ms MAASDAM.... Random Thoughts and Comments; August 18 through September 1, 2007

[sail7seas]

We returned yesterday from two truly wonderful weeks aboard Maasdam. These are my thoughts, my personal observances and experiences and no one need agree with them. ;)

Because we have done this cruise so many times, I won't list each day, each thing we ate, saw, said, heard etc Hopefully some of my and DH's experiences may be interesting or helpful in some way to some people.

Here goes:

We live about 30 -35 minutes from Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. We arrived just before 11:00 and went into the terminal very shortly after arriving. We were handed a health questionnaire to complete asking if we or anyone in a group with which we might have been traveling had been ill in the last some odd days.....if we had any gastrointestinal distress. Thankfully, we were well and our responses were negative.

We proceeded upstairs for check in and were processed immediately in a non-suite priority line though we are Suite guests. There was a couple in that line but an agent at another window near her was available and we went to her window. Pictures taken, ID's in hand, we took a seat and waited for embarkation to begin.

Within a few minutes, three folks in wheelchairs were helped aboard and we were next to board. A quick no thank you to the photographers and our ID's were scanned by security. We were aboard! :) We were delighted to see a few crew friends who happened to be at the gangway as we boarded and after a warm welcome aboard we were happily back in our 'home away from home'.

We had lunch with our dear friends and our cabin was ready.
We love roaming around the ship to see who is working which bar, which stewards we recognize in Lido and the like. A visit to Neptune Lounge and a warm welcome from Claire.....a very sweet and able Concierge with whom we have cruised before. A delight to see her again (as well as her assistant, Diana.) Our Concierge from June named Franz was working night shift at the Front Office these cruises so we barely saw him. We did have a quick visit so at least got to say hello and hear about the new baby he and his wife are expecting.

Luggage was delivered promptly. We started unpacking. Did LifeBoat Drill. Went to Sailaway and our cruise was underway. No feeling like that sailaway on embarkation day. Suite Cocktail party in Neptune Lounge had a nice group. Any choice of drink (for the most part), hot and cold nibbles, Captain and Hotel Manager attended as well as GRM, and other officers and we greatly enjoyed ourselves. Then, we were off to our 8:00 dinner.

We were assigned our usual table and what we came to discover was a fine dining team of Dining Steward Bobbie, Asst. Tigah, Supervisor Isman and Dining Room Manager Gildus all took excellent care of us. Wonderful wine steward Ernesto and Cellarmaster James shared some wonderful suggestions for us. We tried some new reasonably priced wines we had not had in a very long time. James was really helpful in guiding some of our selections. (We enjoy a costly wine from time to time but we don't spend $150 per bottle or such very often. We order the more conservatively priced bottles but still want something decent and palatible. ) We generally found the food in the dining room to be very good and we enjoyed most of our dinners . With James suggesting a reasonable wine, our dinners were a high point of each day.

We think the menu selections have become a little less extensive, the grouping of appetizer, soup and salad tends to hint at ordering fewer courses though I am sure we all know we can still have a five course dinner if that is what we wish. I could never eat that much food. I order an appetizer or a soup and an entree. Once in a while a dessert but usually not.

Of course, to say most of us at most have a salad and an entree in our homes isn't relevant as on vacation many folks splurge and want to be treated to things we don't have at home.

I carefully read several of the menus even though I saw immediately the choice I would be making. I think the food offerings are a little less luxurious, less costly items than I remember from past years. Though I personally don't eat some of these things, I know some folks used to enjoy seeing prime rib more than once in a 7 day cruise. Pasta, chicken, pork chops, salmon, cod, tofu........ moderate priced ingredients prevail. Canada/New England cruises are a somewhat higher per diem than a typical seven day Caribbean cruise. I wonder if average per diem paid effects food budget per person per day? It's a question I didn't ask but wonder about.

In any case, we think Chef is doing an excellent job and we greatly enjoyed our dinners. The food was hot and cold as appropriate, served at a nice pace between courses, well prepared and attractively plated.

I particularly enjoyed the salmon which is offered every night. I had it a few times and found it delicious. DH always enjoys the osso bucco which is still offered.

We were in Pinnacle both weeks on 'lobster night' so can't comment about that. We also skipped Master Chef Dinner on our second week and went to Pinnacle. It wasn't offered the first week perhaps because there were so many children aboard?? I'm not sure the reason but the first week there were about 130 plus or minus children but under 30 the second week. (Some schools opened and even where schools not yet opened, kids needed school clothes, haircuts, dentist appts etc)

We dined alone in Pinnacle some mights and with friends on other occasions.......especially on our 38th wedding anniversary.

What a special Anniversary Dinner we had in Pinnacle that night with very special Maasdam friends. Our host had ordered an incredibly delicious special appetizer for us, our meal was luscious and a highlight was when we were presented with a huge bouquet (dozens) of roses which were a gift from special friends on the ship. I was speechless when they brought them to us in Pinnacle. That was followed by a luscious chocolate (my favorite) torte cake that was wonderful. We had a very, very special evening. The Manager of Pinnacle saw to it the massive bouquet was delivered to our cabin so we could enjoy it the whole rest of our cruise. I took fabulous pictures of it and would love to share if I can figure out how to scan.

We dined, as I mentioned, numerous times in Pinnacle these cruises and each and every time, Roger was our steward. We knew him well from previous Maasdam cruises in June as well as last year. It is always so special when a much enjoyed crew person remembers us from the past and 'we pick up from where we left off' when last we met. We very much value the great service Roger has always provided and we always enjoy some chats and laughs with him. He is meticulous in his attention to giving everyone a top rate Pinnacle experience.

Pinnacle Manager Ricco is new to Maasdam and we took to him immediately. Very obliging, so pleasant, so able and such a nice man. We always received a warm welcome when we arrived in Pinnacle and he always had a wonderful table for us. A chat, a laugh, and always checking to be sure everything was to our liking.

Chef in Pinnacle is a very, very nice fellow. When we and others with whom we were dining ordered steaks, they all came exactly as ordered. Thick, juicy and rare or medium rare.....just as we requested. Delicious. As good as we have had in any Pinnacle and we have had many, many Pinnacle dinners. The tomato salad was particularly good last week with yellow and red fresh from the garden tasting thick sliced tomatoes. Northwest clam chowder is soooo good. I limited myself to only one chocolate volcano for both cruises and the one I had was Perfect!!! If it is cooked a minute too short, it is watery and not good. A minute too long and it is dry and not tasty. Mine was Perfect! :D

More about food......

Room Service: EXCELLENT. Not one mistake in 14 room service breakfasts. Our steward was Ari daily and what a pleasure to wake to Ari rolling our breakfast into our Suite on the new carts Maasdam has used since our cruises in June. A rectangle shaped cart has two sides which lift and form a round to which it is comfortable to pull up chairs and eat comfortably. These are a fantastic addition to the Suite Life. If one wishes to dine en suite but not use the veranda, these carts make it great.

We met the Officer in Charge of Room Service at the VIP party both weeks and complimented him highly on the great job he is doing. A very nice fellow we were happy to pass compliments along to him about how much we were enjoying our egg white omelettes and DH's eggs over easy and whatever else we were ordering. Never once did we have to have an error corrected. Our orders were perfect.

