Rare Ken the cruiser Posted October 9, 2019 #1 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Hi all, we boarded the Maasdam in Auckland a few days ago for our long awaited 40 day cruise (Oct 7 - Nov 16, 2019) to some New Caledonia islands for the first 10 days followed by 30 days circumnavigating Australia. We are in a vista suite, as I need my balcony to chill on during the slow times and to enjoy all those great sunsets, and will remain in the same cabin the whole cruise. We have also booked a premium internet package so we won’t have to worry about logging on and off as was the case in “the good old days”. As you know if you’ve read some of my previous HAL forum posts, we don’t cruise with HAL much any more, but the new in-depth EXC program really got us excited about trying this particular cruise. So if you would like to tag along I’ll periodically post some of our observations we notice along the way and try to answer any questions about the Maasdam and their in-depth EXC program you may have if I can. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat shepard Posted October 9, 2019 #2 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Smooth sailing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AncientWanderer Posted October 9, 2019 #3 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Have a wonderful time! Will be following along. I'm so curious to hear more about this new EXC program onboard the Maasdam! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvertoGold Posted October 9, 2019 #4 Share Posted October 9, 2019 YAY!!! Looking forward to reading all about your adventure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted October 9, 2019 #5 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Many thanks. I look forward to you sharing with us. It sounds like your cruise is off to a GREAT start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevenseasnomad Posted October 9, 2019 #6 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Lucky you! What a fabulous cruise! I'll anticipate your posts. Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freestyling Posted October 9, 2019 #7 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Look forward to your thoughts on the EXC program. We enjoyed it early this year on the Maasdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted October 9, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted October 9, 2019 As I mentioned we boarded the Maasdam on Oct 7th and so far we have been very impressed in a variety of areas. The ship: for the most part it is great shape, especially in the public areas. Although we don’t get too excited about a little rust, our balcony area could do with a little paint. But, on the scale of things, it’s no big deal. Internet: as I mentioned we purchased a premium unlimited package for a little over $8 per day for one account and so far the service has been great in our aft area cabin. But I must say based on some great advice in an earlier thread, we purchased a RavPower travel router and have fallen love with it! We can have multiple devices in our cabin connected to it all using the same account, and it also allows me to have great full-bar reception on the balcony. In-depth lectures on sea days: All I can say is wow! On our first day we had 5 enrichment lectures as well as an evening Pop Opera show in the main theater. On the second sea day we had 4 lectures and a very funny comedian for the evening show. Food in the MDR: so far no complaints. Sure, the portion sizes may be small, but we’re going to be on this cruise for 40 days and would very much like not to gain too many pounds along the way. Covered Promenade: we love taking our daily 2 mile walks on it which works out to be 8 laps around the ship. Bottom line: we are having a great time so far and have no complaints. We’re at Mystery Island today and will be taking a tender over to it shortly. This island is so small, we’re hoping to walk completely around it in about an hour or so. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted October 9, 2019 #9 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Very good rate for premium internet. We have purchased it for our 51 day cruise coming up on the Amsterdam later this month and was charged $503. We have purchased a travel router. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted October 9, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted October 9, 2019 8 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said: Very good rate for premium internet. We have purchased it for our 51 day cruise coming up on the Amsterdam later this month and was charged $503. We have purchased a travel router. I checked with my DW and we actually paid $396 for the 40 days. Thanks for keeping me straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Pete Cruiser Posted October 9, 2019 #11 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Wonderful. We really wanted to do he 30 day Australia circumnavigation, but didn't want the long air flights from Florida. Maybe we missed the trip of a life time? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted October 9, 2019 #12 Share Posted October 9, 2019 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said: I checked with my DW and we actually paid $396 for the 40 days. Thanks for keeping me straight. It wasn't my intention to question your paid rate. I was just commenting that you got a great deal. HAL can be inconsistent. I am so happy you are having a wonderful cruise. Edited October 9, 2019 by FlorenceItaly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdw1972 Posted October 9, 2019 #13 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Thanks for sharing your voyage! Looking forward to future installments. Sue/WDW1972 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etta1213 Posted October 9, 2019 #14 Share Posted October 9, 2019 KEN THE CRUISER - I'm interested in your comment about small portion sizes. Are people allowed to order more than one appetizer, or even more than one entre, or would they be charged extra? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted October 9, 2019 #15 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Thank you for sharing your Maasdam cruise with us. Do the library and exploration cafe still exist on the Upper Promenade deck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted October 9, 2019 #16 Share Posted October 9, 2019 3 minutes ago, erewhon said: Do the library and exploration cafe still exist on the Upper Promenade deck? They were both still there in July. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchip Posted October 10, 2019 #17 Share Posted October 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said: . We have also booked a premium internet package so we won’t have to worry about logging on and off as was the case in “the good old days”. I have been wondering about the Premium Internet as far as logging on and off. With Princess MedallionNet, we could just leave it on. So nice to be able to have photos backed up every day. It was the best part of our cruise. Thanks for the info. Enjoy every minute on the Maasdam. We loved our cruise to Alaska in June. The EXC program was fantastic. Cheers, Denise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted October 10, 2019 #18 Share Posted October 10, 2019 21 minutes ago, RuthC said: They were both still there in July. Thank you Ruth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJzink Posted October 10, 2019 #19 Share Posted October 10, 2019 I was on Maasdam last fall(2019) for the inaugural EXC cruise, Kon Tiki, which included Easter Island. I was excited every day to attend every lecture that I could. The guest chefs, cultural ambassadors, and expert lecturers were amazing. I will be on Maasdam again in December for an Australia/New Zealand 28 day cruise. I was hoping that the experience would not diminish over time. Looking forward to your experience comments. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cccole Posted October 10, 2019 #20 Share Posted October 10, 2019 I am really looking forward to "our" cruise. What a great itinerary and the Maasdam in-depth EXEC program sounds wonderful. I'm sure you will report when you can and enjoy every moment!! cherie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted October 10, 2019 Author #21 Share Posted October 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Etta1213 said: KEN THE CRUISER - I'm interested in your comment about small portion sizes. Are people allowed to order more than one appetizer, or even more than one entre, or would they be charged extra? It didn’t appear that you couldn’t order more than one main course or get more than one appetizer for no additional charge. We usually order one appetizer, one soup, one main course and one dessert and we’re pretty stuffed by the time we leave. However, there is a section in the MDR menu that lists extra charges for certain items and we’ll try to take a picture of that tonight. However, we ate in the PG last night and I could only finish half of the 12 oz New York Strip. But they do charge extra in the PG, $15 I believe, for a second main entry or $70 for caviar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etta1213 Posted October 10, 2019 #22 Share Posted October 10, 2019 16 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said: It didn’t appear that you couldn’t order more than one main course or get more than one appetizer for no additional charge. We usually order one appetizer, one soup, one main course and one dessert and we’re pretty stuffed by the time we leave. However, there is a section in the MDR menu that lists extra charges for certain items and we’ll try to take a picture of that tonight. However, we ate in the PG last night and I could only finish half of the 12 oz New York Strip. But they do charge extra in the PG, $15 I believe, for a second main entry or $70 for caviar. Thank you. One cruiser in our party is on a pretty restrictive medical diet and sometimes eats more of one thing (such as broiled fish, plain veggies) because he can't have other items such as bread, condiments, sauces, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted October 10, 2019 Author #23 Share Posted October 10, 2019 I forgot to mention the underlying feeling we are also experiencing on the Maasdam is that of the days BEFORE the Lincoln Stage, Billboard, BB King, Peter Maxx, BBC Earth and all of the other vendor-sponsored venues invaded the larger HAL ships. Now, this is just us, but since the Maasdam pretty much stays in the Pacific and Alaska, we would love it if HAL would implement an “Old World” in-depth EXC program on one of their other smaller ships, such as the Amsterdam, and offer this platform on Baltic and Mediterranean-based cruises as enrichment lectures covering the ancient civilizations would be really cool! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted October 10, 2019 Author #24 Share Posted October 10, 2019 37 minutes ago, Etta1213 said: Thank you. One cruiser in our party is on a pretty restrictive medical diet and sometimes eats more of one thing (such as broiled fish, plain veggies) because he can't have other items such as bread, condiments, sauces, etc. We just looked at the MDR menu and here is a picture of the section with extra charges. There was no other mention of extra dining charges other than a corkage fee if you bring your own wine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted October 10, 2019 #25 Share Posted October 10, 2019 Thank you for posting the photo of the extra charges in the Main Dining Room. Are there fresh flowers in vases on the dining tables? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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