Maasdam is Fixed!! 04/21

[bambam]

Hi folks,
Wanted to drop a line, the Captain made an announcement around 5:00, saying that they have fixed the engine/bearing. We are full speed, and loving it.

Got to meet all the CC folks we've been talking to for the last couple of months...what a GREAT group, ya know!!:D

Embarkation was a breeze, maybe 20 mins tops. Got to the Nauticus Pier around 11:15, they let us go thru embarkation around 11:30, we were eating lunch in the Lido at 12:00.

Got a little sun, cabins are great. I'm not too happy, am I??

I'll try to post as we go along... for those on the 05/01 sail, RELAX...She's a GREAAT ship...

back to relaxation and fun!!

[cheric]

Enjoy every minute of your fabulous cruise. We loved her when we went in Feb/March. So glad things are fixed! Say hi to ronan from the Carters.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

bambam, I hope you have a Wondeful Cruise on the Maasdam. Glad she is running at FULL SPEED.:) Looking forward to hearing more.

[Sweetdreams]

Could you hear my sigh of releif from PA? I am wishing all of you the best cruise ever. Rob7 gave his "last report on the Maasdam" tonight-it was very brief-he expressed that there were so many problems. It was so disheartening to hear & I feel so badly for the pax on that cruise missing HMC & San Juan. Give all the gang my best wishes for a relaxing & most enjoyable cruise ever! Will be looking for more reports. If the engines are working does that mean other problems like th AC are also fixed? Been debating whether to bring a fan after all the stories of broken AC on Aft cabins Lower Promenade. Enjoy your day tomorrow!

[Himself]

I hope this fine ship stays fixed

[RevNeal]

Excellent ... so glad to hear she's all ship shape and bristol fashion again.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[rocks]

SO kind of you to let us know the ship is fixed!
Hope all you guys have a WONDERFUL cruise!
rocks

[Grandma Bonnie]

Bam-Bam, thank you so much for such a quick update on the Maasdam! It was very nice of you to take the time out to send us the email!! Enjoy and have an absolutely fabulous time! Just remember, everything is always so much better with a positive attitude! Even if the ship was going nowhere, you are away form the stress of everyday!

May the sun shine every day for you and all of your shipmates!!

Bonnie
:)

[sail7seas]

Thanks for sharing the happy news with us. Glad you are happy and enjoying yourself.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise! (Please..... Take good care of Maasdam for us. ;) )

[RevNeal]

Hope you have a wonderful cruise! (Please..... Take good care of Maasdam for us. ;) )

Yes indeed ... she's your Maasdam! :D I feel the same way about the Volendam!

[RuthC]

Thank you for letting us all know the good news!

Let's hope she stays fixed for a good long time. And for a real good time!

[sail7seas]

Yes indeed ... she's your Maasdam! :D I feel the same way about the Volendam!


We booked Volendam yesterday for the ten day Seafarer (again :)) on Volendam in January.

We have done that itinerary many times but seeing as it includes Curacao and Aruba.....among our favs!!

[bambam]

Folks,
She is a fine ship. Not sure where the problems are...not sure I want to go looking for them either...

The Maasdam is up to 20 knots, we has some "slight" seas rounding the outer banks, but I've been in significantly worse conditions...really, just a little rocking, nothing more.

Food is great, I haven't had an even mediocre meal yet...the carnivore is really coming out...steaks...shrimp cocktail last night...could have had a dozen orders...;)

All the CC folks will be proud of us... THE CC FOLKS ONBOARD CLOSED THE CROWS NEST LAST NIGHT...wheeeeeeeee...what a group....:D

going to HMC, will be getting there around 11:00ish, tendering begins at 11:30ish. Realling looking forward to the Purple cabana...and the CC folks have 4 of the cabanas....:D

AS for the AC, we are on deck A (da lowest) and we can regulate our cabin temps just fine. Our only problem was out TV wasn't working... actually, it was operator error...ahuh...TV worked just fine...ahuh...

time to go back and continue the workouts...love the fitness center and spa...

Folks, thanks again for the good wishes....

And honestly, I still think she's black and white...honestly...yep, I know its blue....gotta get these eyes checked...

Hava happy folks...:D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Yeah!!! So glad to hear everything is great and you are having a wonderful time. I like you quote about cruisins is an attitude:p

I think it is very possible the reports were just a bit embellished.

Have a fun time in HMC today.

OH also, I agree, I know it is suppose to be blue but it sure looks black to me too.

[LizB1]

Thanks for your latest update from the Maasdam. Hope she continues in fine shape and that you all continue having a great time.

