Beautiful and Elegant ms Maasdam......

[sail7seas]

Here we are on Maasdam and she is looking wonderful.

Made the crossing in fine fiddle and we had an easy embarkation; incredibly friendly crew cannot do enough for us; food is excellent, weather until today glorious. Today in Sydney, it is raining and DH and our friend had to cancel their sail. That's okay.

We're enjoying meetingup with old friends and new and love "MY' Maasdam as always.

Any questions, let me know. I'll try to get answers.

For those who like to know:

Captain is Arjen Van der Loo
Hotel Manager was Kees Streubing until he left today and Simon deBoer boarded.

VIP Party last night was quite a small group but really fun. Got to see friends and enjoy a chat.

Off to the gym now!!!

Bye for now.

[babyher]

Hi Sail

Glad you are having such a wonderful time on "your" Maasdam.

Hope the rest of your trip is just as wonderful:)

Looking forward to your comments and reviews.

Hope the weather gets better for you.

You and DH Enjoy:)

[jhannah]

Thanks for checking in. Glad things are going well, even though a bit rainy.

[grannynurse]

Hi Sail,
Sorry I didn't get in on your "Bon Voyage"
I've been re-arranging our post cruise itinerary to Columbia River Gorge.
I'm anxious to hear about the post SOE changes to "YOUR" Maasdam, they didn't ruin her, tell me they didn't, please....
I wish i was there with you, I know you're having your customary grand time. Enjoy!
GN

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi sail

Glad to hear that you are having a fun time on your Maasdam.

How is the bingo going??

[Charliesmom]

Your post makes me really look forward to our September 2007 cruise on her.

Roberta

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi Sail,:) Glad you are have a wonderful time on "YOUR" Maasdam:D Even if it is raining it is still better than a sunny day at home. Of course any and all days on those DAM ships are the BEST:cool:

[arlenez]

[QUOTE=sail7seas]
[B]We're enjoying meetingup with old friends and new and love "MY' Maasdam as always.

So happy to hear that you are enjoying "YOUR" Maasdam. Please take good care of her because on March 15th she becomes "MY" Maasdam.

Regards,

[WCB]

Hi Sail Seven Seas,
We just left the Maasdam after sailing the 35 day Voyage of the Vikings. It was a super trip!

Please say hi to the bar staff, especially Christian, in the Crow,s Nest. We sat at the bar every evening, and enjoyed the wonderful music and friendly staff.

Bill and Mary Ann

[giggles217]

I have a few questions. We will be sailing on the Maasdam in 2 1/2 weeks and it will be the first time on her. I have read about the culinary arts presentation here on these boards and was wondering if they are offering this on the sailings to and from Boston. DH would love to participate and I want to make sure that I sign us up right away if the opportunity arises.

Also, do you visit the casino and how is it? Are there craps tables?

And my last question is about the Pinnacle grill and whether you have enjoyed any of your meals there?

Thanks for the opportunity to ask these questions and continue to enjoy your cruise.

[Ziggy7]

Sail, so sweet of you to check in with us all! Glad your feeling right at home again on "YOUR Masdam" :)

We miss you not being here :)

[mariner]

S7S,

Our spies aboard tell us you're having a blast. Keep it up. Just go slow on the bread pudding young lady.

Please send our regards to all and tell them we miss them.

What ever you do, don't invite the steward for lobster. He devours those tails.

Smooth Seas!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi, Sail! So happy to see you posting from your cruise, but not at all surprised that you're having your usual amazing time:) .

All is calm now here and we miss you, of course. The end of last week got so busy with "stuff" I missed your Bon Voyage thread, but at least I got to send you my personal good wishes for your journey.

Hope your weather is sunny and bright and you enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[Mack704]

DW and I have cruised on RCL, X, and CCL. October 17, 2006 will be a most memorable date. That will be the day we board the Maasdam in Norfolk for an 11 day cruise of the Southern Caribbean. It will be our first cruise with HAL. WE are soooo looking forward to it. A great deal of our enthusiasm is due to you, S7S, and you, Heather, and you, Krazy, and you, LAFFN, and you GN, and you, jhannah, and all of you, my fellow CCers. (So where are Greg and Brian?)

I'm a relative newby to CC. And since we booked the Maasdam in May, I've been hooked on these HAL boards. Reading about your experiences, digesting your opinions, gathering all your information is a true delight for me. Thank you all. Many thanks to you all

So glad your having a great time on "your" Maasdam, S7S. Looking forward to having a great time when She becomes "my" Maasdam in October.

