Is Maasdam's boat deck ruined with the lanai cabins???

[When and How]

With the lanai cabins reserving so many deck chairs on the boat deck, are there still enough deck chairs for those who want to enjoy them?

[sail7seas]

Maasdam's Promenade Deck is still wonderful. I made it a point on our Maasdam cruises since the Lanais were added to see how many chairs there were and it seemed to me there were lots of chairs. Only two are for each Lanai and all the rest are for use by anyone who wants to sit.

 

I don't think the adding the Lanai cabins 'ruined' the deck at all.

 

[mamaofami]

I was always able to find a chair out there. Plenty of them available , almost all were taken, but there was always an empty one.

[patrick65]

There are two chairs reserved for each Lanai cabin, these chairs are outside the doors of each Lanai cabin. They are marked as reserved and if you sit in them you are exposing yourself to embarrassment should the occupants come out and demand their chairs. To avoid this you should go to the aft of the ship and sit down and stare at a steel wall. These chairs in the aft are the only ones available for people not in Lanai cabins.

 

For this reason I will not book a cruise on a ship which has Lanai cabins.

 

There are other lounge chairs available for use by non Lanai passengers. They are found around the pool area on the Lido deck and on the sports deck forward. These chairs however are in the sun.

[SwissMyst]

With the lanai cabins reserving so many deck chairs on the boat deck, are there still enough deck chairs for those who want to enjoy them?

 

No, it is not ruined at all. There were plenty of deck chairs besides just the two reserved for each of the lanai cabins which also have different color padding so you know they are different. Check out the deck plan for the Maasdam Lower Promenade deck and you will see only 14-15 lanai cabins on each side in the center -- all the rest of the deck are open seating areas. We were on her for 21 days TA end of last year.

[Sir PMP]

With the lanai cabins reserving so many deck chairs on the boat deck, are there still enough deck chairs for those who want to enjoy them?

 

No, the only ones left are the ones looking at steel, you are being discrimated, because it is NOT their balcony!!

[Sir PMP]

No, the only ones left are the ones looking at steel, you are being discrimated, because it is NOT their balcony!!

 

 

discriminated

[patrick65]

It would be my suggestion that you look at a deck plan. Those with a CA are the Lanai Cabins. You will see cabins marked with a C these cabins generally are located between a lanai cabin and an exit door.

 

I cannot speak for the Maasdam for I haven't been on that ship since they added the Lanai cabins but on the Veendam which is an "S" class ship just like the Maasdam, they do not place lounge chairs in front of the C cabins because they would be to near the door.

 

Now eliminate all cabins which are marked"CA" or "C" and eliminate all cabins which have an X indicating an obstructed view and what do you have left.

 

You have just a hand full of cabins in which to place lounge chairs in front of. These chairs then become the chairs available to the other one thousand passengers who do not have Lanai cabins.

 

This is just a part of the story. There are many of the Lanai passengers who seem to think that the deck space between their Lanai cabin and the rail is somehow their private veranda and you are walking their territory.

[mamaofami]

 

There are other lounge chairs available for use by non Lanai passengers. They are found around the pool area on the Lido deck and on the sports deck forward. These chairs however are in the sun.

This is just not true. I just came off the Maasdam and did not have a Lanai cabin. If you look at the deck plan, there are no Lanai cabins forward of the Atrium where there are lots of chaises. Also, to the aft of the last Lanai cabins, there are also lots of chaises. I'm not talking about the very aft either. And, there's nothing blocking your view which is the same view as the one from the Lanais.

[sail7seas]

There are two chairs reserved for each Lanai cabin, these chairs are outside the doors of each Lanai cabin. They are marked as reserved and if you sit in them you are exposing yourself to embarrassment should the occupants come out and demand their chairs. To avoid this you should go to the aft of the ship and sit down and stare at a steel wall. These chairs in the aft are the only ones available for people not in Lanai cabins.

 

For this reason I will not book a cruise on a ship which has Lanai cabins.

 

There are other lounge chairs available for use by non Lanai passengers. They are found around the pool area on the Lido deck and on the sports deck forward. These chairs however are in the sun.

 

 

 

This is just not true. I just came off the Maasdam and did not have a Lanai cabin. If you look at the deck plan, there are no Lanai cabins forward of the Atrium where there are lots of chaises. Also, to the aft of the last Lanai cabins, there are also lots of chaises. I'm not talking about the very aft either. And, there's nothing blocking your view which is the same view as the one from the Lanais.

