Live from the Maasdam - March 28th Southern Caribbean

[TourGypsy]

Hi Jacqui. Great first day summary. A couple of comments:

 

The deck cushions were all changed out in late October as we were boarding for the 42-Day Atlantic Adventure.

 

The beach towels on my last two cruises arrived the night before we got to our first beach port. Hopefully that will happen for you as well.

 

I'm so looking forward to following your adventure. Have fun!

 

Judy

[kazu]

Bear with me - I am playing catch up and hope that the internet works on the Maasdam tonight - otherwise I will carry on in St. Barts tomorrow.

 

Travelling with a group of 8 (2 in anytime dining) and 6 in fixed dining, the concensus is that the food is very good. Service is very fast in the dining room for dinner. We are out in less than 1 and 1/2 hours (and we have a table of 6).

 

On our second night when they asked if we wanted teas, all the ladies covered their cups and said only if we have teapots (see? hiccup solved). He brought us teapots (don't know where he found them, but he had them). They now sit at their wait station for us :)

 

Meet and Greet was on our first full day (sea day) at 11:00 am in the Crow's Nest. standard cookies and coffees and teas. We had a really good turnout from our roll call and one of our guests who just joined the roll call shortly before the cruise was Steve Lehr (sp?). He is a reporter and does a cruise blog. He had another blogger with him. for those that saw the banner Cruise Radio on the sail away - that was his banner. He gave an interesting synopsis and confessed later that it was his first meet and greet!!!! Rick, our cruise director came and made us all feel good how much they value their cruise critic community.

 

Of course, gigianne had made those fantastic name tags of hers that I am sure everyone will want to keep as a souvenir if they don't re-use them on a future cruise. Many thanks to Georgina for all of her hard work and sharing her artistic talents with the rest of the roll call. Take my word for it - if gigianne is on one of your cruises and offers to make name tags - take her up on the offer;)

 

It is always nice to meet or re-connect with fellow cruise critic member friends.

 

Entertainment has been really quite good so far. Everyone likes the piano man who is currently performing the mix but the crowd was so huge that they might have to change the location (or so the Cruise Director said).

 

I know RuthC will want to know about entertainment and I will include that when I get back to the cabin and can do some pages about that on the Ipad ;)

 

People enjoyed the first night's show as well.

 

Ok, too funny, and we had to tease the CD at the meet and greet. In the morning when he did his usual stuff he welcomed us aboard the beautiful Ryndam. LOL! Turns out he just got off the Ryndam so I guess he was 'conditioned'. He said at the meet and greet that he hoped he got the ship and captain's name right at the captain's toast - LOL:)

 

 

 

[gigianne]

Hi everyone - I am with Jacqui right now as she is posting her reports. The Maasdam is DH's favourite ship and he still feels that way.

I can comment on the towels - still the light blue ones being handed out at the gangway. The cabin/suite towels are nice and white and fluffy!

Internet was intermittent for the first day and a half - but we were told that - now it is pretty good and somewhat faster then the previous supplier. St Thomas is as I remember from 2 years ago - lots of people and hungry shop keepers! We contributed somewhat to the economy of the island.

[kazu]

I did bring my hair straighener . It was accepted without any issue - LOL :D

 

Also on the on location guide for St. Thomas, it said that any alcoholic beverages including WINE would be stored and returned on the last day - nothing about the new corkage fee policy. Now, I do have the HAL's policy stored on my IPad and I am not bringing wine onboard today (St. Thomas is not known for wine), but I suspect we will in St. Bart's (the last time I was there they had some nice French wines so if they still do, I will be putting it to the test.\

 

It could be a misprint like the PG pricing. Seems to be a few of those. We shall find out and like the intrepid reporter I am I shall let you all know:D

[cruz chic]

I did bring my hair straighener . It was accepted without any issue - LOL :D

 

:D

Thx for mentioning that. I've been wondering if I'll be ok with the curling iron.

Hope you enjoy your warm day. It's -12C and been snowing for about 2 weeks now:rolleyes:.

[CowPrincess]

Thanks for the report. I am GREEN with envy :D I hope you continue to enjoy your trip!

[shrimp56]

Thanks for checking in. Glad to hear that Maasdam is doing well, minus a few hiccups.

 

It's so much fun to read your report :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the updates Kazu, I think we all were wondering why we had no reports from you. Sorry to hear the Maasdam is having trouble with their new wifi system.

[sapper1]

We have our Gigianne name tags all packed for our upcoming Zuiderdam cruise. They arrived by mail a few weeks ago and they are works of art. We will enjoy wearing them at the meet and greet.

 

I saved our "name tags by Gigianne" from our Prinsendam trip and will use them if we are ever on the Prinsendam again. They are too nice to only use once.

Edited March 31, 2014 by sapper1

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I love your use of the term "hiccup"!!!

[RuthC]

I know RuthC will want to know about entertainment and I will include that when I get back to the cabin and can do some pages about that on the Ipad ;)

 

Thank you for thinking to report on the entertainment. I appreciate it.

Although I always enjoy reading about everyone's cruises, I like reading about the entertainment on board, and hardly anyone mentions it. Of the few that do mention it, even fewer report on who is playing in the lounges, and who the guest entertainers are.

It's always so nice to recognize a name when reading the On Location! A girl can plan her evening when she's got a hint of fun things to look forward to.

 

Continue getting over those hiccups! Let's hope they are over and done with in jig time.

[cruisencrazy]

Thank you so so much for your updates. We leave on the Maasdam on 4-22. Can't wait. Do they still offer cappuccino after dinner, or do they charge for that now? We took a break from Holland and are back to give it another go. We have sailed with them quite a bit, but not in the last 3 years.

