Dave’s Live from Maasdam 14-day Southern Caribbean, March 13-27, 2015

Hello everyone,

I’m back with another “Live From” blog, this time from MS Maasdam on a 14-day round-trip Southern Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale.

Here is our itinerary:

- 13 March, sail from Fort Lauderdale at 4 p.m.;

- 14 March, at sea;

- 15 March, at sea;

- 16 March, St. Thomas, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.;

- 17 March, St. Bart’s, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.;

- 18 March, St. Lucia, Castries 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., then Soufriere 5-6 p.m.;

- 19 March, Barbados, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

- 20 March, Grenada, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

- 21 March, at sea;

- 22 March, Bonaire, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.;

- 23 March, Curacao, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.;

- 24 March, at sea;

- 25 March, at sea;

- 26 March, Half Moon Cay, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.;

- 27 March, return to Fort Lauderdale at 7 a.m..

Here is a map of our itinerary:

This is several weeks later than we normally cruise in the Caribbean, but we waited for Maasdam this year to take this itinerary, since it includes two islands we have never visited – St. Bart’s and Grenada.

We are looking forward to a relaxing and interesting cruise after a long winter. The mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. did not have the number of storms that pounded the northeast, such as Boston which is nearing an all-time record snowfall year. But, we have had a cold winter, with many record lows; it is good to get somewhere warm.

More later,

Dave

Have a wonderful cruise, Dave.

Roy

Have a great cruise! I just booked the Maasdam yesterday for the April 7th sailing. Can you please list the senior staff if you get a chance? Thanks. Kathy

Hope you have a good cruise with sunny skies and warm temperatures.

Looking forward to reading all about it.

Friday, March 13

Pre-cruise

We drove from the D.C. area as we usually do, leaving Wednesday, March 11. We spent the night near Savannah, GA and drove to the Fort Lauderdale area Thursday. We are staying at a Courtyard in Plantation, FL, several miles west of Port Everglades.

The drive was OK, but the Thursday portion reinforced to us why we always plan to arrive at the port the day before a cruise at the latest. We were a bit later than intended getting out of Savannah, and then we encountered dense fog in southeast Georgia, which slowed traffic. Then, we were prepared for weekday morning rush in Jacksonville, but were delayed even more by an accident ahead of us.

We eventually cleared Jacksonville and were making good time on I-95, when we saw the advisory signs on the freeway that said a crash ahead was blocking all southbound lanes. We learned later that a tractor-trailer had rolled over and was blocking the lanes. Traffic was diverted east to U.S. route 1 near New Smyrna Beach, and then down U.S. 1 for a dozen or more miles before rejoining the interstate. The state and county police did a great job organizing the detour, and it was not nearly as bad as we feared, but we still lost a lot of time. The result of all of that was arriving in Plantation about 2 to 3 hours later than intended. If we had been planning to embark yesterday, we would have been really cutting it fine.

But, we were able to check in and relax a bit before having dinner nearby. I had decided to order the steamed PEI mussels for a starter, but the waiter said that all mussel deliveries along the east coast had been disrupted, presumably by weather. I was a bit surprised, because while I had watched television reports of storm after storm slamming Boston and the northeast, the storms all stopped at the Maine border -- Prince Edward Island and the other Maritimes didn’t get any snow. :rolleyes:

Seriously, it pointed out how we take for granted having things always available that we forget how it used to be when you could only get local asparagus or peaches or oysters, etc. for the few weeks of the season. It also made me think that the mussels industry is probably a big part of the PEI economy, and I hope they aren’t hurt too much by the disruption. It just means that I can use an altruistic argument that I am helping the local economy when I order mussels in Charlottetown when we visit, twice, in October on Veendam … instead of what DW probably will call it – “pigging out on mussels.”

More later,

Dave

Have a wonderful cruise, Dave.

 

Roy

Thanks, Roy!

