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MS Maasdam FTL to Rio, January 23-February 15, 2015

rafinmd

By rafinmd,
in Holland America Line

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RuthC

RuthC

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PS: For the HAL experts, a question. On this cruise I have over $500 of onboard credit. Does onboard spending financed by onboard credits still count as spending for crediting bonus Mariner days? Thanks.

 

Roy

Yes. The source of the funding doesn't matter, only that the cost was incurred on your bill.

Congrats! :)

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ski ww

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We've been following your posts, very interesting & informative. As we will be doing the same cruise next year lots of good info. Just found out today that the Maasdam is coming out of dry dock the day before we board for our cruise.

Allan & Marlane

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rafinmd

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The Prinsendam is at sea from Port Stanley, Falklands to Montevideo, Uruguay on her way to a rendezvous with the Maasdam in Rio.

 

Thank you all for the good news on the spending. I will have at least 186 credits when I disembark and my next time on HAL is a 28-day collectors cruise on the Prinsendam. I am hopeful that with 14 more actual days they may recognize me as a 4* on turnaround day in Imujden; I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t if I needed bonus days from the first leg to get to 200. Skiww, I think you will have a wonderful cruise on the Maasdam. One of the nice things about such a long cruise is that even if there are some post-drydock issues they should be solved in time for most of the cruise. Let’s hope that all the work is completed and everything is shipshape by the time you board. Krazy Kruizers, I’m making a note to visit the gift shop if I ever return to Devils Island. ScottishMaid, the world cruise was a step up but this is still a very nice cruise and I would gladly jump on the right itinerary, Grand Voyage or not. Kirk, I hope to leave the Maasdam in great shape for you and will see you on the second leg of “Around the Americas Bit By Bit”. Himself, I hope you get to enjoy an Equator crossing soon.

 

Belem is situated up the Guama river, considered part of the Amazon system but not physically connected to the Amazon, sitting south of the Amazon. Belem is a very busy port but is very shallow, and we could not approach it, instead anchoring off Icoracy, about 10 miles downstream. This meant a 2 stage trip to get into the city, first a 3/4 mile transfer on the tender and then a 45 minute bus ride into Belem. Icoracy seemed to be a pretty busy town, but I heard of no one finding anything of interest to tourists there.

 

On my 1 ½ mile morning walk the moon was not much diminished from yesterday, but was now to the ship’s port side, rather than aft. As we made our way up the Guama, lights from shore on our starboard side were within a couple miles of us. We dropped our anchor about 7AM.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dawn0206.jpg

 

I had a Belem highlights tour today. We left the showroom about 8:30 to tender over to Icoracy. Instead of the usual ship’s tenders we used several Amazon riverboats. They were big but there was one awkward hitch. The boats had very little uniformity in the gangway height. One boat was brought up to the Maasdam’s tender platform and the gangway was about 2 feet higher than the tender platform. They reconfigured to use just the hatch without the tender platform and that worked at least for our boat, but we embarked on the boat’s upper level and disembarked on shore from the lower level with a steep ramp up to the dock.

 

A very nice coach was waiting on shore and we started the drive into Belem. Our guide Barros had a good command of English but he left me feeling a bit smothered; we needed to virtually stick at his side the entire time with no free time at any of the sights. We probably spent about half our total time at the open air Ver-O-Peso market. We saw a wide variety of fruits, nuts, herbs, spices, and fish, but I could have been very happy with about half the time there. It was a short walk to the Forte de Presepio, one of the earliest parts of Belem’s history dating from 1616.

 

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http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/presepioview.jpg

 

We left the Presepio a little after noon and made our way across town to the Basilica of our Lady of Nazareth. As we crossed the city we encountered very heavy traffic, and Barros explained that the people get off for lunch and many go home, creating significant traffic jams. Just as we arrived at the Basilica a downpour broke out and it was a mad dash from the bus. The Basilica was beautiful, although we didn’t stay long as a Mass was in progress. The rain had subsided when we left and went to the Emilo Goeldi Museum, more of a zoo and botanical garden. We saw huge trees and water lilies, along with a spotted jaguar, spider monkeys, turtles, and other plants and animals. We started back to the ship about 1:45 and arrived about 2:30.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/basilicafront.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/jaguar.jpg

 

