Maasdam 3/20/05 review/general info

[Colonialdame]

Good news! Cabins on Main Deck have the new mattresses, and they are great. We sailed in January and found the bedding to be the best part of the cruise.

 

We hope you have a better cruise than we did. I won't go into the litany of complaints. They have been pretty well covered by others.

[rocks]

Hi!

Wondering if anyone on the 11 day cruise remembers which night is the barbque?

And...I believe I read that there are 3 formals...is that right? Almost time to start packing!

THANKS in advance!

rocks

[Linda&Vern]

Hi!

Wondering if anyone on the 11 day cruise remembers which night is the barbque? And...I believe I read that there are 3 formals...is that right? Almost time to start packing!THANKS in advance!rocks

We left Norfolk Dec. 22, barbecue on deck was Dec. 27 (day in Dominica). Yes, three formals. Ours were Dec. 23 (1st sea day), Dec 25 (Christmas), and Dec 31 (New Years Eve). Have a great cruise. We are going again in November.:D

[Shellelynn]

HW you totally made my day!!!!! I am so excited to have the new mattress. I was on the Volendam a year and a hlaf ago, and LOVED the cruise, hated the bed. I actually had the mattress for the pull out couch put on top of my mattress so I coul sleep. I have a bad back.

Sweet, you are so nice. I will. WE just reading the original post, I have a bunch of ideas. I know that we rented a car for Dominica I think. WE did that on our own because my inlaws (who are traveling with us) went there before and decided they wanted the freedom of scheduling their own time.

I want to do the Sea Turtles thing. Does the Banana boat thing come with the sea turtles excursions? I think she said "endless" banana boat rides. I wonder if there is a weight limit. My husband is a large guy, but I know he would LOVE that!

I am getting more excited by the hour. I am almost all packed. Going to run to the store after work today to pick up some last minute things. I think I am going to buy a portable fan, just in case. We hate being hot when we are sleeping.

I am ready to relax, I don't care about the food, or china, I just want a good bed, nice weather, and good entertainment, and I am good.

Were there art auctions on this ship does anyone know? I always love those.

God Bless you all!

PS. Is there a church service schduled. On the last cruise my father-in-law and mother-in-law both did the service because the minister didn't show up wither time. They are both ministers as am I. I hope there is someone there with something planned this time, it is nice to go on vacation and not have to worry about the stuff you do at work.

PSS. (So sorry) I bought for my husband and I a soda Card. I hope that we aren't received the same as the original poster.

GBU ShelleLynn

[KateBobbi]

I just got back from a cruise on the Maasdam, a couple of weeks ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't run into any problems with the food, or service, etc, but I did have some trouble with the people who you have to book tours with, because they didn't know their stuff very well, so if you plan to go on land excursions, read up on where you want to go, from the brochures, and then tell them when you get there, which ones you want. I didn't mind the traveling, from Norfolk, even though I got a bit seasick on the way out! You can't help the Atlantic, being rough in the spring, so you must just go with the flow! :) On Half Moon Cay, they had a barbeque set up on the island, for your lunch. It was really great!

[auntdeedee]

Sorry, haven't been online the last few days....

 

So, to answer questions:

 

Crabby, the BBQ was on HMC when we arrived, plenty of food (they had run out of some drinks and ketchup, though, so go early). The only bad part was that it closed down at 1:30, so those people who couldn't get on early tenders were not able to eat at all. The bars closed down, too, so you could not get drinks after about 3:00 except for beer (at least the bars we checked). The Rotterdam was also there the same day we were, but I found that even with both ships in port, there were not huge crowds at all. Seemed to us that the demographics were mostly families and younger people got off of both ships... not very many elderly people, which makes sense because of having to take the tender and walk down steps to get into it. There were at least 38 tenders that I'm aware of as a friend was on #38.. but I have no idea how many people.

 

Yes, there were three formal nights on the 11 night cruise, and I didn't even touch the "informal" clothes I had brought along.. I brought far too many clothes!

 

I don't recall the BBQ night, and I still haven't unpacked from our trip or I'd look at the daily programs and tell you... I believe it was Dominica or Barbados, because I recall sitting by the pool and waiting for the unlimited drink special to start at 6 pm... and I sat there enjoying my Strawberry Margaritas for the full two hours and it was a woozy walk back to the cabin, but I was quite happy :)

 

The mattresses appeared to be the same wonderful mattresses in all the cabins (decks 5, 6, and 10).... best mattress I've ever slept on, I can tell you that much.... pure heaven!

