Hi Maasdam 2/27 Cruisers

[jacank]

Hi to Cheric, SweetieFeetie, Dizkid, and JeffandDaawnn. As far as I can tell, we'll all be on the 2/27 cruise. We just made our reservations last week, so had to settle for a DD cabin on lower promenade, but I'm really excited to be on this ship again. We sailed on her last March and had a fabulous time. We'll be coming to Norfolk from Smith Mountain Lake, VA. Hope to meet some of you on board. Please feel free to drop me a line at Jacank@charter.net. :)

[jeffanddawn]

We have been in the C / D cabins on lower promenade deck many times.... loved them... It sounds like the current Maasdam cruise went very well (from reading Mariner's posts)... we can't wait, it will be here soon enough... we are leaving for Norfolk from chilly Connecticut (just got another coating of snow this afternoon)

[sweetiefeetie]

We are driving to Cheric's from Buffalo. We too got a fresh coating of snow this morning. It is suppose to be getting very cold next week, so I am hoping we do not get too much snow.
Mariner's reports sounded good. At least they didn't have any major problems. We are booked in an A suite on the Navigation deck. Unfortunately, that is where Mariner said the plumbing problems were. Hopefully, they will be in shipshape by the time we get there. Hope we meet on board....have a safe trip and see you in less than 2 weeks!:cool:

[jeffanddawn]

We are on Navigation deck also... very close to where the plumbing problem was :eek: ... i dont know if you have seen the link someone put in before concerning water temperatures... here it is... they are not as good as they could be, but mid 70's to 80 sure sounds good to me ... here it is http://www.oceanweather.com/data/Caribbean-Sea/SST.GIF

[cheric]

Hi there. Sweetiefeetie's sister Cheri here. I was so glad to read some positives about the Maasdam. We will be in a Category B on the Verandah deck, toward the aft. One flight up to visit my sister. We'll be leaving here (Maryland) the day of the cruise unless there is a prediction for bad weather, in which case, if feetie and dh get here okay we'll leave Saturday for Norfolk and spend the night. Drive safely all, and we'll see you on board.

[jeffanddawn]

here is another one for st. thomas... at this one you can find out if the Maasdam will be docked or if it will be in Crown Bay ... tendering :( ... i check it out everyday because they haven't updated it for the March schedule yet... hoping to find out before we go... not that it will matter but its just nice to know. http://**********/general_usvi/cruiseship/

[cheric]

Thanks for the info JeffandDawn. I am curious about so many things and you are providing some of the answers. I went to a site called www.cruisecal.com. It showed all the ports we will be in and the ships that will be there with us. I was pleased to see that while we are in St. Thomas the Millennium will be there. Our very first cruise was on the Millie and it will be nice to see her again.

[jeffanddawn]

thank you ... excellent site... it will be awesome to see the Volendam, i think thats our favorite ship... ( we haven't been on any of the new ones yet ) It will be neat to be traveling side by side with the Volendam from Dominica to Barbados

[jeffanddawn]

well we finally got our docs today!!! .... we always have problems getting our travel documents... once we got them the day we left... another time we got them just before we boarded the ship. When i hear people saying they got their documents and its 3 or 4 weeks before they sail i'm always a little jealous... guess it doesn't matter now though... its official --- we're going!


only 10 more days start the countdown :D

[sweetiefeetie]

Wow, would have really been nervous. Originally we were told that we would have them by the 15th, but we got them sometime late in January, which surprised me. My sister got hers the week before us. She booked through a travel agent, we booked online through ************ (nervously, since we hadn't heard of anyone booking through them, but they gave us a good price). Glad you got them, we are counting down now......good food, drinks and new friends.

[marjerr]

Hi to all going w/us next weekend. I can hardly believe it's almost time to pack! There will be 4 of us from Allentown Pa sailing with you. It's me and my DH, and my cousin and her DH, all of us previous HA cruisers. Maybe we can all meet somewhere onboard to share a drink (or two). Till then hope for good weather for those of us driving to Norfolk next Saturday.

[jeffanddawn]

here is an oddball question for our group... does anyone know where half moon cay is in relation to south florida... i am assuming its further south than miami... anyone know how much further south?

[cheric]

Sorry I have no idea where Half Moon Cay is, but I'm sure anxious to get there! Only 8 more days! Hooray!

[jacank]

Hi Marjer.. Sounds like our little group is growing. I love the idea of our group meeting somewhere too. We've lived at Smith Mountain Lake for 11 years now, but I was born in PA and lived there all my life. I know Allentown well. We were in Bryn Mawr, just outside of Phila. We received our documents yesterday. Pretty good, since we didn't book this trip til Feb. 9th. It's our second Maasdom cruise and I can't wait. She's a lovely ship. As for packing, I finished that two days after we booked .. not that I'm excited or anything like that. :)

[cheric]

Since I don't know anything about locations on the ship, does anyone have any ideas for where a "meet and greet" could take place. I would imagine the second day would be better as the first day we'll be unpacking and exploring. Tell us when and where and we'll be there. cheric

[mariner]

May I suggest the Crow's.

[sail7seas]

Half Moon Cay is in the chain of Bahamian Islands. I believe it is at least 100 miles south of Fort Lauderdale.

