dewhit6959
December 5th, 2004, 01:44 PM
Dear Friends;
This is a review of sorts of our holiday from November 18th thru December 1st of which an Eastern Caribbean cruise on board the Maasdam was the focal point. I am sharing opinions, facts, thoughts and anything else that sticks out. The spelling will be hit or miss and the time line may jump around. I will name names as I remember or tell you why I didn't bother to remember them if applicable. Part three.
We are up and about on the first sea day. The bed was very comfortable. Earlier, others had mentioned worn out bedding being a problem, but no one mentioned it to us. With the additional pillows, the bed looked like something that should be in a harem tent somewhere. Very, very comfortable. Sometime in the first night, I accidentally turned on the speakers thru the headboard control and thought Henry Mancini and the boys were in the hallway. The ship had a slight vibration which did not bother me at all. A mechanical device, straining at its limits should be allowed to make itself known. We knew we were in the Atlantic as it should be. Breakfast was delivered at 0600. Most everything was there, especially coffee. All thru the cruise, room service was on time. Something was always missing, but the staples were there. The last morning, coffee was missing, but a call had it delivered shortly. The high tech expresso/cappocino/coffee machine in the Neptune turned out a good product. I never operated it, but enjoyed the product the missus brought back.Speaking of high tech, in the Neptune, there is a carousel that holds an ever changing array of things on crackers and small breads. It is covered by a large plexiglass rotunda that lowers and rises by remote control. I never operated that either, but was in awe.(((as was young master snot nose, who tried to catch my hand in it one afternoon, but failed. That is the same afternoon he set up court on the front table doing what appeared to be homework, between interrupting the concierge trying to make change and other tasks. Even tho I would never thump a strange child's head as I did my own, I still gave him my class three glare with half a snarl. I believe his grand parents were in the cabin next to ours, as we heard him a lot the first day and sat thru his flashing disco light display that evening ,using their twin veranda lights that evening. Gramps and Grammy must have banished him thereafter, since all was calm and quiet after that day.))) The snacks were very good and I got my fill of omega three oils or whatever they are with the smoked salmon. I also had the caviar once or twice, but would have been just as happy with pimento cheese. Our steward reminded us of the laundry service. We left a bag each morning and received it every evening, hung and folded. Wife was very impressed, calling me from the veranda one evening to stand and study the perfection that perfectly folded underwear and garments held for her. I intend to build a clothes folding machine after retirement, so I made mental notes. The light switches worked, but I never knew what was going to turn on when I pressed a switch. Young master snot nose would have been impressed at my light show when I rose in the wee hours for a visit to the loo. ((The makeup mirror light makes a perfect night light we learned))
The cabin was a perfect size. We did not have to do the "foot of bed shuffle" evry time we passed as we must do in many hotel rooms. The dressing area was a good size and the makeup mirror and floor length mirrors were appreciated by the wife, even if I thought they distorted my actual size. The storage capacity will not aid you in trying to rein in the packing desires of a well dressed woman. I quit claimed the dressing and bathroom to the wife and set out the bar as I saw fit. The liquor had been delivered and everything was iced down and additional glasses stored. We never were at a loss for clean glasses and stemware. The steward brought plates, flatware,cloth napkins, stir sticks, fruit and olive pokey things and Holland America flags for the bar.
The extra's were stored and he put an entire weeks supply of table cloths in the end stand next to the veranda. I absolutely despise drinking from paper or plastic cups and was slap happy with the details. The only thing we added was a short extension cord ((thank you HAL cc'ers)) which we used to connect to the blender and small cd player. Let's talk blenders for a moment.
I am in no way connected to the Hamilton Beach Corporation or Walmart, but there is a small 1.5-2lb. single serving ELECTRIC blender that is perfect for cruises. It has a single pulse switch and does great. The price is under fifteen dollars and served us and our guests magnificently. I received a bit of ribbing from the gang about the blender, but never failed to find a taker for "Good Foot Frozen Punch" and daquiris. When blenders are outlawed, only outlaws will......................, moving on.
