Meridianfan
July 24th, 2004, 08:36 PM
My husband and I just got home from the New England/Canada cruse on the Maasdam. This was our first time on a Holland America ship and I was very impressed by the food, service and staff. The Maasdam, in my opinion, is the perfect size ship. It is small enought to feel intimate but large enough that you are never bored. The rooms, we were in a category B, were a good size. We had a whirlpool tub in the bathroom.
The food was excellent and the service from our waiter, Tony, and his assistant, Dion, was wonderful. Tony not only did a wonderful job but was funny and charming. Dion was adorable, very sweet and shy. I have never seen a maitre d' work as hard as, Andre.
The ship is well maintained and decorated very nicely. The flowers around the ship were beautiful.
We ate in the Pinnacle one night and it was certainly worth the extra cost. The food and wine list are just that much better than what you got in the Rotterdam. Ioanna was our waitress and she was very good.
The weather was fine when we sailed out of Boston last Saturday. During the night, we sailed into fog and we never sailed out. It was foggy for the entire cruise. The crew members we spoke to said they had never seen it that bad. The Captain mentioned every night about us sailing "in our own little world". It was interesting hearing the fog horn every minute and 50 seconds. You do get used to it and after a while, bearly hear it. The fog would lift in the afternoons when we were in port. I feel bad for the people who had tours to the top of Cadillac Mountain yesterday morning. All they would see was fog.
They had some good shows last week. I usually dislike jugglers but Jeff Civillico was so talented and funny that tears of laughter were rolling down my face. Regarding the Maasdam Cast, the less said, the better. On Monday, Doug Mattocks played the banjo. I didn't see him that night but I did see him Friday night. He is an amazing talent. Gossamer Magic was on Thursday and that was a lot of fun.
Now for the ports:
If I take this cruise again, I would not get off the ship at Oak Bluffs. Too crowded, too many cars.
Portland is a very nice city. We took the trolly tour which is right down the street from the ship. You can find discout tickets on the internet. It was an interesting tour around the city and then out to the Portland Light. You can get off and get on the next one or just stay on to see the town.
Saint John was my favorite stop. The ladies were given roses and the men, pins on disembarking. There was a men's glee club singing. It is a very quaint city with many beautiful old buildings. What impressed me most were the wonderful people we met. I have never been in any place where the people were as nice as in Saint John. Everyone we met said hello. If someone realized that we were tourists, they would suggest a nice place to go or something that we shouldn't miss. There was a very nice young man who was changing lightbulbs in the park who suggested places to eat and things to see. The hills were a little tough to walk. The above ground tunnels were an interesting way to get around and they have better malls than we do here in the US. I loved the piper who piped the ship out of the harbor. It was really a nice touch. I would love to go back to Saint John.
Halifax was another nice city. You should really see the public gardens. The flowers were just glorious. If you stop at the information booth when you get off the ship, they can mark a walking route for you that will take you to the gardens, the Citadel and down through some of the quaint areas. They also told us about "FRED", the free bus that takes you around the city that you can get off and on. (Something you would never learn on the ship). The boardwalk along the shore was very nice. We ate at Murphy's on the boardwalk and that was very good. Some tall ships were in for the Op Sail that will be taking place next week. The Maritime Museum is well worth a visit. I have to go back to Halifax because there are many more things I would like to see.
I have been to Bar Harbor before. I don't know why I like Bar Harbor so much since it is primarily (other than Acadia NP) a tourist trap. The free buses that run through Acadia are very nice. There are 7 different bus routes that start at the Village Green. They are sponsored by LL Bean to try to cut down on the amount of traffic. These buses are also hop on, hop off and run every half hour.
The fog rolled in again around 5 o'clock so the trip back to Boston from Bar Harbor was in the fog. We didn't get to use our verrandah very much on this cruise, it was just too wet and chilly. I would certainly make this trip again on the Maasdam. The crew members were very nice. I especially liked the waiters in the Ocean Bar. The three of them were a lot of fun and the music was very good.
Marge
The food was excellent and the service from our waiter, Tony, and his assistant, Dion, was wonderful. Tony not only did a wonderful job but was funny and charming. Dion was adorable, very sweet and shy. I have never seen a maitre d' work as hard as, Andre.
The ship is well maintained and decorated very nicely. The flowers around the ship were beautiful.
We ate in the Pinnacle one night and it was certainly worth the extra cost. The food and wine list are just that much better than what you got in the Rotterdam. Ioanna was our waitress and she was very good.
The weather was fine when we sailed out of Boston last Saturday. During the night, we sailed into fog and we never sailed out. It was foggy for the entire cruise. The crew members we spoke to said they had never seen it that bad. The Captain mentioned every night about us sailing "in our own little world". It was interesting hearing the fog horn every minute and 50 seconds. You do get used to it and after a while, bearly hear it. The fog would lift in the afternoons when we were in port. I feel bad for the people who had tours to the top of Cadillac Mountain yesterday morning. All they would see was fog.
They had some good shows last week. I usually dislike jugglers but Jeff Civillico was so talented and funny that tears of laughter were rolling down my face. Regarding the Maasdam Cast, the less said, the better. On Monday, Doug Mattocks played the banjo. I didn't see him that night but I did see him Friday night. He is an amazing talent. Gossamer Magic was on Thursday and that was a lot of fun.
Now for the ports:
If I take this cruise again, I would not get off the ship at Oak Bluffs. Too crowded, too many cars.
Portland is a very nice city. We took the trolly tour which is right down the street from the ship. You can find discout tickets on the internet. It was an interesting tour around the city and then out to the Portland Light. You can get off and get on the next one or just stay on to see the town.
Saint John was my favorite stop. The ladies were given roses and the men, pins on disembarking. There was a men's glee club singing. It is a very quaint city with many beautiful old buildings. What impressed me most were the wonderful people we met. I have never been in any place where the people were as nice as in Saint John. Everyone we met said hello. If someone realized that we were tourists, they would suggest a nice place to go or something that we shouldn't miss. There was a very nice young man who was changing lightbulbs in the park who suggested places to eat and things to see. The hills were a little tough to walk. The above ground tunnels were an interesting way to get around and they have better malls than we do here in the US. I loved the piper who piped the ship out of the harbor. It was really a nice touch. I would love to go back to Saint John.
Halifax was another nice city. You should really see the public gardens. The flowers were just glorious. If you stop at the information booth when you get off the ship, they can mark a walking route for you that will take you to the gardens, the Citadel and down through some of the quaint areas. They also told us about "FRED", the free bus that takes you around the city that you can get off and on. (Something you would never learn on the ship). The boardwalk along the shore was very nice. We ate at Murphy's on the boardwalk and that was very good. Some tall ships were in for the Op Sail that will be taking place next week. The Maritime Museum is well worth a visit. I have to go back to Halifax because there are many more things I would like to see.
I have been to Bar Harbor before. I don't know why I like Bar Harbor so much since it is primarily (other than Acadia NP) a tourist trap. The free buses that run through Acadia are very nice. There are 7 different bus routes that start at the Village Green. They are sponsored by LL Bean to try to cut down on the amount of traffic. These buses are also hop on, hop off and run every half hour.
The fog rolled in again around 5 o'clock so the trip back to Boston from Bar Harbor was in the fog. We didn't get to use our verrandah very much on this cruise, it was just too wet and chilly. I would certainly make this trip again on the Maasdam. The crew members were very nice. I especially liked the waiters in the Ocean Bar. The three of them were a lot of fun and the music was very good.
Marge