Enjoy your cruise as well. You had (will have) a much easier trip to your ship in Baltimore than we did to Fort Lauderdale from Arlington. :D

Dave

Looking forward to your review! Hope you have a great time on your cruise. Driving on I-95 can be an adventure even on good days. On our last cruise, someone from England mentioned they had just spent a week on Granada and really enjoyed the island. We've never been there, so I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions of the island. Remember, having fun during the next two weeks has a higher priority than writing your review!:)

Looks like a great itinerary on one of my favorite ships. I'm eager to read about your experiences.

Looking forward to reading your writeup on your cruise. Also your pictures! :) Have a great cruise. We booked this cruise for April but changed it to the Med. cruise that we are taking in April..

Rick & joyce

Love your live from threads. Looking forward to more. I hope you and your lovely wife have a great cruise.

Dave, looking forward to your live from. Wish I was sailing with you again. Have a great trip.

We were on that same ship and cruise a year ago and we are very much looking to reading your Blog. Hoping you have as a good and enjoyable cruise as we did. We really enjoy the Maasdam and her crew.

Enjoy your cruise! The sail-away addicts will be waving as you leave Fort Lauderdale.

I got a chuckle out of your weather comment. Not sure why we are not shown Canadian weather.

We too did this cruise last year, with many friends and family. The itinerary is great and Maasdam and her crew were top notch. I'm a bit surprised you didn't have trouble getting through the Daytona Beach area with Bike Week underway. Enjoy, Dave and DW! :)

Enjoy! I really love reading your live from reports.

What a drive! Glad you are both safe and sound and probably getting ready to go to the port as I type.

Looking forward to your live from! We enjoyed Maasdam last year. I wonder if you will have the same Cellar Master, Miguel Borge, an Argentinian transplanted to South Africa. We really liked him, and especially his dinners!

From the Globe and Mail:

Monster snowfall completely buries streets and cars in P.E.I.

Snow always makes driving more difficult, but in Prince Edward Island, so much of it has fallen many people can’t even find their cars.

Thanks for taking us along with you - after the winter you've had, you certainly deserve a couple of weeks in the sun!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

Have a great trip. We'll wave as you sail out of the channel.

I've not been on that ship or visited several of the islands you are visiting. I am looking forward to your posts. Have a wonderfully warm time.

Friday, March 13 (Cont.)

Well, we are on board, yay! We arrived at the port shortly after 11, parked at the midport garage, and walked to terminal 26 to board Maasdam. Check-in was a breeze, and we went aboard a couple of minutes later. The rooms were not ready, so we went to the Ocean Bar, which was closed, and the Mix, where we found a bartender to get us each a glass of wine. We chatted with Jonathan a while, and then went to our room when it was open.

We are in a Vista suite on the port side. We have been in this room before, and find it comfortable. I checked on our dining table, for early dining (which is 5:30) and found we are at table 29, a two-top against the starboard window -- a great location. Our bags have not arrived, so I thought I would check in before they do, or at least before boat drill.

Today’s program was in the room, so I took photos of it. I have read reports of where readers love to see lots of photos, and others who say they don’t want to wait for the photos to load. So, I decided I would try something I did several blogs ago, and post thumbnails of photos and then links to larger files, so those that want to click on larger files can do so, but those who don’t won’t be slowed down. For the daily programs, I will load them elsewhere and post links only.

So, today’s program photos are at:

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/520/13Mar15_Program1.JPG

http://pictures.cruisecritic.com/data/520/13Mar15_Program2.JPG

More later,

Dave

Jonathan was in the Mix when we were on the Maasdam - please say "hi" from Pat and Ann.... Nice guy. He is married to Emma, you'll probably meet her, too!

Have a great time and looking forward to your review.

Have a wonderful cruise, we'll be follow along on your blog. Thanks for taking us on your cruise.:)

Jonathan was in the Mix when we were on the Maasdam - please say "hi" from Pat and Ann.... Nice guy. He is married to Emma, you'll probably meet her, too!

Jonathan and Emma have both finished their contracts and are at home Ann