Harvey

[RuthC]

Thanks for taking time out of your precious vacation time to check in with us land-lubbers. Sorry the sail had to be cancelled; on a nice day it's a beautiful tour. Maybe next time.

Give a wave to my favorite lounge on your way by. :)

[dougnewmanatsea]

Glad all is well aboard the MAASDAM!

Looking forward to sailing her with you next year :) .

[eldercruser]

Glad to hear things are off to a good start. We will be aboard next February (our third time aboard) so any unique insights you observe since the refit willl be appreciated.

[Slinkiecat]

Hi Sail Seven Seas,
We just left the Maasdam after sailing the 35 day Voyage of the Vikings. It was a super trip!

Please say hi to the bar staff, especially Christian, in the Crow,s Nest. We sat at the bar every evening, and enjoyed the wonderful music and friendly staff.

Bill and Mary Ann

I add my greetings to Sails, and wish her and Robert a lovely trip. Bill and Mary Ann, it's nice to see you here and there too!

We're booked on Maasdam with several friends next year, including Sails. Are you doing the CC group cruise from Boston next June?

Slinkie

[SHayesShip]

Glad you are having a good time. Thanks for keeping us informed.

[Aussie Gal]

Sail,

So glad you and your DH are having such a great time with your friends on the lovely Maasdam.

Thanks for posting and letting us know how things are going. I am sorry the weather in Sydney wasn't the best. It is funny to think there is a Sydney on the other side of the world as well as a Melbourne.

From your friend from "down under".

Jennie

[Copper10-8]

Hey S7S; good to get your posts on the other side of the pond;) Have a great time on Maasdam and her ports of call!:)

[Orsino]

I have a few questions. We will be sailing on the Maasdam in 2 1/2 weeks and it will be the first time on her. I have read about the culinary arts presentation here on these boards and was wondering if they are offering this on the sailings to and from Boston. DH would love to participate and I want to make sure that I sign us up right away if the opportunity arises.

Also, do you visit the casino and how is it? Are there craps tables?

And my last question is about the Pinnacle grill and whether you have enjoyed any of your meals there?

Thanks for the opportunity to ask these questions and continue to enjoy your cruise.

I was on the Maasdam earlier this year Montreal to Boston. There is ONE culinary arts class which costs money. (Sorry, I forget how much). The class is NOT advertised. Sign up at the Front Desk. The class is during the 'at sea day'

There is one Culinary Arts Demonstration, which is free and open to all. It is done in conjunction with the galley tour. I believe the demonstration was during the Charlottetown day.

There is one craps table.

I did not enjoy the Pinnacle Grill. Knowing what I know now, I would have preferred dining in the main dining room that evening. Others seem to love it, so I guess the PG is merely inconsistent rather than outright bad.

[WCB]

Hi Slinkie,

Good to hear from you!! We were not aware of a CC cruise leaving fom Boston next year. But after doing the 2007 world cruise, we will probably not be sailing through the summertime. We do have a trip planned in the South Pacific in the fall on Regent's Mariner.

You and Grumpy will like the Maasdam. The Crow's Nest is THE place to be, and the band, New and Easy is rocking!

We had the best waiter, Hadi, and his assistant, Toya, in the upper dining room.

We had a nice CC group that we met on the ship. For our second meeting, Captain van der Loo , the Hotel Manager, and several of his staff joined us to answer any questions we had regarding the trip. He admitted to being a frequent reader of CC, and was pleased to welcome us. He even mentioned knowing Sail Seven Seas, and we said she was "The Protector of the Maasdam", and he laughed. Hors'deurves were served as well.

This was the first gathering of CCers that we attended that the Captain and his staff showed up. Normally, on other ships, we are lucky to have a glass of juice, cookies, and maybe an assistant cruise director.

Needless to say, we were quite impressed with the Captain and his staff!

Bill and Mary Ann

[minegal2002]

Looks like we'll be shipmates on the Maasdam 10/17 out of Norfolk. This is our sixth HAL cruise and we can't wait !!

[sail7seas]

Hi All....

I tried to post again a few days ago but couldn't log into CC.
We're having a fabulous time. Maasam is so comfortable, everything is working fine :) and the ship really looks beautiful.

Last week, we had as near to perfect weather as possible with rain only in Sydney. My DH and our friend had signed up for the sailing excursion but it was cancelled.

We loved the Cadillac Mountain Tour and lobster lunch in Bar Harbor. Really nice tour with a terrific guide. She gave plenty of information without going on and on too much.

The amphibious tour was great too.......so my husband says. I had to get off of it after boarding as my girlfriend 'had an issue'. ;) Didn't matter to me but I want to say DH and the other husband thought it was fun.

