Live from the Maasdam - Nov 7 to 21, 2008 - Southern Caribbean

[Toad]

Beautiful photo. Hope your seas smooth out and the sun shines!

[Divi]

Donna,

My husband calls me "directionally impaired" and I can't even argue with him. If there is a wrong way to go, I choose it.:o

Our first cruise was on the Rotterdam last year and I was so proud of myself for staking out a route to the Lido each morning while my husband was still asleep.

I am enjoying your posts. Thanks so much for sharing.

[rebeljohn]

Nice sunrise...............Enjoy the rest of your cruise.............

[luvcruisn']

GmaPajama: Thanks for the posts. That photo was fabulous! I have bookmarked it - hope you don't mind - so I can look at it again.

[fuzzywuzzy]

Here's the sunrise I promised you. Isn't it just gorgeous!

 

 

Sorry to ask this question, as I know it has been explained before, but I can't seem to find where. How do you paste a picture like that into your post? I have tried and tried and it won't work for me. thanks. BTW, yes, that is a lovely sunrise pic.

[GmaPajama]

Sunday, November 9, 2008

 

Today is the Mariner’s Brunch, but we’re going to skip it this time. Our 50 day pins were delivered to our cabin, and the brunch interfers with Trivia - not much contest there as Jon really enjoys that Trivia. The brunch is to be in the Rotterdam Dining Room, lower level. There was no RSVP form for it this time, so they must just expect everyone to go. We lost Saturday’s trivia by just one point - but we won today, and are the proud owners of 2 new Holland America luggage tags. What I really need are 2 of the blue coffee mugs with the big “M” on them. Guess we’ll just have to keep on playing.

 

I got an answer to my question about getting a dress altered, for pay. There is a tailor on the ship who works on crew clothing and does minor repairs for passengers. No alterations they say, due to the liability incurred if they damage a passenger’s property. Makes sense to me.

 

We are told there is a couple living onboard. They supposedly sold all their worldly possessions and made some kind of a deal with HAL. They’ve been on Maasdam for 6 months now, but may move to another ship soon. I’d sure get a kick out of meeting them.

 

Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill was fabulous! I had steak diane and Jon had the small filet mignon. Not only was the food excellent, but the service was about the best we’ve ever had, anywhere. One of the stewards in there jokes with us at breakfast every morning, so we expected him to be a bit casual when serving dinner. He was anything BUT casual - and we are totally impressed with his professionalism. Osman is his name, and we look forward to seeing him every morning.

 

The Sunday entertainment was a stand up comic - Danny Storts - and he was hysterical. He’s leaving the ship in Barbados, but we do hope he does another show before then.

 

Camrosegirl - We do miss you on this cruise, but know how much fun you must have had on the Oosterdam last week - hopefully, we can read all about it when we get home and have unlimited internet.. The CC group here is fun, and we really enjoy running into folks we know.

 

We’re docked in San Juan at this moment - so will go ashore and take some fun pics to share here. Till later then ............

[Cruising-along]

Donna, I'm really enjoying your posts, thank you for bringing us along!

 

I too am "directionally impaired", it can take me forever to find my way around any ship. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!

[ViolaSwamp]

I'm loving the review!! Keep on having fun... :D

[RuthC]

I was just about to ask if you were able to get your dress altered, when you posted you could not. :( Oh, well. As you said before---now you need to book another cruise so you can wear the dress! :D

[fuzzywuzzy]

Thanks for the report. Wow - a couple LIVING on the Maasdam? I wonder if that is for real?? OMG - who would sell all their worldly possessions to live on cruise lines because what happens when the well runs dry especially in light of the current world economy? But maybe they're millionaires or something. As much as I love cruising and travelling, I still like to come home and put my roots down, be with family and friends, have a "home" country, etc. Maybe this couple has no family.

[fuzzywuzzy]

Fuzzywuzzy---We have stayed at the Airport Sheraton a couple of times. It's comfortable but nothing special. Our main complaint about it is the coffee shop/restaurant. It's very small and I think that it closes about 8PM. We fly in from the West Coast and it's closed by the time we arrive and there's no place nearby to eat. Breakfast in the morning is so-so. They have a buffet which is meager, and the standard breakfast menu items. Too bad that there's nothing nearby. It's been a year since we stayed there. Priceline put us there again in December and I've got my fingers crossed that it's improved but we're going to pack sandwiches just in case.

 

Thanks for the info. I just noticed this posting now. We picked up this room through Priceline as well. We also are parking our car there also which we did online. Hopefully it all works out OK as I've never booked through Priceline before.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for checking in.

 

Wonder why the Mariner's Brunch was so early in the cruise???

[Krazy Kruizers]

It doesn't surprise me that they wouldn't do a major alteration. Small items like buttons isn't a problem.

[bakcd]

There so many Mariners on the last sailing that the Mariner's Brunch was held twice, 1st and 2nd sea days.

[GmaPajama]

Monday, November 10, 2008

San Juan, Puerto Rico

We finally have our sunshine, and it’s very (very, very) warm outdoors. We were docked before 8:00am, but Jon and I didn’t get off the Maasdam till about 10:00 - following breakfast and our stab at the daily quiz. There’s a casino just a few steps from the dock, and we wandered in. No comfortable place to sit and have a soda, so we wandered back out. I’ll have to find someplace else to lose my $20. We walked around a bit and came back to the ship to relax before our 1:00pm City Tour. Surely our bus will be air-conditioned, right? We won’t be back from our tour in time for todays Team Trivia - but know our teammates, CCer’s DonAndRon (Don and Ronnie), will carry on without us. They are a great couple and we’re enjoying getting to know them. Another couple we’re getting to know is KBC73 (Kevin and Randi). We’ve been meeting them pre-dinner in the Ocean Bar. I have to applaud Cruise Critic for making the roll calls available - it’s so much fun to sail with folks you’ve met there.

