Just off the Maasdam

We just returned from our cruise on the Maasdam from Montreal to Boston. Here's my review.

Embarkation: Easy as could be. No waiting. We zipped right on through. As we boarded they were announcing that there was an issue with the key cards to get into the rooms, but room stewards could let us in. It took until early evening to fix the glitch. They had to recode every room. Some people were upset but it seemed that everyone took it well. It didn't really have much of an impact as our room steward was nearby and let us in and out several times. Captain offered everyone a glass of sparkling wine the following evening. MDR was open for lunch upon embarkation. When I asked, I was told it was open, but they were supposed to encourage us to go to the Lido. (The Lido was dh's choice for lunch anyway, so not a big deal.)

Ship: The Maasdam is clearly a older ship. That said, she is very well maintained. A few areas would benefit from some sprucing up and one of the showers in the spa needs some tile work but, overall, no complaints.

Itinerary: Absolutely awesome! When I read that many people have done this itinerary multiple times, I thought, “why?”. I mean, there are so many places to travel to. Well, I'd do this itinerary again in a heartbeat. So much to see at each of the ports that I feel like we barely scratched the surface of things we could have seen.

Demographics: A lot more families with children than we expected (and way more than on the Amsterdam Alaska cruise we took last summer). Definitely a younger crowd overall. Except for one incident of three youngsters running through the MDR, seemingly unchaperoned, on the second gala night, all of the kids we saw were very pleasant and well behaved. (The incident was short lived and, frankly, we found it rather amusing...not everyone around us shared our opinion!)

Food: I know … very subjective. We found the food to be excellent. A few items were not fantastic but, overall, a nice selection and good quality and presentation. We ate in the MDR for one breakfast and had room service for another breakfast; otherwise, we had breakfast in the lido. I liked that they had a choice of breakfast sandwiches so that you could have a really quick breakfast if you liked. For lunch we either ate in the lido or had dive-in burgers. One day we went to the Mariner's lunch and one day we skipped lunch and went to tea instead. I liked the tea a lot, but it was the only meal where we felt rushed. Dh wasn't thrilled with the tea, but it's just not his thing. For dinner, we ate in the MDR most nights and had dinner in the Pinnacle one night.

On board: Entertainment was good. It certainly wasn't Broadway quality, but that was fine with us. Our routine was to have a late-ish dinner, stroll around the deck, and then go to the 10pm show. Never any trouble getting a set (late show was pretty sparsely attended). The comedian (Beghnt Washburn) was low-key, but quite entertaining. He joined our table for dinner one night and he is quite an interesting person. The magician (Alexander Great) was good as well (not great, but entertaining). The shows by the Maasdam singers and dancers were adequate. Not fantastic (we thought the singers and dancers on the Alaska cruise we took last year on the Amsterdam were far better), but they were entertaining enough and a pleasant way to end the evening. Dh watched a few of the movies aboard and enjoyed them. He also checked out a couple of the windows workshops and picked up a few hints. I went to two of the ATK demos. I enjoyed both of the demos. I bought a thermal suite pass. I loved the ceramic lounge chairs. The thermal suite was more crowded than what I experienced on the Amsterdam last year. Maybe because of the times I chose to go, but I still enjoyed it.

Staff: Mostly amazing. Room steward was excellent, although he did give me a little bit of a hard time (jokingly) when I inadvertently left the 'do not disturb' sign up while we went out on an excursion. We were fine with having the room tidied just once that day. We had to go to the front desk on a couple of occasions, including the first day. Everyone we dealt with there was helpful, although they were pretty harried the first day! MDR/Lido staff … all great!

People we met: On our first HAL cruise last year, we met many interesting people and had such great conversations. Same on this cruise. So many interesting and fascinating people. It made our dinner times and excursions so much more enjoyable. I guess being on vacation puts everyone in a good mood, but we were very happy to find such friendly, interesting people on board.

Future cruises: Sure glad that I asked about future cruise credits, etc., before we left. The future cruise folks were hard-working and very helpful. We signed up for a 12 day Baltic cruise next summer!

Thanks for your report and your reaction to the NE cruise itinerary - agree, it is one to do over and over again. The Baltic cruise is another good choice.

i really enjoyed your review as I am one that has sailed Maasdam e more than 30+ cruises and has done your itinerary b-to-b, many times. Thank you for sfring that you enjoyed the ports AND the ship. Would you mind s sharin g the name of Hotel Director?

Thanks.

Was it extremely hot and humid weather ?

We've had stiffling weather until today, in Boston. Today is tropical rain

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i really enjoyed your review as I am one that has sailed Maasdam e more than 30+ cruises and has done your itinerary b-to-b, many times. Thank you for sfring that you enjoyed the ports AND the ship. Would you mind s sharin g the name of Hotel Director?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

Was it extremely hot and humid weather ?

 

 

 

 

 

We've had stiffling weather until today, in Boston. Today is tropical rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been thinking I might try to grab a Neptune and sail Maasdam before the end of the Canada/ NE season, if there is any avail ability.

.

Your nice review is nudging me t t ry.

Thanks for your review!

Thanks for your review.

Thank you for your review! We did a 30 day South American cruise on her this past February and fell in love with her also. She might be old but she was wonderful!

We’d do another cruise on her indeed.

Denise 😊

Thank you for the review. Yes, we have done that exact itinerary twice and could do it again. The ports are easily all places I could spend a weeks vacation each at as there is so much to do. Glad you had such a lovely cruise. :)

And glad to read our beautiful Maasdam is doing well. :D

Thank you for your review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and have booked another one.

Thank you for reviewing your Maasdam cruise.

Who was the Captain, and Hotel Director?

The Captain was Ryan Whitaker. Hotel Director was Florin Dragomir. Cruise Director was Ryan Baird.

Also ... we got a lovely "voyage log" at the end of the cruise.

The Captain was Ryan Whitaker. Hotel Director was Florin Dragomir. Cruise Director was Ryan Baird.

 

 

Also ... we got a lovely "voyage log" at the end of the cruise.

Thank you for your reply.

Nice review,

Thank you

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Thanks for telling us who was Captain and H D. I had hopes to read d'ifferent names I don't think I know either of them. you named. :)

Weill be on the Maasdam this coming Saturday, Montreal to Fort Lauderdale. Thanks for the review!

Thanks for your review.

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