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Maasdam Air Conditioning


Cruising Kangaroo
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Having just returned from an EXC  In Depth cruise on the Maasdam from Singapore through the Indian Ocean, I would urge caution for anyone considering travelling on this ship in hot or tropical areas.

Our booked cabin 788 on A deck lacked adequate air conditioning from day 1. We complained on days 2 and 3 and were ignored. The next day, we requested more firmly that the problem be addressed and adjustments made. Front desk staff visited the cabin and agreed that it was too hot due to inadequate air flow. A technician then removed a ceiling panel and appeared to make some adjustments. That caused the problem to worsen and the temperature to rise further, leading to very unpleasant nights trying to sleep in hot conditions with limited air flow. The cabin temperatures ranged from around 26 to 28 degrees C, even with curtains drawn to limit heat transfer through the window. We advised the front desk what had happened and were told at that time, that the Facilities Manager had stated that nothing further could  be done.  We requested a cabin change and were told that the ship was fully booked and no other cabins were available apart from one that "had a leak and was blocked out for this trip", and that this problem couldn't be fixed. After further complaint and an email to HAL head office, the next day the unfixable cabin was magically fixed and offered to us. This cabin 202, was a verandah cabin on deck 9. The cabin showed minor evidence of previous water damage to some woodwork but had functioning air conditioning, and was fully operational in every way. We did not request or seek an upgrade, and had this cabin been offered earlier, we would have been prepared to pay for an upgrade. Unfortunately, it took over 7 days to reach this point, possibly suggesting that stalling might make the complaints go away. 

During conversations with other passengers, we asked how comfortable their cabins were, and in several instances, the answer was that the cabins were unacceptably hot. Our cabin stewards also confirmed that a number of other cabins on A deck were very hot. That means of course, that many cabins were OK, temperature-wise, and if you had one of these cabins, you wouldn't know that any air conditioning problems existed in other cabins. Surprisingly, a number of other passengers told us that their cabins were so cold that they had to wear pullovers at all times in their cabins.

I have now read posts that show that these same air conditioning problems have existed since 2003/2004 and have never been rectified. My conclusion is that this ship has a fundamental problem with the air conditioning system that is unfixable or too expensive to fix, and that HAL continues to operate this ship in hot or tropical areas in the full knowledge that a significant number of cabins will be either unacceptably hot or much too cold. Surely 16 years of similar complaints should be taken more seriously and rectified. Or the ship should be sold.

I realise that I have few Cruise Critic posts so the first observation could be that I have little cruising experience, or am just a "newbie" to Cruise Critic.  However, I post only when I believe that something needs to be said, not just to lift my rating. As a matter of interest, I am a HAL 5 star mariner and have been for several years. I have cruised widely on 5 other lines as well. 

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Both the Maasdam and Veendam A/C systems do stress out when cruising in equatorial zones - typically that discomfort lasts only a few days, but in your case you were cruising in this Indian Ocean area for some time.

 

 I suspect they will take this part of the globe off any future Maasdam itineraries. Sorry you has such an unhappy beta experience with this new explorer travel program into the tropics where the weather closely matched the itinerary.

 

The Indian Ocean is such an interesting area to explore - but one can almost guarantee hot and humid outside air 24/7, particularly this time of the year. Your unfortunate experience brings new meaning to the term InDepth immersion experience on the Maasdam. 

Edited by OlsSalt
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Sorry about the agony you had to endure, but also glad they were finally able to upgrade you to a balcony. We'll be on the Maasdam for 40 days in cabin 220 starting in October and were wondering how your cruise was overall? Were the in-depth EXC lectures interesting and were there a variety of things to do on sea days?

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You were not alone. I was on the Perth to singapore leg and our cabin was hot the whole trip, in both the dry heat of Western Austalia or the high humidity of Indonesia. Lots of trips to the front desk and while the staff are all polite and tryi g to be helpful it never got fixed. We had zero air flow and thermostat did nothing. We chose our aft corner cabin because it was larger and had easy access to the outside deck. We too kept the curtains closed the entire cruise. We heard whole sections of cabins had issues. We were offered PG dinner etc to make up for the inconvenience which doesnt fix the problem of hardly being able to stay in the cabin for any length of time. 

