Maasdam Cabins

[Empehi]

Would appreciate any thoughts on lower priced ocean view cabin on the Maasdam.

Specifically, HH 375, 376.

If a category or two higher would provide better views and location, I would greatly appreciate the input.

I have never been on this ship.

 

Thanks.

 

[Hflors]

27 minutes ago, Empehi said:

Would appreciate any thoughts on lower priced ocean view cabin on the Maasdam.

Specifically, HH 375, 376.

If a category or two higher would provide better views and location, I would greatly appreciate the input.

I have never been on this ship.

 

Thanks.

 

The cabins that you are asking about are totally obstructed.  There aren't going to be any views from either of these cabins.  You could try a "H" cabin  like H 380 it is obstructed but not totally   To get a better view you will need to get an "E" or an "EE" category if you want to stay on the lower promenade deck.  The "EE" cabins at the back of the ship have very cool views of the wake of the ship.  Good luck.  I hope this helps.  ( dh and I love being on the lower promenade deck)

[woodworker&knitter]

We cruised in E811, on a 42 day Trans-Atlantic. It was a quiet area of the ship, and the view out the window was perfect

[OlsSalt]

Maasdam is a small ship and easy to get around to many of the very nice public indoor and outdoor viewing areas, so you will not miss much if you don't have a particularly great side ocean view from your cabin itself.

 

So part of the choice is how much time do you want to spend in your cabin, versus all the ongoing activiies onboard the new Maasdam InDepth format - that include many, many enrichment activities throughout the day. How many at-sea days do you have is another thought - if it is port intensive you may not be spending much time in your cabin or verandah anyway.

 

 We simply like a verandah more for being outdoors, but not necessarily using it for viewing. Having access to daylight always makes any ocean view or verandah, obstructed or not, our own choice over an inside cabin - but that is my own personal quirk. 

 

Also since there are only a few of these cabins and if you book a guarantee, most likely you will be moved up a  grade anyway. But the rule on guarantees is there is no gaurantee, just good chances this might happen.  Bottomline, if the price works best for you to select this cabin, I would do it because being on board the Maasdam itself with its new high enrichment InDepth format, will more than make up for loss of any balcony views.

Edited January 27, 2019 by OlsSalt

[sambamama]

The Maasdam is my favorite HAL ship! It is small, so any cabin, even on the bottom deck has quick access to the outdoors. I did a 22 night cruise with a MM guarantee that became a FF Oceanview. All cruises I've had on the Maasdam I have loved!! 

[RMLincoln]

I choose to be very careful with guarantees on Maasdam's Lower Promenade deck because of the chance of getting a room under the galley!  I'd prefer to take an assigned room and then request "No Upgrade" rather than risk getting put under the galley. 

HH's have no view.  H's have some view. But even the non-obstructed OV have the outside promenade deck to look across, and many people feel like that makes them somewhat obstructed.  Plus dealing with the foot traffic outside and the early morning deck washing and the lifeboat maintenance paint grinding etc to put up with.  The OV rooms on LP are also a bit shorter than the OV rooms on Main and A decks, so they have a short couch and maybe one fewer closet.  We have stayed in H306 (forward port) and it was a fine location for us - quiet, no foot traffic inside, just outside.  

Insides on LP have the longer couch.  There are few balconies on Maasdam so they command a high premium cost jump.  Google for HH  and H views; I recall Roy posted a full set of views from the obstructed rooms on the S and R class ships.  Happy planning!  m-- 

Edited January 27, 2019 by RMLincoln

[mcrcruiser]

2 hours ago, RMLincoln said:

I choose to be very careful with guarantees on Maasdam's Lower Promenade deck because of the chance of getting a room under the galley!  I'd prefer to take an assigned room and then request "No Upgrade" rather than risk getting put under the galley. 

HH's have no view.  H's have some view. But even the non-obstructed OV have the outside promenade deck to look across, and many people feel like that makes them somewhat obstructed.  Plus dealing with the foot traffic outside and the early morning deck washing and the lifeboat maintenance paint grinding etc to put up with.  The OV rooms on LP are also a bit shorter than the OV rooms on Main and A decks, so they have a short couch and maybe one fewer closet.  We have stayed in H306 (forward port) and it was a fine location for us - quiet, no foot traffic inside, just outside.  