Think I'll take a break now. More later.

[Bill S]

Welcome home, Sail! It sounds like you and DH had a very nice anniversary cruise-congratulations on your anniversary! Well Done!

I look forward to reading the next "chapters"!

[WeLoveCruising]

Welcome home S7S!

We really enjoyed meeting you and Robert, even though we couldnt stay on to sail with you.

I'm glad your anniversay was so special.

Joanne

[Cruising-along]

Welcome home Sail! And a very, very Happy Anniversary! I'm enjoying reading all about your wonderful 2 weeks. :)
PS You must have gotten married 1 month before we did. :D

[mamaofami]

Glad you had such a good cruise, Sail. Anxious to read the rest of your review. Happy 38th anniversary. What a wonderful way to celebrate.:D
My mouth is watering at the thought of that chocolate volcano dessert.mmmm.

[RuthC]

How quickly you posted a report! I'm impressed. :) And enjoying every word of it, too. Looking forward to the rest when you can get to it.

[sail7seas]

Our day the first week in Halifax was wonderful. In the morning, we walked the boardwalk and enjoyed it immensely. We walked as far as the Casino and back so that was at least 4+ miles. We walked back via the business street and did some window shopping and DH and I found a few things to purchase. Fun.

We've been to Halifax many times but had never visited the Maritime Museum or Cemetery where many Titanic victims are buried. We decided it was time we did that tour and are happy we did.


What was very good about this Halifax tour was the guide we had. The bus and driver picked us up at the front of the terminal. There were about 25 or so of us and the guide provided a lot of information about the Halifax explosion about which I was very vague prior to his talk. I knew our City of Boston and the City of Halifax have a strong tie but did not know the reason they send a magnificent Christmas Tree to Boston every year. It is in thanks for the immediate aid Boston sent when Halifax suffered that terrible catastrophe in 1917 when a Belgium Relief Ship collided with the Mont Blanc, a ship loaded with heavy munitions and explosives in the narrows of the harbor. The resulting explosion was so dramatic and extreme, it demolished a huge section of the City of Halifax. Our bus took us through this area which, of course, has long since been rebuilt.

While I wasn't awed by the Museum, I did enjoy seeing some of their wonderful ship's models. They have a few pieces representative of Titanic but not much. There are two vessels behind the museum that are included in the admittance and can be viewed. DH toured one but I didn't bother.


I found the cemetery where the Titantic victims are buried to be very interesting. Aside from the victims, whose graves are placed in the shape of half a ship's hull, there are other old, interesting shaped and inscribed gravestones. It was demonstrative of how diverse the population of Halifax is. There are folks from all religions, all langauges, all corners of the world with large representative populations. Our guide again provided interesting information including that DNA tests were being done on some remains about which there is still less than definitive identification.....all these years later.

Loads of university buildings, hospitals/medical facilities. Nice city.

Another day we particularly enjoyed was our day on the St. Lawrence River and Saguenay Fjord.

Two naturalists/speakers boarded and remained most of the time on the bridge giving commentary. DH and I wandered out to Aft Pool (though it was a bit chilly and grey) but it was soooo worth it. In the span of 20 -30 minutes, we saw a large number of minke whales and harbor porpoises. Some said they saw dolphins but we never did..... What I find so interesting is the St. Lawrence is 2.8% salt water where the Atlantic is 3.5%. It's depth goes from 300 to 1,000' as it approaches the Atlantic. This causes the salt to surface and enables plankton (which whales feed on) to swim these waters. For a number of miles, the St. Lawrence is an Estuary and the whales and nature are studied and protected. We saw a few beluga whales n(idientified by white underside) but mostly minke. While we saw some last year on this same cruise, we saw far more this year and the naturalist mentioned that sometimes happens on a grey or drizzly day rather than a bright sunny one. So, there was an upside to the less than perfect weather.

It was, once again for us, very moving to view the statue of the Virgin Mary and listen as the ship played four versions of the Ave Maria. We always find this a highpoint of this cruise. It is a magnificent experience in our opinion.

But, speaking of weather.....we had wonderful weather for most of our 14 days. Our first visit to Quebec was rainy and miserable most of the day and the day on the river was cool and wet. Some really heavy fog going into Bar Harbor one of our visits and Halifax morning fog one of the days. Which made the better part of 11 days were magnificent weather. In Canada/New England, that's glorious. DH got in his pool/sunning time and got a great tan.. It was wonderful for walking and touring and doing most anything anyone wanted.

[sail7seas]

Thank you Bill, Carolyn and Ruth. I'm having fun gathering my thoughts about our two weeks. It went by so fast and seems we did so much. I have loads more comments coming. ;)

Joanne....... We soooo enjoyed our visit with you and DH. We're really happy it worked out for us to meet. Hoping so much we have the opportunity to sail together.

[Jade13]

Welcome Home and Happy 38th Anniversary!

Thank you for writing the review. I wondered after so many cruises if you got tired of writing them.

Also interesting that you ate room service brekfast each morning For some reason I thought you went to the Pinnacle. I also love the room service breakfast each morning. It is so great that HAL offers hot breakfast (if you want) to all passengers.

[babyher]

Welcome Home Sail , and a very Happy Anniversary :)

So glad you and Dh had such a great time. I'm enjoying your reports very much . Thank you for sharing them

[ministocking]

Welcome home Sail.

I have a quick question for you. Are there very many graves of Titanic victims? I would have thought most of the victims would have been lost at sea. I suppose those with life jackets on could have had their bodies recovered for burial though. That's one aspect of the disaster I've never read or heard much about.

Holly

[jhannah]

How wonderful your journey sounds. Glad you're home safely. I've been looking at the Peggy's Cove webcam almost every day and the weather has looked great. We hope to do that itinerary again some day.

[Atomica]

How wonderful your journey sounds. Glad you're home safely. I've been looking at the Peggy's Cove webcam almost every day and the weather has looked great. We hope to do that itinerary again some day.

I didn't know there was a Peggy's Cove webcam! I just googled it, however, and spent the last five minutes watching it :D

[CDRMark]

Welcome home S7S and how wonderful to spend a fortnight aboard the beautiful and elegant Maasdam. (Still my favorite ship).
Cheers
Mark

[Lisa63]

I knew our City of Boston and the City of Halifax have a strong tie but did not know the reason they send a magnificent Christmas Tree to Boston every year. It is in thanks for the immediate aid Boston sent when Halifax suffered that terrible catastrophe in 1917 when a Belgium Relief Ship collided with the Mont Blanc, a ship loaded with heavy munitions and explosives in the narrows of the harbor. The resulting explosion was so dramatic and extreme, it demolished a huge section of the City of Halifax.
Welcome home, sail! Seeing the Tree has become more meaningful to us after our first visit to Halifax in 1999, when we saw the Halifax Explosion exhibit in the Maritime Museum. (Did you see it? The pocket watch stopped at the time of the explosion was so powerful.) I do wish the City of Boston was more appreciative of the history and this most generous gift. When the Tree was at the Prudential Center, there was a small plaque commemorating the event. Ever since the Tree was moved to the Common, there is absolutely no mention of the Halifax Explosion, nor the fact that the tree is a gift from Nova Scotia. I have written to the Mayor's Office numerous times, but have never received a response or seen any action, even when including a Boston Globe article on the Explosion last year.