I finally took them up on offer of a sleeping cabin near the end of cruise, so after dinner I would trek down to sleep in a different cabin down on the A deck.

 

Unacceptable to put staff in a no win situation and even worse for the affected passengers. There were also cabins that flooded from broken pipes.

If these issues happen to "your'" cabin, it tends to color your opinion of the cruise.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sorry about the agony you had to endure, but also glad they were finally able to upgrade you to a balcony. We'll be on the Maasdam for 40 days in cabin 220 starting in October and were wondering how your cruise was overall? Were the in-depth EXC lectures interesting and were there a variety of things to do on sea days?

 

Thanks for your interest. The cruise was interesting but the smaller ports were very small and not interesting in themselves. You needed to get out of town on an excursion to make the best of the stop. Advance research is needed to plan the excursions.The larger ports such as Malacca, Penang and Colombo were enjoyable and could be discovered by yourself or with a local driver. Male is very crowded and going to a nearby island resort was preferable to us. Snorkling was great.

 

The in-depth EXC talks and presentations were very good and were scheduled for most sea days. They covered cultural issues and histories,  a little on religious development and traditions, natural history and ecology plus what to do and see in ports including architectural histories and significant buildings. All very well presented and interesting. The only downside was that a few talks were timed at 7.15 pm when most people were at dinner.  It would also have been better if the talks had been video recorded and broadcast through the ships TV system for later viewing if you missed one. This has been the practice on our previous cruises.  I hope it's not a HAL cutback. 

On the other hand, as a plus, Adagio was back to 4 players and a live music quartet had returned to the Ocean Bar. There was also a really good band in the crow's nest if you were part of the 60's, 70's, 80's music scene.  Hope you enjoy your cruise.

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2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Both the Maasdam and Veendam A/C systems do stress out when cruising in equatorial zones - typically that discomfort lasts only a few days, but in your case you were cruising in this Indian Ocean area for some time.

 

 I suspect they will take this part of the globe off any future Maasdam itineraries. Sorry you has such an unhappy beta experience with this new explorer travel program into the tropics where the weather closely matched the itinerary.

 

The Indian Ocean is such an interesting area to explore - but one can almost guarantee hot and humid outside air 24/7, particularly this time of the year. Your unfortunate experience brings new meaning to the term InDepth immersion experience on the Maasdam. 

 

I would have thought that the correct business decision for HAL (and its passengers) would have been to sell both the Veendam and the Maasdam and retain the Prinsendam for conversion to an expedition ship. Regards.

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We have also just returned from the EXC In Depth cruise through the Indian Ocean.

Really sorry that your cabin temperatures were so hot.  The outside heat was an intense immersion, but it was a great cruise.  Our cabin 650 on deck 5 stayed cool the whole time.

 

We had boarded in Sydney, Australia and sailed the Southern Ocean where some heat was welcome.  One day north of Perth our thermostat had been turned down totally to the bottom of cool.  Our thoughtful Room Stewards must have realized what was ahead.

 

Our room stayed cool.  Maybe luck of the draw?  A couple of time we turned the thermostat up a bit to be less cool, and a couple of time we felt warmer.  But that never lasted long.  Our memories are so good.

 

Maintenance was serious business with constant cleaning, shining, and varnishing.  There was a cabin water problem down the hall from us.  Heard of a couple buckets in public areas catching rainstorm leaks.  Our drippy bathtub faucet resulted in a new faucet.  I mentioned our cracked bathroom sink to the plumber, and he asked if it was leaking.  No new sink.  We were satisfied.

 

Barbara

Edited by bcummin
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58 minutes ago, Cruising Kangaroo said:

 

I would have thought that the correct business decision for HAL (and its passengers) would have been to sell both the Veendam and the Maasdam and retain the Prinsendam for conversion to an expedition ship. Regards.

