Change in Itinerary - Maasdam 6/7

[bunduo]

It looks like they changed the itinerary for Maasdam's 6/7 sailing. They added more time in Charlottetown, PEI and cut out sailing Saguenay Fjords. Instead we will sail the St. Lawrence. Will we be missing anything? Or is this an improvement?

[Druke I]

Missing the Saguenay Fjord is a biggie, in my opinion.

 

It is quite pretty up there, and the statue of the Virgin Mary and its story is fascinating.

[Bramcruiser]

It appears that HAL has dropped the Saguenay Fjord crusing off the Maasdam sailings effective this year but no one has a straight answer to it - everything from the introduction of the new Eurodam coming to the route for the fall to the price of fuel to the weather. Likely its either of the last two. I have heard that the fjord cruising is nice but I guess if visibility is cut frequently then you don't miss much. However, it is still a bit of a disappointment as I booked this trip for 2009 and now that portion of it is no longer part of it. Instead, the ship will continue sailing along the St. Lawrence River on its way to Quebec City or Charlottetown depending on which direction it is going. Still a day at sea gives one a chance to explore the ship on such a port-intensive cruise. I'm looking forward to it.

 

I can only say that extended time in Charlottetown is a good thing. Full days give you so much more opportunities than a few hours.

 

David

[Two if by Sea]

The itinerary change has been known about for a long time now -- I booked our upcoming June 2008 cruise in August of 2007 and I'm pretty sure I found out about the itinerary change last fall -- I believe I even got a notification from my travel agent (sometime after finding out on this board or on the HAL website).

 

In fact, it has been known for so long that I'm surprised HAL didn't fix their 2008 brochure. The 2008 brochure wasn't even on their website yet when the itinerary was changed (I looked, and could still only find the 2007 brochure at the time of the first announcement).

 

Oh well. As BramCruiser says, and as I mentioned on another thread: I'm sorry to miss the Saguenay Fjord, but I think the extra time on PEI will more than make up for it.

[sail7seas]

Yes, this change was announced quite some time ago.

 

We have sailed the Saguenay Fjord a number of times and almost always enjoy it. Definitely, the weather/visibility greatly effect the experience. One cruise it was the highlight of the week as it was an exquisitely gorgeous day and the conditions were perfect. Another time is was drizzly, cold and raw out. We went on our veranda for a few minutes when we were at the statue but hardly paid attention to the view/scenic cruising. Too foggy.

 

PEI is a nice port. We enjoy it there and having more time will be good. Have lunch ashore and enjoy some PEI mussels. Delicious!

 

[Orsino]

I don't think you will be missing much. We didn't have a fantastic time on the fjord. Traveling from Montreal-Boston, the time in the fjord is quite early in the morning. We got up, but there wasn't much to see; not a particularly clear day though so it might have been that. However, I would guess that fog is often the case since the ship is there at 6AM.

Also, hardly anyone was up and about at that hour.

 

If it is true that you get more port time in exchange for the loss of the scenic cruising, I think that is a fair deal.

[sail7seas]

Exactly. On the Montreal to Boston itinerary, it is early in the morning and many people were still asleep. We almost never got up /interrupted our breakfast routine on the Montreal to Boston route. But we are always back-to-back so it was a repeat for us in addition to having seen it many times in the past.

 

The Boston to Montreal Itinerary, it was lunch time until about 4:30 or so and was fabulous. We saw whales and listened to the Naturalist speak and enjoyed the view of the statue...... on clear days, as I mentioned above.

[bunduo]

As usual, you guys rock! We just booked the trip and the TA sent us the email..which begs the question...how can they advertise and sell a cruise whose itinerary changed? We are outdoorsy types so I think we would have enjoyed the Fjord. I called HAL customer service and asked exactly how much longer the ship will be in PEI and he could not answer the question. I wonder what the real reason for cutting out this portion of the itinerary. It has to be about money. It seems every corporate decision is based on the bottom line.

[sail7seas]

These are the hours Maasdam will be in PEI for the upcoming Canada/New England cruises.

 

 

Our stay in Charlottetown is Boston to Montreal: 8.00 till 17.00

 

Montreal to Boston: 8.00 till 17.00