 

I can not recommend the sea turtle excursion too much. Of all my travels, cruises, and tour excursions, it's the best excursion of them all! The tour includes: travel by boat to an area of the water where you swim with sea turtles (drop off the boat into the water, not docked somewhere), and then you have to climb up a ladder to get back in the boat. Then they take you down the strip a bit (so you see the beautiful coast/houses/hotels of Barbados) and then docked at a beach between two hotels (I think the site varies because the captains were talking about where they were going to go). Then a guy pulls up with motor boat that has banana boats, and these huge "couch" looking rafts they also pull as the banana boat. They get kayaks off the boat, and also had a jet ski. You are on the beach for one hour, and on our trip, the banana boat was full every time. We had some large people in our group, and we rode the banana boat just fine (I'm short and fat, so they pulled into the shallow area so it was easier for me to get on). I just wish they'd leave you on the island for all day as that hour FLEW by. Many went to a place called the Boatyard afterwards and apparently that was very nice as well---you can do both in the same day. I enjoyed going downtown in Barbados in the afternoon--it was $2 per person by cab, but it was neat to do a little shopping.

 

Yes, there were art auctions on board--at least three different days that I recall. Some of our group bought a lot of Thomas Kincaids, but I can't imagine that they were a good deal for a print? (Maybe I'm wrong, but seemed really overpriced to me at ~$400 each).

 

There were a number of church services while we were on board, but it was Easter Week. Catholic mass was offered daily, with a protestant service at least once that I recall, and a Jewish service as well (nice gig as one of the ministers told my sister-in-law that he had cruised for free in exchange for doing the services, so you might want to check into that for a future cruise since you are ordained! Sweet deal!)

 

Good luck on the soda card. If you hate it, there are always stores once you hit ports... we bought some in Barbados that were $4.80 a six pack in the first store when you hit the port. We found that the Casino and Ocean bars had the best sodas of all, but I'm sure that's subject to change.

 

One thing that I forgot to mention was absolute bliss---there are two massage chairs by the casino--cost $1 to $20 each depending upon how much you want. Even $1 gives two minutes of an AWESOME back massage. Highly recommend it---my 8 year old son spent his money on it every single night before bedtime for himself... and actually treated some of us a few nights to a free massage on him (he's such a sweetheart when he's not driving me nuts). I think if you put $20 in you'd melt... but $1 or $2 was perfect!

 

Have a great time!!!

[speedbump1999]

I would have to agree 100% with AuntDeeDee. My family and I just returned fron the 3/31/05 sailing..... We had a good time but we won't be in a hurry to return to HAL. The convenience of sailng out of Norfolk was wonderful but the service wasn't all that I expected. I think my biggest issue that there was no food available other than Room service from 8-11PM. The kids would get done the Kids Program at 10pm and would want a snack. They could order Room Service but that would take approx. 20-30 minutes or they could wait for the Ice cream bar to open at 11pm. It was definately a struggle.

 

We had so many issues as far as light bulbs burning out, remotes not working, TV reception being poor, safe broken three times to name a few. We of course were the lucky ones to be in Room 511 and 513 and boy were they noisy on the return home as well as rocky....... Never again as we had 40 foot waves and we felt everything. We were praying that the ship wouldn't break. Our table was tossed over as well the empty bucket of beer with all of the water at approximately 5AM. The Captain decided he had to slow down the ship since he was afraid of the structural damage to the ship.

[fridayeyes]

As someone who used to work in the restaurant industry, I can tell you that lipstick and other 'gunk' sometimes survives the wash process fairly well intact. So your lipstick coffee cup probably *was* washed. It was, however, the server's job to inspect the cup before he brought it.

 

Not sure if that makes you feel any better about the cup though. :) It was 'clean' dirt?

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[boomer58]

I also agree with you Colleen and AuntDeeDee about the Maasdam. I was also on the 3/31/05 cruise and can add many more complaints of my own to your posts. I call these the small details (although there were many large details too). The Signature of Excellence on the Maasdam was very sorely absent from this cruise. My husband and I blame it on the captain of the ship on down to the individual department heads who are not supervising/directing the various crew members. It is obvious to us that this is the cause of such blatant disregard for Holland America Line's reputation known as the Signature of Excellence. It is also hard for us to imagine that HAL's main office in Seattle and elsewhere is not aware of this situation on the Maasdam as it appears that this ship has been running in this condition for a while now due to the reports that I have read here and there on the internet from past passengers. For most of the problems it is only a matter of having a very good manager to see that things are done properly and in a timely manner. This is not being done at this time. Our own opinion is that HAL is aware of the situation and has decided to run this ship as it is being run now. A second class ship. As to the engine problem - this is an on-going situation and in our opinion HAL has no intention of permanently repairing it.