 

Didn't work out that way. They did sell the sister ships Statendam and Ryndam.  And both Veendam and Maasdam are up for sale - both are getting repurposed for their final days with HAL.

 

Sorry you did not fully understand the new Maasdam InDepth cruise option and the changes in regular formatting HAL is now offering under this EXC program. We adjusted our dining time around the 7:15 programs because they were worth making the effort to attend -even one night in gown and black tie.

 

And I believe there is an issue of "copyright" material that prevents the guest lecturers from re-broadcasting their lectures to the cabins later - intellectual property ownership rights.  They are not HAL employees nor HAL shore excursion lecturers, so different rules apparently apply.  

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The In-Depth program is still evolving, especially the timing of presentations.  Some were at 5 pm.  One future port presentation (two ports detailed by the  EXC port guides) was at 5:30 pm.  That one really should have been broadcast on the TV.  What we got  was shore excursion blurbs on the TV.  Fixed dining had conflicts. 

By the end of the cruise, 7:15 offerings had moved to 9 pm or so and some presentations were being offered twice.  Someone was listening.

 

Barbara 

Edited by bcummin
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We had air conditioning problems on the Maasdam Auckland to Sydney in December.  We had 2 cabins on the Main Deck, M687 and M693.  Cabin M687 was great, but M693 was terribly hot.  After the first night when we complained, the maintenance people did the same thing with something on the ceiling and said that the problem was fixed.  This was not the case.  After the second night the maintenance folks again came to resolve the problem without success.  Finally, after the 3rd night, the inhabitants of M693 were moved to an oceanview on the A deck, and this one was delightfully cool. Fortunately for us, the ship was not nearly full.

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we were in cabin 661 MAIN deck....cabin was cold (especially on entry during the day when the ship tended to get humid) - for nighttime sleeping it was perfect.. 

 

We noticed one evening in the Lido that the corner where small plated appetizers were offered - water started dripping..  and dripping.... as it is not attended to much by staff except to restock - my husband notified the manager..   plates were taken away, some maintenance staff were called, and they removed a ceiling panel, fiddled and then water just GUSHED down..... that whole section was out of commission for a day or so.

 

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I agree with the OP,  there are issues with the a/c system.  We were on this segment as well,  on level A also.  Our room temperature was warm during the nights and slightly cooler during the daytime.  The final few days were especially warm with no air conditioning on the final day.   We did not complain as this seemed to be a ship wide issue.  On our last visit to Asia on Volendam we had no problems with room temps. at all,  although the outside temperatures were high as well. 

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9 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

 

And I believe there is an issue of "copyright" material that prevents the guest lecturers from re-broadcasting their lectures to the cabins later - intellectual property ownership rights.  They are not HAL employees nor HAL shore excursion lecturers, so different rules apparently apply.  

 

Thats  interesting....  I was a guest lecturer on on an other line and they made a special point of recording the talks I did.  and broadcast them for 5 days..    They did so for the other lecturer  as well. 

 

In the Natl Park Service  we used copyright material but credited the authors/artists etc.    I was told that  we could use copy right material  as long as it was not  more than a  few pictures or charts or a" quote"  Much like a book reviewer is entitled to do. Furthur  that  this material  use was minimal and not large or the majority of the program  .

 

Finally the program , which  contained  copyright material   minimally, and was published or sourced in the public domain.  It was not being sold or used to generate revenue for the use of material. and that we presenters did not copyright the program ourselves     Clearly a good faith and intent.

 

HAL   sounds like it was just too much to bother with. as they would have had to pay their AV crew to broadcast

 

Good to know about the cabins...  Thank you aussies.... bobs your uncle...

 

 

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A/C issues on multiple HAL vessels is one of those inside "secrets" not often mentioned accept by a few brave souls here on CC (who often get flamed for saying anything negative).  Ironically, the one HAL ship where we never had an A/C issue was on the Prinsendam….its oldest ship.  There are some HAL fans that will blame onboard A/C issues on being in very hot climates.  But what we cannot understand is that on other cruise lines (we have been on 15 lines) we have never experienced any A/C issues.  Why does HAL have these problems, but it does not seem to be an issue with other companies?  Could it be the age of the ship?  Deferred maintenance?  I have no clue as to the cause, but it is completely unacceptable.  Passengers on any ship of any line should able to have confidence that the ventilation in their cabin keeps in comfy.