Anyway, pardon my ramble, but this gets to me.

In any case, welcome home from your favorite ship! I watched her leave Boston two weeks ago, not realizing you were onboard.

[hammybee]

Welcome home Sail and Happy Anniversery.

I agree with your hypothesis that the average/median cabin rate is the principal driver of the onboard experience, food and entertainment.

[sail7seas]

Holly.... If memory serves me correctly, there are about 90 graves of victims at the Halifax Cemetery. White Star refused to pay for their burials/headstones. Many bodies that were recovered were transported at the expense of their family. Our guide told a story about one of the dead, a musician, who had been given his uniform mere days prior to the sinking. White Star wanted his family to pay for it.

Jade..... It is a rare time that DH and I have breakfast in Pinnacle. Last August on Maasdam we did a few times as we were traveling with friends who enjoyed it and we joined them. The Pinnacle breakfast is very nice but we prefer Room Service. We had Room Service everyday..... except on the day we did Immigration Inspection in Bar Harbor, DH wanted an omelette after we were finished with Immigration so we went to Lido.

Thanks for the nice comments Jim, Hammy, Mark, Holly. (I sincerely hope I didn't miss anyone. )

Lisa..... I definitely agree with you that more should be publicized about this contribution from Halifax. I think it wonderful you have been making the effort to bring this to the Mayor's attention. I hope he listens. Every year, they send such a magnificent tree at great effort and expense to them and have done so for so many years.

[sail7seas]

Some more comments:

Maasdam is in beautiful condition. She is not a brand new ship and one knows that but she has been lovingly and well maintained. Housekeeping has her in spotless, shiny condition and Hotel Manager Firmin van Walle does a great job IMO His eyes are everywhere and he sees everything. But is still always available for a quick chat, to answer a question, to help........

Not one time during our two weeks aboard did I hear any horror stories of awful toilet problems, or any other major problems of any sort. If they happened, they escaped my attention and after what was written here earlier, I was listening and looking. IF any of that happened, it was not evident.

The seas (and St. Lawrence) were so calm this entire two week stretch that it unlike anything we have ever seen before. We have never really had very rough seas on this itinerary but this was truly remarkable. I seriously doubt Captain ever needed or used stabilizers. I never saw so much as a white cap.

One night in the dining room, we were seated just after sunset but it was still light out. As dusk set in and it became dark, I spotted the full moon shining bright. I was so appreciative they dining staff had left the drapes open knowing it would be such a beautiful sight. The reflection of the bright 'moon-light' on the water was magnificent. I thought they had 'specially hung the moon' just for us. :D


This cruise we experienced nice touches we have not always had offered. Just about every sailaway was something special. One time it was a wine and cheese party in Crows Nest. Another was Oktoberfest by Lido pool. This was REALLY good. :) We enjoyed the saurkraut, several wursts (sp?), potato salad, cucumber salad, and they were slicing a beautiful huge pork roast with crusty skin coating. That looked fabulous but I used my best willpower and resisted.

We enjoyed sitting at Lido Bar (Dolphin Bar) chatting with the bartenders, having a cold drink and eating our snack. It made for a great sailaway.

Another time, they ran a barbeque at lunch. Can't remember which port but it was delicious. I was so happy to see there was salmon on the grill and was it good!!!

We had many lunches ashore in ports as there were so many wonderful places to have great New England seafood that we wanted to sample a number of them. We had wonderful lobsters, mussels, clams, smoked meat in Montreal......but I'll get to that later. :)(

They ran a cocktail party each week for folks who had sailed often with HAL or were so-called VIP for whatever reason. It surprised me that so few gentlemen put on a jacket when attending a party hosted by Captain and Hotel Manager. I know there is no requirement for Informal (jacket) anymore but no one would ask a gentleman to remove it, I am sure.

Some more comments later.

[localady]

S7S- Sounds like you had a perfect cruise on your Maasdam. Happy Anniversary to you and DH, what a lovely surprise you received onboard!!

Looking forward to sailing the Eurodam on a similar itinerary in Sept 2008!!

[Piet_Hein]

mistake, never mind!!!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time Sail and Happy Anniversary to you and DH. HAL crew are so very special and how wonderful to be able to spend that special day with all of them:) These cruises are the type that give us wonderful memories for the rest of our lives.

[Sunshine91]

Hi Sail - Good to see you again - missed you on the boards. Always enjoy reading your comments & this Maasdam review is no exception. :)

Would have loved to have seen that wildlife! Whales & dolphins are so beautiful & graceful. But I'm curious - the naturalists/speakers come on & off the ship during the cruise as needed? They don't stay on for the whole week? What an odd job to have. I wonder how the speaker arranges transportation between ports. :confused:

[sail7seas]

Hi Susan......

The only day Naturalists are needed on this itinerary is the day of scenic cruising from the St. Lawrence River to Saguenay Fjord. This cruise is not like Alaska where the whole purpose of the cruise is scenery and wildlife. Canada/New England itinerary does not focus primarily on nature. There definitely are whale watching and kayak and the like type tours but also touring of Citadel and Anne of Green Gables House and Peggy's Cove etc

The speakers we had this time were particularly good. I found them interesting and easy to listen to.

