4 days sailing from San Diego to Vancouver on the Maasdam – May 18

Boarding was at Broadway pier in San Diego. Embarkation took longer than expected. There were long lines with only one security checkpoint. It took over an hour to get on board.

Our cabin was nice. We had Lanai cabin 370 on the lower promenade. An added bonus was that the bathroom has a bathtub, which is good for shorter people! There was lots of closet space. 3 clothes racks to use. The stateroom attendant introduced himself and his helper to us within 10 minutes of being in the cabin, which was nice.

The Embarkation Buffet had a large selection of food available, including a sushi station. Service could have been improved. We observed crew members next to our table speaking to each other instead of bussing tables for quite a while. There was no offer of water, or anything at all, from any service personnel during the time we sat there. I eventually asked for ice water and the server brought it to us.

I was happy to see that Boddingtons (my favorite British beer) was on the menu but unfortunately it was not available on the first day. “Busy last cruise” the Bartender said. The ship just came from a Panama canal cruise from Ft. Lauderdale. I did get to enjoy this for the rest of the cruise though!

Culinary Arts center – Liz Atkins was the hostess who did a great job along with
the chef tournant from Chile. A well done presentation in 45 mins. Recipes from Pinnacle grill and Canaletto’s.

Lunch – Dive In – Salad bar and grill by pool. Custom designed paper products for food. You place your order and are then given a pager which is a nice touch. Great quality burgers and fries. They also have grilled chicken sandwiches and hot dogs available.

Mix bar – A nice touch was the $3 martinis for happy hour each night.
Appetizers were also served during happy hour -Veg samosa, cauliflower and sardine appetizers complimentary
Bar service was hit and miss.

Pinnacle Grill – Holland America’s signature North West Restaurant – $29 cover charge

We ate at the Pinnacle Grill twice during our cruise. Our first experience was less than a wow experience. Service overall was lacking from the greeting to the farewell however the food was very good. On the last night of the cruise I checked at 8:45pm to see if we could get into Pinnacle Grill to give it another try and we were accommodated most graciously. I am happy to report that our experience was much better. I recommend the following menu items:
Arugula Salad
Lobster Bisque
18 oz bone in rib eye
10 oz filet mignon
Side dishes of mushrooms and asparagus

Canaletto’s – Italian Restaurant on the lido deck – $10 cover charge
We enjoyed our dinner here. Both the food and service was excellent. I would recommend the gnocchi as well as the veal and sage polpettina. All desserts were excellent, especially the limoncello mousse!

We ordered Room service breakfast twice, which I always enjoy. Placing the breakfast card outside the room before retiring and waking up to breakfast being delivered is always nice on vacation. Service was efficient and friendly. The food was served on hot plate warmers to keep the plates warm which was nice.

The weather was a little rough for the first two days of the cruise so we were not able to enjoy sitting outside or swimming at all. However, the ship had lots of activities arranged which were well attended.

We enjoyed our afternoon in beautiful Victoria, walking into town (an easy 15 minute walk) and relaxing in a Canadian pub or two!

Disembarkation was a smooth process in Vancouver and a very easy walk with our luggage to the Fairmont Vancouver Waterfront Hotel. This hotel is an excellent place to stay, pre or post cruise. We stayed in the Gold Floor (which is their concierge level). Service was great, the room nicely appointed as we thoroughly enjoyed the concierge lounge and terrace overlooking Canada Place.

After a nice afternoon walking around Vancouver, traveling on the Aquabus around False Creek and Granville Island ($15 for a day pass) we enjoyed a glass of wine from the Okanagan Valley and watched ships sail off to Alaska. The Alaska cruise ship season has just begun!

Image source: http://koningsdam.hollandamerica.com/