 

DW and I had booked 41 days on the Maasdam from Brisbane to San Francisco.   When we made the booking (while on another HAL cruise) we had some doubts because of concerns about the A/C on a HAL cruise that spends time in the South Pacific.  We ultimately canceled that cruise (a few months ago) for some issues unrelated to the condition of the Maasdam.  But after reading some of the posts on CC I am breathing (with cool air) a sigh of relief.   The thought of being on that ship for 6 weeks in a hot stuffy cabin is not how we would want to spend a cruise.   So now that we know that some cabin do have a major A/C issue, one wonders what HAL will do in the next few months while that vessel is in hot climates.  Do you think they will simply close off those cabins and cancel some bookings?  Do you think they will somehow make major repairs while underway?  or Do you think they will continue to use those cabins, ignore the complaints, and continue as if there are no problems?   

 

Hank

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6 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

A/C issues on multiple HAL vessels is one of those inside "secrets" not often mentioned accept by a few brave souls here on CC (who often get flamed for saying anything negative).  Ironically, the one HAL ship where we never had an A/C issue was on the Prinsendam….its oldest ship.  There are some HAL fans that will blame onboard A/C issues on being in very hot climates.  But what we cannot understand is that on other cruise lines (we have been on 15 lines) we have never experienced any A/C issues.  Why does HAL have these problems, but it does not seem to be an issue with other companies?  Could it be the age of the ship?  Deferred maintenance?  I have no clue as to the cause, but it is completely unacceptable.  Passengers on any ship of any line should able to have confidence that the ventilation in their cabin keeps in comfy.

 

DW and I had booked 41 days on the Maasdam from Brisbane to San Francisco.   When we made the booking (while on another HAL cruise) we had some doubts because of concerns about the A/C on a HAL cruise that spends time in the South Pacific.  We ultimately canceled that cruise (a few months ago) for some issues unrelated to the condition of the Maasdam.  But after reading some of the posts on CC I am breathing (with cool air) a sigh of relief.   The thought of being on that ship for 6 weeks in a hot stuffy cabin is not how we would want to spend a cruise.   So now that we know that some cabin do have a major A/C issue, one wonders what HAL will do in the next few months while that vessel is in hot climates.  Do you think they will simply close off those cabins and cancel some bookings?  Do you think they will somehow make major repairs while underway?  or Do you think they will continue to use those cabins, ignore the complaints, and continue as if there are no problems?   

 

Hank

 

In the future, it will pay for posters to be specific about certain cabins instead of making continual sweeping, global complaints about an entire ship.  Then a pattern can be established, so no surprises. A/C stressing posts on the Veendam and Maasdam have been reported here for years.

 

I even tracked daily temperatures to see what in fact was 'too hot" on the Veendam -was it perception, a combination or outdoor temperature, side of ship etc as well as management guidelines. On a Panama Canal trip our Veendam cabin (verandah) did reach 77 degrees at which time I learned up to 75 was within ship guidelines and was informed by the HM they would never be "on demand" 68 degrees or lower.

 

 They did make some inside adjustments to our cabin which took the temperature down, but mainly we also sailed away from the hottest portion of the trip. The temperature chart I collected was more 72 degrees -which in a hot climate can still feel "hot". 

 

Know before you go. And good thing you cancelled your Maasdam. You would probably not have had a happy cruise.

Edited by OlsSalt
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22 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

 

Thats  interesting....  I was a guest lecturer on on an other line and they made a special point of recording the talks I did.  and broadcast them for 5 days..    They did so for the other lecturer  as well. 

 

In the Natl Park Service  we used copyright material but credited the authors/artists etc.    I was told that  we could use copy right material  as long as it was not  more than a  few pictures or charts or a" quote"  Much like a book reviewer is entitled to do. Furthur  that  this material  use was minimal and not large or the majority of the program  .

