Maasdam Air Conditioning

[Hawaiidan]

44 minutes ago, bcummin said:

Actually, A deck is lower than deck 5 and should be even cooler according to your laws of physics.  Back to the classroom.

Barbara

 

44 minutes ago, bcummin said:

Actually, A deck is lower than deck 5 and should be even cooler according to your laws of physics.  Back to the classroom.

Barbara

 

44 minutes ago, bcummin said:

Actually, A deck is lower than deck 5 and should be even cooler according to your laws of physics.  Back to the classroom.

Barbara

According to my deck plan  A is the highest   4 is the lowest,,, a A cabin is top of the heap accordingly    Whats correct?

[freestyling]

48 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

 

 

According to my deck plan  A is the highest   4 is the lowest,,, a A cabin is top of the heap accordingly    Whats correct?

There is a difference between cabin type as in A,BB, etc and deck plans. 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, bcummin said:

Actually, A deck is lower than deck 5 and should be even cooler according to your laws of physics.  Back to the classroom.

Barbara

 

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

According to my deck plan  A is the highest   4 is the lowest,,, a A cabin is top of the heap accordingly    Whats correct?

bcummin is correct, A Deck is immediately below Deck 5.

 

A lot of your posts reflect dated information. Here are the current deck plans; scroll to the bottom of the page:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-ships/ms-maasdam/4.html?xid=HPBVD1804159&_vsrefdom=mca&mchxkw=c:707929915,k:ms maasdam ship,m:e,p:1t1,d:c,ai:38589064313,ad:166032398848,s:g&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtbnjBRDBARIsAO3zDl96wU_-nNkS4FTwRjz40cQ1dT5-cEPRFAvJPBfVamXO_wYcjrjfB9YaAk8nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[ChinaShrek]

On 2/20/2019 at 11:25 AM, OlsSalt said:

 

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.

 

 

Most cruisers are not going to spend any time researching their cabin for AC issues.  They simply expect the AC to work 24/7.  HAL needs to meet these expectations if it wishes to remain relevant and profitable.

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, freestyling said:

There is a difference between cabin type as in A,BB, etc and deck plans. 

Yes.... what threw me was the A cabins are at the top   Yet A deck is the name for  deck 4....  go figure.     My physics still has relavance.    I was on an antarctic cruise and was toasty warm in an inside.... they switched me to an outside... we had to put cushions over the window, taped the curtain  and sleep in sweat clothes......you could not get warm because of the heat sink.

Massadam may suck when its HEVAC system is considered but the principal should be considered.  What worries me is that I am in the tripics Tokyo to Sydney in August....   got deck 5 outside...  I will see.   Thanks for correcting my assumption of deck=cabin class

[freestyling]

Well I’ll be on her for 42 days starting in March. I’ll report back what the temp was like. 

[Hawaiidan]

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

 

bcummin is correct, A Deck is immediately below Deck 5.

 

A lot of your posts reflect dated information. Here are the current deck plans; scroll to the bottom of the page:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-ships/ms-maasdam/4.html?xid=HPBVD1804159&_vsrefdom=mca&mchxkw=c:707929915,k:ms maasdam ship,m:e,p:1t1,d:c,ai:38589064313,ad:166032398848,s:g&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtbnjBRDBARIsAO3zDl96wU_-nNkS4FTwRjz40cQ1dT5-cEPRFAvJPBfVamXO_wYcjrjfB9YaAk8nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks....heck I am dated     appreciate the info     I was refering to a HAL deck plan I pulled..  with all the mods I did not think things were that radical    

[bcummin]

Let me confuse things.  Cruising Kangaroo's cabin 788 was on deck 4.   Below deck 5 is deck 4 (4A), and below deck 4 is deck 3.  Below that is A deck, where the crew hangs out.

Barbara

[edward01ca]

On 2/20/2019 at 12:30 PM, scubadawg said:

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.

 

 

We have to agree with what you say.  Our cabin temperature, 544, was up and down all day long.  After awhile, it seemed that they actually turned off the A/C at night since it really warmed up night necessitating not sleeping with even a sheet on.  This went on for the  entire 40 day cruise from Perth to Singapore and Singapore to Colombo and return. On aboutt the sixth day of the cruise, I came down with the cruise crud and I still have it.  I think it will be a long time before I cruise again.

[scubadawg]

Hi Dale, I still have the cruise crud too, even after being home for 4 weeks and meds from the clinic. Joanne ended up in the hospital for 6 days with pneumonia so whatever respiratory thing going around the ship was a bad one!!

[CJcruzer]

A bit related to cruise crud - on the Indian Ocean Explorer voyage, roundtrip Singapore - my eyes were irritated, red and bloodshot the entire cruise,.  The only relief was when I put a cold cloth across my eyes when resting - they would clear somewhat AND they cleared when I was off the ship for a long day excursion (probably humidity helped that).  I had Systane Ultra eyedrops, which I use when my eyes are dry, but this was more extreme..  Usually I get 1-2 days of slight dryness from long flights - but I never had a problem with my EVA air flights, both coming from and going home.

