Live from the Maasdam - May 1 – 16, 2015 The Atlantic Coast

[Cruising-along]

:):) Thanks for reporting back what your FCC said about the Veendam doing this cruise next year! We are ready to jump on it as soon as it shows up on the itineraries. :):)

[erewhon]

Thanks for your reports.

We saw you waving as you departed from Fort Lauderdale.

[Alberta Quilter]

May 3, 2015 Enroute to Charleston

 

Forgot to mention that we did have motion of the ocean last night. So much so that I had to leave the table after ordering my dinner to get my sea bands. I had them on my pocket all day but forgot to put them in my evening bag. Go figure! Anyway, after wearing them for a while, I started to feel better. The wine may have helped, too!!

 

Yes, cheapskate us, decided that we would order a 3 bottle Admiral's package of wine, even though we have the aforementioned free SBP. There is a method to our madness, you see. We are very close to achieving four star status. We hope to do it with this cruise but we have to spend money to do so. Being anal, I calculated how we would achieve this pinnacle of our cruising (yes, I know that there are at least two more levels above 4 star but, realistically, I'm not sure either one of us will get there.) career. Anyway, DM, who has three cruise days more than I do, will be 1.5 days away from being 4 star, if we spend the way we usually do. So, that means we need to spend in more unusual ways, hence the wine package. We thought a good compromise would be to have wine on our formal nights, and use the SBP for beer for DM and gin for me on non formal nights.

 

The motion lasted well into the night. DM said it stopped at 2 am on the dot. I'll take her word for it because I was fast asleep. Now she's sleeping like a baby and I'm up writing this post!

[Alberta Quilter]

:):) Thanks for reporting back what your FCC said about the Veendam doing this cruise next year! We are ready to jump on it as soon as it shows up on the itineraries. :):)

 

Still wish you could have come on this cruise! Has your grandchild arrived yet?

[jbhcw]

Alberta..thanks so much for the info about the Veendam and the repo for next year! Fingers crossed we will be taking that cruise too:):):)

[qsuzi]

Following and enjoying your updates. Very interested in hearing about Charleston and many of the other ports on your great itinerary. Sounds like your mom has settled in nicely and t hat you are staying active. I think 7 drinks (includes 1 large bottle of water and 1 speciality coffee each day) was the most daily drinks I had using SBP.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Code Red -- we have been on ships where we had 13 out 15 days and 10 out of 10 days, etc. Hard to predict when they will end it.

Can't imagine how the toilet fell off the wall. Thought they were bolted in pretty good. Hope you run into that couple some time and find out what happened.

What did you do in Charleston?

[boards]

Hope no one was sitting on it at the time, that would hurt, besides being quite a shock!!

Edited May 3, 2015 by boards

[mysticsailor]

OMG, when I asked for an update on Maasdam stateroom plumbing issues never, ever, would I have imagined that! One does not expect a booty bounce when nature calls.

 

Seriously, thanks for keeping us future Maasdam cruisers in the know. And no, I am not deterred from the Atlantic Adventurer cruise in Oct.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Cheers!

[KerriL]

May 3, 2015 Enroute to Charleston

 

Forgot to mention that we did have motion of the ocean last night. So much so that I had to leave the table after ordering my dinner to get my sea bands. I had them on my pocket all day but forgot to put them in my evening bag. Go figure! Anyway, after wearing them for a while, I started to feel better. The wine may have helped, too!!

 

Yes, cheapskate us, decided that we would order a 3 bottle Admiral's package of wine, even though we have the aforementioned free SBP. There is a method to our madness, you see. We are very close to achieving four star status. We hope to do it with this cruise but we have to spend money to do so. Being anal, I calculated how we would achieve this pinnacle of our cruising (yes, I know that there are at least two more levels above 4 star but, realistically, I'm not sure either one of us will get there.) career. Anyway, DM, who has three cruise days more than I do, will be 1.5 days away from being 4 star, if we spend the way we usually do. So, that means we need to spend in more unusual ways, hence the wine package. We thought a good compromise would be to have wine on our formal nights, and use the SBP for beer for DM and gin for me on non formal nights.

 

The motion lasted well into the night. DM said it stopped at 2 am on the dot. I'll take her word for it because I was fast asleep. Now she's sleeping like a baby and I'm up writing this post!

