Live from the Maasdam..

[rocks]

Hi Everyone!

The ship is GREAT! Running in good condition & is as beautiful as I remember.

First diner was wonderful & our waiters name is Shy...I know I read that someone on this board had him & said how great he was. You were right! Service is excellent ALL over the ship. I found my spot at the Ocean Bar & have a seat reserved there for the rest of the cruise.

Having a GREAT time & just wanted to let you know that ALL is WONDERFUl on board the Maasdam.

Met most of the other CC’er’s this afternoon & they are all very nice, fun cruisers. I will post some photos later.

rocks

[sail7seas]

Great to hear how happy you are on Maasdam and what a great time you are having.

 

Thanks for taking time from your vacation to check in with us.

Continue to enjoy. Have a wonderful cruise!!

[goforfun]

Hi--

 

Glad to know all is well on the Maasdam. We sail on her in a month. Suitcases not packed yet, but we're planning! No other CCers on our trip that we know of. Had fun meeting the CCers on the Diamond Princess last December.

 

Speaking of suitcases, how high/deep is the storage space under the bed? If there's room we may bring one big suitcase instead of a couple of smaller ones. We would need at least 12 1/2 inches to store that bag.

 

Rocks, would you measure that space for us? In case you didn't pack your ruler or tape measure (not something I ever travel with!), 2 dollar bills end to end measure 12 inches. Thanks so much.

 

Goforfun

[RuthC]

Thank you so much for posting with all that enthusiasm!

I'm really looking forward to boarding that very same ship month after next!

(gosh, that way of saying it makes it sound soon.;) )

[LAFFNVEGAS]

rocks, thanks so much for posting. I too will be boarding the Maasdam in just 68 days. Glad to hear all is well. Looking forward to hearing more.

[rocks]

Hi Everyone!

We had a WONDERFUL day in Half Moon today..the sun was bright & there was a nice ocean breeze. My intention was to hike all around to see the new additions to the island (sting rays, jet skis, ect.) but I found a hammock calling my name. It was like heaven with a Caribbean band playing in the background, the blue water, and the breeze. I read some of my book, took a nap & most important, found a piece of my spirit. It was wonderful! I did go up to get a drink & had a plate full of there ribs-which were SO good that after eating them walked back to the cooks & told them they were the best I ever had.

The ship is still running fine & the only problem I’ve heard about is how a few of the toilets were having a problem due to the apple that someone flushed! Can you believe that?? Wonder if they flush apples down their own toilets??? Only a few cabins effected & I believe it only lasted about half a day.

Our seas are calm, food is great (I sure haven’t seen a decline in the dining room...our waiter, Shy, & his assistants are on top of every detail), Crew in all the lounges are awesome, and I’m enjoying every single second! I’m been hanging in Ocean Bar-Piano bar is Bill Forrest who seems to draw a crowd...Later, rocks

Will measure & let you know....

[caribbean girl]

Wait 'till you meet the photo staff!! They are awesome!! We had wonderful photos take by all of them. I still look at them and sigh:) . You are so lucky to have had good weather for HMC!! We missed it on our trip. Enjoy every moment of your vacation.

[EmilyM]

I couldn't agree with Carribean Girl more! The photo staff was so sweet, especially cute Stacy. I miss her already! She is such a wonderful person to get to know. Did you know that Braam (spelling?) went home on May 1? I am sure he is enjoying being with his family, but it is too bad these cruisers missed out on his pirate outfit!

 

As for the plumbing, we were in 726 on A deck last week, and the last couple of days, our toilets were hit and miss. I hope no one on our cruise flushed that apple. That is so rude to fellow cruisers!

[CrabbyHarper]

Rocks: Please say hello to Shy from the folks at Table 64 last cruise - GiGi and her family send warmest wishes!:)

 

Is Shy still on the starboard Lido line for breakfast and lunch? He was such a bright spot to start the day.

 

So glad you are having a great time! May it continue!

 

Gerry

[JohnChiang]

Rocks, thanks for the updates. I will be boarding the Maasdam in Norfolk when you disembark on May 12th. Really looking forward to this cruise.

 

Goforfun, you can always open your big suitcase before sliding it under the bed, that way it will only be half as tall.

[Aussie Gal]

Rocks,

 

Thanks so much for the update. We will be boarding her in the middle of July and cannot wait!

 

Jennie

[rocks]

Just a quick second...

EVERYTHING is still WONDERFUL - VERY happy to report that the ship is sailing in perfect condition. She is such a beautiful ship!

Goforfun...under the bed is only 1 & 1/2 dollar bills in length.

