Maasdam 4/14/08 sailing... thoughts & observations

[ekerr19]

Here’s a brief overview of our 4/14/08 Maasdam sailing, I started writing down my observations during the voyage so I wouldn't forget things...

 

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, April 13th and spent the night at Hyatt Pier 66 – had a wonderful dinner on the terrace of the Grille 66 and headed for embarkation on Monday morning at about 11:00am – a little early for us, but after a quick trip down the street in search of tennis shoes for Sonny, we were ready to board. This will be the last time I let him pack his own stuff – it was the first time he’d done so - as I was running behind, and he forgot a couple things, including tennis shoes and white socks… oh well.

 

Anyway, we arrived at Port Everglades and were promptly asked which cabin we had – and were put through security. I was stopped and told I need to empty my “flask” as liquor was not allowed to be brought aboard. I informed the TSA official I had neither liquor nor flask in my carry-on – she didn’t believe me and proceeded to search my bag. My “flask” turned out to be one of my Judith Leiber evening bags that I won’t put in my checked bags…. Oh well, just doing their jobs… Anyway, that should have been my indicator of how things would proceed, but I didn’t realize it at the time. Even though we were given the “S” badge for Suite guests we were herded into the line for all. I asked and was finally taken to the front of the line and given some grief for failing to complete online check-in; I simply had no time to get it done in advance – something I won’t overlook in the future.

 

We finally get our room keys and get squared away – only to be informed we have 5:45pm dining. Well, we’ve never had early dining in the past and always request 8:30pm, so not sure how that got messed up, but knew it wasn’t going to work for us. The gentleman doing our check-in basically told us “too bad”. Not something I like to hear, but anyway, I knew we could change it onboard, even though he seemed to think our chances were slim.

 

Once embarkation started, we boarded first with the other Suite guests and headed up to the Neptune Lounge where we met our concierge Dories and explained our dinner dilemma to her – she said she would contact the dining room manager and see what could be done. Our Suite was gorgeous, and were pleasantly surprised to see "gifts" from friends along with those from our TA - thank you, Sail!

 

Now, we’ve been on Vista class ships exclusively since about 2005 and I have to say, being back on “S” class took a bit of adjustment. We got lost – no kidding. Where we thought the Sea View bar should be, there was nothing. It took us a few minutes to remember that S class ships don’t have a sit down bar by the aft pool – just a little window bar…we decided to do a bit of exploring to reacquaint ourselves with the Maasdam layout. We met a great couple in the Ocean Bar and had a few drinks with them – maybe more than we needed - lol as we almost missed our lifeboat drill – and didn’t even bother unpacking everything before dinner as we normally do. We were told to head down to the dining room manager for our new table assignment and we were given table 149 at 8:30pm – a four top on the lower level. Not our first choice as we prefer a large table, but our steward Dani, was simply the best.

 

We booked the Grand Oasis at Half Moon Cay and though the weather was not stellar – we had winds and cloud cover for a good part of the day – we had a delightful lunch and a great time with some new friends. We will book the Grand Oasis again – we loved it so much on our first visit in December, we booked it again for this trip and found it just as nice and relaxing. The Assistant Manager in the Pinnacle, Roger was our chef and host at the Oasis and we all enjoyed him quite a bit. We invited two couples we had met the day before and we had a great time with them.

 

FOOD: I like the menu more than I did in December and so far the food has been pretty darn good. We’ve eaten in the Pinnacle Grill twice and plan another night tomorrow. The Pinnacle has been excellent and we’ve been pleasantly pleased with some of the dining room selections. Notably, Mahi Mahi with Roasted Corn Salsa and Plantain, Chicken Brochettes with Lime and Rum, Veal Medallions with Bourbon Pepper Sauce, Beetroot and Chili Quesadillas, Beef and Chicken Satay, Santa Fe Salad, Black Pepper Crusted New York Sirloin Steak and our all time favorite - Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast.

 

We opted out of the Master Chef’s dinner and headed to the Pinnacle Grill as nothing leapt out when we perused the menu.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Our sailing doesn’t feel full and in the evenings there aren’t too many folks out and about, but the DJ and lack of a live band in the Crow’s Nest (especially before dinner!) have been keeping most folks down in the Ocean Bar.

 

I will say this - I really, really miss having live music in the Crow’s Nest.

 

A couple times, Regina and the HAL Cats have performed after dinner and we were especially pleased with “oldies” night which included more Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Dean Martin than the same old “Rock Around the Clock Again” type of stuff we usually get. Regina did an amazing version of “Moon River” and we really enjoyed ourselves that night.

