Maasdam 3rd December 2019

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

A bit of a wait for our next planned cruise on board Maasdam in December...

 

As you know we have just finished our cruise on her Sister Ship Pacific Aria and we hope to find a significant difference  between the two ships

 

Whilst we quite liked the interior of the Pacific Aria the outside of the ship was a huge let down we had a terrific suite which was let down by its huge lovely balcony being dirty . rusty streaked and furnished with tatty old furniture,,, just NOT good enough 

 

 

The splitting of the dining room space to make the three smaller rooms did have the effect to making the ship feel smaller as the "concealed" entrances to the dining rooms meant you could  not see into them 

 

however the ship was comfortable with lots of cozy nooks to enjoy watching the world go by

 

So what should we expect on Maasdam that  we did not see on Pacific Aria??

 

OOk have to rush out to the Quacks  Back Later

 

Regards

 

John

[Kiwi Kruzer]

She was in Auckland yesterday  before leaving on her transpacific to San Francisco. .

Lets hope she is in better condition than her sisters in P&O Austarlia.

 

[NSWP]

I thought Mic was on Maasdam recently, report ? 

[dillpickle48]

Got off the Maasdam in January and she was in good shape for an older lady.  Just remember that Maasdam is now named an In-Depth Excursion ship.  Don't expect traditional entertainment.  Shows at night can be guest lectures, cultural shows or local entertainers.  However there is live music in three of the bars.  We happen to love this approach and will be sailing on her again in October for the Australian Circumnavigation.

[MicCanberra]

8 hours ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

She was in Auckland yesterday  before leaving on her transpacific to San Francisco. .

Lets hope she is in better condition than her sisters in P&O Austarlia.

 

Nice pic of a nice ship.

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, NSWP said:

I thought Mic was on Maasdam recently, report ? 

Yes, correct, back in Jan/Feb. The ship was nice, seemed fine in all areas to me. The MDR isn't split and has the two levels, traditional seating upstairs with the ATD style on the bottom level. I don't care about things like rust and such but cannot remember anything of note, lots of maintenance going on like sections of handrails being replaced and such. Interiors seemed fine. It felt less crowded than the ARIA but that may have been an itinerary/ demographic effect.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, dillpickle48 said:

Got off the Maasdam in January and she was in good shape for an older lady.  Just remember that Maasdam is now named an In-Depth Excursion ship.  Don't expect traditional entertainment.  Shows at night can be guest lectures, cultural shows or local entertainers.  However there is live music in three of the bars.  We happen to love this approach and will be sailing on her again in October for the Australian Circumnavigation.

I too enjoyed the EXC cruise experience.

[icat2000]

There a really good itinerary in January 2020 that visits Norfolk Island and some south pacific islands. I got my eye on that one and a potential alternative cruise. 

[VK3DQ]

2 hours ago, icat2000 said:

There a really good itinerary in January 2020 that visits Norfolk Island and some south pacific islands. I got my eye on that one and a potential alternative cruise. 

 

Our Trip is the 3rd Of December to 23rd Dec quite a nice pacific islands jaunt ... 

[VK3DQ]

4 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I too enjoyed the EXC cruise experience.

This will suit us also ... 

[MicCanberra]

Lots of naturalists, and specialist lectures, etc. As well as excursions that go with the lecturers and some on zodiacs.Very interesting

[VK3DQ]

54 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Lots of naturalists, and specialist lectures, etc. As well as excursions that go with the lecturers and some on zodiacs.Very interesting

 

Ohhh VK3DQ in a Zodiac  .... oh dear that would be a sight to behold the last time I was in an inflatable was when we attempted to get to Deal Island

https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2011/20110219-2/index.php

 

And thats another story altogether

 

Regards

 

John

[MicCanberra]

We didn't do any of those excursions as my wife didn't want to get on zodiac's either.

[NSWP]

50 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

We didn't do any of those excursions as my wife didn't want to get on zodiac's either.

No Antarctic Expedition cruise for you two then, plenty of zodiacs and ice landings. But you can do those on your own, the boss and I often do separate shorex, according to one's interests.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

No Antarctic Expedition cruise for you two then, plenty of zodiacs and ice landings. But you can do those on your own, the boss and I often do separate shorex, according to one's interests.

I wouldn't be able to get my wife on one of those expeditions, she likes 5 star cruising.

[erewhon]

She is a lovely ship with a great crew. Our second favourite after Volendam.