We are finding the dining room to be excellent. I'm a little 'choosy' these days as to what I'll eat in terms of fat and calories and all that. We're getting plenty of veggies and the selection of fish has been fine to please me. DH and our friends sampled all the other sorts of things and they all were really happy...usually we had four different entrees with everyone eating something different and everyone was happy.

The crew is truly outstanding. Of course, we're seeing friends from previous cruises and that is always fun. Another thing we so love about HAL.

The flowers all over the ship is are as abundant as always and very beautiful. Our Room service Steward has been putting pretty bud vase on our tray each time he delivers our breakfast.

We had breakfast three times in Pinnacle which is something we never do. It was WONDERFUL. It had been a number of cruises since we have gone there for breakfast.

Our two dinners in Pinnacle have been very good as well. We are going again tonight.

We love the cellarmaster aboard. Really knowledgeable and we are learning more about wine than we have ever had the opportunity to before. He has introduced us to new wines we never would have sampled and they are great.

We've had no plumbing or air conditioning problems to speak of. No sour odors.....and No Engine Problems.....unlike the troublesome ones we encountered last year.

We truly are delighted to be continuing this week on Maasdam and even two cruises will not be enough for us. We will be very sad to leave.

This morning we did the "On Deck for the Cure" walk and were so happy to have had the opportunity to participate. Captain and Hotel Manager both joined in.......or more accurately, I should say, led it. Captain literrally 'lapped us' three times!!! And here we thought we were walking a decent pace. :) What incredible shape he is in!!! HM Simon DeBoer did pretty excellent himself :) There were about 50 walkers so I guess it has to be called a success!! It was a great group of people.

I forgot to mention we sailed from Montreal at 9:00 which was great. Captain held the ship to give everyone the best chance of struggling through the airports and reaching the ship. Fine by us. We had a terrific day ashore in Montreal.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sail, so glad to hear that everything is going so great.:) I am sure you wish the time would slow down.

Thanks for reporting in.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks sail for checking. Glad that you are having a great time. We love having breakfast in the Pinnacle!!

[RuthC]

We loved the Cadillac Mountain Tour and lobster lunch in Bar Harbor. Really nice tour with a terrific guide. She gave plenty of information without going on and on too much.
It's so good to read this! If memory serves it was this tour that you posted about asking our opinion on whether or not you should book this tour. The vote was for you to go for it, and you decided to accept our collective wisdom.
Glad it worked out well.

It's nice to read that you're still having a nice time, and that it's still "your" ship.
At least you got up the Saguenay this year!

[ekerr19]

Sail -

Great to hear from you! I'm so glad you are having a wonderful cruise aboard your Maasdam!

Keep the reports coming as you are able - we will be looking forward to them!

:)

[jhannah]

Good to hear from you. I, too, am glad you chose the lobster bake ... even though you have great lobster in Boston. That's a nice excursion, IMO.

Continue to enjoy "your" Maasdam.

[Aussie Gal]

Sail,

So glad you are having such a wonderful cruise. I am glad that you are having "perfect" weather. What a great cruise for your friends, I think I can remember you saying it was their first time. I am sure they will return for many more. Enjoy this last week.

Jennie

[giggles217]

A few more questions if you don't mind....

Were you charged for breakfast in the Pinnacle and were there different offerings than in the dining room?

I think that you are doing back-to-back cruises, Boston - Montreal and then Montreal-to-Boston, we'll be on the Montreal-to-Boston sailing August 26th and have a cabin on the port side. I was wondering if there was anything during the cruise that had a better view advantage on one side versus the other so that we know ahead to go up on deck rather than view from our balcony? My DH is an avid photographer and I have been telling him that there may be some great opportunities for good photographs.

Thanks for your help and continue to enjoy!!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi, Sail, back from my trip and realized you're winding down from your wonderful cruise. Enjoy the last couple of days and we'll look forward to seeing you back here on the HAL boards:D

[Copper10-8]

S7S, good to hear you're having a great time! Keep it up! Quick question: what's the amphibious tour? Does it include a ride in WWII-era DUKWS?

[Orsino]

we'll be on the Montreal-to-Boston sailing August 26th and have a cabin on the port side. I was wondering if there was anything during the cruise that had a better view advantage on one side versus the other so that we know ahead to go up on deck rather than view from our balcony?