 

 

Carol

 

 

 

I agree with Carol. There are chairs along the port and starboard side for anyone to use that are not reserved for Lanai guests. It has not been my experience to see no other chairs.

 

What is to stop you from moving an empty chair from the stern to a side view if you wish? Ask a crew person to do it for you. There are usually some sailors working out there or stewards.... or move it yourself if you are able.

 

 

[FLACRUISER99]

I don't think that anyone can disagree that there are now less deck chairs available then before the lanai cabins were added!

[RuthC]

With the lanai cabins reserving so many deck chairs on the boat deck, are there still enough deck chairs for those who want to enjoy them?

That would very much seem to depend on how many people actually want to enjoy them at any given time.

Walking around until you find an open chair isn't a good option for some.

Clearly, there are fewer chairs in prime sitting areas than there were before. Will too many people be wanting those chairs when the ship is heading south from the Falklands? Probably not.

Will there be many, many people heading for those chairs on a trans-At? In my experience, yes. On my pre-lanai Rotterdam crossing, every chair was taken consistently.

[SwissMyst]

I don't think that anyone can disagree that there are now less deck chairs available then before the lanai cabins were added!

 

No, because those now occupying the lanai cabins would have reasonably been taking some of the available promenade deck chairs anyway. So the same number of deck chairs exists - some dedicated to passengers who may well have used them anyway and the rest of them for open seating.

 

Same number of chairs, same number of passengers who want them. One can assume those choosing lanai cabins would have been out there claiming deck chairs anyway, and are now just paying a premium to have two of them reserved for their exclusive use.

 

Just like suite passengers pay extra to have the Neptune Lounge for their exclusive use. Or the Hydro-pool passengers or the Chef's speciality dinners or the Pinnacle Grill diners. It happens - people pay more and get extra perks.

 

And the rest of us pay less and get virtually all of the same benefits: open deck chairs, free snacks and hors d'oeuvres, daily dining, comfy cabins, same ports and same level of personal service. We do not get free laundry however that comes with suites and 4 star Mariner status. You have to decide what you want to live with and what you want to resent.

[GatorV]

No, the only ones left are the ones looking at steel, you are being discrimated, because it is NOT their balcony!![/quote]

 

Just off Dec 11 day Maasdam, this statement is NOT TRUE...you complained so much before we went that I took particular notice...we have always booked an inside on LP was upgraded to a Lanai this trip.. It was wonderufl

Plenty of chairs and plenty not looking at steel. AND NO ONE that is saw at anytime acted like the deck space in front of their chairs was off limits...not once.

[patrick65]

Apparently the Lanai cabins have not worked out as well for Holland America as first intended. If you look at the deck plans of the Veendam vs the Massdam one would notice that their were fewer lanai's added to the Maasdam than are found on the Veendam.

 

This problem is Holland America's not mine as I will not cruise on a ship which has Lanai cabins. As an option there are the Vista ships and I will take that option.

 

Holland America has as clients many elderly people and many of these people like to sit on the promenade deck in the shade. In this majority are all of the people from the veranda's, the suites and the inside cabins. They are the ones who lost with the addition of the Lanai cabins.

 

The Lanai cabins took away the majority of chairs which were once enjoyed by many and gave them to a few.

[Harris Jeffer]

There are two chairs reserved for each Lanai cabin, these chairs are outside the doors of each Lanai cabin. They are marked as reserved and if you sit in them you are exposing yourself to embarrassment should the occupants come out and demand their chairs. To avoid this you should go to the aft of the ship and sit down and stare at a steel wall. These chairs in the aft are the only ones available for people not in Lanai cabins.

 

For this reason I will not book a cruise on a ship which has Lanai cabins.

 

There are other lounge chairs available for use by non Lanai passengers. They are found around the pool area on the Lido deck and on the sports deck forward. These chairs however are in the sun.

 

This poster is absolutely wrong! He mut be in some alternate Maasdam universe! There are only a handfull of lanai cabins and there are lots of non Lanai chairs just a few feet away! You can sit in any of the other chairs which are certainly not staring at a steel wall! Having been on this ship 4 times in the last year I have no idea what this person is talking about!

[hypercafe]

Yes, the deck is now ruined, HAL chose to do this to get more money at the expense of pas. It's the same as adding more cabins. There is less public space.