 

I will tell you briefly some of our "beefs". We had a CAT. B balcony cabin with a toilet that broke down three days. The second day the water was shut off for four hours for repairs to the system. I used the public bathroom on a deck lower each day - deck 8! The crack that went the entire length of the sink down to the drain, the mold and heavy caulking in the shower/bathtub and also the bathtub mat that was black with mold!! Now folks I don't live like that in my own home. For this we paid double the amount for a balcony cabin versus a balcony cabin out of Florida on other HAL ships. There are so many things we saw wrong. As we left the check-in counter to board the ship there was no one there to direct us and as we found the gangway there were two security guards to check us but then as we actually boarded the ship there were no officers there to greet us only the security check-in crew. No one showed us to our cabin.

 

There are also problems with the air conditioning of the whole ship. It is very uneven throughout and the last few days in the upper dining room it must have been 60 degrees up there and I'm not exaggerating. I did hear from people who had a table on the bottom dining room that it was extremely and uncomfortably warm there. The last night of the cruise my husband and I actually left the dining room because we couldn't take the cold any longer. We left in the middle of our dinner and went up to the Lido for our dessert.

 

You know, each day there were things that we found wrong with the ship. On the last day of the cruise our cabin steward took away our flowers (pitiful as they were) from our cabin along with our basket of fruit. This was done in the morning. At night after dinner when we returned to our cabin a big pile of new, clean sheets for the next cruise was sitting on the side table of our couch. The cabin steward was attempting to make his job easier by getting things done before we had even vacated the cabin. This was so tacky I called the hotel manager but alas, he wasn't on duty (isn't that surprising?) and they sent a young man up instead to handle the complaint. He wasn't anyone of rank.

 

These are just a few of the many, many poor things we saw and experienced and either HAL is in financial difficulties now or they now have certain ships that are second class and they plan to keep them that way. This is our sixth cruise with HAL and it is our 16th cruise all total and it is the worst managed ship we have been on.

[Su&Andy]

We too had a B suite, room 163 on March 31st Maasdam cruise. Our dated bath did have a few cracks and chips, but was spotless 24/7, with no mold in sight. No toilet problems, the water was shut off for three hours beginning at 10 AM one day, but we weren’t in our cabin during those hours. I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities that can result in instantaneous headaches, but the air quality in our room was superb. We ate in the upper dining room for the 6:15 seating near the sunny windows, so there was a night or two that it was a bit warm.

 

 

We both have degrees in Restaurant/Hospitality Management and 30 years combined fine dining mgmt experience. We did note a chipped water glass, but our dining stewards AG and Harry were exemplary. Service was almost too instantaneous for us. We thought all of the food was very good to excellent. One out of four of our lamb chops had some fat on it one night and my paella was a bit gummy, but when the Maitre D’ came over to check on us, he was very upset and concerned that we hadn’t said anything earlier. We had so much other great food to eat, that it wasn’t worth getting another entrée to substitute. We found all of the desserts, especially the flambes to be wonderful. We both gained five pounds and were always too full to even see what the late night snack was. We met Colleen and her family on our Lawrence of Antigua tour. She has great kids and we understood their feelings about the somewhat limited food hours in the evening, however, it did not affect us.

 

 

We embarked upon the ship between 12:30 and 1 PM and there were officers present greeting us after a swift check in. We were immediately directly up to the Lido for lunch. There was an announcement before 1:30 that our rooms were ready, and we went up at our leisure. Fruit basket was a bit disappointing, but who needed more to eat? And there was always tons of fruit available in the Lido and room service. (I wrote in smoked salmon one morning, and it appeared complete was an unsolicited bagel!) Flowers did begin to wilt, however, we had placed them outside on our balcony table in the tropical heat, while sipping our wine. We swore that our room steward had a hidden camera in the room, because there was only one time that we left for breakfast or dinner that we came back and found our room unattended to. We always had fresh towels and robes twice a day. He was the cheeriest person on the ship. Our light bulbs, remote, tv reception, and safe were all fine. We loved our spacious room and balcony.

 

 

Overall, we felt the ship to be extremely clean and well managed. Kept looking for that unpolished brass that was mentioned, but never found it. We did see them polishing in off hours, you can’t just whip out noxious smelling Brasso while people are about.

 

 

Albeit we’ve never cruised before, we have been to all inclusive resorts in Jamaica and have traveled extensively all over the US and Canada. I consider my self a perfectionist and have been accused of identifying with Martha Stewart too many times. I think that often one’s own personal experience is contingent upon the luck or misfortune of the draw and preconceived expectations.

[EmilyM]

SuandAndy, you give me hope! I love to read your posts as I am going on the Maasdam next week. I appreciate the other poster's comments as well, but right now I am just going to focus on SuandAndy's experiences. I hope that I can have the great outlook that you two had.

 

After we get back, I'll have to read all the other posts, both positive and negative!

[gizmo]

I enjoyed reading all the reviews. Thanks.

 

Auntdeedee,

 

What was the boat and ladder like on your Turtle Excursion in Barbados?