[mariner]

```Naturalists?'' Aren't they nude? Did u do a RSVP cruise Sail?

[sail7seas]

You're so bad, Mariner.......
Moi......and DH ???? :D

Then again, sounds fun!! :D

[mariner]

Happy 18th!

To hell with clotihng-optional in New England!

[lkmamom]

Welcome home Sail and DH and Happy Anniversary! I really missed you and I am so glad that you had a great time. You are so right, the Maasdam is a beautiful ship and we all loved her very much. The staff, each and every one, could not have been better. I remember one evening, my hubby and I were just walking around the ship and the captain walked by. He stopped and smiled and asked how everything was. We were just so impressed with him, what a great captain! We had one night of thunderstorms and he got the ship through it with minimal movement.

We can't wait to sail onboard the Maasdam again! Thanks again for all of your advice!
Linda

[Jade13]

Jade..... It is a rare time that DH and I have breakfast in Pinnacle. Last August on Maasdam we did a few times as we were traveling with friends who enjoyed it and we joined them. The Pinnacle breakfast is very nice but we prefer Room Service. We had Room Service everyday..... except on the day we did Immigration Inspection in Bar Harbor, DH wanted an omelette after we were finished with Immigration so we went to Lido.




We had an omelette from Room Service on the Westerdam. I was just curious if they could cook it because I received unedible eggs twice. I never did figure out what was up with the scrambled eggs. The omelette was fine but I decided to stick with cereal & fruit as its much healthier anyway.

[dvdfreakmc]

Welcome home and what a great report. We are headed out on this cruise next August, so I have taken lots of notes. Thanks so much for taking the time to put your thoughts down.

[serendipity1499]

Welcome Home Sail & Happy Anniversary...

I've so enjoyed your posts about your cruise..As a little girl, I spent many a summer on the St. Lawrence with a beloved Aunt & Uncle..Mom & I occasionally took the ferry from Ogdensburg (N.Y) to Brockville (Ontario) to shop for special shoes for me..They were so much less in Canada...I remember those times so well & thank you for the memories..

Also so glad to hear that your wonderful Maasdam did not have any plumbing problems.. As you know, we are hoping to do the Bos to Bos next year (our 32nd Anniv.) & will be booking the "cheap seats" (unless of course we win the lottery..LOL) Would hate to think that we would have plumbing problems.. Although I know that does happen from time to time on all ships, (even on our "Prinsendam" cruise) & would never spoil our cruise unless it was a daily problem..

Thanks again for your sharing your cruise with us..

:) Betty

[sail7seas]

We had an omelette from Room Service on the Westerdam. I was just curious if they could cook it because I received unedible eggs twice. I never did figure out what was up with the scrambled eggs. The omelette was fine but I decided to stick with cereal & fruit as its much healthier anyway.

We like our omelettes cooked well, ordered them that way and that is how they were delivered. Delicious. Eggs are actually healthy foods when eaten in moderation. My cardio has no problem with our eating some eggs sometimes. (Probably not a good idea to eat them daily). Each individual's health needs are individual, of course. I did my share of high fiber cereal and fruit/berries as well. There was a very decent selection of cereal to choose from.

Which reminds me....... I forgot to mention the unbelievably delicious strawberries and blueberries we enjoyed. Wonderful! The fruits were very good. Blemish free bananas; crisp apples; loads of melons.......great.

[sail7seas]

Another fun/interesting point for us as back-to-backs on this itinerary was that in several ports, we were port to the dock one week and starboard the next.

I thought when we docked port to the dock in Halifax first week how great as I had not expected it. Last year it was Starboard. We love when the pipers come out early in the morning when the ship arrives and a senior gent dressed in his plaids reads a proclamation of welcome. As he ages, I worry year to year when we do this cruise if he is still able to come down to the dock and do this for us. Happily he was there this year, we were port side and enjoyed it. Piper also plays in the evening when we sail away.

The next week when we came, no piper sounds but I knew we were at the dock. Open the curtains to realize we were starboard to the dock. We were still in port side cabin. Then it dawned on me........ERRR

Makes sense they would alternate sides so work can be done on the ship when in port. There is scaffolding which can be used by the sailors to paint, wash, do what is necessary for maintenance. Docking alternating sides gives them the chance to work on both sides of the ship. Alternated sides in Quebec as well. Again......there was a lift they were using to raise sailors up to work on the ship.

That was a down side for KrazyKruizer when she moved. She started on port side, moved to starboard so had the same view in these ports. For us, in Quebec, one week we did not have a view of Old Quebec but the next we saw the beautiful Chateau Frontenac.....even with the green netting on a portion of the hotel. They are doing extensive renovations but she is such a pretty sight from the ship. Same for PEI. One cruise was port to the dock and the other we were starboard.....hmmmm, now I'm wondering if I remember that correctly. Yes... I think we alternated sides.

The dock in PEI may be done sometime in our lifetime but I wouldn't count on it. It seems to be taking a very long time. It was so handy in the past when the ship could pull right up to the dock but the tenders must now be used. It is an extremely short tender ride but nevertheless, it is somewhat less convenient. The ship anchors so close to the shore that from some angles it looks like it is docked.

Speaking of sights from the ship.......

When we were sipping coffee on our veranda early, we watched the Marathon Quebec was sponsoring. It was a gloriously beautiful day and they were running a 42k marathon. So many runners, walkers......wonderful to watch. Ship was so near the road and route of the race we could see without need for binoculars. Finish line was only about 2k from where we were docked.

Also that day in Quebec, there was a Military Tatoo. Incredible. All the uniforms, bands, music. There was unit from Canadian Command and another outfitted wit the Tall Black Bear Skin British Ceremonial Hats/red uniforms. Wonderful. Even for those who never left the ship, they could hear the bands' music.

Our first week in Quebec, we had a wonderful lunch ashore. A friend from the ship met us in Old Quebec and we went the short walk to Le Cochon Dingue. HIGHLY recommend. We all ate different dishes and we all loved our lunch. Our friend had a special pate first he requested of Chef and he said it was wonderful. I hads yearned for a great bowl of onion soup and had that. DH had a combination grilled platter with the best grilled potatoes he's ever had....so he says. I then had a serving of mussels that were amazing. They serve them in a giant pot. Even with help from DH, there was no way I could eat them all. I don't use the melted butter as really want to taste the fish and these were so clean and fresh....a real treat.

Belgium beers were available (and many, many other choices). I had my rare glass of white wine.

DH and friend had apple tartes for dessert but I was happy only with coffee.

This restaurant is owned by same people who own the restaurant at the pier, La Monde. That used to be quite good but comments are less enthusiastic these days.

On the bright, pretty, Marathon Day we visited Quebec, the city was alive with locals out and about on Sunday to enjoy their city and all the activities. Included in those activities was to stay at the harbor along the attractive area by the dock to wave us off as we sailed away. An enthusiastic send off and Captain treated them to three blasts of the horn. All of us loved it.

[sail7seas]

Thank you Peter/Susan and Betty. Hope these comments are of interest or help. :)

It's really a wonderful cruise and I can't over emphasize how much we enjoy it.

If you have any questions, I'll try to help.

[Jade13]

[quote=sail7seas;11484298]We like our omelettes cooked well, ordered them that way and that is how they were delivered. Delicious. quote]

We just ordered them scambled and they were mush. The only really "bad" food we had.

[sail7seas]

Anyone want lunch in Bar Harbor?

We have been there a number of times and have had lunch here and there. Lots of folks recommend Testa's.....just up the hill from the tender dock. We didn't like it there and walked out before ordering on another trip.

A few cruises ago, we were at the tender dock waiting to return to the ship when we glanced at the restaurant located at the dock.

Hmm....looked fun and they had a guitar player strumming music from way back when. BUT,,,,, has to be a tourist trap. How good could the food be in such a tourist 'sucker' location?

