Input on HAL/Maasdam?

[brightonguys]

We are looking at booking a cruise on the Maasdam over the 4th of July week that does a r/t from Boston (home for us, thus VERY easy) to Maine and Saint John and Halifax, and we are hoping to get some input from you all on the ship and the line. We've not cruised on HAL before, but have enjoyed every cruise we've been on (RCI, Princess, and Carnival), so I think we are easy to please. We are early 40s, no kids. I've read on these boards good things about some of the extras/niceties on HAL, as well as great things about the food and service, so that's really got us interested. Our only concern really is that the Maasdam would be the smallest and oldest ship we've been on, although I've read some good things about her as well based on her smaller size, better space/service ratios, etc. Anyway, all of this long-winded intro is to ask you all for your thoughts on this ship and the line generally. Thanks in advance for any assistance/guidance/thoughts. :)

[MercedMike]

We enjoyed Maasdam and found she compared very favorably to the Vista class ships. We didn't really miss anything, and the smaller size gives a more intimate feeling.

 

We did Montreal/Boston not Boston/Boston but there should be lots of similarities. Check our trip report and pictures here

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/maasdam.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[lisacruzer]

We sailed on the Maasdam two years ago. 10 night Eastern Caribbean out of Norfolk. I, too, had the same concerns regarding her size and age. We love the Maasdam! The ship has such an intimate feeling. Many crew members knew our names and our favorite drinks, etc. by the second day! I felt pampered the whole week.

 

My husband and I are about your age, and we were sailing alone, too. I highly recommend this ship. She is beautiful and elegant!

[sail7seas]

We share our heart between two HAL ships.... the largest in the fleet (Noordam) and the Maasdam (which, along with her 3 sisters, smallest.) That's not to say we don't enjoy other ships as we do and we sail on many.

 

Maasdam is an elegant, very beautiful ship with an awesome crew. We have sailed her well over a dozen times and have 4 cruises booked on her this summer including the cruise over the 4th of July.

 

The Boston to Montreal to Boston itinerary is fabulous and this is a very special cruise. We live in Boston and yet never tire of tire of it.

 

The ship is lovingly maintained and the vast majority of folks who sail her are delighted with their experience.

 

If you have specific questions, ask away. We'll all try to answer your particular points of interest.

[Jade13]

We are looking at booking a cruise on the Maasdam over the 4th of July week that does a r/t from Boston (home for us, thus VERY easy) to Maine and Saint John and Halifax, and we are hoping to get some input from you all on the ship and the line. We've not cruised on HAL before, but have enjoyed every cruise we've been on (RCI, Princess, and Carnival), so I think we are easy to please. We are early 40s, no kids. I've read on these boards good things about some of the extras/niceties on HAL, as well as great things about the food and service, so that's really got us interested. Our only concern really is that the Maasdam would be the smallest and oldest ship we've been on, although I've read some good things about her as well based on her smaller size, better space/service ratios, etc. Anyway, all of this long-winded intro is to ask you all for your thoughts on this ship and the line generally. Thanks in advance for any assistance/guidance/thoughts. :)

 

Just wanted to say hello in Brighton. I lived there while getting my Masters. I own rental property there (assuming that has something to do with your name?), so know the area pretty well.

 

I haven't been on this particular ship. If it's a sister ship to Veendam, it will be a beautiful elegant ship.

[brightonguys]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! I really appreciate it. And thanks for your link to your photos, Mike. I have to say, the idea of being pampered sounds nice. :) As does being on an elegant and well-maintained ship. I do have a few specific questions, I guess. First, the only real negatives I've read have been that the a/c doesn't work very well (which shouldn't be as much a problem in Maine and Canada as in the Caribbean), and that the public rooms can be pretty smokey. Was that your experience at all? Also, how was the gym if you used it? It looks like on the deckplans that it was reduced in size during the SOE upgrades in 2006 that added the thermal suite. Relatedly, is the thermal suite worth the extra $$$. The one on Diamond Princess really didn't seem worth the money, but I guess that is yet another subjective thing.

 

Thanks again everyone for your help.

[sail7seas]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! I really appreciate it. And thanks for your link to your photos, Mike. I have to say, the idea of being pampered sounds nice. :) As does being on an elegant and well-maintained ship. I do have a few specific questions, I guess. First, the only real negatives I've read have been that the a/c doesn't work very well (which shouldn't be as much a problem in Maine and Canada as in the Caribbean), and that the public rooms can be pretty smokey. Was that your experience at all? Also, how was the gym if you used it? It looks like on the deckplans that it was reduced in size during the SOE upgrades in 2006 that added the thermal suite. Relatedly, is the thermal suite worth the extra $$$. The one on Diamond Princess really didn't seem worth the money, but I guess that is yet another subjective thing.

 

Thanks again everyone for your help.

