Maasdam, Just Back from a Great Trip

[WeLoveCruising]

Excellent review, curious though... What are some of your other rules...:)

 

He broke our Cruise Rule #3 which is No Desserts at Lunch and had one.

 

At the risk of sounding obsessive, I'll let you in on our 5 rules:

 

#1 Wear sunblock

#2 No complaining

#3 No desserts at lunch

#4 Keep cabin tidy, don’t let things clutter

#5 Use the stairs

[WeLoveCruising]

Can someone explain the listening stations to me? Do they have music, audio books for you to listen to??

 

The stations are setup next to reclining chairs, each with head phones and a computerized selection of musical CD's. There are a few hundred CD's, all different types. Nice way to enjoy a beverage on a sea day

[WeLoveCruising]

Day 5 Halifax

We had a car reserved at Halifax, with a plan to go to Peggy’s Cove and drive a little of the Lighthouse Route on the coast. Being a Hertz gold member, it was easiest for me to reserve through them, even though the National car rental is in the Westin right across from where the ship docks. When we got off the ship, I found out the Hertz near the ship was closed, and the Hertz to pick up my car was at the Marriott, about a 30 minute walk. We called for directions and they told us if we took a cab they would reimburse us – so that’s what we did. We took our portable GPS from home and had no problems finding Peggy’s Cove. It was overcast, cold, and rainy, but somehow it all worked in the setting. After visiting the lighthouse, we drove to the Swiss Air memorial. We walked up the little path to see it, and there was a couple there with flowers that obviously lost someone close to them on the flight. We quietly left, giving them some privacy.

We followed the GPS for about an hours drive to Mahone Bay, which I heard was very picturesque little town. It was was quite pretty, set on a lake with three churches and steeples visible as you approach the town. It was full of little cafes, B&B’s and shops. We stopped in a little country bake shop for an oatmeal cookie and cup of coffee and walked the streets a bit. A nice relaxing time, and the fall colors were beautiful.

We returned the car to Hertz around 3pm, and decided to walk the half hour back to the ship instead of cabbing. It was cold and lightly raining, but the walk felt good. The Halifax boardwalk looked interesting, but we didn’t have time to explore. Oh well, a reason to go back.

Getting back on the ship we had a little run in with a passenger, the same one I saw almost get himself arrested in Quebec City. Here’s what happened in Quebec – at the security check to get back on the ship, you need to show your ship’s boarding card, and a photo ID, pretty standard stuff. This guy (I first typed the word “gentleman”, and backspaced over it for “guy”), forgot his photo ID. He started yelling at the security guy who worked for the port, not HAL, about how he was going to miss the Lido buffet, and who ever heard of closing down a buffet on a ship, and that they just better let him up, blah blah blah. The security guard explained that he didn’t work for the ship, and he had nothing to do with meal time, but would call the ship so they could come and help ID him and let him board. That wasn’t good enough for this guy, and he was screaming at the security guard. When the person from the ship didn’t show up in, oh about 2 minutes, he pushed his way past the security guard and said he had enough of this nonsense and was going to eat his lunch. The security guard had to physically push him back and away they went to a private room. Exciting stuff!

Anyway, getting back on the ship in Halifax, who is in front of us again but “Mr I Need My Lunch Before They Close the Boofay”. This time, he literally pushed me to the side walk past us up the walkway. I let him go by, only to catch up to him at the Xray machine where he was arguing that he wasn’t going to remove his coat because it was too “G*D* cold”.

[mamaofami]

Loving your review. Curious, does the no dessert at lunch include no ice cream in the afternoon?

Today I was at a doctor's office in NYC and a gentleman walked in carrying a HAL tote bag..you know the kind they give out on board. Anyway, I asked him what ships he had been on, and he said he was on the Maasdam out of Boston and took the same cruise you did up to Quebec. he didn't like the line at all because he felt he was nickle and dimed for everything. So, I asked what line he did like and his answer was some Europen cruise company that does river boat cruises. Not exactly the same thing, but I figured I wouldn't push it.

[WeLoveCruising]

Loving your review. Curious, does the no dessert at lunch include no ice cream in the afternoon?

 

.

 

Our rules are a little fun game between us, we made them up on one of our first cruises, and break them all the time...especially that one.

 

My afternoon dessert weakness is the bread pudding, and his is the ice cream. On the Maasdam they had the standard bread pudding (still my favorite), and a special one each day. I saw cherry, coconut, and chocolate chip varieties.