Crabbyharper...Shy is coming home with me...I was the 1st at our table to ask & he agreed! He sure is great. Lots of fun, remembers everyones name & I even get big hugs at breakfast.

I hope everyone sailing on the Maasdam has as great of a vacation as I am!

rocks

[Aussie Gal]

Rocks,

 

If there is very little room under the "new" beds, where are you storing your suitcases?

We have Samonsite Oyster hard cases and they used to fit under the beds.

 

Jennie

[Linda&Vern]

Rocks,

If there is very little room under the "new" beds, where are you storing your suitcases? We have Samonsite Oyster hard cases and they used to fit under the beds. Jennie

Ours fit under the bed in December by leaving it "open." Worked out fine.

[Aussie Gal]

Linda and Vern,

 

Thanks for the quick reply. We have never thought of leaving the cases open, what a great idea. This Board as usual has come to our rescue.

 

Jennie

[goforfun]

Thanks, Rocks, for the underbed measurement. That is useful info. Our case does not change dimension enough when open, so we will make other plans. :)

[EmilyM]

We brought four soft suitcases and a garment bag (first cruise, we didn't know better). There was so much dang closet space that we didn't even use the space under the bed. Granted, we were able to fit the suitcases within one another, which helped a lot. We just put the suitcases in the bottom of the closet we hung our shirts in.

 

I really loved all that closet space -- it was very nice. Plus, if you didn't want to hang your items, you could easily convert the space to shelving. Bravo to whoever designed those closets!

[KateBobbi]

I'm glad you are enjoying your cruise! I sure do miss being on the ship! We were on in March! :) Hope the rest of the week is smooth sailing too! :)

[caribbean girl]

Rocks,

 

Thanks so much for the update. We will be boarding her in the middle of July and cannot wait!

 

Jennie

 

It sounds like you are going on the transatlantic voyage. How exciting!! As EmilyM mentioned, the photo staff is lovely. We spent a lot of time talking to them. They were a lot of fun and closer to our age than the passengers on that trip. I believe they are mostly from South Africa, but I think Stacey (sp) may be Australian! This is her first year working on a ship and she told us how excited she was about the TA trip. We have our best photos from the Maasdam photo crew and the wonderful thing is that they are professional with no heavy sales pitch.:)

[EmilyM]

Funny that you say she is an Aussie! That is what I thought at first, too. My husband was trying to place her accent when we first met her, and finally gave up and told us it was South Africa. She is so proud of it, too! If she had her way, everyone would visit South Africa -- she should really go work for their tourism bureau.

 

I just can't tell you how impressed we were with Stacy. She is such a friendly, loving, and thoughtful person.

[Linda&Vern]

Linda and Vern, Thanks for the quick reply. We have never thought of leaving the cases open, what a great idea. This Board as usual has come to our rescue. Jennie

:rolleyes: You don't want to know how long we stood in our cabin looking at that hard case and wondering what on earth we were going to do with it! Felt like we had won the lottery when our brains engaged and we realized we didn't have to close the darn thing!:D Happy to share our experience!

[Aussie Gal]

Caribbean Girl and Emily,

 

Yes we are going on the Transatlantic cruise and are so looking forward to it.

 

Fancy mixing up a South African with an Aussie!! I am only kidding. The South African accent is completely different to ours but probably S.A. and us are the only ones that can spot it. New Zealanders are the ones that speak the closest to us, mind you they are really our cousins. Literally in my case anyhow as we do have family over there but not sure who and where they are.

 

Jennie.

[stormyc]

Rocks -

 

Thank you so much for the "live" report ...enjoying it so much!

[caribbean girl]

I guess my 'ear' is not as well trained, when it comes to accents as I thought. Actually, unless my memory if failing me, it's not because of the accent that I thought Stacy is Australian. I can almost swear we had a conversation about this, and she was asking the South Africans how they said something or other in Afrikaans. Anyway, most importantly, we love her!! And Braam!!:) I think he would probably remember me; my name is unusual and he was having lots of trouble pronouncing it.

[Sea Birds]

G'day:

 

You are so right about the mix-ups with identifying the Australian accent. I am a true-blue Aussie currently living in the States. My accent is often mistaken for either South African, New Zealand, British or Swedish. When I mention that I am Australian, a lot of people identify me as an Austrian! Its fairly easy to identify the SA because of their strong Dutch accent which trickles into their english speech.

 

Australians love to have fun with the pronunciation of the english language and are alway shortening words. A lot of the words are indigenous to Australia and derived from Aboriginal terms, such as 'boomerang' and 'kangaroo'.