Live from the Maasdam NE/C

[tomc]

I'll usually post at 11:00 or 11:30 Eastern, but I wanted everyone to know that I arrived in one piece in a hot Hot HOT Boston. RuthC and the others were right.

 

It's great to travel for many hours and be taken by two gloved stewards to your own verandah suite with all the amenities. I envy those who were. The steward just shoved me down the stairs into steerage and said, "Find your own d*** cabin, mon." Oh, well; you gets what you pays for.

 

More later.

 

This post is coming to you live from the Maasdam, where even pigs can whistle.

[stormyc]

Good Morning, TomC -

 

Thank you for checking in ...glad you arrived safely.

 

Looking forward to your reports... :) Have a great cruise!

[sail7seas]

Hi Tom....

DH and I were thinking of pax on Maasdam enduring life boat drill in the extreme heat we are having in Boston.

I hope you are pleased with the condition in which we left Maasdam for you. We were careful to not stain or spill anything, drop a glass of wine..... I was very sure my name would flash on the stain screaming "SAILS DID IT!!". :)

Hope you have as wonderful a time as we did. We loved our two weeks aboard.

 

Enjoy....and thanks for thinking of us who wish we were with you.

[trubey]

. . . down the stairs into steerage . . .

Most American families can trace their family's entrance into America in the same fashion.

 

Just tell everyone that you're trying to find your roots. susan.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Good morning Tom.

So glad that you arrived at the Maasdam alright.

I don't envy anyone standing out in all this heat that we are having here in the east for lifeboat drill. Did it a few times in Ft Lauderdale and it was terrible.

Hope you are having a good day today.

[Sage]

Tom,

 

I'm glad that you arrived safely aboard the Maasdam. I hope that you have a wonderful cruise.

[elmorejj]

Tomc, as always you start out on the right foot, giving us all a laugh! Looking forward to reading all of your posts on your 2 week cruise, have fun.........jean :cool:

[RuthC]

So glad you arrived safe and sound after what must have been an arduous journey. My weather report indicated Bar Harbor should be much more comfortable for you today than Boston was yesterday.

 

Looking forward to all your reports. :)

[the2ofus]

Tomc,

Thanks, in advance, for what I am sure will be an entertaining and informative thread. Always enjoy your sense of humor and your common sense. Have a wonderful vacation!

[RuthC]

Let us know when you're ready to entertain questions?

You know I have a few! :D

[jhannah]

Thanks for checking in with us. I trust you enjoyed the bowl of gruel they provided for you last night down in steerage. No extra charge! I hope you insisted on a bunk in a cabin that didn't have cockroaches larger than your foot. :D

 

Enjoy New England and Canada. (We surely did aboard the Rotterdam and agree we'll have to cruise the NE again.)

[Bill S]

Tom: I enjoyed reading your first posting from the Maasdam-glad you made it ok! Hope the temperatures moderate a bit for you! How far down your passageway is the head? ;)

[Peggy Sue]

TomC,

 

Glad to read you are safely aboard! Hope you have a fantastic cruise...I know I will enjoy reading your daily updates!!

 

Sorry Boston weather was so HOT .... Hope once underway you enjoyed wonderful sea breezes to keep you cool!!

 

Peggy

[stormyc]

Thanks for checking in with us. I trust you enjoyed the bowl of gruel they provided for you last night down in steerage. No extra charge! I hope you insisted on a bunk in a cabin that didn't have cockroaches larger than your foot. :D ...

 

LOL! :D

[mrjcharles]

Who is the new Cruise Director?

[tomc]

Sunday night

 

All goes well here. BH was rather warm, but now it's cooler out on deck and the fog horn is sounding only occasionally. I suppose if we do hit something, it would be a lot smaller than us, probably without a radio, so there'd be nothing in the papers.

 

The CD is, I think, Troy Anderson. Or something like that; I'll check later and give you a complete list.

 

We received a letter from Captain Steubing, or whoever: "Last cruise, upon departure from Montreal, one of the five main diesel generaors developed a technical problem that will likely keep it out of operation for the remainder of the cruise. The vessel is opertaing on four engines as opposed to five. We will be unable to attain our planned speed for certain portions of the cruise. We will have to cancel our scenic cruising of the Saguenay Fjord (and he mentions leaving BH an hour early and arriving Sydney one hour late)."

 

We had two drills so far: lifeboat and oar. In case another generator or two goes down the toilet, people down on A Deck (where I am bunked) will be issued one oar each and the First Officer will give "stroke, stroke" instructions over the P.A. system.

 

There seems to be a fair amount of vibration in the Lido -- more than I remember having on any other ship. Could just be my imagination, but I don't think so.

 

There is a religious group on board, "Women of Inspiration." 500 of them, in fact, which has put a real damper on the 350 Men of Desire who get a couple of drinks in them and think they are irresistible. The ladies are very nice and you'd never know they are here except for their name tags that say, "We are Women of Inspiration and you are all sinners doomed to Hell." Well, it really doesn't say that, but it seemed like a good line. I know they had a room reserved, and I guess they use the large showroom. You really don't see them in bulk. They are so nice, in fact, that I've already changed my religion eight times, depending on which one I run into. Unconnected to them, the ship's gift shop has a special this week on autographed pictures of Jesus, 50% off.