If you see the Maitre d' (Tri) could you ask him if he will still be on the ship in July when we cruise to Europe. Haven't sailed with him in a few years, but he is one of our favorites.

[CrabbyHarper]

Hi y'all! Everything BamBam says is true! We are approaching Half Moon Cay and should anchor by 11:30. weather great, food great, CC bunch fabulous!

Machines in casino are awful! I lost last night!:mad:

Gerry

[Sweetdreams]

Thanks everyone for keeping us updated. Sounds like smooth sailing. I so glad the you are able to get to HMC! Will look for your posts describing the great time you had while onshore.

[Robert AG99]

Well bambam hope you have a great time. be on the Massdam in september for our 25th. First time on HAL. Great to here she is up and running at full stem again.

;);):D

[Scrumpy]

I am happy and relieved that things seem to be going so well on Maasdam! I hope that the rest of the cruise goes this smoothly and I'm looking forward to hearing more when you get home - or if you post again while you're aboard.
Thanks for the update!!!
Scrumpy

[mariner]

Enjoy that wonderful ship and send our regards to Candiise, Danny, Caesar, Heydey and Melvin.

[bambam]

Just got back from a 4-hour stay on HMC. It was close to 12 before we actually got off the Maasdam. Captain came on at 11:40 and told us that nature wasn't nice to us. HMC had been invaded by jellyfish and sea lice. The stay was not going to be cancelled, but all water activities were shut down.

We went to the cabanas and made lemonade of the situation. In fact, CrabbyHarper and I were going to rename our group the Lemonade Makers. Actually, again, nothing wrong with the ship...:)

As for the cabanas, we had the purple one, not any better than the others...but a little hike to get to the b-rooms... thought the supplies were a little scimpy, but I would add this advice: Folks, if you have a cabana, make sure you get all your friends to go too... for 2-folks, things seemed a little empty.:rolleyes:

Thats all for now... steaming for St. Thomas on Monday...the Captain came on and said probable rain and clouds tomorrow for our at sea day...better then than at St. Thomas..right!!!:D

Hava Happy!!

[Linda&Vern]

Ok - I know about jellyfish from many visits to the east coast ocean. But do I even what to guess what "sea lice" are? :eek:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have to admit "Sea Lice" is new to me too:confused:

Can anyone tell us what this is???

[localady]

Lori-
The term "sea lice" apparently originated during the 1950s and was used by local U.S. residents in describing the condition. This popular term persisted, despite efforts by scientists to discourage use of such an inappropriate designation. Sea lice are actually small parasites that affect fish. .....The outbreaks appear to have intensified in the last 4 years, as reflected in the number of cases reported as well as the severity of response in individual cases. Because most affected people treat themselves, it is difficult to determine the total annual number of cases. However, a conservative estimate of 10,000 cases in 1992 can be made. A sample population surey of 1433 persons who went swimming within the apparent geographic center of the outbreaks indicated that one of every four persons that went swimming had the dermatitis.
(This information is from CLINICAL ARTICLES SEABATHER'S ERUPTION OR "SEA LICE": New findings and clinical implications Mary T. Russell, RN, MSN, CCRN, CEN, and Robert S. Tomchik, MD, MPH, Boca Raton, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.)

[Preacher's Kid]

:eek::eek::eek:

I can't begin to imagine! And I thought sand fleas on the Cape Cod shoreline were horrible. Oh, yeah, and stepping on sea urchins in Maine.

I'll stay far, far away from the sea lice, thank you.

Karenlynne

[jbhcw]

Thanks for your postings while sailing on the Maasdam. November can't come quick enough! This will be our first HAL cruise and we are really looking forward to a longer cruise experience. Glad to hear most problems solved, keep the reports coming. Are you taking pictures? Thanks again.

[bambam]

Well, we never ventured into the water at HMC to test out the sea lice thingy... supposedly they are very samll and clear...there were times we saw a somewhat cloudy section of the water, and others told us that was the sea lice. what was amazing was some folks didn't see anything so they went in anyways...the lifeguards came and shooed them out of the water...so they got mad and went back to the ship... don't leave mad, just leave... I'll never understand, i guess...

great day at sea, lots of sun, very few clouds, baked again on the pool deck...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the life, ya know....

meals are fantabulous, one of the couples at our table gave up on the meals and decided to eat at the Pinnicle Grill for the rest of the cruise... again, I guess I'll never understand.:confused:

AC is working great... the Captain is a real person...seen him around the ship several times, sat down in the piano bar with a small gourp for about an hour, just chumming up with them... I expect him to walk by with shorts and sunglasses...:eek:

Dats all folks... St. Thomas tomorrow...ferrying over to St. Johns and doing Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay.. with 5 other ships scheduled to be in port...Trunk Bay may be a zoo...:rolleyes:

Hava Happy!!:D :D

[jhannah]

So glad the ship's mechanical issues have been addressed. Hope the rest of your journey goes smoothly.

