Longhorn Cruiser Posted July 15, 2013 #1 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Just completed last week's Maasdam cruise. Really enjoyed the staff....very friendly. Food was good especially Pinnacle/La Cirque. Ship is in good shape. Fantastic weather. Any questions let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted July 15, 2013 #2 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Welcome Home Glad to know that you had a wonderful cruise and the weather was great. Hope you do a full review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliaschief Posted July 15, 2013 #3 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Glad you enjoyed your cruise and positive remarks regarding your cruise. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare boards Posted July 15, 2013 #4 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I read in a recent review that there a cracked window in the MDR. Can you tell us if that is true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchy_feet21 Posted July 15, 2013 #5 Share Posted July 15, 2013 well, I left the Maasdam on the 6th of July and there was a broken window in the MDR. But it was already broken when I got on the ship two weeks before in Boston. I sat next to this window on my first lunch in the MDR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winters in NZ Posted July 15, 2013 #6 Share Posted July 15, 2013 What's your opinion of the Cruise terminal in Montreal , using the Black Falcon in Boston as a comparison ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted July 15, 2013 #7 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Any questions let me know. Who replaced Stryker in Mix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsdj1097 Posted July 15, 2013 #8 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I read in a recent review that there a cracked window in the MDR. Can you tell us if that is true? I was on the same sailing as OP and there was a cracked window in the MDR. On the starboard side. It seemed to be (IIR) near the lower part of the window running from the bottom across one corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathfinderEss Posted July 15, 2013 #9 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Welcome back, glad you had a good cruise on the Maasdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted July 15, 2013 #10 Share Posted July 15, 2013 (edited) What's your opinion of the Cruise terminal in Montreal , using the Black Falcon in Boston as a comparison ? The terminal in Montreal is old and not particularly passenger friendly. It gets everyone in and out but Boston is recently remodeled and more comfortable IMO Montreal does not have that many cruise ships coming and going and they are more geared to cargo than passengers. However, the people are helpful and friendly and do as good a job as anyone could expect. Very nice people. Edited July 15, 2013 by sail7seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted July 15, 2013 #11 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Welcome Back, Longhorn Cruiser. So happy you enjoyed the beautiful Maasdam. She's a great ship with a wonderful crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoon1 Posted July 15, 2013 #12 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted July 15, 2013 #13 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Great to hear from you - we loved the Maasdam:D Glad you had a great cruise - hope you will tell us more and share some of your experiences:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Copper10-8 Posted July 16, 2013 #14 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Montreal is one of the few ports where luggage can not be loaded/off-loaded to/from the ship's Marshaling Area (the routine location where the large shell doors can be opened and electric ship forklifts can be used to transport the luggage cages down the interior of the vessel). In Montreal they use an antiquated 'chute system' that drops the bags onto Boat Deck forward from where the HK guys have to use handtrucks to transport the luggage to drop off points, and then to pax cabins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaofami Posted July 16, 2013 #15 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Hi John. Hope Alaska is treating you well. Longhorn cruiser, so glad you had a good cruise. We love Maasdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TiogaCruiser Posted July 16, 2013 #16 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Drops and chutes- like free fall??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diann744 Posted July 16, 2013 #17 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Hi Longhorn, Welcome back! I have two questions I hope you can answer: Do you know the name of the Piano player in the Piano Bar? And I know the Maasdam doesn't technically have a SeaView Bar but was there a smoking section on that aft deck behind the Lido? Many thanks and I'm looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on your Maasdam cruise. September will be my first outing on her and I've heard nothing but wonderful things. (And since it was put in writing in July, it's good to know no one can blame me for the broken window) Diann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted July 16, 2013 #18 Share Posted July 16, 2013 And I know the Maasdam doesn't technically have a SeaView Bar but was there a smoking section on that aft deck behind the Lido? The smoking section is one deck down on Navigation Deck. On the Maasdam The Mix suffices for the Piano Bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innlady1 Posted July 16, 2013 #19 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Montreal is one of the few ports where luggage can not be loaded/off-loaded to/from the ship's Marshaling Area (the routine location where the large shell doors can be opened and electric ship forklifts can be used to transport the luggage cages down the interior of the vessel). In Montreal they use an antiquated 'chute system' that drops the bags onto Boat Deck forward from where the HK guys have to use handtrucks to transport the luggage to drop off points, and then to pax cabins That sounds like a hassle. Hope you're enjoying the Oosterdam, John! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxnAquarian Posted July 17, 2013 #20 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I just completed the June 22 Boston to Montreal cruise on Maasdam, and I have to say that embarkation / disembarkation in these two ports were the easiest I have experienced on over 30 cruises. I don't know if this had more to do with HAL or the ports themselves, but we were on the ship within 20 minutes in Boston and off the ship, retrieved bags and in our limo within 15 minutes of disembarking in Montreal. We were extremely impressed. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longhorn Cruiser Posted July 17, 2013 Author #21 Share Posted July 17, 2013 To answer a couple of questions: Hard to tell you about the cruise ports in Boston and Montreal because as TxnAquarian mentioned, they were the quickest I have ever experienced. Arrived at the port in Boston at 11:30 and was on the ship in 15 minutes (no special status). Our cabins were already ready and we went straight there. Luggage was there by 12:15. Montreal was even quicker. They told us to have passports ready, but we walked off the ship and there was no customs in the terminal. Walked right over to our luggage group, grabbed our bags and went straight outside and got in a cab. Less than 10 minutes. The piano player in Mix was Jeff Warren who is a very experienced Holland America/Carnival entertainer. Enjoyed him. Smoking at the Aft pool was on the port side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsmdude Posted July 17, 2013 #22 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Just completed last week's Maasdam cruise. Really enjoyed the staff....very friendly. Food was good especially Pinnacle/La Cirque. Ship is in good shape. Fantastic weather. Any questions let me know. I was on this cruise as well and agree with Longhorn on most points, overall it was a great cruise. Ship condition: The ship is older but overall in great shape. It has typical battlescars such as the cracked window in the MDR and we had a minor plumbing issue that was fixed quickly and without incident. The ship is updated in the MIX area as well as in the Crow's Nest and all the public areas were in excellent shape. The cabin carpet was new and all over the ship things were being kept in good condition. The tub/shower was a bit of a step-up which could be an issue for older persons or anyone with limited mobility so keep that in mind. Weather: We only had a little rain in Halifax but at least it was light and not too hot there. All during the cruise the weather was very warm, a good bit hotter than I had actually expected given how far north we were but it was mid July after all. Food: I was very pleased with the taste and quality of the food in the Lido, MDR and most other areas. In fact I was extremely pleased with the overall quality and tastiness of the desserts, something that usually is overlooked on most cruises these days. The food in the Pinnacle was good but not enough to justify the upcharge especially with the poor service and lack of attention we received there. The service and pace of serving in the MDR was slow and inattentive which I heard from several other cruisers as well (we had open seating). The best service we received the entire cruise was at the Embarkation Luncheon for Mariners on the very first day, everything after that was downhill. The Lido suffers the same layout and congestion issues I found on the Zaandam, not enough servers and not enough stations to support the crowds especially at breakfast. They need quite a few more toasters, omelet stations and waffle/pancake makers as they were usually backed up 8 to 10 deep waiting on a single machine and blocking the walkway. Entertainment: Overall I thought the entertainment was very good. The comedian and magician especially were great. The ship has a small group of entertainers but they were good and some were exceptional. The cruise director was just average and not as friendly or engaging as the one on my previous cruise on the Zaandam, he was very approachable and eager to help out, always greeting us by name once we had met. Cabin stewards: Hard-working and eager to please, always kept our room in top shape and always ready to assist with any issue. We did have some less than helpful experience with the front desk which was a bit troublesome but otherwise it was great. The Boston cruise terminal/embarkation process went fairly smoothly and quickly. The only issue was how incredibly hot it was standing in line but again it was 96F outside! Our cabin was ready as soon as we boarded and so we dropped off our things and headed to the MDR for the Mariner Embarkation Lunch which was actually the best food and service we had for the entire cruise... The Montreal cruise terminal/debarkation process went smoothly as well. I was surprised at how little checking they did when we exited the ship actually. The Montreal terminal is old and they seemed to have a rather cumbersome setup for getting people into taxis so there was a huge line waiting when we exited. Luckily we had small roll-aboards so we walked to our hotel. HOWEVER, there is no elevator to the ground level and you must walk through taxi traffic to get to the steep stairs so anyone with more luggage would have been in real trouble getting down to street level. Ports: We enjoyed most of the ports although Halifax and Sydney were probably the least enjoyable since we didn't book excursions and there was not so much to do within walking distance. Any questions let me know as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted July 17, 2013 #23 Share Posted July 17, 2013 The piano player in Mix was Jeff Warren who is a very experienced Holland America/Carnival entertainer. Enjoyed him. Thank you for the answer; never heard of him. From watching the clip, I'm glad I was on the Maasdam when Stryker was in The Mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise sail Posted July 18, 2013 #24 Share Posted July 18, 2013 We were there for both piano men and preferred Stryker we were not the only ones he had a bigger,later audience then Jeff.Jeff was better then some of the piano men we have encountered and the violinist with Adagio was superb.This was the first cruise we had no turndown and no chocolates one night.We still tipped extra but felt the room stewards were overworked especially our 2nd week when there were more children on board.This was the first cruise we had no interaction with our room stewards. We ate in the dining room when it was open and always had good service.We were treated very well in the Pinnacle Grill and the food on the whole ship was better then the Oosterdam and the Westerdam both of which we have been on within the year. We enjoyed this cruise and highly recommend it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisedreamer17 Posted July 18, 2013 #25 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Thanks for this information. I will be aboard on July 27th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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