Dave’s Trip To, Around and Into Australia, Sept. 26 – Nov. 23, 2016

[hpf]

Bon Voyage and have a fabulous trip.

 

I will certainly be following along and after having done the Hawaii, Bora Bora, etc. cruise, I know that there will be days that you will not have internet but we will not give up on you.

 

Helen

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Have a fabulous journey.

 

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 26, Seattle, embarkation day

 

We went this morning to have breakfast at one of our favorite places in Seattle – Lowell’s, in the Pike Place Market. It has windows overlooking Elliott Bay, across the Puget Sound to the Kitsap Peninsula and the Olympic Mountains further to the west. And, it has a fine breakfast!

 

From the far corner of the top (third) floor dining room, we could just see a small portion of Maasdam at Pier 91 to the north. Later, I was able to go on earthcam (http://www.earthcam.com/usa/washington/seattle/?cam=seattleskyline) for a web cam from the Space Needle. I was able to select the “Panorama” option, which allowed me to pan and zoom to see Maasdam in port, although the shot was a little fuzzy. So, the ship is here, we are here, and now we just need to join up.

 

The taxi is due to take us in a while. So, I will post this and get finished with the final gathering of stuff before we go. With luck, we’ll be on board shortly, and I will be able to establish an internet account and check back with you relatively soon.

 

More later,

Dave

[fatcat04]

There can never be too many cruise blogs! I enjoy reading everyone's experiences and seeing all the lovely pictures. Hope you have a wonderful trip :)

[trub]

enjoy your cruise dave and looking forward to your blog which i imagine will be as enjoyable as always:)

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 26, Seattle, embarkation day (Cont.)

 

 

We are aboard Maasdam! We took the taxi to Pier 91, arriving just before 11 a.m. The Zaandam was also in port. We breezed through check-in and waited about 30 minutes before being called to board.

 

Our rooms were ready, and we did some chores, and now the bags have come, so I am helping DW by staying out of her way while she stows everything. Boat drill is set for 3:15, so I have time to launch the internet account and post some things.

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 26, Seattle, embarkation day (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

As well as the two sides of the internet handout sheet:

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 26, Seattle, embarkation day (Cont.)

 

It is a bright, beautiful day in Seattle. Here is the view from our balcony, with the yacht club in the foreground and the Kitsap Peninsula across the Sound and the Olympic Mountains behind that:

 

 

 

The view out from starboard aft is of the Seattle skyline:

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

[Florida_gal_50]

Have a wonderful time. Looking forward to reading about your journey. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

[themerle]

Bon Voyage! The itinerary looks fantastic. I'm looking forward to your review and photos!

[Cruising-along]

I will be following, love your blogs. :)

It's a beautiful day to sail from Seattle, and welcome "home" to Washington state. :)

[KNOT2L82SAIL]

I so enjoy your reporting style..... and great photos that you include. Off to a great start! Thank you for letting me cruise and travel with you. ;)

[1of4]

Oh boy Dave (and DW) I am so happy to see this. This is on my bucket list so I will get a preview! Thanks so unchanged for posting.

 

Oh and the land Downunder is spectacular!

[erewhon]

Good to know that you are safely on board, super photos thank you.

[wdw1972]

Thank you for sharing your trip, and the great photos! Maasdam is a ship I've not yet had the pleasure of sailing, although I've enjoyed the other 3 S-class ships. Bon Voyage and I'm looking forward to cruising vicariously with you before going to work each morning ;-)

 

Sue/WDW1972

12/04/16 Koningsdam

3/25/17 Eurodam

[Skipper's Mom]

Sept. 26, Seattle, embarkation day (Cont.)

 

 

We are aboard Maasdam! We took the taxi to Pier 91, arriving just before 11 a.m. The Zaandam was also in port. We breezed through check-in and waited about 30 minutes before being called to board.

 

Our rooms were ready, and we did some chores, and now the bags have come, so I am helping DW by staying out of her way while she stows everything. Boat drill is set for 3:15, so I have time to launch the internet account and post some things.