 

 

I heard about the rough seas last night:( I can bring some Gin Gins (ginger chews)along on Tuesday! They help me quite a bit. Glad to hear Jordan did well with the demo. She was so very nervous. Hope you enjoy Charleston today!

[SilverLining4Me]

May 3, 2015 Enroute to Charleston

 

Forgot to mention that we did have motion of the ocean last night. So much so that I had to leave the table after ordering my dinner to get my sea bands. I had them on my pocket all day but forgot to put them in my evening bag. Go figure! Anyway, after wearing them for a while, I started to feel better. The wine may have helped, too!!

 

 

One of my concerns about the Maasdam to Alaska is the size of the ship and the possibility of more motion than is felt on the larger ships. Normally not ones to get seasick, but the Maasdam is smaller than the ships we are used to.

[Alberta Quilter]

May 3 Charleston

 

Sail in was very pretty this morning. It reminded me, slightly, of the sail in to Stockholm. Sure there weren't as many islands but it was interesting nonetheless. The houses on the shore were HUGE! And then there was the sunrise, lighting everything up. We saw an aircraft carrier; I had never seen one before. I'm told it's parked there and the public can view it and the aircraft on top. Apparently, the carrier isn't fit to sail and the aircraft aren't fit to fly.

 

Charleston is a very pretty city. We left the ship around 8:30 after a room service breakfast that was prompt and complete. We strolled to the City Market which is over 200 years old. Vendors were still setting up but we were told we could still walk through most of it. It's only a block from the port area. The market is in a series of low buildings so the vendors are along the outer walls and the customers stroll up the centre aisle.

 

I did buy some benne wafers as recommended by someone earlier on the thread. I took a look at the pralines but thought that those had wayyyy too much sugar in them. Just looking at them made my gums hurt! I decided that maybe it was safer not to try them in case I had to have them. We also tried okra chips (never had okra before, either), and purple sweet potato chips. We found another booth that had lemon cookies, pecan cookies, benne wafers and ginger snaps. We bought small bags of all of them except those benne wafers because we had already bought the others.

 

I was quite fascinated with the handmade sweet grass baskets. As a quilter, I do understand why they are priced as high as they are; the hours they take. I really liked one in particular because there was a pattern within the pattern. But it was US$675 which was a little too dear for me at the very first port of call! I really couldn't blow the budget the first time out of the gate. I did find a significantly smaller one that was only US$30 on sale.

 

After the market, we took a pedicab to the Visitor Centre to meet up with our tour. We were early and had to wait a bit there. The minibus tour was by Talke of the Town; Alan was our very knowledgeable guide. Unfortunately, he had a voice that droned on a bit and made both of us sleepy! There ended up being 10 or 12 of us on the tour, most having signed up recently at the Visitor Centre, not online like I did. Those people had signed up only for the main tour; we had also included a tour of the Edmondston-Alston House which was the winter townhouse of plantation owners. It remains within the family today; the current owner still lives on the third floor but has opened the lower floors as a museum with original furniture. It was quite interesting to see the house; a highlight of the tour. I had also considered a carriage ride tour but I thought the minibus would be better for DM. I had read that people in the back of the carriages can't always hear the guide who is driving and turning around to provide commentary. It would be just our luck to be in the back. And, we had an early All Aboard of 3:30.

 

After the tour, we walked back to the ship to have lunch, and more importantly, a drink. We forgot to take water with us and didn't bother to buy any. We were too late for the lido buffet but the sandwich place was open and so was the Dive In. We took our food and beverages all down to our balcony to eat. It was so lovely there on our balcony; we were facing the city so we could watch some comings and goings, too.

 

After our lunch, I took the Dive In tray with the dirty dishes back up to the lido and then went to the Crows Nest to write up my report while DM checked the inside of her eyelids for leaks. We met up again for Team Trivia where we did not win. We did, however, see Fort Sumter on the sail out.

 

Dinner tonight was better than I had expected. I was a little disappointed with the menu; nothing really appealed to me. I ended up with pepper pot soup, Caesar salad and pork loin. Two others had the pork loin, two had roast chicken and DM had a salad for her entree. POA1, my cheese plate (really, a piece of slate), had half a fig, a date, some chutney and a small bunch of grapes. There was nary a prune to be found!