[mariner]

Memo to self for next Caribbean cruise: Pack Caladryl Lotion or an ``alcohol'' astringent.

Yuck.

Keep making that lemonade. That's the spirit.

[cantw8]

Bam, I am home sick and reading your post pretending I am with you and Peebles, makes me feel a little better. Glad you both are having a good time.

Toni

[TedC]

Is there an extra charge for "sea lice" or are they "included"?

[dakrewser]

Is there an extra charge for "sea lice" or are they "included"?

And here I thought Seal Ice was something imported specially from the south pole!

:) -dave

[bambam]

gotta tell ya, this is one great lady of a ship.... Smooth sailing, no hitches...

We were in St. Thomas yesterday, and decided to ferry over to St johns and Trunk Bay. The good news...we were in St. Thomas...the better news: it took us 2-hours to get from the Crown BAy to Red Hook Ferry to St. Johns to Trunk Bay....Yes...if ya get a bad cabbie..ya get a bad cabbie... so what, we got to see more of St. Thomas than we had planned..ha ha...:rolleyes:

Trunk bay was nice...georgeous, in fact...tghat is until the strap broke on my snorkel mask...drat..ok...so I go rent one for 3 bucks...wheeeee, back in action...:D

Today we had the experience of a lifetime... we decided to follow some CC folks advice and go to Grand Pineapple Beach in Antigua... HONESTLY!!! about 12 of us went there, and to a person, we were debating on if we should go back to the ship or just die on the beach... What a place....what a beach...what snorkeling.... EASILY the best excursion we've ever taken...all for $45 pp and a $20 cab fare...

Tomorrow, its St. Maarten...more after that one folks... gotta go...;)

HAva happy!!:D

[JT3]

Bam it looks like you have the attitude to make one fine cruise.Glad your enjoying it and its great reading your updates.Party on.

[Grandma Bonnie]

Hi BamBam!

Thank you so much for your updates! You certainly are a terrifc person to keep us informed! It sounds like you are having a wonderful time! Enjoy and keep her in fine shape and running smoothly for us to board May 1.

It must be a marvelous feeling after reading some of the posts before you all left to be on board and have everything just right!! Your great attitude is certainly a huge part of it!!

Take care and have an apple martini for me!!

Bonnie
:) :) :)

[Sweetdreams]

Thanks for taking the time to keep us updated on the Maasdam. So glad to hear that you are having a great time!

[JohnR49er]

Went to Pineapple beach in November and agree 100%. I've been telling everyone who likes the beach to give it a try on their next stop there.

[JaniceB]

I think the cab rides in St. Thomas are taking longer and longer. I think it took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to get from Crown Bay to Red Hook in March.

[2VaCruzers]

Bruce...sounds like you're not going to want to come back to VA. Glad you are enjoying yourself. You've earned it.

[cvillehf]

Glad to hear that everything is going well on the Maasdam. We were on there 2 cruises ago when the generator first broke. It only made us late coming back, but the next group got the worst of it. I liked your comments about the Captain. I never met one that was so socialable. You can see him in shorts if you go to the gym about mid-afternoon. He is training for a marathon or triathalon, something like that.

[lknick]

Wrong string

[bambam]

Another fantabulous day in the neighborhood... a little rain in the morning (like...hmmm...30 seconds worth), off to the island-drive tour and catamaran excursion. Lots of little stuff to learn about, a beatuiful island, took a couple of rolls of film...yeah, i've heard of digitals... anyways, the best part, da bus had AC...wheeeeeeee....:D

Back on the Maasdam, she's the little ship that could, being parked next to the Triumph and the EoS. Princess is here too, don't know the name.

All is going great. The folks goin on the 05/01 sail to Southern C, you take good care of her. There's a group of 8 of us CC folks that are going to look at doing the 11-dayer next spring.;)

Dats all til tomorrow...San Juan and the Rain Forest Drive tour.:cool:

Hava Happy!!:D

[RuthC]

bambam, I gotta tell ya, I won't be anywhere near any of your ports, but you sure are making me anxious to board the Maasdam. :)

Will July never get here? :rolleyes:

[bambam]

Hi folks, had another great day..in San Juan, did the rain forest tour, saw lots of great flowers and vegetation, took a couple rolls of film..and then, boom, it started to rain...