Returning to the ship was a bit of an adventure. There were 2 boats side by side. It was easy stepping onto the first, but we just crossed over to the second one, whose deck was about 2 feet higher than the first. It was an interesting embarkation, especially for the less mobile. On the way back we got a good view of the Maasdam’s stern, and I was on board a little after 3, heading up to the lido deck for Dive In lunch and hot tub. From the ship we could faintly see the skyline of Belem, about 10 miles away.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/maasbelem.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/belem.jpg

 

Sailaway was scheduled for 4PM, but around 4:30 we hadn’t moved. Captain Juttten explained that a traffic accident had delayed the shuttle to Belem and we were just getting the last people on board. We started moving about 4:45. It is about 1100 miles to Recife and we need to maintain about 18 knots.

 

There was no formal entertainment in the show lounge, with the movie Pride shown instead. Barry from Boston featured the 3 Jims, Taylor, Croce, and Buffet.,

 

I was at a loss for a parting shot for today but Barry from Boston saved me, dedicating a song in honor of the Waitangi Day in New Zealand. I’m sure with the time difference the holiday is now history, but I hope it was a very good one.

 

Roy

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thank you Krazy Kruizers and Father. You may be getting a little ahead as I'm just posting for Saturday.

 

The Prinsendam is at sea from Port Stanley, Falklands to Montevideo, Uruguay on her way to a rendezvous with the Maasdam in Rio.

 

Whatever charms today had, the weather was not one of them. The sun made a brief appearance late in the day but neither it nor the moon were anywhere in evidence in my morning walk. The walk was still an uneventful start to quite a busy day, starting with a load of laundry put in the machines at the 2 mile mark. I was about finished with the walk when I moved things to the dryer, and when I returned just past the 45-minute cycle my clothes had already been moved to a basket and a new load was in the dryer.

 

When I went to the lido for breakfast the cloudy weather had changed to actual rain, starting off a busy indoor day. When I returned from breakfast a certificate for crossing the equator was sitting on my bed.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/equator.jpg

 

Jeremy had a coffee chat with the singers and dancers at 9:30, and we learned about their training, experience, working conditions, and the contributions they would make in an emergency (as professionals in communication skills, but they are also qualified to drive the lifeboats). It was almost an immediate move to the back of the ship for an 11AM session on personalizing Windows,

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/castchat.jpg

 

This was also the day of the Mariner Brunch for people disembarking in Rio. The dining room was not full, but there was quite a respectable turnout.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/brunch.jpg

 

At 2 the future cruise staff had a presentation on Alaska, although Cruise Director Jeremy took a big role. He started his career as a guide on the land based portion of the program and gave his perspective from being on both the land and ship sides. My afternoon concluded with a talk by Location Guide Humberto on Maceio and Vitoria.

 

The evening entertainment was piano showman Brett Cave singing and playing a variety of pop music, followed by Barry from Boston with “the singing bee”, a series of elimination rounds starting with “name that tune” with the survivors of each round going to more complex tasks until a final winner was chosen after my bed time.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/cave.jpg

 

Today’s parting shot comes from Brett Cave. Sometimes good advice can be hard to argue with. That was the case with his final words tonight: “When you leave the show tonight, don’t drink and drive”. I think everyone complied.

 

Roy

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rafinmd

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The Prinsendam is in Montevideo, Uruguay on her way to a rendezvous with the Maasdam in Rio.

 

Recife is at pretty much the Easternmost point of the bulge of South America. Since leaving Belem we have been traveling just south of due east at over 17 knots. As a result, sunrise and sunset are getting significantly earlier each day, coming about 5:45 this morning. I also got distracted by the Sodoku I had been unable to solve last night, and it was sunrise or a little after when I first got on deck. About 10 minutes later I checked the Sky Deck and there the sun was peeking through a tiny hole in the clouds, looking more like a moon than a sun. I just processed today’s pictures and obviously the wind was quite strong, making it difficult to hold a camera steady.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dawn0208.jpg

 

It was quite windy, but not enough on the lower promenade deck to hamper my 3-mile walk. I have not had any noticeable pain from the knee for a couple of days although I can feel a twinge if I bend it very hard.

 

The 9AM interdenominational worship service was pretty well attended, and at 11 Humberto gave his talk on Ilhabel and Rio. By late morning the sun was quite intense.