 

So, I tend to question the air quality/air filtering system - 

 

I had no infection, drainage, pus, only very dry, irritated red bloodshot eyes.. First time on a HAL ship that I experienced this,

[GeezLouise1]

6 hours ago, edward01ca said:

We have to agree with what you say.  Our cabin temperature, 544, was up and down all day long.  After awhile, it seemed that they actually turned off the A/C at night since it really warmed up night necessitating not sleeping with even a sheet on.  This went on for the  entire 40 day cruise from Perth to Singapore and Singapore to Colombo and return. On aboutt the sixth day of the cruise, I came down with the cruise crud and I still have it.  I think it will be a long time before I cruise again.

 

4 hours ago, scubadawg said:

Hi Dale, I still have the cruise crud too, even after being home for 4 weeks and meds from the clinic. Joanne ended up in the hospital for 6 days with pneumonia so whatever respiratory thing going around the ship was a bad one!!

 

4 hours ago, CJcruzer said:

A bit related to cruise crud - on the Indian Ocean Explorer voyage, roundtrip Singapore - my eyes were irritated, red and bloodshot the entire cruise,.  The only relief was when I put a cold cloth across my eyes when resting - they would clear somewhat AND they cleared when I was off the ship for a long day excursion (probably humidity helped that).  I had Systane Ultra eyedrops, which I use when my eyes are dry, but this was more extreme..  Usually I get 1-2 days of slight dryness from long flights - but I never had a problem with my EVA air flights, both coming from and going home.

 

So, I tend to question the air quality/air filtering system - 

 

I had no infection, drainage, pus, only very dry, irritated red bloodshot eyes.. First time on a HAL ship that I experienced this,

 

I was on the Indian Ocean Segment too. I got the "crud" on day 4,  my husband got it on day 6.    Including eye problems. Air quality/air filtering system issues is an interesting theory.  We are both still sick.   I've written a letter to Mr. Ashford outlining some of our problems with this program and ship,  perhaps more letters would be in order.  Reinforcement?  We also are not sure if we'll cruise again. Sorry for the thread hijack,  I think the issues are related and that Seattle should be advised. 

[OlsSalt]

23 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

 

Most cruisers are not going to spend any time researching their cabin for AC issues.  They simply expect the AC to work 24/7.  HAL needs to meet these expectations if it wishes to remain relevant and profitable.

 

The A/C does work 24/7. Problem solved.  However it may not work to your own personal requirements.  

[Ken the cruiser]

If I might ask, what time frame were the cruises folks are referencing in this thread? If it was during the Jan - Feb time frame, isn't that the hottest time of the year between Perth and Singapore where temps between 30-40C are pretty common?

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask, what time frame were the cruises folks are referencing in this thread? If it was during the Jan - Feb time frame, isn't that the hottest time of the year between Perth and Singapore where temps between 30-40C are pretty common?

I think it was Dec/Jan     I have hopes for a cruise in September  a very dry time in the solomons.  and  I think cool in Sydney

What do you all think the season will hold..... I asked God,  But he hasn't gotten back to me.... I have faith.

[bcummin]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask, what time frame were the cruises folks are referencing in this thread? If it was during the Jan - Feb time frame, isn't that the hottest time of the year between Perth and Singapore where temps between 30-40C are pretty common?

 

The Maasdam docked in Perth on January 6, 2019 and in Singapore on January 26 (Indian Ocean segment) and February 15.

Summertime in the Southern Hemisphere, and always hot close to the equator.

 

Barbara

Edited February 23, 2019 by bcummin

[St Pete Cruiser]

I'm concerned. Have the Maasdam booked for Nov/Dec 2019.  

We did the Veendam RT from Ft Lauderdale to Rio and back in 2017 and it was fine.  Had an outside room on Main Deck (5).

Brazil was very hot and humid, and the ship was comfortable.

[bcummin]

We have learned to pack Robitussin, decongestant, and cough drops when we cruise.  Usually we need them.  More important, having them along decreases concerns.  A cruise should be enjoyed.

I did notice a large air filter being replaced on deck 5 last month.

I am so sorry that so many of our fellow Maasdam passengers have been so sick.  Possibly the high temperatures outside stressed our bodies more than usual.

 

Barbara

[2aran]

We boarded Maasdam in Singapore Jan 26th for the 20 day cruise and had no problems with the air conditioning. Our inside cabin 340 was constantly cool. 

It became very hot on deck most days but the library and adjacent rooms were pleasantly cool. The coldest place was the Wajang Theatre and Culinary Arts Centre. The coughing /sneezing touched us mildly for a day but we generally dose against such infections with Vicks First Defence nasal spray on ship and when travelling by air. 