 

Instead of going to the show, we all ended up going to the Wajang theatre after dinner to see The Grand Seduction. It is a funny film, set in Newfoundland, where the townsfolk set out to seduce a doctor to set up practice there so that a company will open a factory there so the townsfolk can get off the dole. It was quite good and had some funny moments. If you're on an upcoming cruise, you should watch it. FYI, Newfoundland is pronounced Newfendland by, I think, most Canadians. My BIL gets quite upset with people mispronouncing his province's name.

 

We did receive our robes and laundry bag today. I wrote the cabin steward a note, requesting them. I haven't met the steward yet, but DM has, at least, she's spoken to a fellow who works in the general vicinity but she's not sure if he is our steward.

 

We received the little white vase, with a white carnation, in our cabin tonight, and I saw a floral display on the bar across from the Wajang tonight. I'm hoping that means Code Red will be over soon. It must be so hard on the crew. There are still no flowers in the Lido.

 

Well, that's it for today. It was a great day today, I think we can strike Charleston off of the bucket list. Although I think both of us wouldn't mind coming back for a longer visit.

 

Tomorrow is our second sea day.

[Alberta Quilter]

About the toilet falling off the wall - I don't know if anyone was using it at the time but that might have been too much information for the breakfast table! ;) Yes, I do hope to run into them again to find out how long it took to fix or if they were moved. I'll keep you posted. It could be that they exaggerated about the falling off the wall part but they were there and I was not so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and report what I was told. It certainly makes a great story! DM and I thank you for the chuckles this evening!

[Alberta Quilter]

One of my concerns about the Maasdam to Alaska is the size of the ship and the possibility of more motion than is felt on the larger ships. Normally not ones to get seasick, but the Maasdam is smaller than the ships we are used to.

 

You'll probably be fine. It will depend on where you're cruising, of course. When I did the 14 day Alaska on the Amsterdam, I may have worn my seabands once or twice. Certainly not more than that. Just take whatever precautions you need to. That's why I typically have them with me at all times.

[SilverLining4Me]

You'll probably be fine. It will depend on where you're cruising, of course. When I did the 14 day Alaska on the Amsterdam, I may have worn my seabands once or twice. Certainly not more than that. Just take whatever precautions you need to. That's why I typically have them with me at all times.

 

Thank you.

 

Never been seasick (12 cruises) until we were on the Grand Princess going from San Francisco to Glacier Bay. Only time we have used the seabands and meds, but always take them with us to be prepared.

[sail7seas]

Really enjoying your thread and so appreciative you are sharing with us.

I love the Maasdam and am always eager to here any and all news/goings on about that lovely ship.

Continue to enjoy.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your reports.

 

You mentioned a vase with a white carnation, are there vases of flowers on the tables in the main dining room?

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for keeping us updated. Sounds like you had a good day in Charleston.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like you all had a wonderful day in Charleston. We loved that port as well.

[cruz chic]

Sounds like a great day. Thx for the update.

[Alberta Quilter]

Thank you for your reports.

 

You mentioned a vase with a white carnation, are there vases of flowers on the tables in the main dining room?

 

Not so far. After seeing the flower in our room, I thought tHere might be orchids in the Lido but I checked last night and there weren't.

 

BTW, I've been meaning to ask, as this is our first time on the Maasdam, are there usually the chocolates in the Explorer's Lounge with the Adagio? They're not there now but perhaps that's because of Code Red.

 

Oh, and I heard from our tablemates that the two ladies who are Adagio are very good.

[retafcruiser]

May 3 Charleston

 

We were too late for the lido buffet but the sandwich place was open and so was the Dive In.....

 

I know about the Dive In, but what is the sandwich place?

[Folk Singer]

Thank you for the information and updates.

[Diver2014]

ha, ha, ha.....'checked the insides of her eyelids for leaks'.....heh, heh, heh.

That was the Yorktown air craft carrier in Charleston. We saw it while we were waiting for the ferry to Ft Sumpter. What ports are coming up?

We've been on the Maasdam twice and loved it. Pity about the code red. Room stewards were rushing around for 2 days trying to get everything put back into the staterooms when we were on the Zuiderdam but we understood it was for our own good.

[qsuzi]

Very descriptive and nice report on Charleston.