 

Finally the program , which  contained  copyright material   minimally, and was published or sourced in the public domain.  It was not being sold or used to generate revenue for the use of material. and that we presenters did not copyright the program ourselves     Clearly a good faith and intent.

 

HAL   sounds like it was just too much to bother with. as they would have had to pay their AV crew to broadcast

 

Good to know about the cabins...  Thank you aussies.... bobs your uncle...

 

 

 

Different ships, different arrangements. We too were sorry thee lectures were not re-broadcast on the Maasdam because they were all so good and often times over-lapping. But that is  the way that it was.

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1 minute ago, OlsSalt said:

 

Pays to be specific about certain cabins instead of making continual sweeping, global complaints about an entire ship, Hiltner.

Not quite sure we know what you mean.  We often book guarantees on HAL and would have no clue as to whether we would get a cabin with decent A/C or a cabin with no decent A/C.  On the Maasdam we had booked a forward outside cabin (no veranda) and I assume if we had asked the Future Cruise person (when booking) "do you know if the A/C functions in that particular cabin?"  we would have been assured that everything is fine.  

 

Perhaps it would be helpful if HAL published a master list of cabins (throughout the fleet) that have sub-standard A/C.  Then folks who prefer to be cool at night could make informed decisions on which cabins to book.

 

Hank

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

A/C issues on multiple HAL vessels is one of those inside "secrets" not often mentioned accept by a few brave souls here on CC (who often get flamed for saying anything negative).  Ironically, the one HAL ship where we never had an A/C issue was on the Prinsendam….its oldest ship.  There are some HAL fans that will blame onboard A/C issues on being in very hot climates.  But what we cannot understand is that on other cruise lines (we have been on 15 lines) we have never experienced any A/C issues.  Why does HAL have these problems, but it does not seem to be an issue with other companies?  Could it be the age of the ship?  Deferred maintenance?  I have no clue as to the cause, but it is completely unacceptable.  Passengers on any ship of any line should able to have confidence that the ventilation in their cabin keeps in comfy.

 

DW and I had booked 41 days on the Maasdam from Brisbane to San Francisco.   When we made the booking (while on another HAL cruise) we had some doubts because of concerns about the A/C on a HAL cruise that spends time in the South Pacific.  We ultimately canceled that cruise (a few months ago) for some issues unrelated to the condition of the Maasdam.  But after reading some of the posts on CC I am breathing (with cool air) a sigh of relief.   The thought of being on that ship for 6 weeks in a hot stuffy cabin is not how we would want to spend a cruise.   So now that we know that some cabin do have a major A/C issue, one wonders what HAL will do in the next few months while that vessel is in hot climates.  Do you think they will simply close off those cabins and cancel some bookings?  Do you think they will somehow make major repairs while underway?  or Do you think they will continue to use those cabins, ignore the complaints, and continue as if there are no problems?   

 

Hank

 

We will not sail the old ships of Holland America. It isn’t just the non working Air conditioning. The HVAC systems appear non functioning. A noxious cigarette smell permeated various areas of these old ships, especially in the vicinity of the casino. Otherwise known as the communal coffin.  Smoke haze in many areas. 

We had air and HVAC problems on Prinsendam too. The cabin air died most nights and some areas were smoke hazes.  We would return from port to the ship and melt from the cabin heat.  

 

Then the ceiling leaks. Just repulsive.  

 

Had to laugh at your last paragraph.  Your last sentence is perfect.  Front desk people must be trained to feign surprise when they hear the complaints.   

Edited by sammiedawg
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10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Not quite sure we know what you mean.  We often book guarantees on HAL and would have no clue as to whether we would get a cabin with decent A/C or a cabin with no decent A/C.  On the Maasdam we had booked a forward outside cabin (no veranda) and I assume if we had asked the Future Cruise person (when booking) "do you know if the A/C functions in that particular cabin?"  we would have been assured that everything is fine.  

