Air conditioner issues on Maasdam

[leoandhugh]

:(It has taken much too long for HAL to fix this constantly recurring problem on Maasdam; the problem does not exist on her sister ships so design has nothing to do with it. But much as I like HAL and cruise on a lot of their ships, I am not willing to take a chance on Maasdam even on her annual round trip from Boston via Iceland and Greenland. If it is fixable, it should have been fixed long before now given the ongoing complaints about her A/C:(

[AirGorilla]

Seems like every couple weeks or so there is a new thread about malfunctioning air conditioning on THIS PARTICULAR SHIP. It is OBVIOUS that HAL just doesn't give a hoot. They keep renting out the problem staterooms, week after week. The guests who are unfortunate to be assigned to these rooms, suffer the consequences.

 

They need to either take this ship out of service and fix the problem, or get rid of it!!

 

This is not a knock on the entire HAL fleet, just this one malfunctioning ship.

 

AG

[skypilot9]

We were on the Rotterdam in November and the aft section of that beautiful ship had air conditioning trouble. We sailed from Florida to South America, through the Canal and docked in San Diego. Seventeen days with no air conditioning, and humidity. We were sweating and complaining and very grouchy. It is not just the Maasdam. The head air conditioning Tech said, "air conditioning cannot be fixed, this is it!" The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship but without cool air, I cannot function. I am extremely reluctant to sail with HAL again.

[DizzyDallasDi]

We were on the Rotterdam in November and the aft section of that beautiful ship had air conditioning trouble. We sailed from Florida to South America, through the Canal and docked in San Diego. Seventeen days with no air conditioning, and humidity. We were sweating and complaining and very grouchy. It is not just the Maasdam. The head air conditioning Tech said, "air conditioning cannot be fixed, this is it!" The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship but without cool air, I cannot function. I am extremely reluctant to sail with HAL again.

 

What a nightmare! I require good a/c to sleep and my "requirement" would probably freeze others. Instead of turning away from HAL's fleet in its entirety, I suggest you try the Eurodam. I could regulate my a/c from arctic to pleasantly comfortable. The thermostat in my cabin reacted very well. I was in aft cabin 5192 and it was a fabulous trip...a/c was great and all other aspects of the cruise were top notch.

 

Quite frankly, a nonfunctioning a/c would be a deal breaker for me so I feel your pain. If you liked HAL overall, but the a/c issues turned you away...try the Eurodam. She's new and in tip top condition.

 

Diane

[Luv4dacruise]

Wow, i honestly cannot believe there are peple defending HAL and the Maasdam on this thread. Some have even said "things break"...Are you serious?.....This issue has been ongoing for a LLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG time. It needs to be fixed plain and simple, people should not have to suffer through there vacations like this. They should immediately not be booking people in the known problem cabins, just like NCL did with the Sky. Ya know what, NCL fixed those A/C issues too, HAL has absolutely no excuse for letting this go on for this long. Those who continue to defend HAL and the Maasdam, i gotta ask, do you work for HAL?.....

[FunForUs]

Those who continue to defend HAL and the Maasdam, i gotta ask, do you work for HAL?.....

 

I had the same thought. I just canceled my upcoming (June) cruise on the Maasdam. I am so grateful to the members on CC for posting about this problem.

[sail7seas]

Wow, i honestly cannot believe there are peple defending HAL and the Maasdam on this thread. Some have even said "things break"...Are you serious?.....This issue has been ongoing for a LLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG time. It needs to be fixed plain and simple, people should not have to suffer through there vacations like this. They should immediately not be booking people in the known problem cabins, just like NCL did with the Sky. Ya know what, NCL fixed those A/C issues too, HAL has absolutely no excuse for letting this go on for this long. Those who continue to defend HAL and the Maasdam, i gotta ask, do you work for HAL?.....

 

 

We have sailed Maasdam about 18+ times and have three future cruises already booked on her. Would we continue to sail a ship to the Caribbean where we didn't have a/c? No!

 

Neither of us have ever worked for HAL.

 

Our last cruise on Maasdam, we were in the same cabin we have occupied about 12+ times. Once in a while, the cabin seemed warm on previous cruises. We reported it and it was fixed within a few shorts hours at most.

 

This latest cruise, the a/c was fine day 1, 2, 3, and maybe on day 4, late afternoon it felt warm. I reported it, we dressed for dinner and went out for the evening. When we returned, the a/c was working fine and did for the remainder of our 14 days aboard.

 

Does this sound like a reason to stop sailing a ship we love so much with a crew we enjoy and respect as much as we do?

 

So, yes....... things break and they get fixed.

 

I had to have a plumber in my house last week. My garbage disposal broke. Imagine that. :eek: The plumber came and he fixed it. :D

 

I was happy, the plumber was happy and that definitely made DH happy. :) So happy, in fact, he suggested we might like to make another booking on Maasdam. That surely made ME happy. ;)

[FunForUs]

 

 

Our last cruise on Maasdam, we were in the same cabin we have occupied about 12+ times. Once in a while, the cabin seemed warm on previous cruises. We reported it and it was fixed within a few shorts hours at most.