 

The DJ has been hit or miss as far as I’m concerned. It’s a tough job to play things that appeal to all demographics, but some decent dance music goes along way, in my mind. We were disappointed with “request” night – as soon as we walked in to the Crow’s Nest and heard “Louie, Louie” we knew it wasn’t going to be our night.

 

I also heard Karaoke night was hoot – but I have such a hard time watching people make fools of themselves, we decided to pass on that.

 

Our sailing has the new “party planner” and I must say, most of the people we’ve met don’t quite get this new position with HAL yet. Her job is to organize people and steer them to activities, I guess – oh, and she likes to get out there and dance. And talk... a lot, which would be one of the job requirements, I’m certain. We sat with her during the Suites lunch – which was wonderfully done in the Pinnacle this trip – and found her quite engaging though lacking in cruise experience and knowledge of cruising - I think she asked us more questions about cruising and HAL, but she is very social.

 

We have not been to any of the shows. Our sailing includes an appearance by Janine Gardiner and we heard she was pretty good. We have also had the Comedy Juggler guy, and I was sorry to miss him as he’s usually pretty funny.

 

The thing about the shows is this. Late seating has to attend the early show – something many of just don’t want to do. I think HAL should just discontinue the separate early and late shows and have one. I don’t believe many folks want to see a show before dinner and I’ve heard the early shows are sparsely attended.

 

The band in the Ocean Bar is great – as are the strings in the Explorer’s Lounge.

 

Other notable (and/or not so notable):

 

The VIP party was held in the Hudson Room – and had one of the largest crowds I’ve seen. The Captain, Henk Draper and Hotel Manager, Fermin Van Walle are very personable and visible around the ship. The crew and staff speak highly of both.

 

The Mariner lunch was done nicely in the dining room. We sat with the Cruise Director, Savannah Rye and had a lovely time. I will note however, our invite was inaccurate in that we (as 100 day medallion holders) were supposed to meet before lunch in the Explorer’s Lounge for drinks with the Hotel Manager and Captain, then escorted to a dining room table – instead we received the invite for those under 100 days advising to go directly to the lower level of the D/R. The concierge was very apologetic and we ended up sitting with the other medallion holders, but this also happened to several others who were a bit upset by it. We weren’t getting a new medallion (we have about 150 days) but our new friends who have 418 days weren’t getting one either and they were the ones that helped us get to the right seating area.

 

The large 40” table on the verandah has been replaced with a smaller one – not quite as nice for verandah dining.

 

The coffee maker in the Neptune now makes Café Latte and a couple more selections – a nice touch. I mentioned this the other day and was told it’s been doing this for awhile, so maybe it’s the first time I noticed it, lol.

 

The Lido salad bar is one of the best we’ve had – it’s been consistently good.

 

The library is great – I’ve read three books and have one more to get through before I need to turn my books in.

 

The new cabin directory is sparse! I don’t like it that much.

 

Our mattress is not as comfy as those we’ve had on Vista’s but the bedding is very, very nice.

 

There have been no plumbing or A/C problems.

 

The fresh flowers around the ship are fabulous – some of the nicest I’ve ever seen!

 

The dinner menu included a fantastic entree salad - those we tried were fabulous! It's a great option for lighter meals.

 

I have won about $350 in the casino and Sonny won about $250.

 

I still hate the three dimension mirrors in the changing room. They prevent me from ordering desserts….

 

GREAT cruise and staff – we can’t wait to do this one again and are looking forward to Canada/New England with many of the same crew members!

[sail7seas]

Wonderful review, Laura. So happy you had such a good time on the very special Maasdam. I'm still sad my docs made us cancel. :( Really looking forward to Canada/New England in August.

 

I couldn't agree more that Maasdam has an incredible crew. We can't wait to see them all soon. You're right that Captain Draper and Hotel Manager Firmin van Walle are a great team.

 

Welcome back and thanks for your review.

 

[sail7seas]

I never have completed the check-in on line and do not plan to start doing so now. I have always completed the Immigration Form that comes with the documents before we get to the Terminal and will continue to do so. If they didn't want the form used, why do they send it? Hope they don't plan to give us some lecture about it. That wouldn't be real 'cool'. :)

 

It might come as a shock to some of those check in folks but not everyone has or uses a computer. I certainly do but choose to not do on-line check in.

[ekerr19]

Sail -

 

We're so sorry you had to cancel as well. You would have enjoyed the people we met too. We had a really decent demogrpahic of folks onboard. There were a couple of well behaved kids - but quite a few people our age and just a bit older. Many recent, early retirees in their 50's and 60's.

 

We met a wonderful couple on the last day at the Suites lunch from California and we all commented how we wish we'd met earlier.

 

We also met some HAL regulars - notably one couple down the hallway from us who are always on HAL - and we just clicked right away. They are Prinsendam lovers (and regulars) and prefer HAL's S class ships. We are considering a late 2009 Prinsendam sailing with them.