 

Perhaps it would be helpful if HAL published a master list of cabins (throughout the fleet) that have sub-standard A/C.  Then folks who prefer to be cool at night could make informed decisions on which cabins to book.

 

Hank

 

 

 

I believe that the real issue is that HAL have known very well about the air conditioning problems since 2004 (see the posts) and have done nothing to rectify them. It is quite irresponsible to continue to book problem cabins when HAL knows that the air conditioning is defective, particularly in hot/tropical areas. Some of the cabin numbers with problems are just beginning to surface, but only HAL knows from complaints just how many there are, and they are sure not going to tell anyone.

We have experienced hot cabins on other HAL ships and have been told initially that the temperature was normal (whatever that means), but was eventually rectified after perseverance. The standard procedure is for the technician to point an infra-red thermometer at the air inlet register and say that the incoming air temperature is 19-20 C, so the cabin temperature is normal. However, unless the air flow is sufficient, then the cabin temperature can be excessive, which is exactly the problem with the Maasdam. That is why we now travel with an accurate digital thermometer to avoid disputes. On the Maasdam, our cabin temperatures were between 26 deg.C (78.8 F) and 28 C (82.4 F). Both of those numbers exceed HAL's supposed acceptable maximum of 77 F. 

As a matter of interest, the practice of wedging verandah doors open for "fresh air" or to cool a cabin in cooler weather actually destroys the air conditioning in adjacent cabins and all cabins served by the same air handling unit (could be 20, 30,40 cabins) because the open door uses up the available air flow and the system pumps it outside, starving the other cabins of air flow. I think that this is a rather selfish thing to do.

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With regard to the previous post, we also carry an accurate digital thermometer (actually 2 of them) whenever we travel.  It will accurately show the temperature next to our bed (where we live the gadget) to the 10th of a degree.  We have had a HAL staffer come to our cabin with one of those large funnel gadgets that they use to measure the airflow right at the air intake.  That is not relevant....as what is important is the cabin temps where there are humans....not at the ceiling :).  On most ships (other then with some HAL ships) we can easily get our temps down to 68f in the evening hours.  On some HAL ships the lowest temps have been in the high 70s.   The idea of a cabin thermostat is that each cabin should be able to have their desired temp within reasonable limits (to us that would be 67 - 80).  On our recent MSC Divina cruise, our cabin thermostat would change the cabin temp within 10 min to whatever temp we desired.  Some HAL cruisers would argue that MSC is a budget line when compared to HAL...but at least on MSC the cabin thermostats actually work!  It kind of made us wonder which is actually the real budget line.

 

And enough with the excuses!   HAL calls itself a premium cruise line and any line that uses that label should be able to provide every passenger with a cabin that can be set to comfortable temps.

  

Hank

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The S&R class vessels have all had reported AC problems, plumbing issues and leaks as far back as I can remember. I always felt when this ship platform was developed that Carnival Corp directed Fincantieri to save as much money as possible on their construction. While they spent lavishly on art, antiques, furnishings and finishes; the mechanical plants and overall build qualities of these ships seems to have been skimped on and never upgraded in the ensuing years.

 

I also feel that the build quality of most vessels coming out of a Fincantieri yard is lower than that of the Finnish, German and even French yards (Wartsila, Kvaener Masa, Meyer Werft, Chantiers de l'Atlantique, STX, etc).

 

To compare the Prinsendam to the build quality of any other HAL ship is unfair, regardless of age as she was not built for HAL originally, nor was she built at Fincantieri. She was built for Royal Viking Line at Wartsila shipyard in Turku Finland with a completely different marine engineering team and build design/philosophy. 

 

Unfortunately the only way to fix the AC and plumbing issues would to be to completely gut the ships and rebuild the mechanical plants for these items from the ground up, which is not going to happen due to cost. The only other option is the current band-aid approach and hoping to keep them working well enough, enough of the time to not drive too many customers away. Not a good solution but Carnival Corp is not going to give them the money needed for anything better.