[dakrewser]

There are also problems with the air conditioning of the whole ship. It is very uneven throughout and the last few days in the upper dining room it must have been 60 degrees up there and I'm not exaggerating. I did hear from people who had a table on the bottom dining room that it was extremely and uncomfortably warm there.

 

I was feeling sympathetic to your plight, even though your rant did seem fairly over the top (such as divining the line's intentions for it's ships based on one cruise!), but what you say about the dining room is physically impossible. That is, it violates the laws of physics! It's a two level DR, it is physically impossible for the lower level to be very warm while the upper level is very cold - hot air rises! While the temperature might vary a couple of degrees, as soon as the lower air warmed above the temp of the upper air, it would rise and push down the cooler air. Ask anyone with an understanding. Actually, it's the cold air sinking the pushes up the warmer air (see this explanation) but the principle is the same, as is the result - the temperatures of the two levels reach equilibrium.

 

So now I have to wonder how much else in your rant is less than factual....

[auntdeedee]

A few people asked if we ever heard back from our group's/TA's complaints-- below was the sole response received. Pretty much what I expected, so 'nuff said.

 

Thank you for the e-mail regarding your ms MAASDAM cruise on March 20, 2005. We truly appreciate the valuable feedback you have provided us.

Although our staterooms are above industry standard for our class, there is still limited space. The information you were given prior to sailing is correct, and all mobility devices should be stored within your stateroom. Holland America Line does not allow scooters to be stored in hallways, and you most certainly should not have been told to do so. We have forwarded your comments to the Hotel Manager as well as to our Access and Compliance department for their information and benefit.

 

Regarding the damages to your scooter that resulted from leaving it in the hallway, we have forwarded your letter to our Property Claims Department for their review and response. Please note that any reimbursement or compensatory offer that may be extended for the damages to your scooter will be handled separately by the Property Claims department. Should you choose to contact the Property Claims Department directly they can be reached by their toll free number of 1-800-391-6254.

We sincerely apologize that your personal interaction with the members of our staff unduly clouded your overall enjoyment of your cruise, and that you were dissatisfied with your dining room experience. We make every effort to make your cruise experience as perfect as possible and we regret that this was not your experience. Our staff is trained to always be courteous, respectful, efficient, and responsive at all times, and again, we regret that you felt this was otherwise.

 

We were also sorry to learn that your traveling companion were concerned about the noise they heard in their stateroom. The concerns that you have expressed are not particularly common, however, we can appreciate that some of our passengers are more sensitive to this type of noise than others. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us as it is only through constructive comments, such as yours, that we shall be able to maintain the high standard of service that we continually strive to provide.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to provide us with your comments. We look forward to serving you again in the very near future.

Very truly yours,

 

Ed Grass

Special Advisor

Office of the President

Holland America Line

[dakrewser]

Looks fairly reasonable to me - what else were you expecting?

[Scrumpy]

The one thing not mentioned is the placement of the vents which make a tremendous difference in air circulation. If the a/c vents are predominantly on the upper level blowing on those closest or a person was simply seated near one, then they will feel colder regardless of the general distribution of hot/cold air further from the vents. In principle, yes, the answer is correct. However, anyone who's had the misfortune of being near hot or cold air from a vent knows it's uncomfortable, even though the air temperature is pleasant if you are farther away. I've noticed sometimes people place vents in the ceiling in climates where air conditioning is run more often than heat - and place vents in the floor where heat is used more often. This is because of the normal action of heat to rise and cool to fall. This works best in smaller, open spaces; multi-level homes or dining rooms with inadequate or inappropriate ventilation and circulation can have a lot of hot and cold spots.

 

Another thing to consider is the heat from sunlight as it generally makes you feel warmer and can make you actually be warmer. The outdoor temperature may be only 50 degrees, but on a sunny day, the sun can raise the indoor temperature much higher (without the influence of heat or a/c; i.e. passive solar heating). If you are sitting near a window, this will also affect the temperature in your immediate area (and sometimes beyond) - and its effects don't instantaneously disappear with sunset. I don't know what dinner time the person had, but an early diner would catch some strong rays. Just a few things to consider. Or not. ;)

 

 

...what you say about the dining room is physically impossible. That is, it violates the laws of physics! It's a two level DR, it is physically impossible for the lower level to be very warm while the upper level is very cold - hot air rises! While the temperature might vary a couple of degrees, as soon as the lower air warmed above the temp of the upper air, it would rise and push down the cooler air. Ask anyone with an understanding. Actually, it's the cold air sinking the pushes up the warmer air (see this explanation) but the principle is the same, as is the result - the temperatures of the two levels reach equilibrium.

 

So now I have to wonder how much else in your rant is less than factual....

[EmilyM]

I know it was not what you wanted, but I am impressed with the letter. So many times, concerns from customers are met with a form letter that is absolutely not personalized at all. This letter seems to have been written from scratch just for you. It seems to validate your feelings, too.