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Now on the Maasdam's 14-day Caribbean!

Golden Cat

By Golden Cat,
in Holland America Line

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aliaschief

aliaschief

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What a great story!!! I am anxious to read the rest... wonder if you "ever sleep"???? :p

 

We'll be on the Maasdam for the May repositioning Ft Lauderdale-Montreal! The docs have arrived and it's difficult not to start packing so soon.

 

Thanx for the great posts...I'm waiting for today's details!!!!

 

GMWT10A..Drop in and say hello more often on the May 8, Maasdam Roll Call. Got a great and very excited group going on this cruise and we're getting closer every day!

 

I have read just about all of the Golden Cat's travel logs. Great travel's and she always makes us feel like we're on-board and being educated.

 

Many would be interested in whether there has been any air conditioning issues during the cruise?

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Golden Cat

Golden Cat

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Many would be interested in whether there has been any air conditioning issues during the cruise?

 

No air conditioning issues that I've heard about - that's not to say there have been none, just that we haven't experienced any problems in our stateroom or in the public areas where we've been. And the Wajang Theatre is an Ice Box!

 

Yesterday at St. Martin just got posted at http://pcaldwell5.tripod.com/march_23.htm

 

Thanks for reading along!

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Golden Cat

Golden Cat

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We arrived back at our house this afternoon... what a shock. No one to wait on me! And my husband is asking ME what's for dinner. :confused:

 

I just got our last day and a half published - our day at Half Moon Cay and then our disembarkation this morning. The HMC page is at http://pcaldwell5.tripod.com/march_26.htmit!

 

Now that I'm back and have the time (and am not paying exorbitant rates for the Internet), I'd be happy to answer any questions if you have any.

 

Thanks to everyone who read along and for your comments. I appreciate it!

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aliaschief

aliaschief

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Mike&Paige,

 

Thank you so much for taking us along for the ride. As stated before we have read the majority of your logs and other travels with anticipation.

 

We and 30 other Roll Call members are taking the Ms Maasdam up to Montreal May 8. Got any inside tips? Dont's/Do's?

 

Did you book another cruise onboard? Where might you be taking us on your next cruise? We will definitely enjoy coming along.

 

You are very talented adventurer's and writer and your enjoyment of your vacation's is always fun to share. Worthy of being published in writing. Thanks again.

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Colakid

Colakid

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Howdy folks: Trust your cruise went well. I too have been following your daily reports. DW and I are stuck with the group aliaschef is talking about in 6 weeks today. I will try to keep this group under control. I want to try to post some reports over the 15 days but will not be able to compare to your examples. Welcome home. Colakid.

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Golden Cat

Golden Cat

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We and 30 other Roll Call members are taking the Ms Maasdam up to Montreal May 8. Got any inside tips? Dont's/Do's?

 

Did you book another cruise onboard? Where might you be taking us on your next cruise? .

 

Thank you! For those who had trouble with the HMC page, it should be up and available so let me know if it's still not working.

 

As for our next cruise, we're doing a 15 day round-trip Hawaii out of San Diego on Celebrity in the spring of 2010. We'd prefer to stick with HAL which is our favorite line for a variety of reasons - not the least the size of their smaller ships - but for a long list of reasons we booked on Celebrity. The cruise after that (should the economy cooperate) we're hoping will be back on HAL for a Panama Canal transit.

 

I've thought about do's and don'ts for the Montreal trip and can't come up with any but I do think you've got a better itinerary than the one we had: you've got stops in Gaspe, Saguenay and get to cruise the Saguenay Fjord. It's spectacular country up there; we've been to Saguenay and up the Saguenay on our own boat, and it's jaw-droppingly beautiful. I've never been to Gaspe, but I'm a fan of towns in the middle of nowhere that don't usually get tourists.

 

I guess the only thing I can say is don't underestimate how cold it can get up along the St. Lawrence. I hope you have spectacular warm spring weather - but know that they can have snow storms in May! Be prepared - you'll be a lot happier if you're warm. I still remember how cold-to-the-bone I was when I returned from my puffin viewing excursion in Sydney, and I was wearing everything I owned! Bring along winter gear and hope you don't have to use it. (p.s. despite the cold, I loved the boat trip to see the puffins! I just had to thaw out in the hot tub afterwards)

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Golden Cat

Golden Cat

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Thanks for taking us along on your cruise.

Saba is a wonderful island. Friendliest people in the carribean.

It`s been a while but I remember Captains Quarters and drinking a Bottoms Up-Divers Down.

Rich

 

"Friendliest People in the Caribbean" - That pretty much describes Saba, and it's why we landed there. Very few people, too - in fact there were more people on the Maasdam than on live permanently on the whole island. And while the island does get a few tourists, it's never overrun simply because it's too hard to get to.

 

Unfortunately, Captains Quarters was destroyed by a hurricane about 10-15 years ago and was never rebuilt. The old hulk of the actual Captain's home was just taken down last year. However, there's other wonderful places to stay, and the hiking and diving are just outstanding. It's also a great place to go to do absolutely nothing!!

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Ludmi

Ludmi

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Mike and Page

 

 

thank you very much for the review of your cruise .Was very helpfull for me .I haven t cruise for a long time ,and I will be cruising on Maasdam on April 24 th same itinerary you did ,and I was assigned a cabin next to the one you had .

