Short review of my Maasdam cruise 10/24-11/7

[airlink diva]

Good afternoon!!

I posted a rather long review on the the review section of the site and expect it to post within the next few days.

It was a good cruise, but my 10 day cruise last year was alot better in several areas.

THE GOOD-

First of all I was away from work and on the sea, that alone is great!!

It only took me about 15 to 20 minutes from stepping out of the hotel van to get on board.

The themal spa in the late afternoon was like my private spa, I had the place to myself every day except for one!! I only went after 4:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and it was my time.

My tablemates at dinner was a wonderful group!! I miss you Bea,Ronald,Maurren,John,Ellen!! I have to cook my own meals now :mad:

Guadelope was so wonderful (but not on HAL part),HMC, St. Kitts,St Maartren, San Juan and Dominica were also great.

Jaya my cabin steward and Jan in the Crow's nest

Afternoon tea is now a hour instead of 30 minutes

Cabin 554 (if anyone is staying in that room,check the Bible, there's a coffee card in there)

My fellow cruisecritic cruisers!! I really enjoyed meeting everyone and it was nice to know people on board ahead of time.

In Focus Photo tour in Barbados. This ship tour was really good!! Mr Harrington gives good insight into photo taking and you also get a island tour with it!

Having dinner with Danny Djasmin,the purser two nights and Patrica the party planner one night. Both were good tablemates and the free wine also was a plus

Being invited to a VIP cocktail hour.

$100 deposit

Seeing Marti again on the Maasdam (she always on a "dam" ship!!)

The burgers at the Lido pool!! I'm craving one right now!

The steak in Pinnacle Grill

The ulta strawberry lemonade :D:D I leave it at that!!

The OK

The food. There were some days that it was excellent and others it was ok. But on the bright side, I didn't have to cook,wash dishes to plan what to eat.

The shows. I only went to one because the singers and dancers were ok. I know people that preform in Las Vegas and New York and they are not on par with such. But I know others that loved the shows

THE BAD

The reduce number of items on board. I pulled my 10 day daily planner and there were alot more offered. Or they would offer two good items at the same time

Only restocking the soap,lotion,etc only two and half times. On my 10 day cruise these items were restocked four times. This time, I had them the first day, they were restocked four days later and three days after that only half of the items. The last four days the little blue holder was under the sink.

Fellow cruisers-There were times when I encountered some of the most rudest people that I ever met on any of my cruises. This was the case on some of the my tours. Commenting on do the tour guide have indoor toliets, why that person look poor or smelly,made because you can't get a vendor to give you a $5 for a $1 and calling them stupid (and these are some of the nice ones) made me ashame to even be around such people

Discouraging people from visiting port/poor planning-More than once I was told by staff on the ship that there's nothing to do on Guadeloupe, don't waste your time. This is something you don't want your employees to say. You need to have people in certain positions to be able to suggest a beach,a local park, eatery to stop by.

I also think that HAL need to work with the local tourist board in Guadeloupe. Every other Sunday you have over 1,000 people coming into port. There's a small tourist board booth with pamplets, but only in French. The majority of the people on the ship speak and read English. Also no ATM in the port area where people could get Euros.

In San Juan and Barbados, both of these ports you are there late into the night, no evening ship tours offered. I wasn't the only one who wanted to do an evening tour that prehaps offered a dinner or show. In fact, the two evening tours in San Juan was cancel

Expand the Lido lunch until 2:30 pm.

I was lucky and had a cabin with good temp control, but there were quite a few people on the ship that had major issues with temp control in their cabins. I know on the final day that some people were getting adjustments to their statements because of this.

There were several tables in my area that never had anyone or half full. I had fixed dining at 8 p.m. With the exception of one night, I ate in the dining room. While we did pick up some people in Barbados, there were some tables,including ours, that had seating.