Insides on LP have the longer couch.  There are few balconies on Maasdam so they command a high premium cost jump.  Google for HH  and H views; I recall Roy posted a full set of views from the obstructed rooms on the S and R class ships.  Happy planning!  m-- 

Maasdam although  small & some pax like to  navigate it easily ,will be gone  from the fleet in  the near future  .

How can any cruise line keep pumping monies into a ship that per pax makes a lot less profit than the newer larger ships in the fleet . The same with all the other smaller ships in HALs fleet  . Liquid gas fueled vessels are on their way in the 2020s  for many cruise lines  because they are more  cost effective  .IMO 

[Hawaiidan]

To be honest, think what is a cabin for...sleeping storage and bathroom..    Anything else is gravy.

  Think, am I going to be confined to my cabin except for meals or can I get our and explore?    Would the view from the finest veranda or window be better than sitting on deck, or in the forward lounge with a 360 degree view?

I  say this as a person who has sailed for some 30 years from penthouse to cheapest inside  on 3 star 4 star and 5 star lines.     To tell you the truth when you go to sleep no cabin is any better than any other.   seriously!     Spent 36 days in a Penthouse from Sydney to LA  on a 5* line and was just as happy in the cheapest inside on a 3* line.

 

  The lines try to sell you on vanity.... not reality    View?   Hey 98% of the time the ship sails 15 to 50 miles off the shore... there is nothing to see except the blue line in any direction....    Unless you spend your cruise in the cabin except to dine, then the view matters not.   

As for the ride, the lower you go the less the ship moves..  the penthouses and suites are rock an roll in the same position.   

 

Practically, getting a smaller cabin  lower down gets you out and about  enjoying the experience of the travel !    You save $$ for taking shore experiences and the like.   

Both you and the top suite passenger both eat the same food, sleep on the same bed, use the same bathroom fixtures.   

eed to see outside... turn on the TV which has fore and aft pictures far better than  the best cabins.

Bottom line for me and maybe you.... the cruise is about the ship and its travels.  Do not  make it about the cabin get out and experience what you sailed for..........

Edited January 28, 2019 by Hawaiidan
spell

[Modern_Viking]

I would stay far away from HH 375 & 376.  They have nearly pointless windows that won't let you see much, and I think they are under the galley.  And they, as a previous poster pointed out, are smaller than most Maasdam rooms. Not worth it.

 

If you want to be on Lower Promenade, I would actually suggest a category I inside (just not adjacent to the passenger laundry), and plan to walk outside to the public deck (or go to a bar/lounge/library) elsewhere on the ship when you want to see the outside.  You'll save a few bucks, have a slight bigger and possibly quieter cabin, and will get a better view from elsewhere (but with the caveat that you will have to leave your room for a view).  All told, I like the idea of an I category, although I haven't actually stayed in one.

 

I have stayed on Main Deck, once in a J inside and once in a C outside.  Both fine.  You may sometimes hear footsteps of people on Lower Promenade.  If you book a J, I would try for port side so you have another cabin under you and not the risk of a machinery space (and the associated noise). In a C, I would want a cabin no further aft than 615. 

 

I have also stayed on A Deck in D category outside (good, but I would not want to be any further back than 790 (port side) or 777 (starboard) to avoid being over the engine rooms, and in an E near the forward stairs.  The forward cabins rock more and were a little noisier than the E, but are conveniently nearer to stairs and elevators and are cheaper.  In general, A deck cabins seem to be slightly cheaper than Main Deck cabins for no good reason (that I can think of) other than certain passengers assuming that being on a higher deck is better or more prestigious or simply slightly closer to the main dining room and lido. 

 

These are my preferences; you might have different priorities than me.  Still, I would strongly suggest something other than your initial picks (of HH 375, 376) either moving to a probably cheaper inside or an better outside (if a water view is important).