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I started HAL cruising on the Maasdam and discovered Cruise Critic at the same time. 10 years ago CC posters were railing against the Maasdam as the worst ship ever put into the cruise market. Caught me up short ,as I had never thought about the quality or livability of a cruise ship assumed they were all adequately serviceable. Way back machine:  2009 new cruiser.

 

So with great trepidation we embarked on our first HAL Maasdam cruise 10 years ago. We left falling in love with both HAL and this wonderful ship, which set the standard for what we found we liked best and wanted from global cruising. Nearly 500 days later with probably 100 of those days on the Maasdam, we return to her over and over again.

 

Occasional quirks and glitches yes. Noticeable vibrations at speeds over 18 knots. Yes  Less than refrigerator temperatures on demand when cruising in the tropics. Yes.  Occasional plumbing mishaps. Yes. Ship happens. Know before you go. 

 

Wonderful intimate feel, Yes. Wonderful crews. Yes, Wonderful itineraries. Yes. Fantastic new InDepth programming. Yes.   Great sadness when she finally leaves the fleet. Yes. Happy we started our love affair with HAL after choosing the Maasdam as our introductory ship. Yes.

 

Take 99% of the negative reports and demands she be gutted or scrapped about her with a grain of salt. Yes. 

 

Keep calm and carry on.

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13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

With regard to the previous post, we also carry an accurate digital thermometer (actually 2 of them) whenever we travel.  It will accurately show the temperature next to our bed (where we live the gadget) to the 10th of a degree.  We have had a HAL staffer come to our cabin with one of those large funnel gadgets that they use to measure the airflow right at the air intake.  That is not relevant....as what is important is the cabin temps where there are humans....not at the ceiling :).  On most ships (other then with some HAL ships) we can easily get our temps down to 68f in the evening hours.  On some HAL ships the lowest temps have been in the high 70s.   The idea of a cabin thermostat is that each cabin should be able to have their desired temp within reasonable limits (to us that would be 67 - 80).  On our recent MSC Divina cruise, our cabin thermostat would change the cabin temp within 10 min to whatever temp we desired.  Some HAL cruisers would argue that MSC is a budget line when compared to HAL...but at least on MSC the cabin thermostats actually work!  It kind of made us wonder which is actually the real budget line.

 

And enough with the excuses!   HAL calls itself a premium cruise line and any line that uses that label should be able to provide every passenger with a cabin that can be set to comfortable temps.

  

Hank

 

Getting the popcorn...  Thank you Hank.  I always trust your comments, both here and on the Italy Board.  You are honest and not a rah rah - I appreciate that.  

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On 2/19/2019 at 10:33 PM, bcummin said:

 

Really sorry that your cabin temperatures were so hot.  The outside heat was an intense immersion, but it was a great cruise.  Our cabin 650 on deck 5 stayed cool the whole time.

 

We had boarded in Sydney, Australia and sailed the Southern Ocean where some heat was welcome.  One day north of Perth our thermostat had been turned down totally to the bottom of cool.  Our thoughtful Room Stewards must have realized what was ahead.

 

Our room stayed cool.  Maybe luck of the draw?  A couple of time we turned the thermostat up a bit to be less cool, and a couple of time we felt warmer.  But that never lasted long.  Our memories are so good.

 

 

 

Barbara

 

 

Of course your cabin on deck 5 was cooler..  it is insulated by some 5 other decks.   the A deck is exposed to the direct sun plus  heat rises   it is physics plain and simple. it should according to that be the warmest cabins on the ship... Deck 4 the coolest..   Thats reality you can not change. The higher you go the warmer you can expect to be and the less cool.

 The ship is made from steel and  metal conducts heat very very well.   And it retains heat very very well  its a heat sink.  In the tropics  inside and lower cabins will be far more comfortable   Lanai and  veranda and lots of glass which too is a great conductor   

The Massadam was built for northern europe and north america cruises.... as they grew HAL  sent these ships into "harms way" of the climate it  was never considered  it would go to.....   

 

As my physic professor once said, just because you dont understand physics , dosen't mean it won 't kill you"

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