This is a review of sorts of our holiday from November 18th thru December 1st of which an Eastern Caribbean cruise on board the Maasdam was the focal point. I am sharing opinions, facts, thoughts and anything else that sticks out. The spelling will be hit or miss and the time line may jump around. I will name names as I remember or tell you why I didn't bother to remember them if applicable. Part three.
We are up and about on the first sea day. The bed was very comfortable. Earlier, others had mentioned worn out bedding being a problem, but no one mentioned it to us. With the additional pillows, the bed looked like something that should be in a harem tent somewhere. Very, very comfortable. Sometime in the first night, I accidentally turned on the speakers thru the headboard control and thought Henry Mancini and the boys were in the hallway. The ship had a slight vibration which did not bother me at all. A mechanical device, straining at its limits should be allowed to make itself known. We knew we were in the Atlantic as it should be. Breakfast was delivered at 0600. Most everything was there, especially coffee. All thru the cruise, room service was on time. Something was always missing, but the staples were there. The last morning, coffee was missing, but a call had it delivered shortly. The high tech expresso/cappocino/coffee machine in the Neptune turned out a good product. I never operated it, but enjoyed the product the missus brought back.Speaking of high tech, in the Neptune, there is a carousel that holds an ever changing array of things on crackers and small breads. It is covered by a large plexiglass rotunda that lowers and rises by remote control. I never operated that either, but was in awe.(((as was young master snot nose, who tried to catch my hand in it one afternoon, but failed. That is the same afternoon he set up court on the front table doing what appeared to be homework, between interrupting the concierge trying to make change and other tasks. Even tho I would never thump a strange child's head as I did my own, I still gave him my class three glare with half a snarl. I believe his grand parents were in the cabin next to ours, as we heard him a lot the first day and sat thru his flashing disco light display that evening ,using their twin veranda lights that evening. Gramps and Grammy must have banished him thereafter, since all was calm and quiet after that day.))) The snacks were very good and I got my fill of omega three oils or whatever they are with the smoked salmon. I also had the caviar once or twice, but would have been just as happy with pimento cheese. Our steward reminded us of the laundry service. We left a bag each morning and received it every evening, hung and folded. Wife was very impressed, calling me from the veranda one evening to stand and study the perfection that perfectly folded underwear and garments held for her. I intend to build a clothes folding machine after retirement, so I made mental notes. The light switches worked, but I never knew what was going to turn on when I pressed a switch. Young master snot nose would have been impressed at my light show when I rose in the wee hours for a visit to the loo. ((The makeup mirror light makes a perfect night light we learned))
The cabin was a perfect size. We did not have to do the "foot of bed shuffle" evry time we passed as we must do in many hotel rooms. The dressing area was a good size and the makeup mirror and floor length mirrors were appreciated by the wife, even if I thought they distorted my actual size. The storage capacity will not aid you in trying to rein in the packing desires of a well dressed woman. I quit claimed the dressing and bathroom to the wife and set out the bar as I saw fit. The liquor had been delivered and everything was iced down and additional glasses stored. We never were at a loss for clean glasses and stemware. The steward brought plates, flatware,cloth napkins, stir sticks, fruit and olive pokey things and Holland America flags for the bar.
The extra's were stored and he put an entire weeks supply of table cloths in the end stand next to the veranda. I absolutely despise drinking from paper or plastic cups and was slap happy with the details. The only thing we added was a short extension cord ((thank you HAL cc'ers)) which we used to connect to the blender and small cd player. Let's talk blenders for a moment.
I am in no way connected to the Hamilton Beach Corporation or Walmart, but there is a small 1.5-2lb. single serving ELECTRIC blender that is perfect for cruises. It has a single pulse switch and does great. The price is under fifteen dollars and served us and our guests magnificently. I received a bit of ribbing from the gang about the blender, but never failed to find a taker for "Good Foot Frozen Punch" and daquiris. When blenders are outlawed, only outlaws will......................, moving on.