Is Maasdam as bad as some reviews suggest?

[CuriousC]

We're considering a 21-day Caribbean cruise on the Maasdam mid-January 2014 (mainly because of the itinerary and wide array of ports) but after reading some of the recent reviews on CC, I'm very hesitant about it. Surely she is not a "worn out tug ready for the scrap heap" is she? I know some things can be subjective (food, entertainment, etc.) but I can't understand why there are so many negative comments. I believe she received her Signature of Excellence refurbishment in 2011 so I am puzzled as to how a mere two years later, she could be so worn down and described as "motel 6 shabby". Is there anybody who has been on her recently that can provide some accurate, unbiased information?

[hal lover]

I've not been on her recently but she is a lovely ship. She was my first HA ship and will always be my favorite. I highly doubt that she is in bad shape. Too many love her and I'm sure that HA will keep her updated. Yes, she is small but she is a classic. I have darned good taste (yes I do!) and I always feel so at home on her.

[RuthC]

I disembarked from a 1-week cruise on the Maasdam last Saturday, and can't think of anything that I saw wrong with her.

I don't know what reviews you're talking about, or what they said, but I don't recall reading anything bad about her on this forum. I don't read the formal reviews; there's no way to ask questions or get clarifications on those reviews.

[PathfinderEss]

I haven't been on her of late but do read these boards and can say I have not read a lot of trash talk about the Maasdam. Don't know where you would be getting that from. She is possible the most loved ship on these boards and lovingly taken care of.

 

You should have no fear of sailing on her, certainly she is not 'motel 6 shabby'. She has some wonderful itinerarys. Hope you have a great cruise on her.

[George C]

We did Maasdam 11 night cruise on 4/22 and loved the ship, this was my 56th cruise and 4th HAL cruise in less than 4 years and it was great best MDR of any Hal ship for both food and service I have sailed also best entertainment. I am sure we will sail her again.

[sail7seas]

We have sailed Maasdam literally dozens and dozens of times and she is one of our two favorite ships.

We look forward to our next chance to sail her again. :) She is a beautiful ship, lovingly maintained by a wonderful crew.

 

[KirkNC]

Glad to hear the good comments as we have just signed up for 26 days on her in 2015.

[BumperII]

We have sailed Maasdam literally dozens and dozens of times and she is one of our two favorite ships.

We look forward to our next chance to sail her again. :) She is a beautiful ship, lovingly maintained by a wonderful crew.

 

 

We have only sailed on the Maasdam one dozen times. This is where we fell in love with Holland America. We just cruised from FLL to Montreal in May 2013, and we thought the ship was just fine. I'm hoping she sticks around as long as I am able to cruise.

[luv2snrkl]

We sailed on her in April and thought it was a great ship. Of course, it was our first cruise on HAL so we don't really have anything to compare it to! Wouldn't hesitate to cruise on her again and we just loved the lanai cabin. We also thought that the service in the MDR was really good.

[imae39]

We sailed on her in April and had no complaints. The food was very good and service as always excellent. Loved our lanai cabin.

[Daisyloo]

I read the review you are talking about. Pure nonsense. She is a lovely ship. We were on her in April and loved her. While onboard we rebooked to cruise on her in December. We wouldn't have done that if she was a "worn out tug".

[shsdawg]

1st HAL ship I was ever on, for a Boston to Montreal trip two summers ago. She was wonderful then, with the ABSOLUTE best crew I have ever sailed with.

[tomc]

Just did a r/t to Canada and she's a lovely, well-kept ship. Been on her maybe 15 times; a wonderful old gal.

[Traveling Library]

We were on her in May. We loved the outdoor dining and the covered promenade deck. This is a smaller ship with no bells and whistles...but that's why we liked her. We had ocean view cabin main deck. Sound proofing was so good we never heard the fog horn in our cabin. Would happily cruise on the Maasdam again.

[bphman]

We cruised her twice and enjoyed her very much. She is the right size for us as we go down in our preferred ship size. Entertainment is low keyed but it has everything we need. My father did the Voyage of the Vikings twice (35 days each) and enjoyed the experience. It is nice to be able to meet people that I find difficult on large ships. I know there have been complaints about the plumbing and air conditioning but we never had an issue.

[Typhoon1]

It is one of the older ships in the fleet.

 

That said, Maasdam is a favorite of many veteran HAL cruisers.

 

Ships aren't made like that any longer. The decor, its size. It is a stately old lady.

[mamaofami]

We sailed Maasdam in April and really thought she was in fine shape. We love her and have taken at least 4 cruises on her and hope to do some more.

[luv2cruisenz]

Hi, we were on the Fort Lauderdale to Montreal cruise in May and had no complaints. I saw lots of attention to cleaning the public areas a lot of the time and actually mentioned this in the survey at the end of the cruise. We had a wonderful cruise and the ship was far from shabby or tug like (although some of the chairs do need replacing in the Crows Nest!).

[cruiser4801]

Don't believe the people who sailed on the ship over 10 years ago. The fact is she is old, the towels are yellow, the pool deck and bathrooms are dated, and all things being equal she is not up to par with the newer ships. I will not sail on her again.

[innlady1]

We have cruised on her and have another one booked in January (probably the one you are contemplating). We love the Maasdam as well as the other S class ships. She's in fine shape.

[pearliemae]

We sailed on the Maasdam October and November on 2012 and enjoyed the trip very much. It was one of the best cruises we have had since we started cruising in the early 70s.

Crew was great, food was great, cabin linens were white and soft, and ship was immaculate and had a unique feeling about it, the vibe was that wonderful feeling cruise ships had "back in the day".

The only blips were trying to break Euros at the front desk, and the multiple LOUD detailed reading of the daily events by the cruise director over the PA system, otherwise the service was excellent.

Loved the ship, would cruise on her again in a heartbeat.

[RuthC]

... bathrooms are dated, ....

Kindly explain what this is supposed to mean, and why that's a problem.

I found the bathroom in my inside cabin more than adequate last week. The toilet, sink, and shower all did what they are meant to do. The bathroom is the newer, renovated type where the tile was replaced with new wall covers, a new vanity top, and one-piece flooring.

The old hair dryer attached to the wall is gone, so there's no usable electrical outlet, and the enclosed vanity is gone, replaced with two open shelves. I did not like that there is only one shower control for both temperature and pressure, but it does work properly.

Those are the only negatives in the bathroom I can site.

 

The bathroom is not how I would decorate my own home, but the Maasdam is not my home.

[iancal]

You may be confusing this ship with the Veendam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The last time we sailed on her was in 2012 and we did not find anything major wrong with the ship.

Not even our bathroom.

[rafinmd]

You may be confusing this ship with the Veendam.

 

I don't think so. IIRC there were reports about 2 weeks ago of massive flooding on the Maasdam. Witnesses seemed inconsistent about whether it was storm related or a plumbing issue, and things seem to have been rectified very quickly. Sometimes a few isolated reports seem to grow legs.

 

I haven't seen anything bad about the Veendam condition from actual recent cruisers in 2013. They seem to have gotten her quite shipshape again. I'll know first hand 2 weeks from tomorrow.

 

Roy