 

We are looking forward to Canada/NE and it'll be here before you know it! We are also bringing Katie on that cruise. :)

[Two if by Sea]

Thanks for the notes! I especially read everything anyone writes about the Maasdam and am hoping it will all be exactly the same for us in June. Well, I could do without someone thinking I'm smuggling on a flask of alcohol, but otherwise it all sounds great.

[ekerr19]

I never have completed the check-in on line and do not plan to start doing so now. I have always completed the Immigration Form that comes with the documents before we get to the Terminal and will continue to do so. If they didn't want the form used, why do they send it? Hope they don't plan to give us some lecture about it. That wouldn't be real 'cool'. :)

 

It might come as a shock to some of those check in folks but not everyone has or uses a computer. I certainly do but choose to not do on-line check in.

 

I was surprised. He asked me three times - "Didn't you do it online?" My response of "No" was neither hesitant or wavering, lol!

 

He seemed real "put out" to have to fill out a form - you know that long one for the credit card authorization???? :rolleyes:

 

I had all the forms properly filled out - nothing a miss or overlooked, but he was still unhappy.

[hammybee]

 

 

Oh well, just doing their jobs… Anyway, that should have been my indicator of how things would proceed, but I didn’t realize it at the time.

 

GREAT cruise and staff – we can’t wait to do this one again and are looking forward to Canada/New England with many of the same crew members!

 

I kept waiting for the other show to drop and it did not. This sounds like a fabulous cruise on a fabulous ship, written by a fabulous passenger. :) Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

BTW, are you/did you do SA on Azamara?

[sail7seas]

I was surprised. He asked me three times - "Didn't you do it online?" My response of "No" was neither hesitant or wavering, lol!

 

He seemed real "put out" to have to fill out a form - you know that long one for the credit card authorization????

 

I had all the forms properly filled out - nothing a miss or overlooked, but he was still unhappy.

 

 

Hope he got over it. :D

 

 

Really happy you met such nice people. That is always a pleasure.

GREAT you are bringing Katie in August. I think she'll enjoy herself.

 

 

[ekerr19]

Thanks for the notes! I especially read everything anyone writes about the Maasdam and am hoping it will all be exactly the same for us in June. Well, I could do without someone thinking I'm smuggling on a flask of alcohol, but otherwise it all sounds great.

 

It was wonderful. Completely relaxing, perfect weather (except HMC, which was a bit windy and overcast) great food and great fellow cruisers. :)

 

We are always pleased when we meet people we seem to "click with" right off the bat and end up meeting for drinks etc.

[ekerr19]

I kept waiting for the other show to drop and it did not. This sounds like a fabulous cruise on a fabulous ship, written by a fabulous passenger. :) Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

BTW, are you/did you do SA on Azamara?

 

Hammy -

 

I meant the HAL check-in guy giving me some grief over the form and his smirky "You got early dining - live with it" attitude. All in all, no biggie, so that was the other "shoe" dropping, lol.

 

We did this instead of SA Azamara or Tahitian Princess and I'm glad we did. It was very relaxing. The couple we met at the Suites lunch have their next booked on Azamara and promised to let us know - they are HAL and Celebrity regulars.

[sail7seas]

I meant the HAL check-in guy giving me some grief over the form and his smirky "You got early dining - live with it" attitude. All in all, no biggie, so that was the other "shoe" dropping, lol.

 

 

He sounds like a real 'charmer'. :rolleyes: I think he needs a bit more training.

 

 

[purplenorway]

Thanks for your review, Laura! I can't wait for our turn in 3 weeks!

[ekerr19]

Thanks for your review, Laura! I can't wait for our turn in 3 weeks!

 

Becky - We keep missing each other by weeks, don't we, lol? Say "hi" to Archie, Vanessa and Eduardo in the Crow's Nest from Sonny and Laura, if you get a chance! Archie is a real sweetie - and cute too. :)

 

Say "hi" to your parents from us too! I hope we meet up again soon. Are you cruising over the summer?

[purplenorway]

Becky - We keep missing each other by weeks, don't we, lol? Say "hi" to Archie, Vanessa and Eduardo in the Crow's Nest from Sonny and Laura, if you get a chance! Archie is a real sweetie - and cute too. :)

 

Say "hi" to your parents from us too! I hope we meet up again soon. Are you cruising over the summer?

 

Really, why can't we just book the same week? This will be our only cruise for the summer, then we have to wait until December for the Eurodam. Still wish I was on that inagural. I'll keep my eyes open for your Maasdam friends, especially the cute one!

[our turn]

Welcome back Laura and Sonny! So glad you had a wonderful trip.

 

Kim & Tommy