 

 

 

;)

 

I am happy for you that your cruise was not negatively impacted by the air conditioning problem.

 

But the fact remains that many other posters have reported cabins where the air conditioning did not get fixed at all or in a timely manner. That is the issue here.

[pipedreams62]

People keep cancelling on the Maasdam. Perhaps I'll get upgraded and have the ship to myself this summer.:)

[HALFans]

I'm a, um, "well insulated" guy and like my staterooms on the cooler side.

 

IF I had a problem with the AC, I'd let the front desk know and let them take care of it. If it wasn't fixed soon, as I'm 95% sure it would be, I'd let the Hotel Manager know.

 

If it wasn't fixed after that there's simply nothing that could be done for it on the 'high seas'. I'm sure they'd try to make it right somehow in the end.

 

I'd sail on the Maasdam again in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

 

No, I don't work for HAL and never have either.

[fann1sh]

I'm a, um, "well insulated" guy and like my staterooms on the cooler side.

 

IF I had a problem with the AC, I'd let the front desk know and let them take care of it. If it wasn't fixed soon, as I'm 95% sure it would be, I'd let the Hotel Manager know.

 

If it wasn't fixed after that there's simply nothing that could be done for it on the 'high seas'. I'm sure they'd try to make it right somehow in the end.

 

I'd sail on the Maasdam again in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

 

No, I don't work for HAL and never have either.

 

For those of us where working, cold a/c is a medical matter, there is no way to 'make it right' if we can't get another cabin. I'd have to leave the ship. I doubt very much this would be something insurance would cover (unless I waited until my health and life was so endangered I needed medical evacuation :rolleyes:).

 

So, I reluctantly no longer book the "S" class ships, despite adoring them. It seems a/c is a common area of mechanical vulnerability on the older ships. I'm hoping after the Veendam refit there will be reports of upgrades to this system, so I can confidently book Bermuda.

 

For the vast majority, a/c is a minor issue. Maybe this thread has shown such "legs" because for some of us, "no a/c aboard " would be worse than "no food aboard".

[airlink diva]

I've sailed on the Maasdam two times, in 2007 and 2008. Each time I had a cabin when the air conditioner wasn't an issue.

On my 2007 cruise, I didn't really hear any issues on this, but on my past cruise I did. There were other cruisers that had issues with their cabins being too hot. I know that the ship was sailing in the Southern Caribbean, but still each paying cruiser has the right to have a decent cabin. That's something that they expect and paid for when booking. I know for a fact that on the last day on the ship, there were people at the front desk getting adjustments because of the air conditioner issues.

The Maasdam is schedule for dry dock in 2010 and this is one of the first issues that HAL need to address.

The Maasdam is a wonderful ship and I fell in love with the "S" class because of her. This is an issue that needs to be address to keep people returning. It shouldn't be luck of the draw on cabins.

[sail7seas]

For those of us where working, cold a/c is a medical matter, there is no way to 'make it right' if we can't get another cabin. I'd have to leave the ship. I doubt very much this would be something insurance would cover (unless I waited until my health and life was so endangered I needed medical evacuation :rolleyes:).

 

So, I reluctantly no longer book the "S" class ships, despite adoring them. It seems a/c is a common area of mechanical vulnerability on the older ships. I'm hoping after the Veendam refit there will be reports of upgrades to this system, so I can confidently book Bermuda.

 

For the vast majority, a/c is a minor issue. Maybe this thread has shown such "legs" because for some of us, "no a/c aboard " would be worse than "no food aboard".

 

 

If you happen to be addressing me:

 

 

No.... it is not a minor issue for me. I've had two open heart surgeries within four years. My last was less than a year ago. A/C is NOT a luxury for me either. I require a/c just as much as most everyone /anyone else here. I can't breathe if it is too hot and humid.

[Two@Sea]

...I was happy, the plumber was happy and that definitely made DH happy. :) So happy, in fact, he suggested we might like to make another booking on Maasdam. That surely made ME happy. ;)

 

Oh, goodie for me! My disposer broke last month, and I fixed it myself! That made everybody, except the plumber, happy! I almost can't wait for DH to get home so I can tell him we need to book a cruise! :D

 

(Not teasing you, Sail, just having some fun. ;) DH says he married me because I am 'handy' and save him money on chores he cannot do. He is the type that has to buy a new lamp if the bulb burns out!)

[sail7seas]

Actually, I admire that a lot and congratulate you. I am not exactly 'helpless' myself though less hands on with that sort of work than I used to be. The luxury of reaching a new decade and declaring myself no longer interested in doing the home maintenance :D to the degree I used to. I'm not sure I ever would have replaced the disposer though......maybe I might have tried.

 

Keep up the good work! ;)

[fann1sh]

 

If you happen to be addressing me:

 

 

No.... it is not a minor issue for me. I've had two open heart surgeries within four years. My last was less than a year ago. A/C is NOT a luxury for me either. I require a/c just as much as most everyone /anyone else here. I can't breathe if it is too hot and humid.

 

 

I wasn't addressing anyone! :o Sorry if it seemed that way. Just wanted to explain my unusual interest in this thread, to warrant posting twice.