 

A little oddity in the daily bulletin (this is real), having to do with the Piano Bar guy, named Bill:

4:30 Friends of Bill W, piano bar

9:45 "Name That Tune," Bill, piano bar

(My guess: "How Dry I Am")

 

This post has come to you live from the Maasdam

where every meal is a Dutch Treat

[willowoodf]

Oh, Tomc, this is great!

 

(I am revising what I just typed and erased because it was too much of an - unintentional - straight line to your post and replacing it with... oh, dear, that one is no better... let's try this)

 

Please keep on posting!

 

Mary

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for reporting in Tom.

Love it.

Keep checking on that vibration in the Lido.

[daju22]

Tom: I enjoyed reading your first posting from the Maasdam-glad you made it ok! Hope the temperatures moderate a bit for you! How far down your passageway is the head? ;)

 

Hi Bill,

 

 

Sorry, Tom to jump in to your thread.

 

Just wondering how you've been doing?

Where are you cruising to next?

We're heading to Hawaii and Mexico on Celebrity for a back to back. First time for us.

Just wanted to thank you again for all your help with South America.

Have you ever sailed to Hawaii?

 

Hope you and your family are well.:)

 

Judy

[localady]

TomC-

With all the stroking you will be doing on A deck, you should be entitled to extra bread pudding!:)

I suggest ya bring those 350 Men of Desire down to stroke with you, and possibly they will be a little less frisky in the Crows Nest!;)

Safe seas, blue skies and favorable currents!:cool:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Being the Blonde that I am, I was about to post a thread as to where TomC was, I just now found this thread. Who knows where it was hiding yesterday and I certainly was on line several times last night.

 

Oh I just know that my DH (Tom) and I will be reading every word of your reports and laughing with tears running down our eyes. I already did this morning here at work. My Co-Workers think I am nuts. (They just do not understand) Except for one who is also a CC member.

 

With the exception of the Vibration in the Lido sounds like you are doing well. Are you in the number of the 350 Men of Desire? Hmmmm:rolleyes: maybe you need to be meeting in the Lido:eek: Or is that where the women are meeting?

 

Very much looking forward to your continuing reports.

 

Thanks:)

[swiddowson]

We Cant Wait To Join You This Saturday in Montreal!

 

You have a great sence of humor - make sure to look up the widdowsons and we will join you and Bill in the paino bar!

 

 

Seth

 

:D

[RevNeal]

We had two drills so far: lifeboat and oar. In case another generator or two goes down the toilet, people down on A Deck (where I am bunked) will be issued one oar each and the First Officer will give "stroke, stroke" instructions over the P.A. system.

 

Just pray that the First Officer doesn't call out "Ramming Speed!" Remember Ben Hur????

 

Have fun anyway! I know you will ... you naughty heathen you! :) ;) (wink wink, nudge nudge).

[RevNeal]

With all the stroking you will be doing on A deck, you should be entitled to extra bread pudding!

I suggest ya bring those 350 Men of Desire down to stroke with you, and possibly they will be a little less frisky in the Crows Nest!

 

No ... I'm NOT gonna say it. I'm NOT ... I'm NOT ... I'm NOT!

 

But ... the double entendre and mixed metaphor contained in the above quote from Ruth is just too good not to notice. Yes, I know ... I'm a bad priest ... a baaaaaad priest. hehehehe

[tomc]

LAFFNVEGAS-- I don't think 500 religious women would be spending much time in the vibrating Lido deck. Not their style. Just a guess.

 

The Women of Inspiration have really disappeared into the crowd. I was afraid that a large group would take over the ship, but it's not been my experience here. One of them said there were 500 on board, which comes out to be 40% of the passengers. You'd never know it. You would notice that there seem to be a lot of women on board, but that's about it.

 

Well, there was an incident last night. We heard the usual three chimes, then, "Hi folks, this is Bingo Bob with news about tonight's game after the show." Then there seemed to be a scuffle in the background and some muffled words. The next thing we heard was a woman's voice, "This is Salvation Sally and I hope you're not gambling your soul like you are gambling your money on bingo. The devil is casting his dice for your soul and hoping you will lose." Then there was more noise and, "Yes, folks, Bingo Bob back again and, certainly, we aren't asking for your soul, but just a heart full of fun." More noise and, in the background, "They want your money and he wants your soul." Then silence. <j>

 

The bridge cam is neat. I figured out that it give us maybe two minutes warning so we can brace ourselves before we hit another ship or an iceberg. That's a good idea. It's nice to see what's out there playing "chicken" with us and, occasionally, crossing the bow and not coming out the other side. ha!

 

Had a ventriloquist Sunday night. Black guy; I forget his name. Did a good act, which included a card trick; I don't want to give it away, but it was cleverly done.

 

Shy the waiter says "Hi to Pat and The Rock."

 

The Champagne Strings appear to be the Middle East version (I've seen two). Luckman the waiter is also on board and recogized me: "Ah, sir, you are the writer." Well, take one look at me and you will know I'm not the weight lifter.

 

Maybe another edition tonight.

 

This post has come to you live from the Maasdam

where Club HAL is for kids and Club HEL is for complainers