[Travalerie]

Day 5 Halifax

Getting back on the ship we had a little run in with a passenger, the same one I saw almost get himself arrested in Quebec City. Here’s what happened in Quebec – at the security check to get back on the ship, you need to show your ship’s boarding card, and a photo ID, pretty standard stuff. This guy (I first typed the word “gentleman”, and backspaced over it for “guy”), forgot his photo ID. He started yelling at the security guy who worked for the port, not HAL, about how he was going to miss the Lido buffet, and who ever heard of closing down a buffet on a ship, and that they just better let him up, blah blah blah. The security guard explained that he didn’t work for the ship, and he had nothing to do with meal time, but would call the ship so they could come and help ID him and let him board. That wasn’t good enough for this guy, and he was screaming at the security guard. When the person from the ship didn’t show up in, oh about 2 minutes, he pushed his way past the security guard and said he had enough of this nonsense and was going to eat his lunch. The security guard had to physically push him back and away they went to a private room. Exciting stuff!

 

Anyway, getting back on the ship in Halifax, who is in front of us again but “Mr I Need My Lunch Before They Close the Boofay”. This time, he literally pushed me to the side walk past us up the walkway. I let him go by, only to catch up to him at the Xray machine where he was arguing that he wasn’t going to remove his coat because it was too “G*D* cold”.

 

I am laughing out loud because I can hardly believe that a person would actually behave this way! Its amazing how people can get worked up in public. I actually feel bad for this guy...Whoever is with him needs to keep him happy and fed!!

[Travalerie]

The stations are setup next to reclining chairs, each with head phones and a computerized selection of musical CD's. There are a few hundred CD's, all different types. Nice way to enjoy a beverage on a sea day

 

Thanks! Sounds awesome and now another thing to do on my cruise:)

[mudscraper]

I am laughing out loud because I can hardly believe that a person would actually behave this way! Its amazing how people can get worked up in public. I actually feel bad for this guy...Whoever is with him needs to keep him happy and fed!!

Im not laughing. If this goof intentionally pushed someone to the ground he needs a five finger introduction to the ships medical facilities.

If it was my wife,hed be sipping his next Boofay meal through a straw.:cool:

[Travalerie]

Im not laughing. If this goof intentionally pushed someone to the ground he needs a five finger introduction to the ships medical facilities.

If it was my wife,hed be sipping his next Boofay meal through a straw.:cool:

I understand what you are saying, and I hope you understand my sentiment. My laugh is out of disbelief and shock. It would be hard not to knock this guy out as you suggest, but then we would be stooping to his level. He obviously is a man in a great deal of inner turmoil to act out in such a way.

[dvdfreakmc]

OOOOOOO! Can hardly wait until the next installment. It is like a letter about old friends that you haven't seen in a while.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for your Halifax report.

That "guy" must have relatives -- have "run" into a few like him.

[WeLoveCruising]

Day 6

Bar Harbor

We woke up to perfect fall weather in Bar Harbor. Yay, the sun was out! A short tender ride over to Bar Harbor and we were in town by about 9am. We decided to take Oli’s Trolley tour ($15), deciding on the 1 hour instead of the 2 ½ hour tour. We were in the minority because our trolley had only 6-8 people onboard, and the bus for the longer tour was packed. (Hmm, I wonder what we missed?). We really liked the tour, especially into Acadia and the top of Cadillac Mountain. The day was crisp, clear, and sunny, and we were treated to magnificent views on the top of the mountain. Looking down at the ship, across the brilliant fall colors was just breathtaking.

After the trolley we strolled the streets of the shopping area – a word to the wise - Don’t expect to find a restroom in Bar Harbor. No kidding! There were many coffee, ice cream shops, café’s, etc and none of them would let you use the restroom. We were happy to purchase something, I understand that – but even with that not one place would let us use the restroom. I would hope if we had a sit down meal in a restaurant that we could, but I didn’t want a sit down meal. We finally found a little pizza place a few blocks off the main street that had a restroom, so we each had a slice of pizza and some relief from Mother Nature J

We had an especially nice meal in the dining room, and were so enjoying the service from our wine steward and Cellar Master. They set our table with Riedel stemware each night (the Riedel stemware is usually found in the Pinnacle but not the dining room), and the wine steward would quiz us each day on our wine…it was so much fun.

Speaking of the Cellar Master, the Maasdam had something I hadn’t seen before – Scotch Tasting. I’ve been many times to the premium wine tasting, so we didn’t do that this trip, but night at 10pm they had a Scotch Tasting, of 5 or 6 brands I believe, for $20. It was held at the Lido bar area. I’m not a scotch drinker, but DH is. Unfortunately he didn’t make it so I don’t know how good it was, but he would have if we werent having so much fun in the Crow’s Nest that night. Marcein the Cellar Master is from Scotland, and super nice guy, and very interesting. I imagine it was pretty good.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I just want to tell you I love your review and your writing style. :) Such a fun read that makes you feel like you are there. Thanks

[ViolaSwamp]

Ooooh scotch tasting, my DH will love that, hope they have it on our cruise!!