The lectures in the EXC programme were very good with photography, Culinary Arts, historical and architectural information about our destinations. This was our first trip on the lovely ship Maasdam and found the ambience warm and friendly. Indeed we were envious of those passengers sailing on back to The U.S. Home now in Wales with lovely mild spring weather of 16C. 

[Avery's Gram]

Hi...we were on Maasdam from Perth to Singapore, Jan. 6 -26 this year.  Our cabin was 204, next to the 202 OP was moved to and found acceptable.  That cabin was closed for the majority of our cruise.....MAJOR flooding, repeated problems, carpeting soaked and bed up on stilts to keep it off the floor.  

 

Our cabin flooded one night....a result of the ongoing issue next door.  Within 15 minutes of reporting the problem, we were moved to a cabin on A deck to sleep and the minor flood in our cabin was cleaned up and dried out the next day.  (Water coming through the lighting fixture  near the foot of the bed....Scary!)

 

just wanted to to let you know they were not exaggerating the problem with that cabin, and it really deserved to be blocked.  I personally would not have been happy to be put into it.

 

Barbara M. In NH

[St Pete Cruiser]

1 hour ago, 2aran said:

We boarded Maasdam in Singapore Jan 26th for the 20 day cruise and had no problems with the air conditioning. Our inside cabin 340 was constantly cool. 

It became very hot on deck most days but the library and adjacent rooms were pleasantly cool. The coldest place was the Wajang Theatre and Culinary Arts Centre. The coughing /sneezing touched us mildly for a day but we generally dose against such infections with Vicks First Defence nasal spray on ship and when travelling by air. 

The lectures in the EXC programme were very good with photography, Culinary Arts, historical and architectural information about our destinations. This was our first trip on the lovely ship Maasdam and found the ambience warm and friendly. Indeed we were envious of those passengers sailing on back to The U.S. Home now in Wales with lovely mild spring weather of 16C. 

Nice to hear a positive comment.  I woke up last night after reading the negative comments and was really worried to think of being aboard for 37 days sick.

[OlsSalt]

10 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:

Nice to hear a positive comment.  I woke up last night after reading the negative comments and was really worried to think of being aboard for 37 days sick.

 

Negative comments always have a context, and it is unfortunate when they get used as sweeping attacks against an entire ship.   No fun at all if you get one of the impacted cabins - and there is no way of guaranteeing anything up front. But more likely than not, one will have an excellent experience.

 

What are you going to do? Takes your chances and keep fingers crossed - hope there can be accommodation if you lose the bet?  Know up front one may never get exactly what meets their own individual demands and expectations? We have had clinker cabins ourselves, and the occasional mishaps on virtually every ship, but NO ruined cruises.

 

Even with a stinky balcony we could not use on an entire 50 day South Pacific cruise -there was so much more that did work on that cruise as well. One of the best- and certainly one of the best cruise staffing and CD we have ever had that more than made up for the loss of a few hours total of balcony use. 

 

Ship can, will and does happen. What happens next is as much the passengers response as well as what the ship can also offer as  response. We pays our money and we takes our chances. That is why we have kept choosing HAL ourselves. Others flee at the first mishap because that is what works best for them. 

Edited February 23, 2019 by OlsSalt

[jaxonboy]

On 2/21/2019 at 2:47 AM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

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.

We sailed Grand Med on Prinsendam, spring 2016. We changed from a forward oceanview to a midship oceanview due to uncomfortable temperature. We went through the experience of it is cool at the vent, yet hot at the pillow. Basic rule is, if ac doesn't work, demand a better cabin immediately. Late in the cruise they loaded a large cylinder that I learned was a chiller for the ac. I asked Captain Tim if it was replacement. He said no, it was additional capacity. The Elegant Explorer went into drydock after our cruise. I think HAL spent a fortune on maintenance and repair. What a seaworthy ship.

[GeriatricNurse]

On ‎2‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 9:07 PM, Cruising Kangaroo said:

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. 

I am sorry that you had to experience the (lack of) a/c during your cruise! 

Actually, (both) the 'Maasdam' and 'Veendam,(doom) are for sale!

[Despegue]

On 2/21/2019 at 9:47 AM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

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.

That is actually correct!

 

Fincantieri was the low-cost low-quality yard of the cruise industry.

Like an Italian car, nice to look at and great design-wise, but reliability and built wise, often a disaster. Especially in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Things do seem to have improved a lot over the last few years I heard from people “on the inside 😉” and there is a lot of knowledge within Fincantieri.

 

building a huge passenger vessel is very complicated and only few yards have the knowhow for it, and nearly all of them are in the EU. ( Japan has Mitsubishi Maritime yards, but faced huge problems with Aida Prima.)