Maasdam Short Review: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

[PatsyAnne]

We've been on some land tours and river cruises with GCT, and one of the things we like about them is that the program director has the flexibility to take actions that add to the enjoyment of the trip. I'm not talking about throwing a lot of money around, but adjusting to the changes that occur frequently when traveling and adding things that we enjoy. I think they have some discretionary funds and also, when they need support, they contact their headquarters and get it (as in finding a hotel for 80 people in Berlin). I think it would be nice for the HAL employees on the ships to have some similar flexibility. Of course, flexibility can also mean inconsistency, so it can be a no win with some passengers.

 

I know what you mean by food hogs. I've seen them on ship (we're not going to discuss the ugly warm chocolate cookie incident), but also in hotels. One of the hotels I used to stay in for work had a decent buffet breakfast, but if one of the tour buses was there, everything portable would be gone with the tourists. Since I was there for most of a year, some of the staff started saving a little fruit for me in the mornings. :D

[eyesazul]

As a "Gold" 5 star I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and there were many wonderful things to say about it.

Oh, and yes we did anchor off Sorrento. And there were food hogs. I especially disliked seeing plates full of strawberries taken so there were none left & then see those plates left on the table with mounds of NOT eaten strawberries.

This cruise had so many 4 & 5 star cruisers it was unbelievable. However, my only complaint is when you have so many 4 & 5 stars. Why does the front office lack in the skills to say NO to some people and to understand the benefits these people are or are NOTentitled to.

They say "NO" to % off for LeCirque, [wrong] they send messages to Seattle's Mariner office and they agree[wrong]. Then, the guests have to fight for what they shoud NOT have to even give a single thought to. This happens on Maasdam time & time & time again. A guest has to battle the front office. You notice I say again & again that is because I DO love this ship. But, why are the front office & night auditor NOT trained in benefits for 4&5 star when the ship is full of them. Amazingly I hear 5 star is new and I reply yeah since Jan. its now November.

As I said a great cruise - but why can this ship NOT figure out there is NO "COPPER" medallion ???????? Why does Seattle send them a list with COPPER as a heading????..... They NEED to understand that it is BRONZE or change the requirements for medallions in Q&A to copper.

Now it's a small thing; and some may say petty, but what an embarassment for the Captain & Cruise director to be awarding a medallion that does NOT exist. They have to fib and say there is some question to whether it is copper or bronze is sad [ but that's what the front office told them]. After the cruise I was on before it never even considered anything but bronze.

This is a great cruise - however if considering it take plenty of cough medicine and head cold medicine. This cruise had more people coughing and sneezing w/o covering their mouths/noses than any I had ever been on before. And I've done this one before.

[Vict0riann]

Thanks, eyesazul, I agree! And I think perhaps there are more "food hogs" on TAs, that want to get their "money's worth". I haven't seen it so much on other cruises.

 

One thing about the mis-timing of "Happy Hour" that G&G brought up, I don't think it's actually our idea of "Happy Hour"; it's the hour when HAL would like us to be drinking, in other words, what would be a slack time without a little incentive.

[SilvertoGold]

So, who were the Hotel Director, Captain, Guest Relations Manager, Cruise Director, Dining Room Manager?

 

I would really like to know.

 

Thanks!

[SilvertoGold]

As a "Gold" 5 star I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and there were many wonderful things to say about it.

Oh, and yes we did anchor off Sorrento. And there were food hogs. I especially disliked seeing plates full of strawberries taken so there were none left & then see those plates left on the table with mounds of NOT eaten strawberries.

This cruise had so many 4 & 5 star cruisers it was unbelievable. However, my only complaint is when you have so many 4 & 5 stars. Why does the front office lack in the skills to say NO to some people and to understand the benefits these people are or are NOTentitled to.

They say "NO" to % off for LeCirque, [wrong] they send messages to Seattle's Mariner office and they agree[wrong]. Then, the guests have to fight for what they shoud NOT have to even give a single thought to. This happens on Maasdam time & time & time again. A guest has to battle the front office. You notice I say again & again that is because I DO love this ship. But, why are the front office & night auditor NOT trained in benefits for 4&5 star when the ship is full of them. Amazingly I hear 5 star is new and I reply yeah since Jan. its now November.

 

Interesting about the 4/5 star problems.

 

I have experienced the lack of knowledge and lack of interest in the benefits for these levels, especially from the Front Desk staff.

 

Some have been clueless about the 5 star benefits and I HATE having to argue with someone who should know.

 

I sometimes think that the ship would prefer no Mariner Society at all: all the better to simplify things: eveyone equal, everything the same, with no special benefits to keep straight.