 

It snowed in Maine yesterday and we had e-mail from friends aboard and they said Quebec was freezing! They have had a/c issues on and off on Maasdam. We have (mostly) been just fine. Once in a while we had to call for service and they came promptly and made adjustments. We've sailed her well over a dozen times so clearly we don't find it to be a problem.

 

Smoking on HAL ships is more and more limited. The smoking sections are getting smaller and there is none permitted in any dining area anywhere on the ship. No smoking permitted in show lounge or theater. There have been experiments on some of the ships re: smoking in the Casino. When we were on Noordam in January, it was smoke free the whole cruise and it was wonderful. We have not been bothered by smoke on most areas of Maasdam but smoke in the casino has bothered us from time to time.Our back-to-backs last summer it was terrible.

 

The gym was Enlarged during SOE and is wonderful. It is plenty large for the size of the ship and the views using the treadmills looking out over the bow are wonderful. Each treadmill has its own flatscreen tv. Maasdam's gym is perfect for our needs.

[grannynurse]

The public rooms on HAL ships are never "smokey". The only place I have noticed any lingering smoke was occasionally in the casino.

 

We've been on all classes of HAL ships and I can tell you that the Maasdam is my DH's personal favorite. Yes she's about 14 years old but that's not old for a cruise ship. She is a beautiful happy ship with a great crew and is very well organized. I haven't been on since late June 2005 so I haven't seen her since her SOE updates, but she was great 2 years ago and probably is better now.

The intimacy is a great feature. Large and glitzey is not better, at least IMO.

GN

[MercedMike]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! I really appreciate it. And thanks for your link to your photos, Mike. I have to say, the idea of being pampered sounds nice. :) As does being on an elegant and well-maintained ship. I do have a few specific questions, I guess. First, the only real negatives I've read have been that the a/c doesn't work very well (which shouldn't be as much a problem in Maine and Canada as in the Caribbean), and that the public rooms can be pretty smokey. Was that your experience at all? Also, how was the gym if you used it? It looks like on the deckplans that it was reduced in size during the SOE upgrades in 2006 that added the thermal suite. Relatedly, is the thermal suite worth the extra $$$. The one on Diamond Princess really didn't seem worth the money, but I guess that is yet another subjective thing.

 

Thanks again everyone for your help.

 

I don't remember any problems with A/C but as you say that isn't the problem in Maine! We didn't find any problem with smoke in the public rooms ... the dining room and main show lounge are non-smoking.

 

We happen to LOVE the Thermal Suites. The ones on Diamond and Sapphire Princess are a bit disappointing because they don't have the picture windows, though. I think the ones on HAL are better.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[rebeljohn]

You will love the Maasdam. We sailed her in Nov. '05 with my parents, and they loved it so much they just returned from a 10 day trip on her last month. Excellent service and food during our trip. We have pictures from our trip aboard the Maasdam here if you are interested.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/515193880uJXZBL

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have sailed several times on the Maasdam. Just spent 20 days on her in Feb/Mar and could have spent another 10 days on her. And will be sailing on her again in August.

 

The casino can be very smoky at times -- we avoid that.

[super_grover]

I just got off the maasdam (ok, in April) and loved it. I had previously cruised on the Zuiderdam. I liked the maasdam because it was easier to get around, smaller in size.

 

The A/C issue is entirely subjective. I was fine, temperature wise but my mom was sometimes hot. My big peeve was that I could never get the tap water ice cold, but then again, we were in the caribean in april and it was hot, hot hot!

 

Please let me know if you have any specific questions. The service was great, and if at any point it was only at 98%, a word to a manager solved the problem quickly.

 

You'll have a great time :)

[sail7seas]

I'm shocked no one corrected me when I said that Maasdam (along with her three sisters) are the smallest ships in the fleet. Of course, that is wrong. Prinsendam is smaller.

 

[crzr]

We have sailed 5 or 6 times on the Maasdam because it is the East Coast HAL ship. And we did the same cruise you're considering just two years ago. The stops were fun, especially Halifax and Bar Harbor. My wife also enjoyed the shoppers outlet tour in Maine.

 

We did not see any effects of shipboard aging on board - they usually take care of them during drydock.

 

Maasdam doesn't make top-flight speed, but then it doesn't have to because the ports are so close together. So its older engines are not a speed problem, and they burn less fuel than the newer turbines.

 

The Lido Restaurant has the best of any buffet food I've had on any cruise line, since it's pretty much the same quality you'll find in the dining room. They don't cut corners in the cafeteria.

 

The dining room food is easily a notch above what you get at Outback, though not quite as good as a five-star restaurant. But they'll try to get you special orders with a day's notice. And the stewards aim to please.

