The day before the cruise, we flew to Montreal and checked in at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. It is a great hotel across the street from the beautiful cathedral Mary Queen of the World (it's worth going inside). The hotel connects to the underground and we enjoyed shopping and eating there. We also climbed up the many steps to Mount Royal and ate the pastries we bought from the underground (the crème brulee was the best). I liked when the people greeted me with "Bonjour Madame" and other lovely French phrases.   On Saturday, we took a taxi to the cruise pier around 12:30 and found the check in line to be out the door. We are used to waiting about five minutes to embark a ship and this time, we waited over half an hour. I'm guessing it was because this was the first embarkation Maasdam did in Montreal this year. We booked a verandah cabin, but the Upgrade Fairy moved us to a Deluxe Verandah Suite! The check in agent didn't even tell us! We just realized she changed the cabin number and gave us gold cards. The long embarkation line was forgotten as we practically danced across the gangway.   The Lido was not busy by the time we went up for the embarkation lunch. It was easy to get food and find a table. The lifeboat drill was at 4:15.   Suite Life   Suite 041 was towards the aft of the ship. It was so spacious with an entryway, dressing area and lots of closet space. The verandah was huge and very private except for the Lido overhang next door (although, I never saw anyone sitting up there anyway).   Our cabin steward Danang was excellent. We loved the free laundry service. The Neptune Lounge was a great spot to get snacks after a day in port when we had missed teatime in the dining room. The concierges were so friendly and would wave to us every time we passed in the hallway.   There was not a suite lunch, just a cocktail party on the last night that seemed the same as the suite welcome reception.   The Ship/Entertainment   The Maasdam is an old ship (compared to most), but it seemed to be in good shape. Much of the carpet looked new.   Captain was Henk Draper, Hotel Manager was Willem Van de Poll and Cruise Director was Travis LaMarche.   All of the shows were at 7:00 and 9:00, this meant we had to go to the 7:00 in order to make dinner. We usually didn't feel like getting ready that early, so we only went to one show; Chris Michaels, who played instruments such as a banjo, saw and turkey baster. It was good.   After dinner, I usually watched a movie in the theater or went up to the Crow's Nest. The first night, I went to the 20s and 30s get-together. There were about 12 people there. I could easily find about seven of them there each night of the cruise. One night, some newer songs played, but mostly, the music was old and overplayed. Even the older people I heard from were not happy. The night we left Sydney was very rough, so this made for fun dancing. The last night was "Rock it 'till we Dock it". The DJ did not arrive until 11:00 and he left about an hour after. As one older man said repeatedly, "This is a death ship!" It wasn't like that every night, though.   Dining/Service   We had 8:00 dining at a table for seven. Both of our dining stewards were named Gede, so that was easy to remember. I was disappointed they did not learn my name. The service was just not as personal as in the past   We saw the debut of the Master Chef's Dinner on Maasdam about two years ago. This time, they seemed like they were more comfortable with it. We all got chef's hats and they paraded around with food and juggled. It was fun, but limits your menu choices.   The dessert extravaganza was held by the Lido Pool. It was cold and wet, even with the sliding ceiling closed. I had a great chocolate covered fruit kebob.   On the first formal night, the ship's doctor, Elspeth Kushnir joined our table for dinner. She was so bubbly and fun. She said she would look for a handsome officer to join us the next formal night. When that evening came, a place was set for him, but he never showed up. Too bad.   Suite guests can dine in the Pinnacle for breakfast, so we ate there most mornings. Once, I asked for a chocolate croissant. The server seemed to be taking a long time to bring one. Later, he gave me a plate of three small ones. They were still warm. I asked if they had made them just for me and he said yes.   I liked the Lido sandwich makers. They were very personable. One day, I had Focaccia bread which was "Italian from the Philippines".   Most entrees had good flavors. The Parmesan Crusted Chicken is remains my favorite HAL entrEe. However, the baked macaroni with ham and cheese was cold and not so good (I liked it on the Noordam). My tablemate had the southwestern style cheese manicotti and said it was good, so I asked for that instead, but it was undercooked. I made up for the dud entrees by getting two desserts.   It seemed like every night, the dining room dessert menu had items with apples. I like apples, but not every night. I'd rather have chocolate every evening. The warm chocolate pudding has been my favorite dessert, but when I had it on the last night, it was cold and very eggy. They warmed it up for me, but it still was not nearly as good and fudgy as in the past.   The original HAL bread pudding was in the Lido daily, but they also had a different flavor next to it such as apple, mixed berry or chocolate. Yum.   Ports   In Quebec City, we took a tour that stopped at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. Mass was just beginning, so I could only get two photos of the interior before a woman said "no more pictures" and waved her hand in front of anyone who raised a camera. So, we went to the chapel in the basement. I have never seen such a gorgeous basement. The paintings and tile work were stunning. Next, the tour went to the base of Montmorency Falls and then to the top. We walked across the bridge over the falls. Back in town, we took the Funicular up to the Chateau Frontenac and walked the Governor's Promenade. It goes around the fort and there is no place to get off it until you reach the top.   In Charlottetown, it was very cold. We walked around and found a nice mall. Later, we took the panoramic island drive. It was a lot of driving with just a stop at some shops by the Confederation Bridge. We saw fields of red dirt and even a fox.   In Sydney, we took the historical drive. We visited a museum in a church. This was kind of boring to me, but the people were so friendly. We also stopped at Fort Petrie. It was pouring rain and most people didn't get off the bus, but I ran over and climbed the steps to the top. It would probably be a nice view on a good day.   In Halifax, we walked around and went to Peggy's Cove in the afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, but it turned foggy at the cove, of course. I think it gave my photos a nice effect, though.   In Bar Harbor, we just walked around and shopped.   Miscellaneous   We bought a Thermal Suite pass for the week. Since it was cool out, it was nice to relax in the heated ceramic loungers. The floor was also heated. There were two aromatherapy/sauna rooms, showers and a hot tub. The suite was usually empty or had one or two other people in it.   We did the On Deck for the Cure walk with about 50 other people. They gave us t-shirts, wristbands and pink lemonade. It didn't matter how many laps you did. You could leave at any time. I saw people of all different ages participating, including an elderly woman who walked with a cane.   It was foggy a lot and we could usually hear the ship's horn blowing.   No one received a medallion at the Mariner's Reception in the lounge.   On formal nights, I saw some people in t-shirts. On casual nights, I saw some people in suits.   Disembarkation/Post-cruise   In Boston, we disembarked around 9:15. There was not a line. We went to the Hilton Boston Financial District. It was a nice hotel with a good room, although it wasn't ready until 2:00. While we waited, we took the hop-on-hop-off City Trolley and saw some landmarks. We went to the Boston Pops since it was film night with John Williams conducting. It was fantastic.   Summary   We did things differently on this cruise, but it was still very good. Of course, any time the Upgrade Fairy visits is a good cruise, right?