We did Montreal-Boston in May. We did not have a balcony so we went up to the deck for all our picture taking. In the beginning of the trip you are on the St. Lawrence, so the view is pretty much the same on both sides. PEI will be on the port side as you travel. Nova Scotia and the Maine coast will be on the starboard side. BUT, during each sail away we found interesting photo opportunites on both sides.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I just thought I would let everyone know that Sail is still having a great time and wishing she did not have to get off her Maasdam this Saturday. She has been having problems logging into the CC board the last couple of days and she just wants us to know she has not forgotten us.:) We will be getting a full report on Saturday and will answer everyone's questions.

[Copper10-8]

I just thought I would let everyone know that Sail is still having a great time and wishing she did not have to get off her Maasdam this Saturday. She has been having problems logging into the CC board the last couple of days and she just wants us to know she has not forgotten us.:) We will be getting a full report on Saturday and will answer everyone's questions.

You should get commission for doing the relay!;)

[aaerobear]

I wonder what S7S's opinion of the newly designed CrowsNest is. I think it is awful, but I am just one person.

Ed

[sail7seas]

S7S, good to hear you're having a great time! Keep it up! Quick question: what's the amphibious tour? Does it include a ride in WWII-era DUKWS?

Yes, John. It is the DUKWS they use. DH and our friend said they enjoyed the tour. He said he'd book it again on our Maasdam cruise next year so I can do it. I was sorry have to leave the vehicle with my girlfriend just minutes after we boarded. :( Oh well......hopefully, we'll try again next year.

[sail7seas]

A few more questions if you don't mind....

Were you charged for breakfast in the Pinnacle and were there different offerings than in the dining room?

I think that you are doing back-to-back cruises, Boston - Montreal and then Montreal-to-Boston, we'll be on the Montreal-to-Boston sailing August 26th and have a cabin on the port side. I was wondering if there was anything during the cruise that had a better view advantage on one side versus the other so that we know ahead to go up on deck rather than view from our balcony? My DH is an avid photographer and I have been telling him that there may be some great opportunities for good photographs.

Thanks for your help and continue to enjoy!!


Pinnacle Breakfast is for "S" and "PS" passengers. There is no additional charge for it. Seeing as we never had breakfast in the main dining room I'm not sure about the menu being the same but I am almost positive, the menu is the same.

We had not been to a Pinnacle Breakfast (or Queen's Room) for a long time but decided to try it again and were happy we did.

We think Pinnacle on Maasdam both for breakfast and dinner was excellent. Hellmit (the Pinnacle Manager) is doing a wonderful job and we found him to 'go the extra mile' to make everyone's experience excellent.

As to views.......

We were Starboard (which is most rare for us). We had to take Starboard as that was the only Suite we could book without having to move for both weeks.

As it turned out, we were thrilled as usually Maasdam docks port to the dock in Halifax but because of on-going construction, the ship was starboard to the dock both weeks. We got to see and hear the pipers and drummers from our verandah on arrival and departure.

Also because of strong currents one of the days in PEI, we were starboard to the dock whereas normally not. We got to have both views seeing as we docked different sides the two weeks.

If you think of any other questions, please ask away. I'm happy to try to help.

[sail7seas]

I just thought I would let everyone know that Sail is still having a great time and wishing she did not have to get off her Maasdam this Saturday. She has been having problems logging into the CC board the last couple of days and she just wants us to know she has not forgotten us.:) We will be getting a full report on Saturday and will answer everyone's questions.


Thank you for passing along my message, Lisa. :) I could not get logged into CC yesterday or a few days prior.

[jhannah]

I had trouble logging on from the Noordam, too.

I can see Maasdam's top of the funnel stack and flags peeking out over the Black Falcon Terminal today.

[ekerr19]

I had trouble logging on from the Noordam, too.



We had trouble the following week too Jim - I was told by the internet manager to avoid being logged in when the ship was entering or leaving port - it seemed to help.

Welcome Home Sail! Can't wait to hear all about your trip - sounds like you had a wonderful time. :)

[Sheebah]

Welcome Home Sail!
Quick question about your tour in Bar Harbor- did they take you on a bus or a van? What type of vehicle and was it a large or small group?
We're taking the same tour on the 8/26 sailing and are so excited to hear you enjoyed the trip. How was the lobster lunch? I'd love to hear a little about it.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Welcome Home Sail:) Although I bet it hurt just a bit walking off the gangway this morning:(

I could just picture seeing you out on the balcony watching the pipers and drummers. We too were fortunate last year on the starboard side.

[CoconutFish]

Would also like to know about the redesign of the Crow's Nest. Especially colours and seating arrangements.
Have experience the Statendam's redesign and am wondering if HAL is doing all ships the same.
Thanks for your reports so far!