MAASDAM - Should we pack air freshners, a fan and a blanket?

[CruiserBradFromKY]

At the sugestion of our TA we booked a 10 day cruise on HAL's Maasdam. We will be crusing March 25 - April 4. Now we are hearing about foul smells in cabins and passageways, toilets that won't flush and no AC in public rooms and some cabins. Also read on one thread that the AC in some cabins was so cold that people had to ask for extra blankets. If this is true, I sure hope we didn't book into a cabin with a nonflushing toilet, sewer smells and no AC or temperature like a meat locker. What a nightmare that would be. Brad and I would like to hear from folks that have recently returned from a cruise on the old girl.

[DFD1]

We've never encountered all of the problems you describe, but if you need a fan, it can usually be provided by your room steward. Same with blankets. Air freshners are another matter and I expect you'd best take those with you.

 

We sailed the Maasdam twice and never had a problem, but that certainly does not mean you won't have one.

 

Hope you have a great time. We like the Maasdam.

[AWED23]

Just a suggestion but I would change TA's in a heart beat and use one experienced in cruising and cruise lines.....:D

[Deb C.]

AWED 23:

It appears that you either dislike Maasdam or HAL.

I am considering sailing on the Maasdam later this year. What don't you like about her?

Thanks for your opinion. Deb C.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We sailed on the Maasdam Feb/Mar 2007 and Aug 2007 -- never had any problems with air anywhere on the ship. Never smelled anything foul. A couple of times when many of us returned to the ship at the same time, toilets were slow to respond - nothing major.

[sail7seas]

We cruised Maasdam four cruises last summer and another ten days November/December, 2007 and, as always, loved the Maasdam. All ships have an a/c or toilet or whatever problem from time to time. When there is a problem, :) they fix it.

 

Hope you have as wonderful a time on Maasdam as we always do.

[innlady1]

I haven't sailed on the Maasdam, but know lots of people who love her. Our TA's favorite ship...and he's been on many.

 

As far as the room freshener, I always bring that with me anyway...I use the Yankee Candle plug in ones at home, and brought one with me last cruise. This cruise I'm bringing one of theirs that doesn't need to be plugged in.

[AWED23]

AWED 23:

 

It appears that you either dislike Maasdam or HAL.

 

I am considering sailing on the Maasdam later this year. What don't you like about her?

 

Thanks for your opinion. Deb C.

:) I can see as I reread my comment how you might think I dislike HAL or at least Maasdam....Nothing could be further from the truth. My first cruise with HAL was aboard Maasdam and my thirtieth will be an upcoming 73 day voyage on Prinsendam...What I wished to express was that a cruising specialist would have answered the OPs questions and put her at ease and

certainly

would not book a client on any ship that was in the condition described.

I hope I cleared up my oops.....:) :)

[AWED23]

AWED 23:

 

It appears that you either dislike Maasdam or HAL.

 

I am considering sailing on the Maasdam later this year. What don't you like about her?

 

Thanks for your opinion. Deb C.

:) I can see as I reread my comment how you might think I dislike HAL or at least Maasdam....Nothing could be further from the truth. My first cruise with HAL was aboard Maasdam and my thirtieth will be an upcoming 73 day voyage on Prinsendam...What I wished to express was that a cruising specialist would have answered the OPs questions and put her at ease and

certainly

would not book a client on any ship that was in the condition described.

I hope I cleared up my oops.....:) :)

[AWED23]

:)

AWED 23:

 

It appears that you either dislike Maasdam or HAL.

 

I am considering sailing on the Maasdam later this year. What don't you like about her?

 

Thanks for your opinion. Deb C.

:) My first HAL cruise was on Maasdam and my 30th will be aboard Prinsendam March 11. We love HAL but what I really meant to convey was that a TA who specialised in cruising would never book a client on any vessel in the condition described by the OP....MY big oops for the day.... :cool:

[George W. Bush]

I was on deck 4 of the Noordam about a week ago and the room smelled like a sewer (as did many other areas of the ship) and the "extra" blanket had some brown stains on it . . .

 

I've heard that the air quality is better on the higher decks. Also if you have a balcony (I didn't) you can get some fresh air in the cabin.