 

I think the smaller size and ambiance makes for a better level of service than you find on larger ships. The stewards aren't quite as rushed to please so many people. It is definitely a smaller passenger count than any of the lines you've mentioned, less crowded, not so many lines, and bigger rooms (about the same as on Carnival, much bigger than the other lines).

 

There were perhaps 200+ children on board, but they stay out of the way of the adults, and are generally very well-behaved. The passenger mix is much like Princess.

 

Hope this helps give you a picture of Holland America.

[arabrab]

We did this cruise on the Maasdam a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I love to walk, and it is a beautiful ship for walking. We had the late upper dinner seating, and it was a lovely mix of middle and youthful older people. I heard that the early seating attracted more of the elderly passengers. There were very few children on-board; I don't think that this itinerary appeals much to families. Given the port intense cruising, we appreciated the late seating.

 

The port stops (except for Portland, ME) were very enjoyable, and we did a mix of active (biking through Acadia, sea kayaking), relaxing (walking around), and group tours (Peggy's Cove lobster lunch, which surprised us for having scenery that was every bit as beautiful as the pictures had suggested, and a remarkably excellent whole lobster.)

 

Warning: Weather (at middle of July) varied from very chilly (fog/rain leaving Boston) to sunny and warm, to sunny and cool. Polarfleece with windblock was our friend. Bar Harbor had enormous variation in weather in just the hours we were there. Quite a few people from other parts of the country showed up with clothing that might have worked in Atlanta in July, and there was quite a run on the ship's store and in local shops as people realized that more and better clothes were needed.

[evertravel1]

Maasdam New England June? Does anyone know how rough it gets? Have cruised before and know that the smaller the ship - the greater the chance of getting sea-sick. If anyone has any past experience I would really appreciate hearing from you

[brightonguys]

Thank you again to everyone for your thoughtful replies to my questions. We've just booked the 6/30-7/6 cruise and are very excited to try HAL and the Maasdam after reading through what everyone has had to say about their experiences. I will try to post a review when we get back.

[sail7seas]

We are booked on the June 23 and are staying for the June 30 sailing. Hope to meet you aboard Brightonguys.

 

Absolutely bring a sweater/sweatshirt and a light jacket. A rain jacket would be good to have just in case. The weather can be very variable. We've done this cruise a lot and sometimes we were in swimsuits at the pool and other times a long sleeve jersey and jacket. On the whole, we've been remarkably lucky with beautiful weather. Last August for two weeks, it was near perfect.

 

We are VERY disappointed to see they discontinued to shopping tour that brought guests to Freeport for a day in that shopping mecca. I can't find it offered this year and we had been looking forward to it.

 

They used to have a bus that took folks to LL Bean and gave them hours at the malls and brougt them back. I think it has been discontinued.

 

[RuthC]

Maasdam New England June? Does anyone know how rough it gets?

It's water; it moves. If a storm has gone through it can get a tad rough; if not, it should be fairly smooth.

I have done a round-trip trans-At out of Boston on the Maasdam. I thought it rode very well.

[theprofessor]

For those considering the Boston Maasdam cruise, I was stunned at the prices I was able to get from using *****.com for this cruise (June 30th sailing). The prices were nearly half off of traditional web site listings (orbitz, priceline,etc.,). Our inside cabin cost about 550 pp, with ocean view only slightly higher. I had tried the service in the past without much luck. Maybe open cabins and approaching sailing date lowered the prices?

[lkmamom]

We are booked on the June 23 and are staying for the June 30 sailing. Hope to meet you aboard Brightonguys.

 

Absolutely bring a sweater/sweatshirt and a light jacket. A rain jacket would be good to have just in case. The weather can be very variable. We've done this cruise a lot and sometimes we were in swimsuits at the pool and other times a long sleeve jersey and jacket. On the whole, we've been remarkably lucky with beautiful weather. Last August for two weeks, it was near perfect.

 

We are VERY disappointed to see they discontinued to shopping tour that brought guests to Freeport for a day in that shopping mecca. I can't find it offered this year and we had been looking forward to it.

 

They used to have a bus that took folks to LL Bean and gave them hours at the malls and brougt them back. I think it has been discontinued.

 

 

Sail, thanks for clarifying that.....I thought that it had been offered as well:( There was a charter bus on a website that I saw Mermaid?? I emailed them and they did not respond. We have kind of wondered if renting a car would be a valid option? I really value your advice......what do you think? From what I can gather, looks like one may have to go to the airport to pick up a rental car which may not be worth it.

We are huge LLBean fans.

Linda

[sail7seas]

Linda..... :) You read my mind. I've been debating all day whether to mention to DH that I'd like to rent a car to drive to Freeport. I think the ride is about an hour or so each way but I'm not exactly sure.

 

He had agreed to book the HAL bus excursion for us to spend the day shopping but I'm not sure how he'll feel about bothering for us to drive ourselves.