My review of ms Maasdam April 22, 2014

[Vict0riann]

Will you be joining the Maasdam in Ft Lauderdale on the 31st of October?

 

Right - and welcome to the roll call!:)

[holacanada]

Thank you for your ship review..!

Holland America experience is one of the best on the Seven seas !

 

Holacanada on Veendam in 50 days, 18 hours and 39 minutes.

Sailing from my hometown to Boston.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your nice review. I enjoyed reading it especially given how much I love Maasdam. She's a wonderful ship. :)

 

Welcome back.

[rebelprince]

Thanks, Penguin, for the thorough review! Super helpful and entertaining. :) Hubby and I will be on the Maasdam next month (our first time on HAL ever), Boston to Montreal. Looking forward to it.

 

Jeff

[penguinscott]

Thanks very much for the reply! :) I'll likely spend more time at the Lido Pool. As my 17-year-old niece and I will be travelling the second week of June, I'm expecting the weather will be relatively cool. This will be my first non-charter cruise on HAL, so I'm surprised to hear that there were a lot of kids aboard. I was given the impression the passengers might be, em, older. :o But, lots of kids might still be in school, and I loved the Lido Pool on Westerdam and Nieuw Amsterdam, so I'm sure I'll be perfectly happy regardless of the weather. Cheers.

 

Being from Texas, I tend to tell a few tall tales. I may have mispoken by saying a lot of kids. To me, 5 or 9 are a lot. For a kid, it's most likely going to be a barren waste land. On this ship, they don't seem to have the nice kids area that Ryndam had. I never saw the indoor kids area, but there is no kids outdoor area on deck 14. But there were times there were 4 or so kids in the Lido pool, and this seemed like a lot of kids to me.

[penguinscott]

Was Jeremy, the CD "trainee", a blonde Australian guy? We had a DJ named Jeremy onboard the Noordam this past January and I was wondering if it was the same person.

 

No, Jeremy was an American. He told me from which state, but I've forgotten...might have been NY; I just remember thinking he didn't have the typical accent from where he said he was from.

[RuthC]

Thank you for your review of a ship I have especially liked sailing on. That mention of a broken stair sounds dangerous, and HAL should attend to fixing it promptly.

I am pleased that you mentioned the entertainment, and identified entertainers, in your review. That is a big +. :D

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ....

[mame42]

Thank you for your informative, objective review. I just completed the Atlantic Coast Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal on the Maasdam, undoubtedly, my best cruise yet.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to write and post your review of the Maasdam. Sounds like you had a good time.

[cruisenfreak]

Thank you so much for posting your review. We have booked the 25 day cruise over Christmas and New Years, so was happy to read your positive experience. Mary Jane

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review. I'm glad Maasdam continues to be a great ship. My mom past away last year and this was her favorite ship.

[kakalina]

Penguin: Hi and thanks for you review. The reason you don't see many cast and/or crew in the bars anymore would be due to HAL's new rules for employees regarding drinking. They can't do it. Very rarely and only officers. Sad but true.

 

This was caused by the Costa Concordia and the facts that came to light of some employees ( off duty to be sure ) being too drunk to deal with the disaster.

 

At least this is what I have been told by several friends employed by HAL. :)

[aSiAnRiCk]

Looking to sail on her in July from Boston to Montreal. First on HAL and we're in our 30's. Hope we made the right choice. We're so excited :D

[jp2001]

Looking to sail on her in July from Boston to Montreal. First on HAL and we're in our 30's. Hope we made the right choice. We're so excited :D

 

I am in my thirties too and sailed HAL 3 years ago. There isn't much nightlife on the ship but I didn't mind much since it s a port intensive itinerary and since I walked/explored during the day, I was tired at night anyway. It s a very nice itinerary, mostly docking/tendering in city centers.

[aSiAnRiCk]

I am in my thirties too and sailed HAL 3 years ago. There isn't much nightlife on the ship but I didn't mind much since it s a port intensive itinerary and since I walked/explored during the day, I was tired at night anyway. It s a very nice itinerary, mostly docking/tendering in city centers.

 

 

Thank you for the input. Yeah, we figured this is more of a relaxed cruise for us. Just like with our last Celebrity cruise. Strolled around the ship and people watching over a cup of tea or enjoying a dessert or two. And that can easily be the best cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[RMLincoln]

Thank you Penguin for your very well done review. I've had many good days and nights on Maasdam (a b2b2b for 35 nights and a 11 night introduction!), my first HAL ship and am quite fond of her. I hope HAL can keep her going for quite a few more years.

Yes, the room stewards are overscheduled with 30 rooms for a team of two (as I've been told more than once on different ships, Maasdam and twice on Volendam). Too much I think but they didn't ask me.... :) Glad you had a good experience and that HAL is still serving those up!

m--

[Moriah]

Great review! I love reading the thoughts of travelers who, like you, make sure to make note of and appreciate the good, while still being honest about the bad. I assume you never dined at either of the specialty restaurants or you would have mentioned it... last time I was on Maasdam I realized the Pinnacle's kitchen is on a different floor, making some dishes almost cold by the time they were served (no fault of the servers - just the logistics of adding a Pinnacle Grill to a ship that didn't have it in the original plans all those years ago...) I just wondered if you'd heard any comments about the Pinnacle from fellow travelers?

I'm so glad you had a great cruise, and I can't wait to board the Maasdam again in the near future.