What the heck.....we tried it and now go back everytime we are in Bar Harbor.

Great bowl of steamed clams. Just the right size for two to share before having whatever else each of you want for lunch. I have to tell you, counting how many clams is not my thing so cannot tell you exactly how many shells were in the bowl but it wouldn't matter anyway. More probably than not, if they are so precise with each portion, they would be weighing and not counting. Clam shells all differ in size and thickness (weight) so count would not always be the same. Suffice to say the portion (if anyone really wants or needs to know) is about a little over a pound. (Personal estimate---- I've been making steamers for 40+ years). ;)

The lobsters are fine here. Very fresh but not huge. Price for lobsters in any of these locations is too high but if you want lobster, that is what you pay. They all know what the place up the street and down the corner is. For a 1 1/4 pound lobster at my lobster pound where I purchase them for cooking at home, that would cost me about $5.00. Certainly in a restaurant and with cole slaw/french fries etc you expect to pay more but figure it to be in the $15 + range for that lobster lunch.

It's called The Fish House Grill and has a site at www.fishhouse-grill.com. I have a copy of their menu and it is extensive. Lots to choose from for folks who don't want lobster or clams. There is a lunch for everyone offered here. Nice servers. Sit inside or out. Outside is picnic benches with umbrellas and servers are very friendly. As casual as it gets but it is fresh, good food you can safely enjoy. Bar inside and drinks available. Grab a bowl of peanuts in the shell on your way to your table!

Enjoy.

[sail7seas]

[quote=sail7seas;11484298]We like our omelettes cooked well, ordered them that way and that is how they were delivered. Delicious. quote]

We just ordered them scambled and they were mush. The only really "bad" food we had.


:confused: What is a scrambled omelette?

I have heard of scrambled eggs, of course, and I have heard of omelettes but I have never heard of a scrambled omelette. Perhaps they didn't know what you wanted either??

[Palm Beacher]

S7S,

Welcome home and Happy 38th Wedding Anniversary!

[mamaofami]

Sail, I love steamed clams, but have only made them once because I couldn't get the salt out, even thou I thought I had washed them well.. Do you have a recipe?

[sail7seas]

:) Carol,

Fill your kitchen sink about half full with water. Add a large sprinkle of corn meal and soak the clams for about 20 minutes. Rinse them very well. That will usually pull out the sand.

Put them in a very large pot.....larger than you expect you need.

Add only enough water to the pot to bring water to about 2 - 3" on the bottom. Turn heat to high, cover pot and watch carefully for the water to come to boil. Reduce heat to medium and keep pan covered. Have to be careful the water doesn't overflow and spill all over the stove. Has happened to me often. :)

They are done when shells are fully opened. Depending upon how many pounds you are cooking, it should take about 12 - 15 minutes or so. Discard any clams that do not open.

Serve with clam broth in cups and drawn butter on the side and ENJOY. We love them!

[Jade13]

[quote=Jade13;11484902]


:confused: What is a scrambled omelette?

I have heard of scrambled eggs, of course, and I have heard of omelettes but I have never heard of a scrambled omelette. Perhaps they didn't know what you wanted either??


Sail, we ordered our eggs scrambled. After having unedible ones for two days, I ordered an omelette, which was fine. By that point I also ordered other stuff such as fruit (the blueberries were great) and maybe even a cheese plate, assuming I might not like the omelette.

"We had an omelette from Room Service on the Westerdam. I was just curious if they could cook it because I received unedible eggs twice. I never did figure out what was up with the scrambled eggs. The omelette was fine but I decided to stick with cereal & fruit as its much healthier anyway."

[mamaofami]

Sail, thanks so much. Will give it a try tomorrow.:)

[mamaofami]

Double post

[lizzielady]

I have followed your posts about "your" Maasdam over the last few years. This time they have taken on more meaning as I have discovered the rt europe, Boston to Boston. My sister and I have booked the 35 day cruise next July so we are eager for all info about the ship, the the itinerary, and for the transatlantics. Your devotion to the ship and the New England itinerary is inspiring. I yearn for steamed mussels, lobster rolls, lobster stew, and all things fresh seafood!!!!! But most of all I look forward to the trip to "the northern lands.

Carolyn

[peaches from georgia]

With the eggs I think it is just personal preference. I like scrambled eggs very soft so the room service scrambled are perfect. I would never order an omelette from rs or in the dining room because I know it would be way too dry and, for me, overcooked. I do get omelettes in the Lido where I can stand there and watch and tell him when to take it off and love them. Of course I only eat very rare beef, also. ;)

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for the report on the Canada/New England cruise.

I will certainly miss hot breakfast via room service in a few weeks when I sail to Canada on the Crown Princess. I have heard that you can write in hot items on the Continental Breakfast order form and usually get them. But I love that HAL treats all cabins to hot room service.

also did you bring your wine onboard to enjoy?

We will stop in Halifax and Saint John, NB. Does anyone happen know of Acadian sights fairly close to the cities? I am of Acadian descent and would love to visit and take photos for my Mom who is Pure 100% Cajun. My research shows that most of the Acadian museums are several hours from the ports.

sorry to highjack Sail's thread. But she does get a big audience with her incitiful reviews.

Thanks!

[sail7seas]

How exciting you have booked that wonderful cruise, Carolyn. Everyone always loves that itinerary with Maasdam.


Happy Cruzer..... :) No...... We did not bring any wine aboard with us. But we certainly enjoyed our fair share of wine during our cruises. ;)

[sail7seas]

A few comments about dress and dress code. Anyone who is tired of the subject, I understand and invite you to 'tune out'. :)

Our first week, upper level, 8:00 P.M. seating, we found most people made an effort to be presentable and on formal nights adhered to HAL's definition for dress code. I saw almost no one I would have hoped would have been asked to go change and not be admitted to the dining room.

Not so for the second week. I saw things I had never before seen in both the Dining Room and Ocean Bar.

There were two men seated near us whose demeanor clearly stated...... don't bother telling me what to wear. Jeans and polo shirt for formal night and it was just too bad about anyone who didn't like it. The women seated with them were only slightly more appropriate.

If it continues in that style, I predict within a year even I will stop carting tuxedo and dresses. What is the point?
If the ships are going to call it formal night, enforce it or don't have it. I hope those in Seattle will make a firm rule and tell the ships exactly how they want it approached and handled. Tell us pax to lug formal wear and mean it or do not.

When I entered Ocean Bar after dinner and saw straight in front of me a group of 7 twenty something year olds lounging at two of the cocktail tables in their shorts, t shirts, flip flops on the floor and dirty bare feet up on the arms of the chairs. Two 'gentlemen' and one 'lady' were slumped in their chairs, glasses in hand and literally draped themselves from the side of one chair over the arm and back of the next chair.

Seems no one wanted to speak with them about this. Who wants to get into the argument that was inevitable?

When I see that, it really depresses me. How can we keep requesting a certain standard from HAL when this is how our fellow pax behave?

[ANSalberg]

S7S -What you have observed on your cruise and remarked on -is what I feel about the entire debate; it isn't the idea that EVERYONE has to dress to the nines and flaunt their wealth [or lack of] its the DEGREE......It is one thing to wear a cotton skirt/velvet top/flat shoes - or in the case of men; a navy blaser.......and to wear DIRTY clothes/flip-flops and hang your dirty feet on the furniture!!!!! It actually has very little to do with what anyone wears and everything to do with acceptable behavior.
Anne

[lkmamom]

Sail, on our Maasdam cruise, we only noticed two couples that were not dressed appropriatly (according to what HAL asks) for formal night. One couple wore jeans and the other couple sweat pants and sneakers. Not a soul said a word to them and to be honest, noone really paid attention.
I wore my long gown the second night and although several women wore long gowns, I have decided that I will stick with shorter cocktail dresses for formal night on future cruises. The shorter dresses are much easier to pack:D
Linda