 

Well, our bus was air conditioned, so off we went. It was a city tour, so we saw a lot of city. Not all that interesting, except for the stop at San Cristobal Fort. We had 45 minutes to tour it on our own, and we got some fascinating photos. We came back to the ship dry to the bone - so went directly to the Ocean Bar for our sodas. Having properly hydrated ourselves, we headed back to our cabin to clean up for dinner. We saw Dutch Pea Soup on the menu, so that was the starter for us. Nobody does split pea soup like Holland America. I got adventuresome and tried the Bami Goreng. It was pretty good.

 

We caught the Marriage Game in the showlounge tonight. Our very own Vols4Cruising (Zak and Laura) were the winners. With just 4 years of marriage, they know each other so well that they got almost all the questions right. I got a couple pics of them up on stage and will try to attach one with this posting.

 

Before CruiseCal went under, I’d downloaded the listing of ships for all the ports we are doing this trip. According to that, Liberty of the Seas was supposed to come into San Juan at 3:00 this afternoon - but it never showed up. After bragging here and there that I had this special, inside information, I took a closer look at my sheet of paper and realized I had downloaded for the 2007 itineraries. Guess I’ll have to swallow my pride tomorrow.

 

Next, we’re off to St. Thomas.

[GmaPajama]

Here's Zak and Laura playing the Marriage Game. It's a little blurry, but it's them for sure! They told us at the Meet & Greet that they're often the youngest couple aboard - but they do that on purpose because they find older folks fascinating. (bless their hearts). :)

 

 

And, for you tile experts out there - is this one new, or have I just missed it before?

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

Thanks for the trip report. It's exciting to read these reports as we will be on the same one in a couple short months, if all goes as planned.

 

I LOVE old San Juan. My Dh and I are going to do our own walking tour and head to San Cristobel fort as well and hope to go to the other big one and explore. I love the old history and character. The quaint out of the way courtyard bars are lovely as well.

[Comptech]

GMA,

Great posting. I am really curious about the couple that sold everything and is now living on board. Sounds exciting... :) Find out more...:p

[Toad]

Keep it coming!

[hoopman]

Here's the sunrise I promised you. Isn't it just gorgeous!

 

I can't see the photos. Any suggestions?

[GmaPajama]

GMA,

Great posting. I am really curious about the couple that sold everything and is now living on board. Sounds exciting... :) Find out more...:p

 

I will make it a mission to get more details. It was a crew member who told us about it, so I'm sure it's true. I'll let you all know what I find out.

[Deb C.]

Thanks, Donna, for your posts. I just got off the Maasdam last Fri. Really enjoyed the cruise!

 

I imagine most of you know this but I will post it here in case someone hasn't heard of it---there is a free trolley (actually AC shuttle vans) across the street from where you dock in San Juan. You can take it in a loop, getting off and on wherever you want at many stops--like the fort, cemetery, Walgreens, square downtown, etc. It is very handy if the day is hot and humid and you want to cut out some of the walking.

 

Enjoy your cruise!! Deb C.

[GmaPajama]

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

St. Thomas

 

We docked at Crown Bay just before 8:00am. We didn’t book a tour for this port, so it was sort of a lazy morning We had breakfast, did our daily quiz (which we have yet to win) and walked around port for a while. Lots of high end jewelry stores here - but I’d much rather receive the good stuff from near home where I can get real service if I need it.

 

I guess I’ll take this opportunity to rave about our cabin stewards. Always working and always smiling. Our cabin has been kept spotless. Speaking of smiles - I’ve decided this is an extrordinarily happy crew. Cheerful hellos follow us everywhere we go. Everyone has a bad day now and then, but this crew sure never looks it. They treat us extremely well, and going home to my own cooking and cleaning will be a real bummer.

 

It was wonderfully sunny in St. Thomas, and it felt so good to just soak it up. I'm told the Crown Bay docking was unusual. Folks are saying that most recent dockings have been at Havensight. For dinner, we both chose sauerbraten - it was fantastic. In the showlounge we entertained by pianist Paul Pappas. He had us all tapping our feel and begging for more.

 

Tomorrow is St. Kitts - so till then .................

[fuzzywuzzy]

Thanks, Donna, for your posts. I just got off the Maasdam last Fri. Really enjoyed the cruise!

 

I imagine most of you know this but I will post it here in case someone hasn't heard of it---there is a free trolley (actually AC shuttle vans) across the street from where you dock in San Juan. You can take it in a loop, getting off and on wherever you want at many stops--like the fort, cemetery, Walgreens, square downtown, etc. It is very handy if the day is hot and humid and you want to cut out some of the walking.

 

Enjoy your cruise!! Deb C.

 

That's great to know. We will probably do just that as we hope to tour the forts and that would be quite a bit of walking although we have done it before.

[sail7seas]

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

St. Thomas

 

 

I guess I’ll take this opportunity to rave about our cabin stewards. Always working and always smiling. Our cabin has been kept spotless. Speaking of smiles - I’ve decided this is an extrordinarily happy crew. Cheerful hellos follow us everywhere we go. Everyone has a bad day now and then, but this crew sure never looks it. They treat us extremely well, and going home to my own cooking and cleaning will be a real bummer.

 

Tomorrow is St. Kitts - so till then .................

 

It's wonderful reading your reports. Happy you are enjoying Maasdam and your cruise so much.

 

Mind if I ask, "Who are your cabin stewards?" I know Maasdam has some wonderful ones. :)

 

Continue to enjoy and thank you so much for sharing your cruise live with us.