No Maasdam???

[bepsf]

I'm curious... What do you folks have against the big ships? Too impersonal? Too busy? Too expensive?

 

If I wanted to go stay someplace that large, with all those people and all that stuff and all those extra-charge places to eat, things to do, etc - I'd just go to Las Vegas where the cheapest rooms have the same space as a Suite aboard a ship, there is more space at the much larger pools, there are far better shows, there are more flights to get there and where I have great cell service...

...but if I go to sea, I want to feel like I'm on a ship - Not in Las Vegas.

[DFD1]

Right On! Brian.

[sail7seas]

If I wanted to go stay someplace that large, with all those people and all that stuff and all those extra-charge places to eat, things to do, etc - I'd just go to Las Vegas where the cheapest rooms have the same space as a Suite aboard a ship, there is more space at the much larger pools, there are far better shows, there are more flights to get there and where I have great cell service...

 

...but if I go to sea, I want to feel like I'm on a ship - Not in Las Vegas.

 

 

YES !!!!

The only bad part for us is the long flight.... much shorter flight to FLL. :D

 

We haven't been to Vegas in years. Maybe it's time.

If we don't find a great cruise on Maasdam for 2013, Vegas is a strong possibility.

 

Is there still a ton of smoking there or are there non-smoking casinos/restaurants?

[lawyerrose]

:eek:

 

That's enough to make me never travel on the condo of the seas!

 

amen!!!

[esther e]

Here is a photo I took in January from NCL's Sun of Walmart of the Seas with NCL's Sky next to it.

[bepsf]

Is there still a ton of smoking there or are there non-smoking casinos/restaurants?

 

Ya know I don't notice so much cigarette smoke in the larger & newer Casinos on the Strip, but it's pretty bad in the old places on Fremont Street.

Then again, the Casino aboard Eurodam in December was pretty awful - Never been aboard a HAL ship before where it was so noticable that I just couldn't stand simply walking through a room.

[bepsf]

YES !!!!

The only bad part for us is the long flight.... much shorter flight to FLL. :D

 

Quite so - but at least you can get Non-Stops to Vegas...

...I believe there is only one airline left where I can get a Non-Stop from SFO to FLL

(Fortunately, it's Virgin America)

[sail7seas]

Yes, I think you're right we can still fly non-stop to Las Vegas. We haven't gone for a while so I'd have to research which airline(s).

 

I was thrilled when DH found Air Alaska will fly us non-stop to Seattle. Like everyone, I hate connections. :( DH doesn't seem to mind them as much as I do.

 

[robertmartha]

Does anyone know when HAL will release the 2013 sailings for canada and ne? Does everyone think at this point 2 ships will be doing canada/ne or is this everyone best guess at this time based on the destination calendar? I for one would love a longer sailing during the summer....hopefully it would bring the prices down a bit as well. We have done canada/ne sailings several times and the ships have always been full...so the demad is there and with celebrity not sailing there this or last year (2010 they did alternate canada-bermuda sailings) their is room for another ship in my opinion!

[DFD1]

I also wish HAL would add another ship to the Canada/New England market. I also wish the prices would come down a bit, especially on a Boston round trip of about 10 days or so.

 

We did a seven day New York round trip last year using NCL. We loved the cruise and the ports, but don't especially like NCL. However, the price was too good to pass on.

 

We'd like to do a few days more, but aren't especially interested in going all the way to Quebec or Montreal because we've visited both many times.

 

Maybe we're being too pickey.

[dot73]

After 3 cruises on the Noordam and 1 on the Nieuw Amsterdam which I enjoyed immensely, I didn't think I would go back to a small ship. However, after reading all the positive comments about the Maasdam, especially from Sail who seems to adore this ship, I have booked the Jan 4/13 cruise. The 14-day itinerary has all my favourite ports and two that I haven't been to. My feeling towards the huge ships is that since I live in a high-rise condo and work on the 46th floor, I definitely don't want to spend my precious vacations in one.