? If I had internet I could look it up on my BirthdayAlarm but alas I am internet-less!

 

Tell Joe the market goes up the market goes down, just don’t panic and take money out

 

 

One that just might make the record books - it is 72 degrees and sunshine! Of course I'm stuck at my desk and it is supposed to snow by the weekend!

 

3/6/09 which is 5 years from the first time we sat on bar stools next to each other at the pool bar on Horizon! April would be a tough sell since it is starting to get nice here.

 

Him? Take money out? Not a chance, actually he is buying but he is hand holding some very nervous clients at the moment and more than a little frazzled.

 

Keep on having fun and both of you stay out of trouble!

[fuzzywuzzy]

Thank you for your detailed and amusing trip reports. It is REALLY informative and helpful to know about the HAL tours and specifically the problems you encountered on St. Lucia. That is awful to hear that you were so harrassed by the vendors. We have heard some negative things as well about St. Lucia. We now know not to go to Reduit Beach. We have booked a private tour with Cosol. I hope that this will be much better and perhaps safer? When I hear things like this, it makes me very nervous. I know that some locals on some islands do NOT like the tourists even though it provides them with many jobs, etc.

 

Again, thank you for your enlightening reports. My DH and I are going on this exact same itinerary in January. (I think I mentioned this before). I hope poor Jim and Eileen have their problems fixed. Yes, I think the Maasdam is just old enough that their a/c probably needs a complete overhaul and updating.

[celebrity cruiser]

Glad we were able to help you all the way from NJ in your time of need. :)

 

Best regards,

 

M&R

[elena7seas]

Thank you for your detailed and amusing trip reports. It is REALLY informative and helpful to know about the HAL tours and specifically the problems you encountered on St. Lucia. That is awful to hear that you were so harrassed by the vendors. We have heard some negative things as well about St. Lucia. We now know not to go to Reduit Beach. We have booked a private tour with Cosol. I hope that this will be much better and perhaps safer? When I hear things like this, it makes me very nervous. I know that some locals on some islands do NOT like the tourists even though it provides them with many jobs, etc.

 

Again, thank you for your enlightening reports. My DH and I are going on this exact same itinerary in January. (I think I mentioned this before). I hope poor Jim and Eileen have their problems fixed. Yes, I think the Maasdam is just old enough that their a/c probably needs a complete overhaul and updating.

 

Hi Fuzzywuzzy:

 

We had an awesome full-day tour with Cosol in December 2007. St. Lucia is a beautiful island, and the tour was entirely safe and totally interesting. Also a very good value. There are some very windy roads, but Cosol was an experienced and cautious driver. I never once was worried. I suffer from extreme motion sickness, about which I emailed to him ahead of time, and he invited me to sit up front. I never had any problems. He also stopped regularly to give us a break, and show us something interesting.

 

Cosol seems to know everyone on the island, and seems to be highly respected by everyone. Although there were vendors at some of the stops, no one was aggressive. People are just trying to make a living, so I don't mind being approached.

 

We travelled with Cosol himself as our guide, but there were 7 other air-conditioned vans in our "convoy" from the ship, and everyone seemed to have a great tour. Cosol is proud of St. Lucia, and tries to give you a real feel for its culture, and a real "taste" of the island. It is one of the best private tours we have ever taken, and all of our private tours have been better than ships tours :). My husband and I would sign on with Cosol again in a heartbeat.

[elena7seas]

Day 10 - Guadeloupe

 

We decided to go off the ship and just see what we could find in the way of taxis and maybe a tour. There were probably 12 to 15 vendors right off the gangway. They were not overly nice and the prices were high. It was Sunday so everything else was closed. The only shop open was one in the terminal building, recommended by the ship and selling perfume, liquor and wine. This same shop owns an internet place in the terminal but it was closed.

 

We found a cab driver that would do a tour of the island for $30 per person. Alf, Pat (tablemates), Terri and I talked it over and decided not to go. Glad we didn’t as later we heard tales of people being driven out of the city by cab drivers who then demanded another $30 per person to bring them back. From what we heard through people who walked outside the terminal building the whole area was dirty and a waste of time. Sure doesn’t seem like a tropical island sort of stop. Can honestly say I was glad when we sailed out of Guadeloupe!

 

 

We stopped at Guadeloupe on a cruise some years ago, and it was, hands down, the worst cruise stop we've ever experienced. Although we were there on a weekday, almost everything was closed and shuttered, even though we were there in the morning, after opening time, and before the posted midday-closing hours. Everything looked incredibly run down, and the roads, and such sidewalks as there were, were very dirty. I speak French well enough to get around in France and Quebec, but the people that I spoke to in Guadeloupe were surly and unhelpful. There were a couple of stores open, and one was an infant and children's wear store, and the clothing was absolutely beautiful, and incredibly expensive. There was no relationship between the upscale merchandise and the run-down condition of the store itself.

 

One thing that did stand out was the number of strikingly beautiful women that we saw, in the few open shops, and walking on the sidewalks. They were very smartly dressed in dresses and suits, fully accessorized and carefully coiffed. I remember that they all wore beautiful shoes...very high heels which seemed so out of place on the dirty, dusty roadways.

 

I blame myself for not having done enough research before we went to Guadeloupe, as I have always been fairly sure that there was more to Guadeloupe than was apparent to me on that first visit. If I were to visit Guadeloupe again, I would be sure to do the research and try to set up a recommended private tour before we left home.

[Toad]

This is the best ongoing review I have ever read!