 

In his noon update Captain Jutten reported we were at full speed with all 5 generators in operation. We have sailed 775 miles since Belem with 315 to go, and at 18 knots we are burning 16 gallons of fuel per mile. We are due to pick up our pilot at 7AM and dock at 8.

 

The big event of the afternoon was the 2PM Indonesian Crew Show. We had a packed showroom, and arriving at 15 minutes early I got a very poor seat in the balcony. The acts were pretty much the normal ones for the show, all audience favorites. The one thing that was a little unusual was that the audience did not become part of the Angklung Orchestra.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/icrew1.jpg

 

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Our documents indicated 4 formal nights but that is looking a bit doubtful. We have only 2 sea days left; I wouldn’t expect them to both be formal. The crowd pleasing entree tonight was the Prime Rib.

 

The mein entertainment was “Magic of the Movies”, a combination of singing, comedy, and magic with a movie theme by Matthew J Dowden. Barry from Boston followed up with an All Request Night. I walked back to the piano bar on the lower promenade deck and the moon, absent for the last couple of days, was brilliant, but now considerably flattened on the edge.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dowden.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/moon0208.jpg

 

As today’s parting shot, I’ve mentioned before that I recently sailed the Wind Star Transatlantic, and that they were once a part of the HAL family. One of the HAL traditions they maintain is the crew show, although the details seem to be fading a bit. The show I saw on the Wind Star could have been anybody doing mostly songs and other things we could hear anywhere. In today’s show the love the crew shows for their homeland and their desire to share their culture makes it a unique experience. Truly a labor of love.

 

Roy

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rafinmd

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Note: As I post this from the Lido, the Maceo pilot is just approaching.

 

The Prinsendam is in Buenos Aires, Argentina on her way to a rendezvous with the Maasdam in Rio.

 

Thank you Krazy Kruizers, Himself, Melody,and Kazu

 

Thanks for the update. Brett Cave showed off his talents one night on our last cruise on the Ryndam. He's quite colorful!

 

One of the advantages of a long cruise is that Brett Cave will have an encore performance tonight.

 

It was a mostly clear morning and I rushed through my wakeup routine to be out on deck when the sun rose at 5:20. There were clouds on the eastern horizon but a little v-shaped opening let the sun through briefly. For most of my walk the Recife skyline was on our starboard horizon. Recife, a city of about 1.5 million, dates to the early 176th century, originally prospering from sugar cane.

 

We approached our dock about 7:30. Recife is effectively a tender port, although the tenders are buses rather than boats. There is a new cruise terminal, but we don’t go there, possibly because the channel there is too narrow of shallow to support us. We docked in the middle of a cargo area, about a half mile from the terminal, but could only get there by shuttle bus.

 

I had a Recife Highlights tour today. All the Brazil torus are meeting at the Showroom at Sea and leaving as a group. My sticker was called about 9, and after the shuttle ride to the terminal, we were on our tour bus about 9:30.Our first stop was not very far away at the Casa da Cultura, mostly a crafts market. It was originally a prison, and still looks very much like a prison, although elevators have been installed in several of the wings. The stalls were originally cells, and the cell blocks were originally on 3 levels with narrow stairs at the end of each wing. A most unusual craft market.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/cultural2.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/cultural3.jpg

 

Recife is sometimes called the “Venice of Brazil” as it sits at the mouth of a network of rivers and the central area is connected by a number of bridges. I passed them all on the bus and did not attempt to photograph them but they were very nice and some were being prepared for Carnival. Our next stop was the sister city of Olinda, about 5 miles to the north. A UNESCO World Heritage site it sits high on a hill overlooking the harbor. With it’s very narrow streets the bus was not permitted there and we transferred to vans for the trip up the hill (sadly, I left a GPS on the van), and spent about an hour there. We went into the Cathedral there (Dating from 1616), and admired the view from the cathedral courtyard, and had a break at a place with crafts, refreshments, and toilets. We walked for a couple of blocks down Olinda’s main street before vans took us back to the bus.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/cathedral1.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/olindaview.jpg

 

Our final stop was Boa Viagem Beach, a long and very nice beach to the south of Recife. We returned to the port about 2. The heat had drained me, and I didn’t do much in the afternoon besides lunch and some time in the hot tubs.