[WeLoveCruising]

Aaah, 3 Blissful Sea Days

We love sea days. For me the ship is the destination…the ports are a nice daily activity. We were so looking forward to these sea days, and we weren't disappointed. We spent these days in the thermal suite, Exploration’s Café, and out by the pool. The weather was warm enough to swim on the first sea day, and by the last sea day it was hot. The officers had switched over to their white uniforms, and the crew to their Caribbean style ones.

A little on the day time activities: There seemed to be many more things going on in the Culinary Center. Each day the Party Planner had classes on things like table settings, party invitations, napkin folding, and floral arranging. We didn’t go to any of them, although that’s not from lack of interest, we were just enjoying our pool chairs and books too much. The one thing I didn’t like though, is the movies that are usually scheduled for the afternoon were now only at night, and the times never seemed to work out with dinner. Movies were 6, 8, and 10pm. With dinner at 7:30, that only left the 10pm movie, which was just a little late for me. I know the movies are also in the cabins, but I did like watching a movie during the day....escaping from the heat into the nice air conditioned theater, sitting there with my popcorn J. I’m sure others really enjoyed the Party Planner events, but I would have liked them to also sneak a movie or two in during the day.

A little bit on the condition of the ship: We love the Maasdam. Yup, I’ll agree the Noordam is the prettiest ship to me (haven’t seen the Eurodam yet)…the Zuiderdam is the most colorful, etc. But, the Maasdam fits us. DH called her an “old shoe”, and he meant that in the most loving complimentary way. When the Maasdam went through SOE a few years ago I said I’ve never seen her look better. Today, well, a little age is showing. To me, it’s character and personality, not a flaw. The crew of the Maasdam is so proud of her, and they should be. We constantly saw people polishing and cleaning.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjpoyed your review.

 

Scotch tasting -- my DH would love that!!

[WeLoveCruising]

We’re HAL traditionalists, for sure, and we look forward to certain events and traditions. One example of this is the Baked Alaska parade. Now I know some of you don’t agree, but for us it’s a tradition and we do enjoy it. On this cruise we experienced what we’re told is the “new” way of doing it. Instead of the Baked Alaska parade on the last formal night (Captain’s Farewell Dinner), they did it on the last night as part of the MCD (Master Chef’s Debacle, I mean Dinner). Oh, I wont get started on what I think of the MCD, but now the Baked Alaska parade is done with the lights on, with the stewards parading it around to “Sugar Sugar” by the Archies. I tried to be open minded about this, but I just didn’t like it. I miss the old way.

Another tradition gone by the wayside, is the Indonesian Farewell Song “Gulang Gulang”. If you sailed HAL before you’ll be familiar with it – it’s when the stewards line up on the stairs and sing an Indonesian farewell song on the last night. We have memories of our son as a child, going up with them to sing. Sad, but Gulang Gulang is Gone Gone. I’m don’t understand why and I don’t like it.

Another missing item is the Nasi Goreng, or the Indonesian entrée offered at dinner one night. We were told it’s been discontinued. Maybe there wasn’t much of a demand for it, but we loved that meal. Now, here’s the cool part at least on this cruise – we were talking to the Assistant Dining Room manager on the next to last night of the cruise, asking where it was since we hadn’t seen it. We let him know that we were disappointed, and I teasingly said we were going to show up in the crew’s kitchen for some of their food. Well, don’t you know that the last night they specially prepared an Indonesian dinner…make that an Indonesian feast… for us! We were glad to eat it instead of the MCD. Just an example of the wonderful service we had. We were thrilled beyond words!

[WeLoveCruising]

Ooooh scotch tasting, my DH will love that, hope they have it on our cruise!!

 

I hadnt seen it before, so I dont know if its a new offering, or if it was because the Cellar Master on our cruise was from Scotland and has a special interest in it.

 

There were also a few cocktail mixology classes and tastings, which I have seen before. We didnt go on this trip, but have enjoyed them before.

[WeLoveCruising]

I understand what you are saying, and I hope you understand my sentiment. My laugh is out of disbelief and shock. It would be hard not to knock this guy out as you suggest, but then we would be stooping to his level. He obviously is a man in a great deal of inner turmoil to act out in such a way.

 

No, we never thought to do anything back to him, either. He didnt actually knock me to the ground, just pushed as he went by. I felt bad for him, I really thought he was going to get arrested for pushing the security officer in Quebec.

[martinimadam]

Between WeLoveCruising and Spinner2, they've just about covered the whole trip! So, I'll just add a few personal "musings".