[VAPERSON]

We were on the Maasdam last December and encountered no problems. We had an OV cabin on the Main Deck. No problems with odor or room temperature. There was an extra blanket available but we didn't need it. Sometimes the toilet had to be flushed more than once, but that was a very minor inconvenience. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the Maasdam.:)

[CruiserBradFromKY]

This will be our first time on any HAL ship. We will be celebrating my 60th BD. After crusing with Delta Queen (1) RCCL (1), Celebrity (2), NCL (3 - before freestyle) and Carnival (4) since our retirement 8 years ago, we agreed with our TA that HAL could be a good fit for us. We tend to enjoy a slower pace now and restrict our night life to the shows and quite bars or lounges. All of our friends are 60+ So.............. HAL, here we come!

We never expect a perfect cruise and have been delighted with them all. However, problems such as I have mentioned could surely put a cloud over anyone's holiday. It's good to hear from those of you that have cruised with HAL on the Maasdam and other ships in the fleet. Perhaps the threads we have read featured some folks that tend to over react.

[Professional Cruiser]

As far as the room freshener, I always bring that with me anyway...I use the Yankee Candle plug in ones at home, and brought one with me last cruise. This cruise I'm bringing one of theirs that doesn't need to be plugged in.

 

 

Please don't bring the Yankee Candle plug in.

 

The crew is not aloud to use any plug-in air fresheners for a very good reason they can overheat and start a fire. An air freshner that doesn’t need to be plugged in is a good option. However your cabin should not need an air freshner.

 

Greetings,

Professional Cruiser

[Deb C.]

AWED23:

Thanks for clearing up the misunderstanding. :confused:

I enjoyed my 2 cruises on the Veendam and know that Maasdam is a sister ship. Would like to sail it later this year.:D Deb C.

[jhannah]

As far as the room freshener, I always bring that with me anyway...I use the Yankee Candle plug in ones at home, and brought one with me last cruise. This cruise I'm bringing one of theirs that doesn't need to be plugged in.

Have you tried their car air fresheners? The Ocean Breeze scent is wonderful and is a long-lasting gel.

[JolieMadam]

Whenever I travel anywhere, I take the Ozium deoderizer product. Go to any auto parts store and you will find it with the air fresheners. (Also, it may be available in the Auto Section in the supermarkets)...it's the product that is used by the room stewards to get the smoke odor out of a stateroom.

 

One quick spray and you will get rid of unpleasant odors in cabin or bathroom. It should be noted that the toilets cause a lot of these sewer smells because passengers use them like garbage disposals and then problems occur. Don't use anything in these vacuum powered toilets except the toilet tissue that is provided.

[advocado]

I'm on the Maasdam now. Boarded her last Friday. Everything is working perfectly. No strange odors, nothing is not as it should be. AOK.

[CruiserBradFromKY]

Thinks Avacado.

 

It's good to hear from someone on the Maasdam. Glad that everything is "shipshape". Have a great cruise!

[innlady1]

Have you tried their car air fresheners? The Ocean Breeze scent is wonderful and is a long-lasting gel.

 

double post

[innlady1]

Have you tried their car air fresheners? The Ocean Breeze scent is wonderful and is a long-lasting gel.

 

Jim,

That's exactly what I bought to bring along for our upcoming Noordam cruise! Great minds think alike! The plus is that it doesn't use one of the limited outlets. :D

[Juanita462]

Our fire chief said that if they can find no cause for a house fire they

put it down to a plug in night light or air freshener - both of which

cause a lot of fires.

I would hate to think that there were lots of those things aboard a

ship endangering us all.

[sail7seas]

Whoa.... that's plain frightening. Cruisers...... please leave your plug ins unplugged! How is this not more widely known? Should be big announcements about that IMO

 

[sail7seas]

Whoa.... that's plain frightening. Cruisers...... please leave your plug ins unplugged! How is this not more widely known? Should be big announcements about that IMO

 

[innlady1]

Our fire chief said that if they can find no cause for a house fire they

put it down to a plug in night light or air freshener - both of which

cause a lot of fires.

I would hate to think that there were lots of those things aboard a

ship endangering us all.

 

Just so you know, the one Jim is recommending from Yankee Candle, and the ones I'm bringing on our cruise, are not plug-in's...they're the gel type ones you hang in a car or elsewhere!