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

[G&G]

She's going into dry dock in January but I don't know the dates. I was told they will be replacing the floor around the lido pool and repairing the sliding roof over the pool....that is all I heard said.

 

Correct. The new floor around the Lido Pool is wood to prevent slip and falls.

[G&G]

We just signed for the AA cruise for 2014. We hope that the problems with air and water are resolved. Perhaps the ship will go into dry dock before our cruise. Does anyone know?

 

D

 

The problems with air and water were not serious but I consider normal for these aging ships. The ports of call were excellent. If you review our CC thread for our cruise this year you will find a lot of independent tours; all ours were 5 stars.

[startwin]

Startwin's advice may help someone else and that is a good thing. She was just trying to be helpful to you just as you try to help others. :). Kazu gave the same advice and you thanked her.

 

I appreciate your kind words, sapper, but don't worry about it. My fault for trying to help; I should have anticipated the reaction.

[Pernilla]

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.

 

Note to self: pack boxes of Wet Ones.

[Vict0riann]

Note to self: pack boxes of Wet Ones.

 

LOL - and maybe a box of granola bars for emergencies!:eek:

[whogo]

I appreciate your kind words, sapper, but don't worry about it. My fault for trying to help; I should have anticipated the reaction.

No good deed goes unpunished.

[Stakeout]

I was on this same cruise.. I have to say I never saw any of the staff do what you said they did and hoard food.. actually after 53 cruises I've never seen that done by any staff member...

 

as for the food hogs I could care less.. I am more concerned about the people in line in the Lido who pick food up and put it back or lick a spoon and put it back than I am with people on a cruise who like to gourge themselves.. I will call them out for that and let the staff know about it.. and you wonder why Noro moves so fast around a ship.. all the hand-washing in the world won't stop that kind of inconsiderate conduct..

[G&G]

I was on this same cruise.. I have to say I never saw any of the staff do what you said they did and hoard food.. actually after 53 cruises I've never seen that done by any staff member...

 

as for the food hogs I could care less.. I am more concerned about the people in line in the Lido who pick food up and put it back or lick a spoon and put it back than I am with people on a cruise who like to gourge themselves.. I will call them out for that and let the staff know about it.. and you wonder why Noro moves so fast around a ship.. all the hand-washing in the world won't stop that kind of inconsiderate conduct..

 

We have been on 49 cruises and this was the first cruise we saw staff hoard food.

 

As far as passengers at the Lido, a friend of ours saw a man at breakfast, go to the juice bar, pickup a juice, drink it while staying at the bar and place the empty glass back in the display, so that the glass could be refilled ?:eek:

[Copper10-8]

She's going into dry dock in January but I don't know the dates. I was told they will be replacing the floor around the lido pool and repairing the sliding roof over the pool....that is all I heard said.

 

She goes to Freeport, the Bahamas from 03-16 JAN 14

[Pirate Bay]

LOL!!! :D

 

I found it more than a little amusing that you listed “the usual A/C problems and pipe breaks flooding some of the cabins” in your “THE GOOD” section.

 

...but given the swift and sure repercussions of any overtly negative critiques (no matter their high degree of accuracy) from the HAL cheerleaders here on CC, I commend you on your politics well learned. ;)

 

I posted similar observations about the Maasdam three years ago when DW and I sailed the hot, hot, hot Caribbean in an stateroom with barely working A/C for 21 very warm days in 2010. After the issues we experienced then, despite the wonderful ports of call, we decided we weren’t going to subject ourselves to HAL’s older ships ever again (or at least until the infrastructure issues were resolved – which we’ve now come to accept will likely be never :(). It seems that despite dry-dock opportunities to remedy these problems, little to nothing has changed.

 

I appreciate that one doesn’t get to the level of Gold Medallion without having a long history of satisfaction will Holland America Line. We’re also fans of HAL. But the fact that with such ample opportunity to correct, HAL repeatedly books staterooms they know not to function properly, I think is very sad. That HAL would take such risks with their long term reputation for such a short term financial gain is nearly inconceivable to me.

 

Btw – We just sailed 14 days with Nieuw Amsterdam and loved nearly everything about our trip.

 

I wish you the best on your 2014 cruise. Good luck and enjoy!!!

[blue whale]

Thank you, G and G, for your return feedback. We will keep reading CC as we get nearer to sail time. We do like the itinerary and the fact that we can get to Europe again with only short flights to and from Lauderdale.

 

D

[Harris Jeffer]

I have always liked HAL and especially the Maasdam, but since the recent decision to ban wine on boarding, we switched to NCL.....and we discovered entertainment excellent service , friendly competent staff, good food, and discovered that we like it !!!

[pearliemae]

We were on the 42 day Maasdam cruise in 2013 and found the front desk staff to be very poor, quite different from our usual experience with HAL staffing. The rest of the crew was very good.

We just returned from the Dec 6, 2014 Maasdam two weeker, which followed this years 42 day cruise that is being discussed. I am happy to say that the front desk staff was spectacular, just the opposite of our previous experience.

