Review of Maasdam cruise to Hawaii, Tahiti & Marquesas, 25 March – 22 April, 2018

[RetiredMustang]

April 20 (Cont.)

 

The rest of the When and Where:

 

 

The Gala combined menu:

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

April 21

 

The first four pages of the When and Where:

 

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

April 21 (Cont.)

 

The rest of the When and Where:

 

 

The combined menu for “An Evening with the Culinary Council”:

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

April 22

 

We did not receive a When and Where, but instead we were given a Cruise Log:

 

 

We arrived in San Diego on time. We had elected to have Expedited departure (wherein we take our own bags off the ship and are the first group to go), so we debarked about 8:30, and caught a cab to the airport in plenty of time for our flight back to Seattle.

 

That wraps up my review of our cruise to the southern islands. We had a wonderful time, and I hope you enjoyed the review.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just finished reading everything -- pictures, etc.

Great review.

Know you had a great time.

[puppycanducruise]

Wonderful review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Thanks for everything.

[cunnorl]

Wonderful review. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Really enjoyed it!

[erewhon]

Dave,

Another fantastic review, thank you for posting all this information.

[ski ww]

Great review, lots of good info. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Allan

[Ladyarli]

Thank you very much for your wonderfully detailed review, and for answering my many questions, Dave.

[JEH]

Great review , we booked this cruise today for 3/19

[Bangding]

Thank you

 

 

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[sshs]

Great review - thanks for posting all the excellent info and photos. The menus look great too - we just got off the Norwegian Escape and lobster sightings were very rare. Nonexistent in the MDRs, and even the surf-and-turf in the steakhouse had shrimp.

 

We'll be on Maasdam during her Boston-to-Montreal itineraries and are really looking forward to it. Your itinerary looks wonderful for next year when we're retired. And when our elderly cat is no longer with us - she's too bonded to be without us for that long!

[ski ww]

Great review , we booked this cruise today for 3/19

 

Welcome aboard. Have you joined our roll call? It is very active & lots of good info.

Allan

[liamur14]

Thank you for such a detailed review with photos. We are sailing on the 2 week Polynesia Idyll Oct 28 from Papeete. Did you have any Polynesia Dancers come on board, or any deck activites geared towards the PF? I see PG does so much of this wondering if you heard when she sails on her new exc program if we will see this? Thanks for your reaponse.

[Georgie562]

Thank you for such a detailed review with photos. We are sailing on the 2 week Polynesia Idyll Oct 28 from Papeete. Did you have any Polynesia Dancers come on board, or any deck activites geared towards the PF? I see PG does so much of this wondering if you heard when she sails on her new exc program if we will see this? Thanks for your reaponse.

 

The EXC voyages will begin on the September 10 voyage as she makes her way from from Ft. Lauderdale to Papeete. These voyages are marketed as EXC in depth so Im assuming there will be lots of local performances. Last year when I was on the Maasdam roundtrip from Auckland, NZ there was a few times where local polynesians boarded the ship and performed.

[liamur14]

Thank you Georgie562, Sounds like Holland 's EXC is trying to include some of the same activities as PG...fingers crossed. Hal is very slow at putting out their excursions using the zodiac, or any FP special focussed excursions for this cruise... and many stops do not even have any tours yet. I am still hoping for some unique island tours not offered by others. Hurry on Hal.

[Georgie562]

Thank you Georgie562, Sounds like Holland 's EXC is trying to include some of the same activities as PG...fingers crossed. Hal is very slow at putting out their excursions using the zodiac, or any FP special focussed excursions for this cruise... and many stops do not even have any tours yet. I am still hoping for some unique island tours not offered by others. Hurry on Hal.

 

I'm sorry to say but it seems that the zodiac excursions will not begin until Maasdam leaves Papeete to New Zealand?? therefore Zodiac excursions may not be available for you your sailing. See this link and scroll to the bottom comments section:

 

 

Q: I am booked on the 48 Day September 18 sailing

Will Zodiacs be in use to visit the Henderson &Pitcairn Islands?

A: The zodiac operations will begin after departing French Polynesia.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/topics/arts-entertainment/new-exc-in-depth-voyages-feature-zodiac-excursions-for-up-close-discovery/

Edited May 30, 2018 by Georgie562

[Hlitner]

The EXC voyages will begin on the September 10 voyage as she makes her way from from Ft. Lauderdale to Papeete. These voyages are marketed as EXC in depth so Im assuming there will be lots of local performances. Last year when I was on the Maasdam roundtrip from Auckland, NZ there was a few times where local polynesians boarded the ship and performed.

 

Our EXC voyage has about 19 sea days (out of 41) and leaves most ports before dinner. So we are wondering how they plan on filling the evenings. In the past, local performances only happened with later departures or an overnight. We do understand that the entire concept is still a "work in process" but it will be interesting (we hope) so see how HAL fills all those evenings without having any production shows.

 

Hank

[colonialinnkeeper]

So glad to have just found this thread. This trip is one we are thinking about for next year and will love reading all about it. Thanks for writing. Now to begin reading...

[JF - retired RRT]

Thank you for your in-depth review.

We've never sailed on HAL, but have done 23 cruises.

I have a question: one of your pictures shows "reserved" loungers on the Promenade. Reserved?? How do you go about reserving a lounger? Is it for the entire cruise or something you have to do daily? Is there a charge?

TIA:D

[ElaineKeagy]

Thanks for your great review. I enjoyed reading it and learned so much about the Maasdam.

 

 

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[cruiseaholic78]

Thank you for your in-depth review.

We've never sailed on HAL, but have done 23 cruises.

I have a question: one of your pictures shows "reserved" loungers on the Promenade. Reserved?? How do you go about reserving a lounger? Is it for the entire cruise or something you have to do daily? Is there a charge?

TIA:D

you have to book a Lanai cabin, they have sliding doors open to the deck and two loungers per cabin.

Rosalyn

[JF - retired RRT]

you have to book a Lanai cabin, they have sliding doors open to the deck and two loungers per cabin.

Rosalyn

Thanks for the information.:)

[cayman09]

i realize that this is an old post, but I'm looking at the 2020 sailing and have a question about balcony cabins. I usually book them but wonder if it may be too windy to use on so many sea days?