So sorry to hear about the flip flops and bare feet. Did you have a younger crowd on your sailings? Our sailing seemed to have a more older crowd of passengers. There were lots of families with all ages traveling together. I think that this bothered a lot of the passengers on our sailing, they were not happy with the kids onboard. We have been on a lot of cruises and all of us thought that the kids were all very well behaved on this particular cruise.

[LizB1]

A few comments about dress and dress code. Anyone who is tired of the subject, I understand and invite you to 'tune out'. :)

Our first week, upper level, 8:00 P.M. seating, we found most people made an effort to be presentable and on formal nights adhered to HAL's definition for dress code. I saw almost no one I would have hoped would have been asked to go change and not be admitted to the dining room.

Not so for the second week. I saw things I had never before seen in both the Dining Room and Ocean Bar.

There were two men seated near us whose demeanor clearly stated...... don't bother telling me what to wear. Jeans and polo shirt for formal night and it was just too bad about anyone who didn't like it. The women seated with them were only slightly more appropriate.

If it continues in that style, I predict within a year even I will stop carting tuxedo and dresses. What is the point?
If the ships are going to call it formal night, enforce it or don't have it. I hope those in Seattle will make a firm rule and tell the ships exactly how they want it approached and handled. Tell us pax to lug formal wear and mean it or do not.

When I entered Ocean Bar after dinner and saw straight in front of me a group of 7 twenty something year olds lounging at two of the cocktail tables in their shorts, t shirts, flip flops on the floor and dirty bare feet up on the arms of the chairs. Two 'gentlemen' and one 'lady' were slumped in their chairs, glasses in hand and literally draped themselves from the side of one chair over the arm and back of the next chair.

Seems no one wanted to speak with them about this. Who wants to get into the argument that was inevitable?

When I see that, it really depresses me. How can we keep requesting a certain standard from HAL when this is how our fellow pax behave?

Sail...since you and DH are such good friends of the HM I am wondering why you didn't bring these things to his attention...particularly in the Ocean Bar which he frequents with both of you??

[sail7seas]

The Hotel Manager didn't happen to be present when this happened, Liz. Unfortunately........

It is one thing to talk about it. It is another to view it. I imagine if this is becoming common place he and his colleagues have or will see it live and in living color. This was quite extreme though.

[Jade13]

Thanks for the report on the Canada/New England cruise.

I will certainly miss hot breakfast via room service in a few weeks when I sail to Canada on the Crown Princess. I have heard that you can write in hot items on the Continental Breakfast order form and usually get them. But I love that HAL treats all cabins to hot room service.


Thanks!

Let us know if you can write in hot items on Princes and if they show up? I am curious because we are interested in one of the Princess itinerarys (They do a full Panama transit in 10 or 11 nights), but I don't like the idea of the limited room service breakfast order.

Re: Acadia decent. When you mention this I think of Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor. I was there two years ago and invited back in two weeks (Aunt & Uncle rent there every Sept), but the dates do not work with either the holidays or guest from Hong Kong. I really wanted to go back to Bar Harbor too. We ate in a restaurant where Dh had the best Veal Parm he has ever eaten in a restaurant.

[Jade13]

A few comments about dress and dress code. Anyone who is tired of the subject, I understand and invite you to 'tune out'. :)



There were two men seated near us whose demeanor clearly stated...... don't bother telling me what to wear. Jeans and polo shirt for formal night and it was just too bad about anyone who didn't like it. The women seated with them were only slightly more appropriate.




I really did think that they would not allow pax to enter the dining room in jeans. But, I'm not surprised. The Indonesian & Asian staff is way too nice to say anything.

On the Westedam (Med) we saw nothing like this. Everywhere I looked I saw well dressed pax. I wore cocktail length dresses (brought a gown to Alaska) in the Med as its just too much to pack gowns, but if I was leaving from a home port I would bring the long gowns.

[WeLoveCruising]

.When I entered Ocean Bar after dinner and saw straight in front of me a group of 7 twenty something year olds lounging at two of the cocktail tables in their shorts, t shirts, flip flops on the floor and dirty bare feet up on the arms of the chairs. Two 'gentlemen' and one 'lady' were slumped in their chairs, glasses in hand and literally draped themselves from the side of one chair over the arm and back of the next chair.

Sail,
How dare they disrespect "your living room" that way! :eek: :o

Seriously, I would not have been comfortable with that. Unfortunately I had a similar experience in the Crow's Nest on our last cruise. A bunch of people were laying down on the newer orange bench seating areas, all with their sneakers up on the backs of the seats. Discussions of formal night and dress code aside....really....do you think the same people sit that way back at home in a restaurant or club, or even on their own furniture?

Joanne

[sail7seas]

Joanne..... :D You understand how I felt!!! I didn't actually formalize the thought but yes, that is it!! I felt they were rudely mistreating 'my' living room. We have spent so many months of our lives in Maadam's Ocean Bar, it 'hurt' to see it treated that way.

[marcb71a]

Carolyn,
We were on the Voyage of the Vikings for only for 17 days over, we got off at Rotterdam, Fabulous cruise, library is top rate, Don't miss the Golden Circle Tour in Rejajavic, you can book one on your own the ships are disorganized, and the Glacier Lake in Djysjoniver, spellings are in question.
Lots of major cruisers, but an older crowd

[happy cruzer]

Will do a report on the Princess "hot" breakfast write in! I often mention the HAL room service as a real advantage to HAL. Princess offers the Ultimate Balcony breakfast and Ultimate Balcony dinner for serious bucks as their Official hot meals via room servious. But Princess does have the dining room open at almost all meals even in port, so that's what we normally do.

I agree it's a matter of misbehavior mainly. Regarding the excessive violations, my thoughts are that those folks are intentionally trying to get a rise out of what they consider the old timers. I saw it a few times on the Regal Princess. One night the younger cruiser would be dressed very appropriately and the next he would wear his slacks, sports jacket with a baseball cap on sideways. He was just crying "Look at me" and "see what I can do" kind of like a 2 year old. Everyone just ignored the antics just like you would someone else's 2 year old. Flip flops and dirty feet and other assorted things are just the same.

Businesses will just have to decide what they allow. And we will have to vote with our feet if the instances get to be too many.

[MHS4]

[QUOTE=sail7seas;11495502
When I entered Ocean Bar after dinner and saw straight in front of me a group of 7 twenty something year olds lounging at two of the cocktail tables in their shorts, t shirts, flip flops on the floor and dirty bare feet up on the arms of the chairs. Two 'gentlemen' and one 'lady' were slumped in their chairs, glasses in hand and literally draped themselves from the side of one chair over the arm and back of the next chair. [/QUOTE]

Sorry, but this is the "real" world --it's a change I've seen over the past 15 years. Today in my university office the 20-somethings wear flip flops all summer, alternating with hooker spikes, & often kick them off & put feet on desk. While they don't wear short-shorts or casual T's, the shortness of skirts easily rival Daisy Mae's shorts and the depth of neckline v's... These are not kids -- they are professionals with degrees (or at least working on that 2nd one); most are in a serious relationship, one of the over 20-somethings has 3 kids 11+; and none are artiste professors whom one might expect to dress/behave that way. They know there's no glass ceiling to fight, no need to wear the business suits of 20 years ago to prove themselves competent & are extremely comfortable with their physicality. They have the total self-assurance that does not look for or care about external approval. However, to be quite fair, they are also great team workers and caring individuals.

And, yes, I am envious -- oh to be 20 again -- today, not in the 50s. Although I might not drape over 2 chairs

[ekerr19]

Sail -

Welcome home!!! I knew you were coming back right before Labor Day... We've been busy moving our son into the Condo, so I haven't had time to check in at all.

Thank you for sharing your Maasdam b-t-b with us!!! I can only imagine how wonderful it was, but thanks to your posts, it seems real.