Imagine that, rain in the rain forest, who'd a thunk it...

Actually, we just got out of the evening show staring Matilda...Unbelieveably funny...I haven't laughed this hard in years...

Now for the not so good news: at 12:35 this afternoon, the Captain came on the loud speaker and announced that one of the generators has a damaged camshaft. He said he has all the confidence that the damaged part could be repaired by 5:00pm. I have to say that at 9:00 tonite, there was some serious grinding going on, but I suspect they were trying to balance out the repaired camshaft. It is now 11:30 and everything is going great...:)

I'm going to go out on a limb and agree with some of the other postings...maybe it is time for the Maasdam to find a port and get her engines fixed once and for all.:(

I will also state that this problem, as we were leaving San Juan, has not impacted our cruise, the service, the staff, the food, the room AC, nor has it impaired our ever-growing friendships we have made while on board.

To the May 1 cruisers, make of this fine lady what you will. I ask if you think the glass is half/full or half/empty. If you want to make yourself miserable, you can find a lot of things that will enable you to succeed. If you want to have fun, make friends with the crew, make new friends wil your sailmates, walk around the Maasdam with a smile on your face, say hi to everyone...this has been one of the best cruises we have taken... and it is ALL about the attitude...

We have 2-straight days of sea days ahead of us, so I will be checking back...had to buy another 100 mins...:rolleyes:

If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer...or get the answer...

The Maasdam is sailing fine now...you May 1ners, get those bags packed...it your turn to enjoy the little lady that can!!

Hava Happy!!:D

[rocks]

SOOOOO wonderful of you to take time to post! SOOO glad you are having a good time!
Wondering which lounge has been your favorite place to hang-out?
Your favorite Bartender or servers?
Any other shows that were good? (don't ususally go to them unless I hear they were not to be missed-thanks for the Matilda info.)
Also, what time is the show for 2nd seating over? Us May 1sters are planning a meeting around 10:30-10:45...will those at the show be able to make it?
Hope the rest of your cruise is wonderful!
THANKS again for posting!
rocks
PS: If you can, please let us know if you will make it to Norfolk at the scheduled time.

[CDRMark]

Thank you for all your great posts.
We enjoyed our Maasdam cruise so much last November, we have booked her again for this Fall. My expectations are still as high as ever.
Cheers
MarkB

[bambam]

OK folks...the Captain came on at 9:30 this morning, said the camshaft was fixed and on-line at 9:00ish last nite...we are now doing 19.5 knots and have comparatively smooth sailing... burning like bacon on the back pool deck too.....sizzle...:cool:

We have the late dinner sitting, so we don't get to the show until 10:15, and it usually is overwith by 11:15pm. As for show quality...Anne Francis and Matilda are not to be missed. Have to say that the cast shows are something to be desired... the lead singers are fairly decent..except for one youngster..she really does need to find another career...

As for lounges, our gang meets in the Ocean lounge every nite from 7:30-8:30, and we listen to the nice and easy music of the group that plays there. We get really great service there, chat about our day at the ports, and we get our hours-de-vours served right to our tables. Usually, theres 8-10 of us there every night. When the music stops, thats our cue to go eat.:p

We've closed the Crows Nest several nights. Renaldo is our bartender...give him a little green and he'll treat you like a king/Queen...;)

Thats about all now. May 1st sailers...she in fine shape, we are due in at Norfolk early in the am...I suspect around 3-4 in the morning. So be READY!!!

Hava happy!!:D

[Sweetdreams]

:) Thanks for keeping us updated on the Maasdam. Sounds like you having a great time. Countdown clock is tickin' away!

[bambam]

As many of the May 1st sailors are probably on their way, this will probably be my last post while on the Maasdam. I have to sy I've had a blast. Didn't get a bad meal the whole trip, the Pinnicle is defintely worth the extra bucks...best Rib Eye steak I've had in a very long time.... If you order the Porterhouse, you better bring an extra leg...its a half a cow... almost obscene, the amount of meat they give ya.:eek:

The crew is great, always smiling, always saying hi. Not that pushy around the pool decks (for the drinks)...after saying no a couple of times, they leave you alone.;)

The shows were very good and sort of ok... Turns out the middle show by the cast was not so good as the #2 singer was out, so one of the dancers filled in for her...she needs to stick to dancing...:o

The seas are really calm out here...we are off the coast of NC not at the outer banks yet, its about 80 degress, not a cloud in the sky. We are still doing 19.5 knots, so the engine repairs in PR did the trick, and we are due in Norfolk in the very early AM (3-4 am)...

Have a great sail folks...its been a blast!!:D