The entire front desk staff was stellar, especially Ms Laia Sala, who went out of her way to assist us and other passengers.

The crew was excellent, and the food was good.

Wonderful cruise.

[G&G]

We were on the 42 day Maasdam cruise in 2013 and found the front desk staff to be very poor, quite different from our usual experience with HAL staffing. The rest of the crew was very good.

We just returned from the Dec 6, 2014 Maasdam two weeker, which followed this years 42 day cruise that is being discussed. I am happy to say that the front desk staff was spectacular, just the opposite of our previous experience.

The entire front desk staff was stellar, especially Ms Laia Sala, who went out of her way to assist us and other passengers.

The crew was excellent, and the food was good.

Wonderful cruise.

 

Good to hear the two weeker was better staff at the front desk.

 

We actually had excellent response from the front desk for several issues during the 42 day cruise. We received a special note from the Guest Service Manager plus a bottle of wine ?

[Miatravels]

I found the food wonderful and plentiful, but I am a vegetarian. The vegetarian options were excellent. The salad bar in the Lido had scads of fresh veggies, for instance, and there were selections of delicious soups and cooked vegetables available daily. The bread was fresh daily and oh so good!

 

However, I have to agree with the "Seattle Excuse" because I also found the Events Manager to be singularly unresponsive to a barrage of complaints about the piano player in the Ocean Bar. The dance hosts were chained to that venue and unable to go where the music was much better, such as Amber and the Halcats or Paul the piano guy or even the DJ at the Crow's Nest. Linda, the Events Manager (who obviously cannot dance and could care less about those who do) told me that "Seattle" made all such decisions. Whoever decided to hire a jazz musician to play dance music should be fired.

[Vict0riann]

We were on the 42 day Maasdam cruise in 2013 and found the front desk staff to be very poor, quite different from our usual experience with HAL staffing. The rest of the crew was very good.

We just returned from the Dec 6, 2014 Maasdam two weeker, which followed this years 42 day cruise that is being discussed. I am happy to say that the front desk staff was spectacular, just the opposite of our previous experience.

The entire front desk staff was stellar, especially Ms Laia Sala, who went out of her way to assist us and other passengers.

The crew was excellent, and the food was good.

Wonderful cruise.

I'm wondering - did you mean last year's 42-day cruise (2012) and this year's two weeker (2013), or both in this year (2013)? We actually haven't reached 2014 yet.:)

[Hlitner]

The "usual A/C problems and pipe breaks?" Oh My! The A/C and plumbing issues keep getting mention here on various threads and one wonders if Seattle is truly listening. Why does this happen on many HAL ships? What can one say when a regular HAL regular refers to it as the "usual" problems. We have cruised on 14 different cruise lines, and HAL is the only line to consistently have these kind of issues. And there is no excuse for running out of supplies on a long cruise. Logistics is planned far in advance and adequate supplies are supposed to be sent ahead of the ship so there is always sufficient items. On a proper cruise passengers should not notice any supply difference from the first day to the last. I guess HAL did not get this message :(

 

Hank

Edited December 28, 2013 by Hlitner

[cruz chic]

As long as I can remember Hal generally runs out of something. I've found many times they run out of fruit yougart. Frankly, I don't understand it.

 

As far as pipes breaking, I believe they have the oldest ships of any line. I could be wrong. For that exact reason, I don't have any desire to sail Hal's older ships.

[kandagal1939]

Gee, we were on a 90 day cruise on Princess this year & didn't ever run short of food. My first cruise with HAL will be in April 2014 & getting a bit worried.

[G&G]

Gee, we were on a 90 day cruise on Princess this year & didn't ever run short of food. My first cruise with HAL will be in April 2014 & getting a bit worried.

 

If you are on our same cruise with HAL in April 2014 I will send you a survival kit so you may survive the shortages :eek:

[pearliemae]

I'm wondering - did you mean last year's 42-day cruise (2012) and this year's two weeker (2013), or both in this year (2013)? We actually haven't reached 2014 yet.:)

 

Yes, I meant exactly what you asked, sorry for the mistake in dates. We did the 2012 42 dayer, and this years Dec 6 two weeker on the Maasdam.

I must have still been in cruise mode when I posted that, after a couple days aboard I neither know or care what day it is, thank you HAL for the rugs in the elevators on the Maasdam, without them I would be even more clueless.

However, I still say the crew and the front desk staff on this recent cruise was excellent, especially Ms Laia Sala at the front desk and Manard at the grill in the Lido.

[regencypark]

Hi, we are Janice and Gus, from Nova Scotia and Florida and have just booked this trip. We did this the first year it was offered, and had one of the best experiences cruising. We loved the ports and the crew were wonderful. Let us hope that we get a repeat of this trip in the fall. We have crossed the ocean several times, and have been lucky to never have anything other than warm weather and calm seas. Looking forward to getting to know fellow CC cruisers.