 

I went on this trip planning to stay on board most of the time. That was actually lucky, cuz, the first formal night I twisted my ankle (darn high heel shoes, anyway!). It wasn't bad, just enough though to keep me from using the stairs or walking too much, and keeping my foot elevated as much as possible to keep the swelling down...

 

The Maasdam is so cozy, "old shoe" describes her perfectly. She is in need of some dry dock time, though. The lamp shades in the Ocean Bar were a little frayed, and the carpet was looking a little tired. But spotless she was (thanks to the crew), and I think I only noticed because the Ocean Bar became my personal library while we were in port.:)

 

Special thanks to Spinner2 for setting up the meet and greet. It was great fun putting names to faces and getting to visit "in person"!

 

Thank Goodness the sun finally came out in Bar Harbor! Those who had expected to see blue skies and fall colors were getting a little down in the dumps til that beautiful morning! The water was like glass for most of the trip. A little disappointing to me, as I love the feel of the ocean on the ship. We did get to about 7 foot swells as we started on our sea days. Just enough to rock me to sleep each night.

 

Room service - "Coffeeman" appeared dutifully each morning at 7. He asked the first morning if I wanted a set time, so I didn't have to bother putting a card out every night. Perfect! And, I found, from personal experience, that those carafes can keep the coffee warm for at least two hours (that darn bed was just too appealing one morning, [they're soooo comfortable] and before I knew it I was fast asleep again!).

 

We did have a little trouble with the wine service the first night. One steward trying to take care of too many tables, especially the first night when many folks didn't really know what they wanted to order. One word to the head waiter, though, and the Cellar Master (what a sweet laddie he was) was there at the table, helping the novices make their decisions. Second night there were at least three more stewards in our area, and everything went smoothly from there.

 

Dinner times - I was at fixed main seating; but, it was at 7:30, not 8. I was actually happy with that. Don't think the early fixed seating folks were too happy though: 5:15! In a sort of quiet revolution, though, many of them waited until just before 5:30 to go into the dining room. Most evenings the doors didn't open for main seating until after 7:30, as early seating people were just strolling out around 7:30.

 

Our whole table went to the Pinnacle on MCD night, so can't report back, though, from what I've read here we didn't miss much. Too bad, though, since some of my table mates were first time HAL cruisers and might have enjoyed it. Unlike Spinner2, we all had a lovely dinnner, I had the veal chop which was absolutely delicious. I agree with her, though, the waiter was a bit on the "cool" side.

 

Loved the Mariner's luncheon. So much better than the old cocktail "party". Hit all the right notes and it was really fun to see folks get up for their medallions.

 

The Piano Bar was packed most nights. A little too crowded for me, but looked like lots of fun. Never seen the Explorations Lounge so busy! The string quartet was definitely being enjoyed.

 

It was hard leaving in FLL, knowing that many others were staying on. And I probably could have made my 11:10 flight that morning, since the disembarkation went quite smoothly (only two people had to be called, and only once, to pay their bills!). But, it was also nice knowing that I was one of the last folks to get off the ship, had a cab waiting, and had one more relaxing day before heading home.

 

Don't know if I've added much to the discussion; but, it was sure fun reliving the experience!!!

[many cruises]

Thanks for your great review. We loved the Maasdam too!

[Aramis1932]

WeLoveCruising,

Thank you for your excellent review! We were on the same sailing and it's always interesting to read how others spent their days.

 

I really enjoyed the Piano Bar because I love Broadway show tunes.

 

We had AYWD and never had a problem getting a table for two but we dined early.

 

Bar Harbor Note:

We used the lobby restrooms at the Bar Harbor Inn (to the left of the dock) and there are also public restrooms at the Village Green next to the Visitors Center (where we purchased our Acadia National Park entrance ticket).

 

MartiniMadam,

It was nice to meet someone from Cruise Critic! I'm sorry, I didn't get to see you again after the Piano Bar. I like rough seas too.

 

It was a fabulous cruise and I loved the Maasdam.

[shirljean]

Sorry, I haven't had time to read you review, but I will certainly go back to read. In the meantime, we have just booked from FLL to Montreal next May 8. How many formal nights did you have?

[martinimadam]

Shirljean - we had 3 formal nights; but, ours was only a 10 day cruise. I believe the spring relocation cruise is 15 days, so you should probably count on at least 4 formal night, unless they leave the last one out because your cruise seems to be much more port-intensive near the end of the voyage...

[shirljean]

Ahh, I finally got to read this whole report. Great reporting & you covered a lot of areas, welovecruising, thank you. And thank you Martinimadam for the formal night info.

 

I missed Spinner2's report - can anyone tell me where to find it?

 

I have made many notes and I am sure I will be able to feel at ease using them. We are really looking forward to our May 8 cruise, going north.