Veendam or Maasdam

[amomx5]

My dh and I have sailed on the Maasdam 4 years ago Montreal to Boston and loved it, both the itinerary and the ship/crew. We have looked at the June 21st 14 day sailing for both the Maasdam and the Veendam. The Veendam leaves from Quebec, making a couple of days in Quebec possible and is $500 cheaper. The Maasdam leaves from Boston (where we have lived previously so don't need to spend days there) and is $500 more. However I read the recent and not so recent reviews of the Veendam and they are not good as a whole. I also did a search for Veendam on the boards and not much came up. We are willing to pay more for the Maasdam if the reviews of the Veendam are accurate. Any thoughts from people who have been on either one recently? Thank you so much in advance :)

[George C]

We sailed both and I prefer the Massdam but main reason for that is the 1 pool on Veendam which was loaded with screaming children on our cruise, other than that Veendam is a nice ship.

[PathfinderEss]

If I had to choose between those two ships I would take the Maasdam. Just a personal choice. Ships are the same in some respects but the Veendam does not have an aft pool.

[amomx5]

Thank you for your replies. I know reviews are subjective but I guess I am concerned about the reviews lately about both ships smells and plumbing problems etc.. It has been 4 years since we have been on the Maasdam and the reviews seem to reflect that she is showing her age (aren't we all :))

[gigianne]

I have never been on the V so my vote has to be for the M. Just off the M last week - the ship was in good shape IMO!

[pv girl]

It will probably work out about the same cost - you are in Florida so a nonstop flight to Boston, and one pre-cruise hotel night, should be a reasonable cost. This will help balance the differences in cruise cost. Air fare to Quebec will be higher and require connecting flights, and again pre-cruise hotel stay. As for time to see Quebec, if you take the Maasdam from Boston, you will have a day in Quebec each way.

 

Veendam is getting favorable reviews right now, and the lack of aft pool is kinda moot as the weather won't be too warm anyway. Both ships have covered Lido pools for cooler weather. Maasdam just seems the easier choice for flying to/from, unless you really want to spend several days in Quebec pre or post cruise, and there goes your savings in cruise fare.

 

Just my thoughts if you look at the whole picture of each itinerary. Boston departure on Maasdam seems easier. And it does give you turn-around day to see a little of Montreal. We sailed the 7 day Boston to Montreal on Maasdam several years ago and loved the ship, crew, and the itinerary. Fares on Maasdam are always a little higher as she is the more popular ship, in any area she sails. Weigh ALL the factors. You will enjoy either because the ports are so fun - but be prepared for some cooler weather and maybe even rain.

[amomx5]

Thank you, that was very helpful. The aft pool is not a factor for us, I will have to research Quebec a bit more. We have family in Boston and are already flying there for weddings in May and August and my Dad's 90th birthday in Sept. We were leaning towards Veendam until I read the reviews on here but you said the the reviews recently have been better. Thanks again.

[travelingduo]

I know I will get blasted for this, but my experience on the Maasdam twice was horrible! Both times were in Neptune suites and on both cruises, the A/C often broke down, one of the engines broke down and we were 20 hours late returning to our home port, the ship was not in good condition. This may have improved, but we will never sail on her again. Just our experience. I know there are people who love her and I hope she had improved. Since then we have been on the Amsterdam (loved it) and the Oosterdam (enjoyed that as well). We are booked on the Veendam next, so when we return I'll write a review.

 

 

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[TwoSue]

The Veendam just came out of dry dock, so she should be in good shape for us in June. We're spending time in Montréal before-hand, so it works well for us.

[igraf]

My wife and I sailed on the Veendam last month (March 2014). Everything was fine. No odor problem. This was our 8th HAL cruise as a basis of comparison.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Thank you, that was very helpful. The aft pool is not a factor for us, I will have to research Quebec a bit more. We have family in Boston and are already flying there for weddings in May and August and my Dad's 90th birthday in Sept. We were leaning towards Veendam until I read the reviews on here but you said the the reviews recently have been better. Thanks again.

[CruiseWhere]

My DH and myself just cam off the Veendam prior to drydock (15 days San Diego to Ft Lauderdale Panama Canal) and also in Dec 2013, (18 days Hawaii). We also were on the Maasdam last March for 25 days. In all honesty we love them both and the only HUGE (and that is subjective) is the aft pool, or lack thereof on the Veendam. I don't believe you can go wrong with either, JMO.;)

[reefisher]

We are taking both. Boston to Quebec City on the Veendam, then a week dinking around and then catching the Maasdam in Montreal back to Boston.

[amomx5]

Thank you to everyone that replied. We had called HAL to get quotes and the representative told us about the Veendam coming out of drydock. We decided to go to Quebec early do the Veendam 14 day and then stay a couple of night after. We are looking forward to our trip and to Quebec. Thanks again. :)

[Charbie]

The Veendam just came out of dry dock, so she should be in good shape for us in June. We're spending time in Montréal before-hand, so it works well for us.

 

Hello Sue, I am sailing on the Veendam in 10 days. I understand - as you mentioned - she was just in dry dock (ran 4 days later than planned??), but have not heard exactly what was done to her.

 

I read somewhere that she has a fresh coat of paint AND all new beds .. but no pictures, etc. Maybe there will be updates next week - since I guess everyone that is sailing on her now may be the first group since dry dock ... ??

 

Any other info??

thanks,

Karen

[CruiseWhere]

Hello Sue, I am sailing on the Veendam in 10 days. I understand - as you mentioned - she was just in dry dock (ran 4 days later than planned??), but have not heard exactly what was done to her.

 

I read somewhere that she has a fresh coat of paint AND all new beds .. but no pictures, etc. Maybe there will be updates next week - since I guess everyone that is sailing on her now may be the first group since dry dock ... ??

 

Any other info??

thanks,

Karen

 

She was in drydock but it did not run 4 days later than planned. They were replacing makeup mirrors, some bed mattresses, not all, reupholstering furniture and some carpet and sanding and refinishing.

[BumperII]

Thank you, that was very helpful. The aft pool is not a factor for us, I will have to research Quebec a bit more. We have family in Boston and are already flying there for weddings in May and August and my Dad's 90th birthday in Sept. We were leaning towards Veendam until I read the reviews on here but you said the the reviews recently have been better. Thanks again.

 

We are sailing on the Veendam, 14 day rt Boston - Quebec - Boston on May 31. This will be the fourth or fifth time we have taken this cruise. The Veendam schedule calls for three nights in Quebec City and is the main reason we chose the Veendam over Maasdam this time. There are lots of great excursions, and for walking around and finding great restaurants this is a wonderful layover. We chose Boston as our embarkation and debarkation port due to airline pricing. It seems that the flight into Canada is pretty competitive, but the return trip gets a little pricey.

 

We have cruised over twenty times on HAL, nine of them on the Maasdam. She was our first and remains our favorite HAL Cruise ship. We like Quebec City much better than Montreal, and the three nights there is the only reason we chose Veendam this time.

 

Bon Voyage

[Typhoon1]

We have some good friends who cruised the same itinerary aboard the Maasdam a few years ago.

 

They were very pleased and highly recommended it.

[Charbie]

She was in drydock but it did not run 4 days later than planned. They were replacing makeup mirrors, some bed mattresses, not all, reupholstering furniture and some carpet and sanding and refinishing.

 

 

Thanks for the info. That doesn't seen like that much work. How many days was she actually in dry dock? I read a live from the ship review from a passenger review saying that work was still going on during last weeks cruise - and that some areas were closed off.

 

 

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