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

We love the Maasdam! Have a wonderful voyage! Looking forward to your account of this itinerary.

 

Sent from my XT1064 using Forums mobile app

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 26, Seattle, embarkation day (Cont.)

 

The boat drill at 3:15 went without a hitch. It was still the gaggle together and respond to shouted cabin numbers routine. But, it went as well as these things go.

 

We were bunkering (taking on fuel) all afternoon, and did not sail until about 4:45, while we were enjoying a pre-dinner drink in the Ocean Bar. It turns out the bartender was the same one we had encountered in the Ocean Bar on Veendam last fall – Leo. There are a good number of passengers sailing the one night from Seattle to Vancouver. A dozen or more were in the Ocean Bar when we arrived, and seemed to be well lubricated by the time we left for dinner; the bar waitress was running of her feet, and Leo was flat moving some drinks. Luckily, we only had glasses of wine, instead of complicated cocktails.

 

We went in for fixed early dinner, and found that our request for a two-top had been granted. We have table 57, near the aft end of the upper dining room.

 

Here are the MDR dinner and dessert menus:

 

 

 

 

I had the scallops and then the pork loin. DW had the lentil soup followed by the eggplant cannelloni. We both had key lime pie for dessert.

 

More later,

Dave

[erewhon]

Thanks for posting the menu.

Do you have the same dining table for both cruises?

[kazu]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us Dave :)

 

It's always fun to follow along with you :)

 

Looks like prime rib was missing the first night - yikes! Probably saving it for the full ship in a day or two?

[KirkNC]

Bon voyage!

 

A couple questions if I may.

 

First were there any internet specials available, specifically the standard "sign up now and get 10% more for free"?

 

Second what are you using to scan your menus/planners. It appears to work quite well. I will be curious how HAL's internet handles them going forward.

 

Thanks!

[RetiredMustang]

Some replies:

 

erewhon: our room cards are valid for the whole 52 days, and they list the table, so our presumption is that we keep the table throughout.

 

KirkNC: No internet specials. The last few cruises they have not had the 10% bonus for first-day sign-ups. I did, however, receive the 5-star half off of a 100-minute plan perk, applied to the large plan I actually did buy. Also, I am using a VuPoint Magic InstaScan scanner. I used it on Oosterdam earlier this year, and it seems to do well, although it is limited to standard page size maximum (which is why the On Locations are in six parts :D)

 

Thanks to all for your encouragement!

 

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 27, Vancouver

 

Today we visit Vancouver. We have heard that about 400 passengers will board here; about 800 boarded in Seattle, but I don’t know how many were doing the one-day cruise and will be leaving in Vancouver.

 

We filled out Canadian customs forms as part of check-in. We were also given in-transit cards for today, and paperwork for pre-clearing U.S. customs in Honolulu. We need to see U.S. customs people in the terminal sometime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., with passports. Perhaps those boarding today will do something here as well, or they may have to be cleared the morning of arrival in Honolulu. It seems to make more sense to do it in Vancouver, since the U.S. and Canadian authorities have already set up for U.S. agents to be in Canada Place.

 

What with the paperwork to do and all onboard being 2 p.m., we’ve decided just to walk ashore and do a bit of shopping and get a coffee or beer before coming back aboard.

 

Here are the first four pages of today’s On Location:

 

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Sept. 27, Vancouver (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the On Location:

 

 

 

 

We have not yet received our Explorer packet outlining the schedule and which days are gala dress. Hopefully we will get the packet sometime today.

 

More later,

Dave

[sppunk]

Dave, have an awesome trip. I'm jealous of this one!

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us Dave :)

 

It's always fun to follow along with you :)

 

Looks like prime rib was missing the first night - yikes! Probably saving it for the full ship in a day or two?

 

Prime rib was not available the first night on my August cruise on the Amsterdam. I had always looked forward to that as a first night dinner. Hope it's not gone for good.