[G&G]

So, who were the Hotel Director, Captain, Guest Relations Manager, Cruise Director, Dining Room Manager?

 

I would really like to know.

 

Thanks!

 

Captain: Ane Jan Smit

 

Hotel Director: Francois Biranrda

 

Cruise Director: Michael Harvey

 

Dining Room Manager: Bagus Sugiantha

 

Guest Relations Manager: Yvonne Buitendijk

 

Never met the DRM. Never came to our table to introduce himself.

 

Yvonne was good. Took care of a problem we had.

[MadManOfBethesda]

One thing about the mis-timing of "Happy Hour" that G&G brought up, I don't think it's actually our idea of "Happy Hour"; it's the hour when HAL would like us to be drinking, in other words, what would be a slack time without a little incentive.

 

That's pretty much the raison d'être for happy hour at most bars and lounges everywhere.

[SilvertoGold]

Captain: Ane Jan Smit

 

Hotel Director: Francois Biranrda

 

Cruise Director: Michael Harvey

 

Dining Room Manager: Bagus Sugiantha

 

Guest Relations Manager: Yvonne Buitendijk

 

Never met the DRM. Never came to our table to introduce himself.

 

Yvonne was good. Took care of a problem we had.

 

Thanks for the names.

 

I am a little surprised about Mr Birarda. We had him for 32 days on the Rotterdam and he seemed very professional, but perhaps a little stiff. Not many of HAL's HD are all that "friendly".

 

It appears that few of the DR Managers come around to tables any more. Now it is more the Assistant DRMs who do that, but mostly at fixed dining upstairs.

 

Good that the GDM was helpful: so often they are a part of the Front Office problem.

[erewhon]

Thank you for taking time to write your review.

 

Best wishes for your next cruise, when you will be presented with your Gold Medals; Congratulations.

[RuthC]

As I said a great cruise - but why can this ship NOT figure out there is NO "COPPER" medallion ???????? Why does Seattle send them a list with COPPER as a heading????..... They NEED to understand that it is BRONZE or change the requirements for medallions in Q&A to copper.

Now it's a small thing; and some may say petty, but what an embarassment for the Captain & Cruise director to be awarding a medallion that does NOT exist. They have to fib and say there is some question to whether it is copper or bronze is sad [ but that's what the front office told them]. After the cruise I was on before it never even considered anything but bronze.

When the "new" medallion program replaced the "old" medallion program in 1999 or 2000, the first medallion was the COPPER one, not bronze.

The same medallion is the one being given now.

[Riversedge]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. You had a lot of legitimate complaints. I hope you take the time to write to Seattle. Your experience in the dining is why we don't like anytime dining. The waiters are overwhelmed at fixed dining also but we still feel like the service is better. Our captain on the Ryndam was by far the best we have ever had. He was out and about, ate every night in the dining room and was so funny and approachable. It really does make a difference.

[eyesazul]

When the "new" medallion program replaced the "old" medallion program in 1999 or 2000, the first medallion was the COPPER one, not bronze.

The same medallion is the one being given now.

Thanks I never saw the old medallions or rules. I would think that 13+ years later they would use the new names. And, I've been on 7 other HAL ships and the "Maasdam" is the only one, I keep hearing "Copper used". The GSR; when I asked about it told that was what it was called because she said it was. And she was quite rude about it and she has been the only one that acted that way of the thousands of HAL employees, I've met. She also is supposed to train and monitor the FD, for the other issues I raised.

[eyesazul]

When the "new" medallion program replaced the "old" medallion program in 1999 or 2000, the first medallion was the COPPER one, not bronze.

The same medallion is the one being given now.

Just took this off HAL site under Mariner/FAQ -

 

6. Will I still receive medallions and pins as I have in the past?

Existing lapel pins will be replaced with brand new lapel pins for 2-Star, 3-Star, 4-Star and 5-Star Mariners. In addition, we will continue to recognize our most loyal Mariners through the awarding of a special medallion; a Bronze Medallion for guests sailing with us for a total of 100 days, a Silver Medallion for guests sailing with us for a total of 300 days, a Gold Medallion for guests achieving 500 days, and our highest level Platinum Medallion for those guests who have joined us for 700 or more days. Medallion status is calculated using Cruise Days only; Suite Bonus and Onboard Spending Bonus do not apply toward Medallion status

NOW I'm really confused. I'd think that would be the right answer.... Note this is fairly current because it mentions 5 star..