 

All aboard was 5:30, and Captain Jutten announced we were ready to leave about 5:40. As the lines were being pulled in the sun hit the horizon precisely between 2 apartment towers. There was a stiff breeze blowing towards the dock, and the action of the thrusters was slow but we did open a space between us and the dock slowly but surely, and made our way out to sea for a slow run to Maceio. It is only 130 miles so we will do a leisurely 10 knots.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dusk0209.jpg

 

With sailaway scheduled for 6PM, I decided this was a good day for dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, I believe the first time I’ve been there in the evening. (Alberta Quilter, the staff thinks the new Cirque menu will debut about May) I’m glad I only had the small fillet as the enormous baked potato and Baked Alaska left me quite stuffed.

 

The evening entertainment was West End singer (and pianist) Philippa Healey (I arrived from the Pinnacle about 8:15 for about 2/3 of the show). I had intended to finished this post and visit the piano bar after the show but the drowsies got to me and I realized about 10:30 that that would not happen.

 

Today’s parting shot really comes from my Crystal background. They have golf themed cruises and on virtually every sailing have golf clinics with a pro. I am aware of them but am not myself a golfer (my chief problem is standing too close to the ball, especially AFTER I hit it). I noticed on the Crystal Forum at Cruise Critic that Billy Casper had died but didn’t really pay much attention until I saw an article in the news digest Holland America distributes, and saw highlights of his illustrious career, although overshadowed by other greats. Billy Casper, rest in peace.

 

Roy

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ger_77

ger_77

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With it’s very narrow streets the bus was not permitted there and we transferred to vans for the trip up the hill (sadly, I left a GPS on the van),

 

Oh no, what a disappointment - very little chance of getting that back. If you'd have left it on one of the buses, maybe the driver would have taken it to the port authority who could have given it to the ship for their lost and found.

 

I have to agree with you about the Pinnacle - the small steak and a baked potato are enough for me; I can't imagine ordering and finishing the large Porterhouse(?), although our son-in-law did quite nicely.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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Thanks everybody. (This just rolled over to a new page and I saw a message from aliaschief, didn't see if there were others on the prior page or not.

 

The Prinsendam is in Buenos Aires, Argentina on her way to a rendezvous with the Maasdam in Rio.

 

I think the heat is slowing everybody down. I accomplished nothing after 9PM Monday, and when I boarded the elevator at 5:20 this morning it still said Monday. The sun which has been in hiding mornings lately redeemed itself today, and made it worth getting organized early. My morning walk starts by walking around the bow to the aft exterior stairs (stairway “Oscar” and walking up the aft to the Lido deck, getting my coffee, walking past the Lido Pool to the forward stairs, and returning to the Lower Promenade deck. Today I climbed the aft stairs at 5:51 and there was nothing of note behind us. I got my coffee, went forward around the bow, and the show happened as I walked back on the port side. I think this was a sunrise that one photo can’t properly capture.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dawn210a.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dawn210b.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dawn210c.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dawn210d.jpg

 

I finished my walk about 5:45 and completed the post I barely started Monday night, then went up to the lido for stronger wifi. As I finished up online, the pilot boat was approaching the Maasdam for a relatively short sail into the harbor and the first lines went out about 7:25. We were again in an industrial port with a shuttle required to get away from the ship, but this time the tour buses were allowed into the dock. People leaving independently had to use a shuttle to get to the “port gate”. On leaving I did not see anything that looked like a terminal by the gate.

 

My “Maceio Highlights” left the showroom about 8:20. There were 2 representatives on the bus, Antony introduced himself as “the translator”. He was actually better as a guide (who rarely contributed anything) than as a translator. His English was stilted and painfully slow, but probably both the best English speaker and guide I’ve seen so far in Brazil.

 

The capital of Alagos (named for the lagoons which are very prominent in Maceio), Maceio has a population of about 1 million and the chief industries are sugar, chemicals, and tourism. It is a relatively new city, founded in the early 19th century. As we left the port, Antony pointed out a miniature of the Statue of Liberty, created by the original artist, although he was not specific about it’s origin.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/libertymaceo.jpg

 

Our initial travel was along a narrow strip of land between the ocean on one side and one of the large lagoons on the other. Our first destination was the Barra Handicraft Center, noted largely for it’s lace products.