I'm so glad you got to meet Joanne and Bill - we had a wonderful time with them as well. I hope they will be joining us on Eurodam... ;)

Thanks again - and welcome home. :)

[ekerr19]

Sorry, but this is the "real" world --it's a change I've seen over the past 15 years.

Maybe in some places... not here, thankfully - and not by my kids. :) Our 26-yr. old or 19 yr. old wouldn't act this way...

[Copper10-8]

Hey S7S, welcome home! Sounds like you had a great two weeks on Maasdam; good for you! Did you try any Wang Wang's yet?;)

[happy cruzer]

Sorry, but this is the "real" world --it's a change I've seen over the past 15 years. Today in my university office the 20-somethings wear flip flops all summer, alternating with hooker spikes, & often kick them off & put feet on desk. While they don't wear short-shorts or casual T's, the shortness of skirts easily rival Daisy Mae's shorts and the depth of neckline v's... These are not kids -- they are professionals with degrees (or at least working on that 2nd one); most are in a serious relationship, one of the over 20-somethings has 3 kids 11+; and none are artiste professors whom one might expect to dress/behave that way. They know there's no glass ceiling to fight, no need to wear the business suits of 20 years ago to prove themselves competent & are extremely comfortable with their physicality. They have the total self-assurance that does not look for or care about external approval. However, to be quite fair, they are also great team workers and caring individuals.

And, yes, I am envious -- oh to be 20 again -- today, not in the 50s. Although I might not drape over 2 chairs

Well, I will get flamed badly here -

I don't think a University Office is the "real" world. Every University that I attended had tenures and various "protected" statuses that don't exist in the real world as all senior employees know that have ever been downsized or rationalized.

I do believe that all schools have loosened their dress codes starting with elementary schools and that is part of the reason younger people are more casual.

But the real business environment still has lots of consequenses for dressing inappropriately. Most businesses that have customer reps deal with the public protect their image with "uniforms" i.e like at the bank where the employees where the company shirt with a pair of khakis. You see that at Target and Walmart too.

But the differing backgronds of folks does explain the differing actions.

[happy cruzer]

ooops

[sail7seas]

John.....Hope you and Maria have a wonderful time on Rotterdam.
Laura...... Good to see you posting. :)

Thankfully, we don't see people draped all over furniture around here either. Most places we frequent would not permit it. I suppose this is another situation fairly unique to academia? :confused:
Not much of it in the 'real world.........yet. :(

[wander]

Even when I was a full time graduate student (3 yrs) in the 70s academia was a "different" culture that the business world. I dressed, sat and acted (including vocabularly) differently at school than I did outside of the academic environment. My fellow students and I knew the differences and dressed and acted accordingly. I give full credit to my parents, and the parents of my friends, for my knowing the differences in dress and behavior codes in different situations from an early age on. Playground stuff just did not go at most other public places. Unfortunately for many young people these distinctions seem to have been lost. (By the way, I am Not saying that all older adults are perfect.)

[MHS4]

Unfortunately for many young people these distinctions seem to have been lost.

That was my point -- the distinctions are fading away. Note the widespread fashion of "saggy pants", no longer the marker of a social/economic group.

By the way, the professionals I was refering to in my original post are not tenured, or "protected" employees. Walmart, etc., uniforms are intended to aid the customer in identifying who they can ask for help, which is not a concern in an office environment. Take a look at Aug 26, Aug 30 & Sept GQ postings here: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

However, to return the thread more to its original review purpose, I think the more "traditional" cruisers on HAL, or any ship for that matter, will need to become more accepting of a broader definition what style is socially correct in the 2000s.

[sail7seas]

.....and perhaps the younger set could try to learn to keep their feet on the floor and off the furniture? :D I can get used to the casual sloppiness but hopefully will never accept that extreme ill mannered behavior. Maybe they'll get sick of looking at eachother's dirty feet and will put on some shoes? One can hope.

[AirGorilla]

That was my point -- the distinctions are fading away. Note the widespread fashion of "saggy pants", no longer the marker of a social/economic group.

By the way, the professionals I was refering to in my original post are not tenured, or "protected" employees. Walmart, etc., uniforms are intended to aid the customer in identifying who they can ask for help, which is not a concern in an office environment. Take a look at Aug 26, Aug 30 & Sept GQ postings here: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

However, to return the thread more to its original review purpose, I think the more "traditional" cruisers on HAL, or any ship for that matter, will need to become more accepting of a broader definition what style is socially correct in the 2000s.

I enjoyed your posts. Thanks for taking the time to make posts that surely weren't in the mainstream thought of many people on this board. The Gen X and Gen Y behaviors are not those of the Boomers and Elders (for lack of a better word!), but they are both wonderful groups of young folks!! I'm 57, still enjoy Formal Nights, but understand that the younger folks may have different perspectives on various things.

I enjoyed your perspective that the folks at your organization were great team members.

Thanks.

AG

[c-legs]

We will stop in Halifax and Saint John, NB. Does anyone happen know of Acadian sights fairly close to the cities? I am of Acadian descent and would love to visit and take photos for my Mom who is Pure 100% Cajun. My research shows that most of the Acadian museums are several hours from the ports.

Thanks!
:) Good evening,
You're right: all the pure Acadian sites in nova Scotia are beyond the reach of a ''cruise port of call''...too far. Which is too bad: there are a lot of good spots in NovaScotia where you can ''feel'' the Acadian culture, folklore and atmosphere. We were there in June, on a land vacation project.and made a point of visitng a number of those spots...
Sorry this does not help you, but at least, you will not waste any time chasing the unreacheable.

Happy sailings
Cheers
;)

[lkmamom]

I enjoyed your posts. Thanks for taking the time to make posts that surely weren't in the mainstream thought of many people on this board. The Gen X and Gen Y behaviors are not those of the Boomers and Elders (for lack of a better word!), but they are both wonderful groups of young folks!! I'm 57, still enjoy Formal Nights, but understand that the younger folks may have different perspectives on various things.

I enjoyed your perspective that the folks at your organization were great team members.

Thanks.

AG

I would like to thank you for your comment airgorilla. I am also very disappointed to hear that cruisers felt that it was okay to put bare feet up on furniture on the ship. I know that I will be flamed for this post because there are two sides to every story, but, that is one of the reasons that I think that the dress codes should be enforced. Many times, truly casual wear (such as the flip flops and shorts etc) leads to "casual" behaviors. Of course the other side of that story is that sometimes those that are dressed to the nines drinking excessivly can also lead to unfavorable behaviors.

Our family absolutely loved our recent Maasdam cruise. The one thing that was disappointing (truly the only thing) about it though, were the comments made by some cruisers directly to our son in our presence that "they do not like kids". I would never bring this up had it only happened once but it happened daily on our cruise by multiple fellow cruisers. True, there were many families onboard cruising together with moms, dads and grandparents. We felt that all of the kids that we saw in the public areas were very well behaved. Our first evening onboard at dinner, we sat down and greeted our fellow tablemates. They did not reciprocate our hellos, held their menus up and made no eye contact. After a while, one lowered her menu and said "I don't like kids". There was not another word said the rest of the meal, very uncomfortable. They did not come back for any of the meals in the dining room. Our son did not say a word other than hi, was appropriately dressed with Dockers and a golf shirt, clean shaven. Another episode happened on a shore excursion when a lady was very verbally upset because she had to sit next to our son "a kid" on the bus. Not only was it embarassing for him but just not called for, he was sitting directly in back of us so I know that he was not doing anything. I realize that some "kids" are disruptive and that is wrong. If their parents are not responsible enough to stop the behaviors then I truly feel that the cruise ship staff should. All that I ask is that people do not judge all young people the same because they are not all the same. I will also say that there were many cruisers onboard that were very complimentary of our son.

Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now. Thanks for listening:D
Linda

[babyher]

I would like to thank you for your comment airgorilla. I am also very disappointed to hear that cruisers felt that it was okay to put bare feet up on furniture on the ship. I know that I will be flamed for this post because there are two sides to every story, but, that is one of the reasons that I think that the dress codes should be enforced. Many times, truly casual wear (such as the flip flops and shorts etc) leads to "casual" behaviors. Of course the other side of that story is that sometimes those that are dressed to the nines drinking excessivly can also lead to unfavorable behaviors.

Our family absolutely loved our recent Maasdam cruise. The one thing that was disappointing (truly the only thing) about it though, were the comments made by some cruisers directly to our son in our presence that "they do not like kids". I would never bring this up had it only happened once but it happened daily on our cruise by multiple fellow cruisers. True, there were many families onboard cruising together with moms, dads and grandparents. We felt that all of the kids that we saw in the public areas were very well behaved. Our first evening onboard at dinner, we sat down and greeted our fellow tablemates. They did not reciprocate our hellos, held their menus up and made no eye contact. After a while, one lowered her menu and said "I don't like kids". There was not another word said the rest of the meal, very uncomfortable. They did not come back for any of the meals in the dining room. Our son did not say a word other than hi, was appropriately dressed with Dockers and a golf shirt, clean shaven. Another episode happened on a shore excursion when a lady was very verbally upset because she had to sit next to our son "a kid" on the bus. Not only was it embarassing for him but just not called for, he was sitting directly in back of us so I know that he was not doing anything. I realize that some "kids" are disruptive and that is wrong. If their parents are not responsible enough to stop the behaviors then I truly feel that the cruise ship staff should. All that I ask is that people do not judge all young people the same because they are not all the same. I will also say that there were many cruisers onboard that were very complimentary of our son.

Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now. Thanks for listening:D
Linda


First off, I am very sorry that you and your son had to endure this. And I know it truly does happen because I have gone through it with my own.

Second , You are a much better person than me because if someone had said that in front of me and my kids,and my guys were being well behaved and respectful , I would have said something to them.

It just gripes me sometimes that its Ok to post things like "I hope there are going to be any bratty rug rats on my cruise" but God forbid someone writes something about wheelchairs and walkers and Depends . Ooooooh how disrespectful ......Give me a break.

My mom is going to be 82 next week God bless her :) She always says she loves hanging out with the kids *LOL* Of course my mom considers anyone between 20 and 60 kids :) She says she would rather hear about whats going on, than what was and whats wrong.

Trust me nothing annoys me more than bratty kids running around out of control. But you are right, getting an attitude just because EEEEEEK a kid is around no matter how well behaved is just wrong.

[sail7seas]

Linda..... I'm so sorry to hear you and your son encountered such rudeness. It astounds me that people could be so outrageously ugly for no apparent reason other than your son has only been on earth a certain number of years. Just awful.

Would you sail HAL again or fear you would be confronted with that rudeness? I hope you can ignore those few horrid people and choose another HAL cruise.

[Jade13]

I Our first evening onboard at dinner, we sat down and greeted our fellow tablemates. They did not reciprocate our hellos, held their menus up and made no eye contact. After a while, one lowered her menu and said "I don't like kids".


Another episode happened on a shore excursion when a lady was very verbally upset because she had to sit next to our son "a kid" on the bus. Not only was it embarassing for him but just not called for, he was sitting directly in back of us so I know that he was not doing anything. I realize that some "kids" are disruptive and that is wrong.

Okay, I will get off of my soapbox now. Thanks for listening:D
Linda

Linda, the dining room incident is really weird. If the women was concerned who she sat with she should just have requested a table for two or with the number in her traveling group. It sounds like she went to the Lido after that or had room service.

As far as the bus, I guess she was traveling alone? I assume she sat somewhere else on the way back, or did you switch seats with your son?

Btw, both are lucky they were not around my Italian DH. He would have said something back to both of them. He has a way of saying things that would have others laughing - although not the rude people.

[lkmamom]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. If you could only see our son (of course I am a proud mom:o ) He is that all-American sweet blonde headed kid. He wears his hair very short (he goes to a Catholic all boys college prep school and they demand that!!) so we just could not figure out why anyone would say such things. As much as it pains me to say, he is not even a kid anymore, he is going through the process of applying to colleges now and I am having a really hard time with that right now (sorry, that's another totally different subject:( )

I will not lie......he was not happy with what happened as it was the first time that he has ever gone through such situations. We told him that sometimes people just do not feel well or they are just plain and simply "grumpy". It most likely was not him as a person and a kid that they did not like. He seemed to accept that. I remember while we were walking back to the ship from Halifax, an older gentleman and his wife were in front of us. The gentleman dropped his cruise card and so our son picked it up and tapped him on the shoulder and said "excuse me, you dropped this sir". The man at first was very suspicious and asked how our son had his cruise card, his wife immediantly spoke up and said "you dropped it!! and had that nice young man not have given it back to you, you would not be able to get back on the ship!". She then turned to our son and winked and said thanks so much:)

We loved David Martin the cruise director. For some reason I really think that he had either encountered this issue with others or someone actually complained. Each time he would see our son or for that matter a lot of the kids onboard he would high five them and ask if they were having a good time. We thought that was so special and it was so appreciated.

Sail, we loved the Maasdam and absolutely we will sail with HAL again.I am eternally thankful for all of your advice, you were so right about the Maasdam in every way! I am not sure if we just ran into a group of passengers that just did not realize that youngsters would be onboard too or not. While doing laundry one day a lady asked me if HAL really allows children onboard because she was told by her TA that HAL did not allow children. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe there were a lot of people that were not expecting the kids.

I do not want to put a damper on cruising with kids for anyone. We have always had such great "family" times together while cruising. This cruise was no exception. The staff loved our son and could not have done enough for him or us. This was actually a good lesson for all of us especially for our son who in a few months will be going out into the world on his own. Frankly, we are very proud of him, he handled the situations very well and maturely and to be honest, that is all that my DH and I care about.
Thanks for listening
Linda

[babyher]

Linda you should be very proud of your son . He sounds like a good boy , no doubt from being raised by good parents :)

[lkmamom]

Thank you Babyher. My Mom is also 82 and sounds just like your Mom! There are lots of "grandmas and grandpas" out there that are just like our moms.;) We just had some instances with some people this time that just were not so happy this cruise. It is all about lessons learned in the game of life and DS will be all the better the adult having learning to deal with them.

Our next cruise will be his graduation present, he wants to go to the Mediterranean so trying to plan for that one!:D
Linda