[rafinmd]

You mentioned magnets. Where can they be used on the R/S class ships. I have a lot of magnets I used on crystal, including 2 from our favorite HAL ship and I would like to find a place to use them.

 

I hope the hiccups are all gone.

 

Roy

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks for your update! I'm interested to see if the wifi settles down as promised. In today's world, a slow internet connect can be so frustrating. I love to "piddle" on my iPad, although I didn't know that term until today (can't wait to tell others how I love to piddle). We had Rick as the CD on the Ryndam in December. He's not exactly a kid like most cruise directors, so please excuse his forgetting which cruise ship he's on. We liked our time with him very much.

[TourGypsy]

I'm intrigued. Is there a way to "post" one of the gigianne nametags for those of us not lucky enough to have one?

 

Judy

[borasue]

Those that cruise with me know I am a glass 1/2 full type person, but this hiccup was a biggie stuff. :D

 

And that 1/2 full attitude is exactly why so many of us enjoy reading your posts! Going on our first cruise at the end of May (Canada/New England on the Maasdam) so I'm definitely enjoying your updates. Have a wonderful trip and keep that glass filled! Hopefully the hiccups will subside!! :)

[slabeaume]

So glad to see your update! Wish you all were on the next cruise so we could have a great M&G. It doesn't appear that the April 11 cruise will even have one. Keep the ship clean for us! :)

[Travelbug 2]

Going on our first cruise at the end of May (Canada/New England on the Maasdam) so I'm definitely enjoying your updates. Have a wonderful trip and keep that glass filled! Hopefully the hiccups will subside!! :)

 

I will be on Maasdam Canada New England June 7th out of Boston Look after her for me!! :D

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Lizzie68]

What great reports - thank you, Kazu! I shall look forward to hearing much more from you.:)

[lstrong]

Do you know his name? We had a fabulous piano man on statendam in September. Hoping it is he!

[erewhon]

Thank you for your reports, pleased to hear about the fluffy towels.

 

What time is first dinner ?(upper dining room) Read a review recently where the reviewer stated that first dinner was at 5.15 pm.

 

We saw you waving from your balcony at sail away.:)

[kazu]

You mentioned magnets. Where can they be used on the R/S class ships. I have a lot of magnets I used on crystal, including 2 from our favorite HAL ship and I would like to find a place to use them.

 

I hope the hiccups are all gone.

 

Roy

Roy, we are putting them on the side of the doors (like the mouldings at home) - right by the door there is an edge that goes around the left, top and right hand sides. They stick there just fine. :D

 

Most of the hiccups have been cured but there are still some that may need a big paper bag. We'll find out tonight ;)

[kazu]

Thank you for your reports, pleased to hear about the fluffy towels.

 

What time is first dinner ?(upper dining room) Read a review recently where the reviewer stated that first dinner was at 5.15 pm.

 

We saw you waving from your balcony at sail away.:)

 

First seating is at 5:45 pm (fixed). Open seating starts at 5:15 pm.

 

Main seating (in case someone is wondering) is at 8:00 pm.

 

hope you saw our big smiles as we sailed off :D

[kazu]

Do you know his name? We had a fabulous piano man on statendam in September. Hoping it is he!

 

2 days at sea and the weather had been windy but certainly very comfortable. Coming from the stormy Maritimes, we have all told each other that no one is allowed to complain that it is too hot.

 

Our first sea day is of course a formal night. And on the menu is lobster. Not surf and turf - just lobster. And no wonder. The lobster tail filled a good portion of the plate. All of our table were good 'doobies' and had one but many people had 2 or more from a quick scan of the dining room. Those that had lobster at our table were of the opinion it was good. We are all Maritimers at our table so we can be considered fussy - LOL.

 

Later when we ran into some roll call members they too thought the lobster was quite good and in fact, had two.

 

Food is one thing that this ship is doing very well in the Main Dining Room.

 

BRINGING WINE ON BOARD - OK another misprint in the on location. Even though it said in the on location that wine would be stored, when we boarded, the sign was there saying that they would store the wine or you could take it on board for a $18 corkage fee. So, it looks like it is just another misprint in the on location guide. (some have asked if it is deliberate so not so many bring it back on board - but honestly with the misprints I have seen, I am giving HAL the benefit of the doubt). In fact one of our roll call members is ready to offer to be a poof reader - they might need one when they spell Rotterdam Roterdam on the 1st page :)

 

 

Entertainment: The Adagios perform nightly in the Explorer's Lounge. Two young ladies on piano and violin. Their repertoire is very interesting with quite well known pieces and others that are not as well known but beautiful listening music. ( 6pm to 10 pm)

 

Solo Guitarist Larry performs nightly. (5pm - 9pm) And in the Mix we have Piano Man Paul C McD. He is very enjoyable and has a following. (9 pm until closing) The Neptunes perform in the Ocean Bar from 6:30 pm until 11:30 pm.

 

So far, there has been no indication that the carpets are being rolled up at 10 pm on this ship. Several venues are 'hopping' and when we strolled off to bed last night at 11:30 pm our piano man played 'Lullaby and Good Night' LOL.

 

The Casino is really busy. Many of the slot machines are all used up and most of the tables are being used whenever I have walked through (or stopped to play).

[kazu]

I'm intrigued. Is there a way to "post" one of the gigianne nametags for those of us not lucky enough to have one?

 

Judy

 

Judy, unless Georgina has it on her Ipad here (and she will see this post I am sure/I will ask), my copy for 'approval' (too funny) is at home on my laptop.

 

I will get her permission of course, but if we don't have it here, and she doesn't mind I will post it when I return home.

 

They are very different indeed.