[jacank]

The Crows Nest sounds like a great spot to meet up. Day 2 also sounds like a good idea. Now all we need is to pick a time. Maybe early afternoon?:)

[sweetiefeetie]

Since we will be at sea all day the second day, that sounds good to me...break up the day....but I have to check with my "older" sister. Don't know if she will need a nap by then or not.....ha ha. (she will kill me). I really hope all of you are in for fun, because when Cheric and I get together, we have fun. Wish our older sister could have made it...three is a charm! Am anxiously awaiting, hopefully warm weather. Buffalo in winter...yuk, although it hasn't really been that bad this year. Not alot of snow...but COLD. I am hoping for at least high 70's or 80's. Any time you pick sounds good to me....our dinner seating is I believe about 6 or so....

[cheric]

I think I have just been insulted by my "little sister". thanks feetie. The Crows Nest sounds good to me and mid-day sounds good too. We are eating at 6:15 but around 2 or 3 might be nice. Is the Crow's Nest open in the day time? Okay, how many of us are there? Four in our party ...four in Marjerr's party. That's eight. ... jacank and jeffand dawn make four more. An even dozen so far. How will we know each other? Well notsosweetfeetie and I will be the two blondes with the big smiles dragging their husbands along (who have also been mistaken for brothers?). Looking forward to meeting you all. We are all four in our fifties (well, one of us is a little of older but it's not me). Shall we make a date to meet?

[sweetiefeetie]

I admit my DH is in his early 60's.....a cradle snatcher....you will know CheriC and I...just look for the two balding men...with young chicks....

[jacank]

Let's shoot for 2 o'clock in the Crows Nest. If Dizkid joins us, that's 14. The Crows Nest is on the top level - great for views. There's a bar there and lots of sofas and chairs. It's always open, if I recall. A good place to hang out. They often had the trivia games up there in daytime, and it's a swinging place at night. DH and I are the tall ones (6'4" and 5'9").. names are Dick and Jacque.. in our 60's. Well, DH is almost out of the 60's, but he swears to any that listen that he's still 49. I'm the redhead, he's silver (please note I do NOT say grey..hehe.) On our trip last year, Maasdam would put a list of activities for the next day in our room at night. I felt like I was at summer camp, trying to fit in all the things I wanted to do. I hope 2 o'clock doesn't conflict with too much. If it does, maybe you can just stick your head in and say hi. :)

[jeffanddawn]

sail7seas... thanks for the info on half moon cay... everyone else.... we'll see you in a week :)

[cheric]

Two o'clock in the crows nest. We'll find it. That's on the second day. Lookikng forward to meeting everyone. One week from now we'll be on the ship!!!

[slineberry528]

Happy sailings to all of you. Wish I were going. I just love the Maasdam. I was on her in November and our cc group had a blast.
Susan

[mariner]

We're so jealous you'll soon be leaving.

Enjoy.

Unfortunately, my band of buddies will be rotated out of the Crow's by your cruise. But it's a great lounge, especially at sunset.

We wish you following seas and great sunsets.

[cheric]

Thank you so much Mariner. We have taken your suggestion and will all meet in the Crow's nest the second afternoon. I so enjoyed reading your posts on your recent cruise. I was feeling so apprenhensive after reading all the negatives. After "traveling" with you, I now am much more optimistic and can't wait to get on board. thanks again. sorry you can't come back and sail away with us! How was the boarding in Norfolk? We are leaving Maryland and driving down (about 3 1/2 to 4 hours). My understanding is that we won't leave the pier until five o'clock, but what time did they let you start boarding?

[jacank]

Not sure about this one..but last time they said boarding started at 11:30. We got there around noon and the lines were long. We'll go later this time. Also need to check to see if she arrives on time.

Mariner, thanks for your wonderful commentary during your cruise. It sure sounded like you were having a great time. I looked for it every day. We're really looking forward to next weekend. New cruisers are in for a real treat. We'll try not to compare our perfect trip last year to this one and take your advice.. find our niche and have fun. I'm so glad to get to go on her again in her classic form.

We're looking forward to meeting you all at the Crow's Nest on Monday at 2pm. If plans change, we're in cabin DD373 on Lower Promenade (sigh..sure going to miss the balcony but we didn't book til two weeks ago -- I'm thrilled there was still room.) Two days after we booked, I was all packed. Important things first, right? :)

[mariner]

It was controled chaos when we boarded about 3:45 because the ship was late. We sat outside Nauticus in the sun and waited until the process began. The only glitch was Mariner's credit card would not scan and the agent wouldn't just enter the numbers. When I got aboard, I went to the Neptune Lounge and the concierge had no problem punching them into the computer.

When we got back on time, disembarkation was very smooth. I'm sure everyone was off the ship by 10 and I believe embarkation was to begin around 11.

Smart move to wait awhile. Let everyone else wait in line only to be ushered to the Lido. Your cabin will likely be ready by 12:30 if Maasdam doesn't hit any fronts on the way back.

Maasdam sailed at 4:55. In fact in most ports if the scanner shows everyone on board, the captain prefers to castoff early.

Enjoy!

[cheric]

Thanks for the info Mariner. I think we'll leave Maryland around nine o'clock which should get us into Norfolk around one (providing we don't get lost looking for the parking and terminal). We are planning to leave our car in the long-term lot and are prepared to pay in advance in cash.

[cheric]

So, it looks like we're all set to meet in the Crow's Nest on Monday. Everyone who is traveling (including you, dear little sister), please drive safely. They are calling for snow here in Maryland for Thursday but supposedly just "snow showers". Everyone take their time! Looking forward to meeting you all. What happened to dizkid?

[bothak]

Monday night is the welcome party in the show lounge, 16:45 and 19:00. you don't want to miss that.
PS 3 formal nights on this cruise

BO