I booked it through HAL agent in Argentina in Bs As ,but I live in Patagonia ,and as I didnt know that guarantees could have an upgrade ( i learn it now reading cruise critic ) I insisted on having a cabin number and know in advance the location for no surprises , Is it a good location ?,is it noisy ? does it move a lot with rough seas beeing so rear ? I might still have time to ask for a change if it is not so good .

 

Also , how is the Thermal Spa in Maasdam ,do you know the cost for on person ?

Thank you for your help ( sorry my english if I make mystakes !! )

 

Andrea:)

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Golden Cat

Golden Cat

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I will be cruising on Maasdam on April 24 th same itinerary you did ,and I was assigned a cabin next to the one you had.... Is it a good location ?,is it noisy ? does it move a lot with rough seas beeing so rear ? I might still have time to ask for a change if it is not so good .

 

Also , how is the Thermal Spa in Maasdam ,do you know the cost for on person ?

Thank you for your help ( sorry my english if I make mystakes !! )

 

Your English is fine - and certainly much better than I could do in your language!

 

We liked our cabin BUT there were some things that may be issues for other folks but that we weren't bothered about. During the day/night when the engines are running normally there was minimal engine noise or vibration. Certainly nothing more than you'd have in any other cabin.

 

However, when slowing the ship down to enter port, when the thrusters were on while manuevering in port or while the stern line handling winches were being used, you would hear the noise and vibrations quite clearly. This never lasted for long, but it was quite noticeable. If you're asleep at the time, it will wake you up when these manuevers are performed. When it happened to us, we just went back to sleep - though much of the time we were already up on deck watching the arrivals.

 

In rough seas, this cabin, being in the very the stern of the Maasdam, did move more than cabins that were in the middle of the ship, but much less than the cabins at the front of the ship. We've been both places, front and rear, and rear is definitely better, but not as good as the middle. We found if we weren't enjoying the ride we'd just head up the Explorer's Lounge and sit there - nice middle-of-the-ship location.

 

We didn't use any of the spa services so I can't help you there - sorry!

 

Have a great trip!

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Ludmi

Ludmi

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Mike and Page

 

Thank you very much for the explanation about the cabin ,I don t think I will wake up so early as you ,as I am coming really very tired and having wake up for the last 4 months very early without one day off as I have an Inn in Patagonia ,and we were in high season ,so I need to sleep ....But they might not change me the cabin .I think it is now fully book . I might call directly to USA as I think the agent in BA cannot do much .

Andrea:)

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brownie1005

brownie1005

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Golden Cat - Thank you for sharing your wonderful travel logs!:)

 

BTW, there's an interesting little piece on geocaching in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine (3/29). Great sport!

 

Ludmi - I might be able to help with the spa. In December (same itinerary) spa was $150 for entire cruise for one person and discounted price of $250 for 2. My daughter & I enjoyed it very much. It was a great way to relax after a port day and before getting ready for dinner. Enjoy your cruise!

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WriterOnDeck "Live from...." Rare

WriterOnDeck

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Paige, it was great meeting you, Mike, and the rest of the group on this cruise! I agree it was wonderful and I loved your writing. I'm glad you enjoyed the cabin crawl/poker run (and that Mike won!) -- it was fun adding the poker on, I think, and getting a chance to meet more people.

 

I wanted to make a couple of comments about the blog. You referred twice to the five-masted Wind Spirit -- actually, it is the Wind Surf. The Wind Spirit and Wind Star (and Wind Song, which burned and was later scuttled in Tahiti) have only 4 masts. The Wind Surf was originally a Club Med ship later added to the WindStar line. I happen to think the smaller ships are beautiful, but am influenced by sailing across the Atlantic 5 times on them. About 100 passengers, with the wonderful HAL service and staff (at the time owned by HAL) taken to an even higher level. As sailors, you would appreciate that the bridge is always open -- I spent many hours up there hearing great tales of the sea from the captain and officers.

 

Interestingly, the first time I saw the Wind Star was while in Soufriere sailing with friends in 1989. We had never seen such as ship, and it had all five sails furled. I never realized how much time I would later spend on it, but what a beautiful setting! (I'm also glad to see they have quit using on the hills leading to the water in Soufriere as their garbage dump!)

 

Also, on the cabins. This was the first time I had sailed in a veranda suite on HAL, altho my parents have been in the deluxe suite before. During the tour with so many people, it may not have seemed much bigger than the standard inside and outside cabins, but it is actually about 50 percent bigger, and only about half that is the balcony. It's noticeably wider, which I noticed right off (having spent my previous dozen HAL cruises in the standard cabins). One of the other things that would have made the standard cabin tour more interesting would have been if one of the toured cabins had had the beds separated to twins. Really opens up the room -- so much that even when in one by myself, I have the beds set that way rather than as one. I only share this because others reading might be interested in the details.

 

Again, it was great to meet you and to relive the cruise reading your blog!

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Golden Cat

Golden Cat

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I wanted to make a couple of comments about the blog.

 

Thanks for your comments! Yes, clearly we misread the name on the ship... I was just looking at the Wind Star cruise website and the five master is definitely the Wind Surf. Who ever thought that was a good design? Anyway, we must have had foggy binoculars that day when reading her name!

 

Your comments on the room size are right on also, so I've changed the blog to reflect that. It sure didn't feel bigger, but as you said, it would feel small with 20 people packed in there.

 

Thanks for reading and commenting - I appreciate it!

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