[whogo]

 

"THE GOOD". The ports of call were excellent. All our tours, mostly independent, were Five Star, especially the "Eat and Wine Tasting" tour in Sorrento and the Mt Etna tour in Messina. The entertainment was good. The Piano Bar guy Paul was excellent along with Amber with the Halcats. She was the best singer I had ever heard with the group. The accommodations were as expected with the usual A/C problems and pipe breaks flooding some of the cabins (it is amazing that this has become a standard on our cruises).

 

It cracks me up that you list A/C and pipe breaks with the good! There is something to be said for consistency.

[take us away]

wow - they ran out of supplies!!! Talk about poor, poor planning and inexcusable as HAL knows how to stock for long cruises with the 3 Grand cruises and world cruise. Have been on long cruises (>70 days) and never seen this except for some fresh fruit now and again - oh and bar napkins once as lost in the cavernous storage room but these were found again a few days later.

[G&G]

It cracks me up that you list A/C and pipe breaks with the good! There is something to be said for consistency.

 

Maybe it should be considered their "Signature of Excellence" :eek:

[RuthC]

NOW I'm really confused. I'd think that would be the right answer.... Note this is fairly current because it mentions 5 star..

Take a good look at a medallion, and decide which metal it looks more like: copper or bronze. If there's still any confusion, remind yourself that this isn't the Olympics, and further that the HAL website can't always be trusted to provide correct information.

That should clear everything up for you.

[G&G]

Take a good look at a medallion, and decide which metal it looks more like: copper or bronze. If there's still any confusion, remind yourself that this isn't the Olympics, and further that the HAL website can't always be trusted to provide correct information.

That should clear everything up for you.

 

I know this is not the topic of this thread but since I started it;

 

RuthC how did you like Oceania's Riviera?

[RuthC]

RuthC how did you like Oceania's Riviera?

Thanks for asking! As a matter of fact, I wrote up a review yesterday. It's my intent to review it again this morning, and post it today.

 

Now, we all know what the road to hell is paved with, but there's a great chance that this will actually happen.

[whogo]

Take a good look at a medallion, and decide which metal it looks more like: copper or bronze. If there's still any confusion, remind yourself that this isn't the Olympics, and further that the HAL website can't always be trusted to provide correct information.

That should clear everything up for you.

All the medallions are made of colored base metals, aren't they? I would describe them as copperish or bronzish (depending on your ability to discern color), silverish, goldish, and platinumish.

[eyesazul]

Thanks whogo for the comment - so true. - after this discussion with Ruth; I understand completely the confusion; and the thinking of the front desk on the Maasdam. Why there is no confusion on other ships in the fleet throws me.. Don't go with the program name for the medal make up your own name and in my 1st comment they also make-up/ignore 4&5 star rules.

And where did the Olympics come from ....

[sail7seas]

Thanks whogo for the comment - so true. - after this discussion with Ruth; I understand completely the confusion; and the thinking of the front desk on the Maasdam. Why there is no confusion on other ships in the fleet throws me.. Don't go with the program name for the medal make up your own name and in my 1st comment they also make-up/ignore 4&5 star rules.

And where did the Olympics come from ....

 

 

My underline......

 

 

Olympic Gold, Silver, Bronze medals, I imagine. :)

 

[RuthC]

My underline......

 

 

Olympic Gold, Silver, Bronze medals, I imagine. :)

 

 

Precisely.

[JimnKaren]

We were on this cruise.

 

An interesting thing happened, for those CC people who let HAL know who they were, they were invited to a private CC/Captain's Cocktail Party. Nice touch and I thanked all involved; there were at least 8 senior staff members present!

 

We went to the MDR for anytime dining 4 times and each one was less than stellar. We enjoy the experience sitting with new friends, but the service was not good. We ate in Canaletto and Lido most of the time. Interestingly, during our Mariner's meal (ours was at 1:00, yet still call brunch), the service was worse. My wife's empty soup bowl sat in front of her even as the main course was being served to me! We never got the Petit Fours either. That is sad for a Mariner's Meal.

 

Besides the cocktail napkins being in short supply (they didn't even get more when we were in Half Moon Cay), they ran out of large cups in the Explorations Cafe.

 

The ports were great! We really enjoyed Canary Islands and mainland Spain. We did have to miss Sardinia due to weather conditions on shore. Only a couple of days of less than ideal weather. That is too bad, for I took lots of heavier clothes and rain gear. Not really necessary.

 

One other note of something odd: our cabin garbage can was placed in four separate locations after being emptied in the morning! I really thought that one place would be OK. There were a couple of sea days when our cabin did not get serviced until after 1:00 p.m., which we thought strange. It cut into my nap time!

 

Jim

[Vict0riann]

JimnKaren, how did people "let HAL know" that they were CC members? Was that at your Meet & Greet?