[SwissMyst]

.......

 

The Lanai cabins took away the majority of chairs which were once enjoyed by many and gave them to a few.

 

Your response does not square with reality. LP cabin passengers would have taken an equal number of deck chairs anyway, whether they were reserved specially for them in the lanai cabins or not. Which is why they chose to pay premium to ensure they got the deck chair they wanted to use in the first place.

 

Hope someone can do an actual chair count but my own Maasdam observations would not support your claim the "majority" of LP deck chairs were given to the "few". Some were put into lanai use, but it appeared to me the vast majority of them were open seating.... with views.

[Harris Jeffer]

Yes, the deck is now ruined, HAL chose to do this to get more money at the expense of pas. It's the same as adding more cabins. There is less public space.

 

Ruined! I think not! Have you actually sailed on the Maasdam since her refit? I see no less chairs on the promenade deck. Ruined is pretty strong wording for one of the most beloved ships in the fleet!

[hypercafe]

Yes, for me it is ruined. For me a upscale line has ships with plenty of open, uncrowed space for all to enjoy. When they start to rent this space out for cabanas, reserved deck chairs, and turn beautiful pools into cabins well they lost it. I find it hard to believe that HAL should be so hard up for money, from what I read here people should be willing to pay any price to go.

[kelmac]

Yes, for me it is ruined. For me a upscale line has ships with plenty of open, uncrowed space for all to enjoy. When they start to rent this space out for cabanas, reserved deck chairs, and turn beautiful pools into cabins well they lost it. I find it hard to believe that HAL should be so hard up for money, from what I read here people should be willing to pay any price to go.

 

You should see what they did to the Nieuw Amsterdam! More people than the Vista Class, and they took away valuable deck space for private cabanas. This is the only HAL ship I've been on that felt crowded.

 

HAL is still a wonderful cruise experience, but the trend is not positive.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[raindropsalways]

Apparently there are some that do not realize that only a few of the cabins are Lanai and the only deck area that would be behind any structure would be on the outside of the DD and HH category cabins. If you refer to the deck plans, (http://www.hollandamerica.com/main/DeckPlansFull.action?ship=ma_2&deck=m Select “Lower Promenade” deck) you can see that the deck area outside of all blue identified cabins is also open. If you would prefer the deck area outside the Lanai cabins, I would suggest that you book a Lanai cabin.

 

 

Normally when any ship line invest in changes, it is because sufficient passengers have request such changes.

 

 

Betty

[whogo]

The lanai cabin passengers do not sit in their chair all day long. It vexed me to walk past empty, reserved chairs on the Veendam without finding one that was available to us cheap, second class bastards that didn't shell our for a lanai cabin.

 

A mathematician would say that the number of deck chairs was reduced, because they don't block the new lanai doors with deck chairs. A mathematician would also say that reserving two deck chairs for each lanai cabin would reduce the number available to other cruisers. As you can see from other posters, the Maasdam is not subject to the laws of mathematics. There are always plenty of deck chairs available on the Maasdam, it is nothing like the Veendam.

[PatsyAnne]

Absolutely, the Lanai cabins and other changes have totally ruined the ships. Those of you who don't like them, please stay away from these ships, and encourage your friends to stay away also. Then maybe I'll get a lower price to cruise on these beautiful vessels.

[Mary Ellen]

Yes, for us it is ruined. I find it reprehensible that HAL has converted public space for private use. I'm not getting the 'logic' behind the "LP cabin passengers would have taken an equal number of deck chairs anyway" argument. The Lanai cabin deck chairs are permanently reserved, not just when the occupants of those cabins are in them. The areas we like to sit and watch the sea are no longer available for our use.

 

I see no reason to book a smaller cabin, with less storage and with a bathtub we do NOT want. It is far easier to book a different ship.

 

It is turning us away from HAL. We now have 3 cruises booked in the next year. Only one is with HAL. It happens to be on a ship with Lanai cabins. I really tried to find an alternate ship/cruise line for that itinerary. Sadly I wasn't able to find a viable alternative. :mad: Are we looking forward to the itinerary? Yes. Are we looking forward to sailing on that mutilated ship? NO. Actually, I'm dreading sailing on her.

 

Whenever I suggest a HAL cruise to DH, inevitably his first question is 'Does the ship have Lanai cabins?'. He hasn't quite caught on that I've already screened out those cruises.