 

We returned to the core of the city where we traveled up the “Rua do Imperador” to the “Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres Cathedral”. Antony explained there are 3 cathedrals in Maceio, one built for the use of slaves, who were not to worship with the upper classes.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/cathedral2.jpg

 

We also stopped at the highest point of Maceio looking out over the waterfront and the Maasdam. I felt a bit like a fool when I realized I’d left my camera on the bus. Our final stop was at another craft place, the Mercado Praia de Pajucara. While our stop here was entirely too long, it was across the street from a lovely beach. We returned to the Maasdam about 1.

 

I got up to the Lido just before the buffet closed. All aboard was 1:30, and about 1:40 Captain Jutten came on and indicated we would leave soon. Due to some issue with the pier we were asked not to use our thrusters, so I saw on my way to the hot tub 2 tugs starting our departure and heard several toots of the horn. It was again a pretty inactive afternoon, but I did get a start on today’s post before dinner.

 

At dinner we watched a very nice sunset, not as nice as today’s sunrise but still very good. This evening’s main entertainment is an encore performance by Brett Cave. Barry from Boston featured Best and Worst of the 70's. We move the clocks forward tonight, putting us on Rio time.

 

As today’s parting shot, what we don’t know can be dangerous, but what we do know that isn’s right is especially tricky. Most of the time when cruising I carry some magnets which keep in place my programs, invitations, and other items on the cabin‘s steel walls. I’ve “known” for a long time that HAL built ships do not have steel cabin walls, and for 2 weeks I never thought about trying to put anything up with a magnet. I just discovered that at least in my cabin what I knew was wrong, and I have only a few days of easy access to my important papers.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/wall.jpg

 

Roy

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Himself

Himself

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A Cathedral contains the "Cathedra"--The CHAIR-- of the Bishop. It is symbolic of his teaching Authority. There can only be one Cathedral. Perhaps the other is the Pro- cathedral.

 

 

Roy I enjoyed the report and the pictures. Thanks for the daily reports.

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rafinmd "Live from...." Rare

rafinmd

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A Cathedral contains the "Cathedra"--The CHAIR-- of the Bishop. It is symbolic of his teaching Authority. There can only be one Cathedral. Perhaps the other is the Pro- cathedral.

 

 

Roy I enjoyed the report and the pictures. Thanks for the daily reports.

 

I was surprised when Antony said that. Thanks for the clarification.

 

The Prinsendam is in Punta del Este on her way to a rendezvous with the Maasdam in Rio.

 

With the hour we lost overnight it was again dark when I began my 3-mile walk. The moon was directly overhead and bright but about 2/5 hidden by the Earth’s shadow. As I ended my walk the sun announced it’s presence very nicely.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/moon0211.jpg

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dawn0211.jpg

 

It was a pretty lazy day. I went to a talk on the Windows 8 desktop and one on Amazonia and the environment in the morning. I got the impression the rain forests of Brazil can be a pretty lawless place.

 

In his noon update Captain Jutten indicated our dock in Vitoria is 4 miles up a river. We will pick up the pilot at 6:30, pass under a bridge at 6:45, and dock about 8. Our arrival is timed so we arrive and turn around at the time of slowest current (presumably incoming tide).

 

The afternoon was especially lazy. I did go to a presentation by David Smith on sharing photos. One advantage of the hour we lost last night was that there was time to watch the sun set after we finished dinner. Key West eat your heart out.

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/dusk0211.jpg

 

The evening program was a double bill. At 8 there was a running of the Love and Marriage game show, and the finale of Dancing with the stars was held at 9:30.

 

The judges were the Events manager, Mix guitarist, and magician Matthew Dowden. The contestants were:

Mike-Jive(with dancer Sam) 28

Julie-Tango(with singer Andrew) 30

Rick-Samba(with singer Shannon) 29

Joanna-Jive(with singer Max) 30

Norman-Tango (with singer Paige) 28

Leslie-Samba (with singer Montell) 30

With only 2 points separating the field, the final applause actually mirrored the judges scores with Julie 3rd, Joanna 2nd, and Leslie 1st

 

http://aroundamericabitbybit.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/award.jpg

 

Congratulations to winner Leslie.

 

Roy

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