[RuthC]

7 hours ago, Modern_Viking said:

If you want to be on Lower Promenade, I would actually suggest a category I inside (just not adjacent to the passenger laundry),

The inside next to the laundry (if it is still there on this ship) is fine. Very quiet. I've been in it on sister ship Statendam. Personally, I prefer the I-cabins (formerly J-category) on Lower Promenade starboard, but that's preference only. It's a lovely row of cabins to be on.

[Hawaiidan]

19 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Maasdam although  small & some pax like to  navigate it easily ,will be gone  from the fleet in  the near future  .

How can any cruise line keep pumping monies into a ship that per pax makes a lot less profit than the newer larger ships in the fleet . The same with all the other smaller ships in HALs fleet  . Liquid gas fueled vessels are on their way in the 2020s  for many cruise lines  because they are more  cost effective  .IMO 

 

Massdam   small???    To me its the largest ship I will sail on!   I normally sail on ships on less than 700 .  Yes I pay more  $240-280 pp per day for those ships.    The new larger ships 3000,4000, 5000 even 6000 are floating tenements. 

 

Ships designed for people who dont want to be on a ship but in Vegas or at the mall...     The new ships at over 200,000 ton are larger than the Navy's largest  aircraft carrier  with over 10,000 passenger and crew...  A floating ant farm.

 

        Bigger ships mean less ports which means more time to sell the passengers all sorts of things.$$$$..  a captive audience.      

That's not cruising    but that"s the way the industry is going for the mainstream/ mass market crowd 

 

On the other hand some lines are aware of peoples desire to have a ocean going travel experience  and their new ships are all under 1000.....  smaller than the HAL fleets smallest. which take 1200-1300.    Virgin Atlantic ( Branson) is coming out with an all adult ship...no one under 18.     Seabourn, Silversea, Oceania,  Regent. are thriving with small ships...

  

So the market is going in 2 directions...  larger floating cities which charge for every little thing making huge revenue  and smaller intimate all inclusive  experiences where passengers pay one fare for everything from drinks to shore ex, with lobster at every meal.     Passengers are flocking from the floating giant ships after they tire of the hype and fleece .   HAL  used to be a leader now its a  nice entry level experience..   It has been eclipsed

[terrydtx]

Our first HAL cruise was on the Volendam in a very nice E cat OV cabin on the Lower Promenade deck. We had about a 30ft walk from the cabin door to the huge outside deck. I just looked at the Lower Promenade deck plan on the Maasdam and there are a lot of EE, E, H and HH cabins, I would think that any of them would be a great choice.

 

Since that cruise a lot of those cabins have been converted to a Lanai cabin. We spent 11 days on the Volendam and loved every minute on her. It sold us on smaller ships and anything larger than HAL's signature class ships are just too large. In 2020 we are doing our first Viking Ocean cruise and the Viking Sea which has a max capacity of 930 adult passengers but dimension wise the Viking Sea is just a tad smaller than the Maasdam and Volendam

[knippsel]

On 1/27/2019 at 11:35 PM, Modern_Viking said:

In a C, I would want a cabin no further aft than 615. 

Why might that be?  Just curious. Checking  for a cruise later this year.

 

Thanks for any info!

Kathy

[Modern_Viking]

knippsel:

On 3/29/2019 at 4:47 PM, knippsel said:

Why might that be?  Just curious. Checking  for a cruise later this year.

 

Thanks for any info!

Kathy

To avoid being over the engine rooms, which cause some vibration.  It isn't horrible, but I avoid it when possible.

Edited April 1, 2019 by Modern_Viking

[gander]

HH should be classified as Inside.  Almost the same or make them for single (lone) cruisers.

Two cents worth..lol

[liketraveling]

I have stayed in #378 for a 24 day cruise.  There really is not any view.  

 

We like the HH cabins because there is some light that comes in and you know if it is night or day.  We originally picked this cabin, but I would not pick under the galley again.  I have also stayed in #396 in the aft that is under the dining room and that was fine.

 

If it is really important for you to have a view you would need to pick a cabin between the F-C category.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by liketraveling