Children in the Crow's Nest after 10 p.m. The first Saturday night there was Karaoke in the Crow's nest. There was a family with four children in the Crow's nest that had no business in there that time of night. Yes, their parents were there, but one of the sons was rolling across the dance floor (he had on the tennis shoes with the skate wheels) and two of the children did the Karaoke. Until the children preform, it was quite nice,esp with the couple on their honeymoon. But then one of the children preform a song about sticking it. I was sitting near tuggers and left when this occurred. Last year on the Maasdam, I was in the Piano bar and some teens were told that they couldn't be in there after 10 p.m. Someone should had told the children that time of night it's adults only.

Overall I really enjoyed my cruise and met some great people!! Just look for my review when it post.

Happy sailing!!

[Cqis]

Hi Tamara,

 

Ditto for me. The children was everywhere with their parents after 10:00.

 

I also met some rude people, but almost all were realy terrific. I must have had conversation with 1000 people.

 

I think we all agree that there was a lot to be desired in Guadeloupe.

 

I hope that we meet again.

 

Cely

[kryos]

There was a family with four children in the Crow's nest that had no business in there that time of night. Yes, their parents were there, but one of the sons was rolling across the dance floor (he had on the tennis shoes with the skate wheels) and two of the children did the Karaoke. Until the children preform, it was quite nice,esp with the couple on their honeymoon. But then one of the children preform a song about sticking it. I was sitting near tuggers and left when this occurred. Last year on the Maasdam, I was in the Piano bar and some teens were told that they couldn't be in there after 10 p.m. Someone should had told the children that time of night it's adults only.

Seems HAL is very reluctant to restrict children from ANY venue at any time these days. We had a situation with a toddler on our 35-day Hawaii/South Pacific cruise on the Statendam. While it wasn't late at night, the parents were bringing the child into the Ocean Bar during cocktail hour which I personally think was highly inappropriate. It wouldn't have been that bad, however, if they had watched her closely, but they didn't. She was running around on the dance floor while people were dancing, creating a major tripping hazard, while mommy and/or daddy were enjoying their drinks and chatting with other passengers. One day she eyed a woman's power chair that was parked at the bar while its owner was sitting at the bar enjoying her own drink and conversation. The child spent a good five minutes struggling to climb into the parked power chair. Mom and dad were seated not ten feet away laughing and talking with another couple while the kid was doing this. The power chair's owner had her back turned and didn't notice her either (which it wasn't her responsibility to do). Finally the kid gets into the chair and is happily esconsed in there before the chair's owner noticed her. Mom only came over about five minutes after that to remove her.

 

Dad had this kid in the casino as well, from what I understand.

 

No HAL person, to my knowledge, ever said a word to the parents about places onboard that it is inappropriate to bring children.

 

If you're gonna bring kids on a cruise, then I think it is up to the parents to closely supervise them and to only bring them into venues that are appropriate. It should not be up to other passengers to watch your kids because they may be doing something unsafe, such as running around on the dance floor while others are dancing, or bothering people in the casino while they are playing the slots.

 

I only wonder what HAL's reaction would be if an adult decided they wanted to enjoy the Oasis on a nice warm sea day ... on a cruise where there were a lot of teens using it. I tend to think that adult would quickly be told that the Oasis was a teens-only hangout and he couldn't be up there. Why, then, is HAL so reluctant to tell parents that perhaps their child doesn't belong in the Crow's Nest at 10:00 pm at night or in the casino at any time?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Hi Tamara,

 

Ditto for me. The children was everywhere with their parents after 10:00.

I don't like kids in certain venues, either ... but I guess I have to say that if they are with their parents, and are well-behaved, then I guess there's really nothing wrong with them being there ... SO LONG AS THEY ARE PROPERLY SUPERVISED. And, therein, lies the rub. Often they are not. The parents are intent on their own good times and often let the kids run wild. And God forbid if another passenger says anything to them. Only then will the parents "wake up" and get proactive, often tearing into the poor passenger who "corrected" their little darling. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita